In 2023, the one thing we will never have to worry about is a shortage of email marketing tools. With the number of options for email marketing increasing year after year, it’s no surprise that it can be difficult to choose the “right” one.
Despite the ever-growing number of solutions for you to pick from, you’ve probably seen these two names pop up time and time again: Klaviyo and MailChimp.
Klaviyo and MailChimp are among the most popular choices for email marketing, landing them on “Top 10” lists all over the Internet.
So, if you’re stuck between the two, don’t worry.
In this blog, we’ll highlight the key features of each platform, outlining their similarities and differences to help make your decision process a little easier.
The Basics
Before we get into the details of each platform, here’s some basic information about both MailChimp and Klaviyo.
| MailChimp | Klaviyo | |
|---|---|---|
|
Year Founded |
2001 |
2012 |
|
Product Options |
Email & SMS |
Email & SMS |
|
Plan Types |
Month-to-Month |
Month-to-Month |
|
Free Plan? |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Plan Options |
4 Options: Premium, Standard, Essentials, Free |
3 Options: Email, Email and SMS, Free |
|
Pricing (per 10K subscribers) |
Standard Package:
$135.00 USD/month
+ 1 month free
|
Email and
SMS Package:
$190.00 USD/month |
MailChimp: Key Features
MailChimp is one of the original platforms for email and SMS marketing, with 22 years of long-standing service under the company’s belt.
MailChimp has a wide range of platform features, each fitting into one of four categories:
1. Audience Management — Marketing CRM, Signup Forms, Segmentation, etc.
2. Creative Tools — Content Studio, Creative Assistant, Dynamic Content, etc.
3. Marketing Automation — Customer Journeys and Integrations.
4. Insights & Analytics — Reports, Smart Recommendations, A/B Testing, etc.
When it comes to pricing and package options, MailChimp offers four packages with varying capabilities and features. MailChimp’s pricing is nice, not only because they have multiple options with scalable pricing, but also because they offer a completely free package option. Although the “Free” package is limited compared to the paid versions, you can still send 1 audience up to 1,000 monthly emails.
According to EmailToolTester, some of the cons of MailChimp include:
■ The inability to schedule emails and access customer support on the Free plan,
■ The fact that both unsubscribed/inactive contacts count toward the total subscribers you are paying for, and
■ The steep price increase that comes with switching from a free plan to a paid plan with a higher subscriber limit.
Klaviyo: Key Features
Although Klaviyo is a younger platform than MailChimp, it’s still a popular choice, currently being used by over 100k companies across 80+ countries.
Klaviyo offers two main products – email and SMS – but is currently Beta testing a third product called Mobile push. Each product type has a wide range of capabilities including:
1. Email — Automations, Campaigns, Segmentation, Benchmarks, Templates, etc.
2. SMS — Automations, Campaigns, Built-In Contact Cards, Benchmarks, Reports, etc.
3. Mobile push (Beta) — Personalization, Integration, Drag-and-Drop Builders, etc.
When it comes to specific features, Klaviyio has a long list of offerings for your business across all of its product types. They have an extensive list of features across 3 categories, including:
■ Experiences — Email, SMS, Mobile push, Signup forms, eCommerce automations, etc.
■ Database — 200+ integrations, Real-time segmentation and customer profiles, etc.
■ Learning — Predictive data, Pre-built and c custom reporting, peer benchmarks, etc.
Much like MailChimp, Klaviyo’s pricing is scalable depending on your number of contacts. They offer three packages; one for Email and SMS (starting at $35/month), one for just Email (starting at $20/month), and a “Free” package, too. Klaviyo’s “Free” package allows 500 email sends per month to a maximum of 250 contacts.
According to TechRadar, some of the cons of Klaviyo include:
■ The extensive list of features presents a steep learning curve for many users,
■ The wait times to connect with customer service leave much to be desired,
■ The relatively high subscription cost (especially for smaller or newer businesses).
Which Platform To Choose
MailChimp and Klaviyo are great choices for email and SMS marketing platforms. Both offer tons of features, an impressive list of integrations, and scalable pricing, with the customizability and flexibility your business needs.
Both MailChimp and Klaviyo have a long list of “Pros” (and a short list of “Cons”) so ultimately you can’t go wrong with either choice.
However, we do have some recommendations.
If you’re a new eCommerce business with a small audience, and you’re just getting started with email and/or SMS marketing, try MailChimp.
The learning curve with MailChimp is incredibly slight, especially considering its intuitive drag-and-drop templates and integration capabilities. As a new business, it’ll also cost you less for longer, because the “Free” package can support you until your audience grows beyond 1,000 subscribers.
If you’re a more established eCommerce business with a large audience and a heavy reliance on email marketing, try Klaviyo.
The integrations available with Klaviyo are unmatched, allowing you to streamline your processes with everything from Shopify to Stripe. Klaviyo’s reporting and analytics capabilities are also more detailed and nuanced, giving your eCommerce business the concrete data you need to continue growing and expanding. At DIDO Agency, we love using Klaviyo to help our eCommerce clients expand their reach and grow their businesses.
Wrap-Up
Both MailChimp and Klaviyo are extremely popular marketing platforms for eCommerce businesses because of their range of features, integration capabilities, scalable pricing, and flexible options.
However, no matter which one you think is right for you, remember: the “perfect” platform for your business might not be the perfect fit for another business. The right choice of platform is one that meets everything your business needs — now and in the future.