Comparison
Mailchimp vs Klaviyo
How Mailchimp and Klaviyo compare on price, pricing model, features and reviews, with every fact checked on October 24, 2026.
Quick verdict
Choose Mailchimp if
- Small lists that start free and grow into paid tiers.
Choose Klaviyo if
- Ecommerce brands that want email and SMS driven by store data (vendor positioning)
Mailchimp vs Klaviyo side by side
| Mailchimp | Klaviyo | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Intuit-owned email marketing platform with a 250-contact free tier and contact-based paid plans. | Ecommerce-focused email and SMS platform billed on active profiles, with a free tier capped at 250 profiles. |
| Status | Active | Active |
| Starting price | Free; paid from $13/month (Essentials) | $0 (Free, 250 active profiles, 500 emails/month) |
| Pricing model | per contact tier | per active profile + monthly email volume |
| Free plan or trial | Free plan, Free trial | Free plan |
| SAML SSO | Premium only (Enterprise SSO) | Not published |
| SCIM provisioning | Not published | Not published |
| Audit logs | Not published | Not published |
| Data residency | Not published | Not published |
| Contract | Monthly plans; 12-month discounted rate; pay-as-you-go option. | Not published |
| Support | Free: email first 30 days; Essentials/Standard: 24/7 email and chat; Premium: phone and priority. | Not published |
| G2 rating | 4.3 (12,866 reviews) | 4.6 (1,298 reviews) |
| Founded | Not verified | 2012 |
| Headquarters | Not verified | Boston, US |
| Employees | Not verified | 2368 |
| Automation workflows | Free: none; Essentials: up to 4 steps per flow; Standard and Premium: up to 200 flow points. | Not verified |
| Pricing model and real cost | Contact-tier pricing. | Active profiles (contacts who can receive marketing email) plus monthly email volume. |
| Workflow and journey builder | Standard and Premium: up to 200 flow points. | Not verified |
| Email and multichannel campaigns | Not verified | Email, SMS/mobile messaging. |
| Reporting and attribution | Custom reports on Standard and up. | Not verified |
Differences most comparisons miss
Worth knowing about Mailchimp
- Enterprise SSO only on Premium.
- Premium includes four onboarding sessions and a dedicated specialist; Standard one session.
- Free plan has no role-based access and no automation.
- Annual billing on Standard and Premium over 10,000 contacts requires contacting sales.
Worth knowing about Klaviyo
- Billing basis is active profiles that can receive marketing email, not total contacts.
- Free tier includes email support only for the first 60 days.
- Trust page shows SOC, ISO 27001, ISO 27017 and PCI DSS badges; reports downloadable from the Trust Center.
- The vendor pricing page does not list seats, SSO or annual discounts.
Sources
Both columns use the same sources: vendor pricing and product pages, documentation, G2 and company records, checked on October 24, 2026. Full source lists are on the Mailchimp and Klaviyo reviews.