# Mailchimp vs Klaviyo (2026)

> Mailchimp vs Klaviyo compared in 2026: prices at 1,000, 10,000 and 50,000 contacts, how each counts contacts, ecommerce and Shopify features, SMS, and a straight recommendation by business type.

Source: https://sendbroadcast.net/compare/mailchimp-vs-klaviyo

**Pick Klaviyo** if you run an online store and your email revenue comes from flows like abandoned cart, browse abandonment and post-purchase. **Pick Mailchimp** if you send newsletters and campaigns across a broader business and want the lower bill. Both are hosted, both charge by contact, and both get expensive as a list grows.

## Price

Monthly list prices on each platform's main email plan:

| Contacts | Mailchimp Standard | Klaviyo Email |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1,000 | About $40 | $30 |
| 10,000 | $135 | $150 |
| 50,000 | $450 | $720 |

Klaviyo is cheaper at the very bottom and pulls well ahead in price as the list grows. Full tables: [Mailchimp pricing](/compare/mailchimp-pricing) and [Klaviyo pricing](/compare/klaviyo-pricing).

**How contacts are counted matters as much as the price.** Mailchimp counts unsubscribed and non-subscribed contacts toward your plan unless you archive them. Klaviyo counts active profiles, anyone who can receive marketing email, and has billed on the total since February 2025.

## Side by side

|  | Mailchimp | Klaviyo |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Built for | Any business sending campaigns and newsletters | Ecommerce stores |
| Store data | Integrations with Shopify and others | Deep: orders, products, browsing events, predicted lifetime value |
| Automations | Up to 4 steps on Essentials, 200 on Standard | Flows with ecommerce triggers on every paid plan |
| SMS | Add-on | Built in, on the Email and SMS plan |
| Free plan | 250 contacts, 500 emails a month | 250 profiles, 500 emails a month |
| Integrations | Very large directory | Strong for ecommerce, narrower elsewhere |

## Which to pick

**Online store with meaningful revenue from email:** Klaviyo. Its flows use purchase and browsing data Mailchimp can't match, and a few percent more revenue pays for the difference.

**Service business, publisher, nonprofit or SaaS:** Mailchimp, or a cheaper option. You don't need Klaviyo's ecommerce depth.

**Large list, mostly newsletters, cost matters:** neither. Both charge by contact, so the bill grows with every subscriber. A self-hosted tool like Broadcast costs $250 once and sends through Amazon SES at about $0.10 per 1,000 emails. It doesn't have Klaviyo's Shopify data, so it fits content and campaign email better than store automation. See the [pricing calculator](/calculator) to compare all three at your size.

## Frequently asked questions

### Is Klaviyo better than Mailchimp?

For ecommerce, usually yes. For general newsletters and campaigns, Mailchimp does the job for less.

### Is Klaviyo more expensive than Mailchimp?

At 10,000 contacts Klaviyo's email plan is about $150 a month and Mailchimp Standard about $135. At 50,000, Klaviyo is about $720 and Mailchimp $450.

### Can I use Mailchimp with Shopify?

Yes, through integrations, but the data it gets is shallower than Klaviyo's. For stores that live on email flows, Klaviyo is the stronger fit.

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## Related

- [Mailchimp pricing](/compare/mailchimp-pricing)
- [Klaviyo pricing](/compare/klaviyo-pricing)
- [Klaviyo alternative](/compare/klaviyo-alternative)
- [Mailchimp alternatives](/compare/mailchimp-alternative)