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If you run an online store, Klaviyo and Mailchimp are probably the two names on your list. Mailchimp is the general-purpose email tool most people start with. Klaviyo was built for ecommerce: it pulls in orders, products and browsing data and uses them for segments, flows and predictions.
The right choice depends on how much of your revenue comes from email, and how much store data you want to act on. Prices below were checked on October 17, 2026.
Full disclosure: we make DoubleScale, a WordPress CRM with WooCommerce automation. It appears as side notes and in its own section; Klaviyo and Mailchimp details come from their own pricing pages and published 2026 pricing guides.
Pick Klaviyo if email and SMS are a major revenue channel and you want deep ecommerce segmentation, predictive analytics and flows built on store data.
Pick Mailchimp if you want an easier, cheaper tool for newsletters and the core store flows, or your business is not mainly ecommerce.
Klaviyo vs Mailchimp at a glance
| Klaviyo | Mailchimp | DoubleScale | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Priced by | Active profiles (people you can email) | Contacts in your audience | Site (unlimited contacts) |
| Free plan | 250 profiles, 500 sends/mo | 250 contacts, 500 emails/mo | Free plugin |
| Paid from | Email $20/mo (500 profiles) | Essentials $13/mo (500 contacts) | $99/yr per site |
| SMS | Email + SMS plans from about $35/mo | Add-on in some countries | SMS and WhatsApp (Pro) |
| Ecommerce data | Very deep, predictive analytics | Good on Standard and up | WooCommerce triggers and cart recovery (Pro) |
Vendor pricing pages and 2026 pricing guides, October 17, 2026.
What each costs
Klaviyo bills on active profiles, meaning everyone you can email, not just the people you do email. Its free plan covers 250 active profiles and 500 email sends a month. The Email plan starts at $20 a month for 500 profiles and, according to 2026 pricing guides that match its estimator, costs about $60 at 2,500 and $150 at 10,000. Email + SMS plans start around $35 a month.
Mailchimp Essentials costs $13 a month at 500 contacts, $45 at 2,500 and $110 at 10,000; Standard, with branching journeys and more ecommerce features, costs $20, $60 and $135.
| List size | Klaviyo Email | Mailchimp Essentials | Mailchimp Standard |
|---|---|---|---|
| 500 | $240/yr | $156/yr | $240/yr |
| 2,500 | $720/yr | $540/yr | $720/yr |
| 10,000 | $1,800/yr | $1,320/yr | $1,620/yr |
Monthly billing.
Klaviyo counts active profiles, so every synced customer can add to the bill.
Our take: Mailchimp has the edge on price.
Ecommerce flows and segmentation
This is why stores pay for Klaviyo. It pulls orders, products, browsing and engagement from WooCommerce, Shopify or BigCommerce and lets you build flows for abandoned cart, browse abandonment, post-purchase and win-back, with conditional splits on almost any property. It also predicts things like the next order date and customer lifetime value.
Mailchimp covers the core store flows (abandoned cart, product follow-ups, welcome series) and adds predictive segments and more ecommerce automation on Standard and above. For a smaller store, that is often enough.
Our take: Klaviyo has the edge.
Looking elsewhere?Looking for a cheaper Klaviyo for WooCommerce? See our Klaviyo alternatives for WooCommerce.
Ease of use
Mailchimp is easier: a friendlier editor and simpler journeys. Klaviyo has a steeper learning curve and rewards the time you spend on it; agencies and dedicated email marketers often prefer it.
Our take: Mailchimp has the edge.
Looking elsewhere?Leaving Mailchimp? Read Mailchimp alternatives for small business.
Setting up on WooCommerce
Both connect to WooCommerce through plugins that sync customers and orders to their platforms. Klaviyo’s WordPress.org plugin is rated 2.8★ from 24 reviews, so test the sync carefully and watch your active-profile count. Mailchimp’s official WooCommerce integration syncs customers, orders and products.
Our take: the two are evenly matched here, so this should not decide your choice.
Runs your entire business
A third option: DoubleScale
If your store runs on WooCommerce, DoubleScale handles cart recovery, order follow-ups and customer email inside WordPress, for a flat price per site.
Pro adds WooCommerce triggers, abandoned cart recovery with a cart-recovered goal, sequences, SMS and WhatsApp; the free plugin includes campaigns, invoices, bookings and a helpdesk.
Modular by design. Turn on only the modules you need from one Control Modules panel; everything else stays out of your way.
- Email campaigns
- Automations
- Sales pipelines
- Proposals & invoices
- Contracts
- Booking
- Helpdesk
- Forms
- Projects
- Tasks
Free on WordPress.org · Unlimited contacts · Pro from $99/yr per site
DoubleScale is the better pick if…
- Your store runs on WooCommerce and your list is growing.
- You want cart and order messages by email, SMS or WhatsApp.
- You want customers, orders and support tickets on one record.
Stick with the big platforms if…
- You need Klaviyo-level predictive analytics.
- Your store runs on Shopify.
- You rely on A/B testing or built-in sending.
See also WooCommerce abandoned cart recovery and DoubleScale vs Mailchimp.
Disclosure: we make DoubleScale. The screens above are real, and every price for the other tools comes from their own pricing pages.
So, which should you choose?
| Your situation | Choose |
|---|---|
| Email and SMS drive a big share of revenue | Klaviyo |
| Small store, core flows, tight budget | Mailchimp Essentials |
| Not mainly ecommerce | Mailchimp |
| Advanced segmentation and predictions | Klaviyo |
| WooCommerce store, flat price, WhatsApp | DoubleScale |
How we compared: every price was read on the vendor’s own pricing page on October 17, 2026 (USD). Klaviyo prices above 500 profiles are from 2026 pricing guides that match its estimator; Mailchimp prices are monthly billing. Prices change often, so check the vendor’s page before you buy.
Questions people ask
Is Klaviyo better than Mailchimp for ecommerce?
For stores that rely on email and SMS, yes: Klaviyo’s ecommerce data, flows and predictions are deeper. Mailchimp is cheaper and easier for the core flows.
Is Klaviyo more expensive than Mailchimp?
Usually. At 10,000 contacts, Klaviyo Email is about $1,800 a year against $1,320 to $1,620 for Mailchimp.
Do Klaviyo and Mailchimp have free plans?
Both: Klaviyo covers 250 active profiles and 500 sends a month; Mailchimp covers 250 contacts and 500 emails a month.
Which works better with WooCommerce?
Both integrate through plugins that sync your store data. If you want automations to run inside WordPress itself, DoubleScale reads WooCommerce directly.
Can I send WhatsApp messages from either?
Klaviyo and Mailchimp focus on email and SMS. DoubleScale Pro sends WhatsApp through the official WhatsApp Cloud API.
More head-to-head comparisons
- ActiveCampaign vs Mailchimp
- Mailchimp vs MailerLite
- Klaviyo vs Omnisend
- Omnisend vs Mailchimp
- ActiveCampaign vs Klaviyo
- Brevo vs Mailchimp
- ActiveCampaign vs MailerLite
Recover carts and follow up orders from inside WordPress, with unlimited contacts.
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Mohamed Magdy, Founder & CEO, DoubleScale
Mohamed Magdy is the founder and CEO of DoubleScale, the all-in-one CRM for WordPress. He writes about CRM, email marketing and automation for WordPress businesses.
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