Is Klaviyo worth the price?
Klaviyo offers a genuinely useful free tier (250 contacts, 500 emails/mo) but costs escalate rapidly with list growth — from $30/mo at 1,000 contacts to $150/mo at 10,000 and $1,380/mo at 100,000.
Since February 2025, billing is based on total active profiles (not just emailed contacts), which effectively raised prices for most users.
Pricing Plans
Free
Free
- 250 active profiles
- 500 email sends/month
- 150 SMS credits/month
$20/month
- 500+ profiles
- 10x email sends per profile
- 150 free SMS credits
Email + SMS
From $35
- All Email features
- SMS messaging
- Automation workflows
Hidden Costs & Gotchas
Since Feb 2025, you pay for ALL active profiles — not just contacts you email. Imported but unengaged contacts still count toward billing
SMS credits are separate and do not roll over month-to-month — unused credits are lost
International SMS costs 5-12 credits per message vs 1 credit for US, dramatically increasing costs for global audiences
Spending over $10,000/mo forces you into Klaviyo One enterprise tier with a mandatory 20% premium
Advanced add-ons are expensive
Marketing Analytics ($100/mo), Customer Agent AI ($140/mo), Helpdesk ($185/mo)
How Klaviyo Compares
E-commerce store with 10,000 email contacts, email-only plan
Which Plan Do You Need?
Includes segmentation, automation, AI tools, and 150 SMS credits — more generous feature set than most competitors free tiers
Best-in-class Shopify integration, predictive analytics, and 10x contact email sending limits make it the default choice for Shopify merchants
Unified email + SMS + push in one platform avoids managing separate SMS providers — the $15/mo SMS add-on is reasonable at lower tiers
Our Recommendation
Worth it if...
You run a Shopify store and rely on advanced segmentation, abandoned cart flows, and predictive analytics — Klaviyo ROI typically justifies the premium for e-commerce
Skip if...
Your list exceeds 25,000 contacts and you primarily send newsletters — Brevo or Mailchimp offer far better value for high-volume, low-complexity email marketing
Negotiation tips
Annual contracts can yield 10-15% discounts at higher tiers. Clean your list aggressively before each billing cycle since all active profiles count — suppressing unengaged contacts directly reduces your bill.
Klaviyo Pricing FAQ
How much does Klaviyo cost?
Klaviyo starts at $20/month on the Email plan. It offers 2 paid tiers ranging from $20/month up to $35/month. A free plan is also available with limited features.
Does Klaviyo have a free plan?
Yes. Klaviyo offers a free plan called "Free". It includes: 250 active profiles, 500 email sends/month, 150 SMS credits/month.
What is the cheapest Klaviyo paid plan?
The cheapest paid plan for Klaviyo is "Email" at $20/month. Key features include: 500+ profiles, 10x email sends per profile, 150 free SMS credits.
Is there a cheaper alternative to Klaviyo?
Yes. Popular alternatives to Klaviyo include ActiveCampaign, Mailchimp, HubSpot, Customer.io. Free alternatives include Mailchimp, HubSpot, Omnisend. Compare them side-by-side on Toolradar.
Cheaper alternatives to Klaviyo
3 of 6 direct competitors below offer a free plan. Per-seat pricing varies up to 60% across this set.
