To stay competitive in today’s market, it’s important to provide a seamless customer experience to your consumers. To do this, you’ll need some Email Marketing Tools to help you reach your customers with personalized, relevant content across all your marketing channels.
With the rise of email marketing in e-commerce, many platforms are available to help your business create and manage campaigns, but then, it can be quite challenging to settle for one of these options out there.
To help guide you through this important decision, we’ve reviewed and compared two of the most hotly debated tools in the e-commerce email marketing space – Klaviyo vs Mailchimp.
We will discuss the pricing, features, and other benefits before concluding with our recommendation. So, if you’ve been wondering what the right deal for you is, keep on reading.
Klaviyo vs Mailchimp Overview
Klaviyo
Klaviyo is a cloud-based email marketing platform that automates eCommerce SMS and email marketing to help businesses acquire, retain, and grow their customers by sending marketing emails. It enables segmentation without using conventional tools like spreadsheets, and can also draw data from established eCommerce sites, and other marketing applications.
Managing content is also simple and automated with Klaviyo, as it allows you to build multi-channel experiences for your customers and manage it all from one platform.
The robust but simple marketing framework includes segments, site tracking, autoresponders, 360-degree client profiles, custom fields of business, drag-and-drop email templates, ROI reporting, and 1-click integrations. Thanks to the efficient segmentation functionality of Klaviyo, the right message is delivered to the right customers.
Pros:
- Powerful segmentation and automation features
- In-depth analytics and reporting
- Seamless integration with Shopify
- Excellent customer support
Cons:
- More expensive than Mailchimp
- Can be complex for beginners
Mailchimp
Mailchimp is an all-in-one marketing platform that helps you manage and talk to your clients, customers, and other interested parties. Known for its affordable plans, it also provides business-enhancing analytical functionality and powerful technology tools.
MailChimp integrates with all major e-commerce providers, such as targeted email or Facebook ad campaigns, automated product follow-ups, and back-in-stock messaging. The drag-and-drop designer also allows users to create campaigns, collaborate with multi-user accounts, and assist with the design process and workflow.
One of Mailchimp’s primary selling points is its ease of use. Its features are well-organized and easy to learn, and it does not require advanced technical expertise or coding capabilities to create professional marketing campaigns.
Pros:
- Easy-to-use interface
- Affordable pricing options
- Wide range of features, including email marketing, landing page creation, and social media marketing
- Free plan available for businesses with up to 2,000 subscribers
Cons:
- Limited automation features
- Less detailed analytics and reporting
- Not deeply integrated with Shopify
Features Comparison (Klaviyo vs MailChimp)
Segmentation
Klaviyo offers advanced segmentation options based on a wide range of factors, including purchase history, product views, cart abandonment, and customer demographics. This allows you to create highly targeted and personalized email campaigns.
Mailchimp only offers basic segmentation functionalities based on purchase history and email engagement. While you can create groups based on age, location, email client, and campaign activity, you cannot target your users as specifically as you can with Klaviyo.
Automation
Klaviyo provides powerful automation features, including a visual automation builder and conditional splits. The visual automation builder makes it easy to create complex workflows, and conditional splits allow you to send different emails to different segments of your audience.
Mailchimp offers basic automation features, such as autoresponders and welcome emails. These features are a good way to start automating your email marketing but are not as powerful as Klaviyo’s automation features.
Reporting and analytics
Klaviyo offers detailed analytics on email campaigns, including ROI reporting. This information can help you see what is working and what is not so that you can improve your future campaigns.
Mailchimp offers basic analytics on email campaigns, such as open rates and click-through rates. This information can be helpful for small business owners, who want to monitor their customer’s behavior.
Shopify Integrations
Klaviyo offers a direct Shopify integration, unlike Mailchimp, where you need a third-party application to connect your Shopify store to your MailChimp account. Klaviyo’s integration allows you to collect and store customer data directly from your Shopify stores.
Templates
Both Klaviyo and Mailchimp offer drag-and-drop email editors with a wide range of pre-built templates. This makes it easy to create beautiful and engaging emails, even if you are not a designer.
Pricing Comparison (Klaviyo vs MailChimp)
There are several pricing plans available on Klaviyo and Mailchimp, depending on your company’s size and the features you need. Here is a summation of the pricing models for each platform:
Klaviyo Pricing Plans
Klaviyo’s pricing is based on the number of contacts in your account, as well as the number of email and SMS messages you send each month. It offers three pricing plans: Free, Email, Email and SMS.
The Free plan is ideal for small businesses just starting out with email marketing. It includes up to 250 contacts, 500 monthly email sends, 150 free monthly SMS/MMS credits, and email support for the first 60 days.
The Email plan starts at $20 for 500 contacts, 2500 monthly email sends, and all the features of the free plan. The additional features include; mobile push notifications, and comprehensive email and chat support.
The Email and SMS plan starts at $35 per month for 500 contacts, 5,000 monthly email sends, and access to 1,250 monthly SMS/MMS credits.
Klaviyo also offers a custom pricing plan for businesses with more than 250,000 contacts.
MailChimp Pricing Plans
Mailchimp offers a 4-tiered pricing system (Free, Essentials, Standard, and Premium), which gives you access to different features on each level, and the prices vary depending on your plan and your number of contacts.
The Free plan is ideal for small businesses and individuals just starting with email marketing. It includes up to 500 contacts and 1,000 monthly email sends.
The Essentials plan starts at $13 per month and includes up to 500 contacts and 5000 monthly email sends. It also includes additional features; 3 seats, 3 audiences, 24/7 chat and email support, pre-built templates, assisted onboarding, 2 role-based accounts, automated customer journeys, email scheduling, A/B testing, and no MailChimp branding.
The Standard plan starts at $20 per month for 500 contacts, with all the features of Essentials, plus 6000 monthly emails, 5 seats, 5 audiences, 4 role-based accounts, enhanced customer journeys, custom-code templates, predictive segmentation, content optimization, dynamic content, campaign management, and send-time optimization.
The Premium plan starts at $350 per month and includes all of the features of the Standard plan, plus 150,000 email sends, unlimited users and audiences, priority support, 5 role-based accounts, dedicated onboarding, advanced segmentation, and multivariate testing and comparative reporting options.
Mailchimp also offers a pay-as-you-go plan for businesses that need to send more than 10,000 emails per month.
Which Email Marketing Tool is Best for Shopify? (Our Recommendation)
Deciding on which email marketing tool is best for Shopify, whether Klaviyo or Mailchimp, requires a thorough assessment of their respective features, pricing, integration capabilities, and overall suitability for your business needs.
If you are an E-commerce business using Shopify, Klaviyo is the best choice for you, as it offers a wider range of features and integrations specifically designed for e-commerce businesses. However, Klaviyo is more expensive than Mailchimp and can be complex for beginners.
For smaller businesses and startups that are just getting started with CRM or on a tight budget, Mailchimp would serve you better. It is easy to use and also offers a wide range of features and integrations. However, Mailchimp’s automation capabilities are not as advanced as Klaviyo’s, and it may not be able to meet the needs of larger businesses with complex marketing strategies.
If you are still unsure which email marketing tool is right for you, I recommend signing up for free trials of both Klaviyo and Mailchimp. This will give you a chance to try out the features and see which platform is a better fit for your needs.
Klaviyo is an advanced email marketing platform that focuses on providing personalized marketing experiences. It allows e-commerce businesses to segment and target their customers based on their preferences and behavior. With its easy-to-use interface and powerful automation tools, Klaviyo helps merchants create effective email campaigns that drive conversions and generate revenue.
Mailchimp is a well-known email marketing software that offers a wide range of marketing solutions, including email campaigns, landing pages, and social media ads. It has been a popular choice for many businesses due to its user-friendly interface and extensive app integrations. Mailchimp provides various templates and customization options to design visually appealing emails and newsletters.
Both Klaviyo and Mailchimp offer seamless integrations with Shopify. This means that you can easily sync your customer data, order information, and product details from your Shopify store to your chosen email marketing provider. However, Klaviyo offers more advanced integration capabilities by allowing you to track and analyze customer behavior, set up automated flows, and send targeted emails based on specific actions taken on your Shopify store.
Technically, it is possible to use both Klaviyo and Mailchimp simultaneously. However, it might not be the most practical approach. Since both platforms provide similar services, it is recommended to choose one and fully utilize its features. Using multiple email marketing providers simultaneously can lead to confusion and inefficiency.
When it comes to automation, Klaviyo has a clear advantage. It offers robust automation features that allow you to set up behavior-triggered emails, such as abandoned cart reminders, product recommendations, and win-back campaigns. Klaviyo’s advanced segmentation options enable you to deliver highly targeted messages to different customer segments based on their purchase history and engagement level.
Pricing is an essential factor to consider when choosing between Klaviyo and Mailchimp. While both platforms offer various pricing plans, Klaviyo tends to be relatively more expensive, especially for businesses with larger subscriber lists. On the other hand, Mailchimp offers a free plan for up to 2,000 subscribers, making it an attractive option for small businesses with limited budgets.
Conclusion
Klaviyo and Mailchimp are both powerful marketing tools for Shopify businesses. However, they have different strengths and weaknesses, and the best tool for you will depend on your specific needs, budget, and long-term goals.
If you want in-depth insights and automation, Klaviyo has you covered. On the other hand, if you’re looking for an all-in-one, easy-to-use solution, Mailchimp may be your best bet.
Remember, the right choice depends on your unique business goals and the features you need in managing your marketing campaigns. Think about what works best for you, and you’re sure to find the best Email Marketing Tool for your Shopify store.
Which Email Marketing Tool do you use for your Shopify business? Let us know in the comments below!
