Klaviyo vs Mailchimp: The Ultimate Showdown

Klaviyo and Mailchimp are sort of a legend in the email marketing landscape. And both of some incredible strengths and very few weaknesses.

I still remember the later part of 2010 when Mailchimp dominated the email marketing scene.

And right around 2013, Klaviyo emerged into the scene. And in no time, Klaviyo started gaining a lot of traction in the e-commerce landscape.

Soon Mailchimp started catching up too.

At Inbox Army, we have extensive experience using both these platforms for countless clients.

Our research team completed some brilliant research by delving deep into each platform to gain insights into each.

So you can make an informed decision before you make that leap of faith.

In this comprehensive comparison of Klaviyo vs Mailchimp, we’re going super deep so you find it super easy to make the best choice.

Let’s dive into this with a quick overview.

Mailchimp vs Klaviyo: A Quick Overview of Email Marketing Platforms

In comparison of the Klaviyo VS Mailchimp, there’s no superior tool There is no bad tool here, both can well complement each other for those who require both ESP and CRM features.

Here’s the lowdown:

Choose Klaviyo if:

• You’re an e-commerce wizard looking to harness the power of data.
• You’re ready to dive deep into analytics and don’t mind a learning curve.
• You’re willing to invest time in building hyper-personalized, sophisticated email campaigns 

Go with Mailchimp if:

• You’re new to this whole email marketing thing and want something simple to start with. 
• Your business needs to go beyond just email (hello, social media, and ads!).
• You’re working with a tighter budget, especially as your list grows.

Remember, both platforms offer free tiers. 

That means you can use them for free without paying a dime – albeit with some limitations. 

So don’t be shy – take them for a spin! 

Whichever you choose, remember that email marketing is about sending the right message to the right person at the right time. 

Pick the tool that helps you do that best, and you’ll be on your way to email marketing stardom. 

Now, go ahead and conquer those inboxes!

Before we get our hands dirty, I’d like to give you a bird’s-eye view of these email marketing titans:

Now that we’ve got the 20,000 feet overview, I’d like to give you a brief round up on each platform’s target audience and specialization.

Klaviyo vs Mailchimp: Target Audience and Specialization

Klaviyo: The E-commerce Email Powerhouse for Ecommerce Brands

Klaviyo is a truly data-driven email marketing platform for e-commerce. If you’re a data nerd looking to build next-level e-mail campaigns, you are in for a treat.

Klaviyo is designed to turn your customer data into marketing gold.

It allows you to maximize every click, purchase, and browsing session to create highly targeted campaigns.

Key strengths:

• Klaviyo has a deep integration with key e-commerce players like Shopify, WooCommerce, and Magento.
• You can perform advanced segmentation using the customer’s purchase history and browsing behavior
• Klaviyo does a great job at implementing automated campaigns with readymade flows for abandoned cart recovery, post-purchase follow-ups, and product recommendations
• Extensive personalization means you can really create highly effective email campaigns that drive conversions

Klaviyo also excels in ecommerce automations, enhancing the customer experience and streamlining post-purchase activities.

The area in which Klaviyo shines is its automation and personalization.

For instance, Klaviyo’s abandoned cart recovery feature is extremely refined and sophisticated.

It allows you to set up multi-step flows based on various parameters such as cart value, repeat vs. new customer,  previous behavior, and so on.

Mailchimp: The Marketing Maverick for Non-Tech Savvy

Mailchimp is synonymous with the Swiss army knife of marketing. It’s like that friendly neighborhood that does a bit of everything. 

If you’re just dipping your toes into email marketing or you’re looking for a versatile marketing tool, you’re going to like what Mailchimp has to offer. 

Small businesses, non-profits, and content creators love Mailchimp for its simplicity and marketing prowess. 

Key strengths:

• Simple and user-friendly interface 
• Supports multi-channel marketing beyond just email. 
• We’re talking about social media posting, ad campaigns, website builder

Mailchimp excels as a comprehensive and versatile marketing tool. 

For example, you can create a fully functional website and integrate it with your email marketing very easily. 

If you are a non-tech-savvy business owner or you’re just starting out, this all-in-one approach can be a huge time-saver. 

The ability to create emails, social posts, and ads allows you to streamline your marketing workflow gracefully. 

Mailchimp makes complex marketing tasks accessible to everyone.

Now, let’s take a closer look at the key features inside each platform and what sets them apart. 

Klaviyo vs Mailchimp: Key Feature Comparison 

1. Email Creation & Design

Both Klaviyo and Mailchimp offer a user-friendly drag-and-drop email builder. However, there are subtle differences in how they are built and the purpose behind it. 

Let’s start with Klaviyo.

Klaviyo’s email builder is like a blank canvas for personalization. 

You can insert dynamic content, create AI-generated subject lines, and personalize the content based on segmented audiences. 

Here are some features worth noting:

• Block-based editor offering great design flexibility
• Dynamic content blocks based on subscriber data 
• Advanced personalization options such as product recommendations
• Amazing email template library with e-commerce-specific designs

Klaviyo’s design capabilities shine the most when it comes to data-driven personalization. 

You can create emails that dynamically change content based on a subscriber’s past purchases, browsing history, or even predicted future behavior.

Mailchimp on the other hand is like a guided painting class. Its intuitive interface combines the power of Canva so you can create incredible emails quickly. Even if you are a non-designer, Mailchimp will get you good at crafting emails. 

Mailchimp offers:

• A user-friendly drag-and-drop editor
• Variety of pre-designed templates for various industries
• Basic personalization options
• Integration with Canva for enhanced design capabilities

Mailchimp’s strength lies in its simplicity. 

Even complete beginners can create professional-looking emails without any design experience. 

2. List Management and Segmentation

List management and segmentation play an important role in helping you craft effective email campaigns. 

Here’s how our contenders stack up:

Klaviyo is a segmentation superstar. 

It’ll slice and dice your list based on a variety of data points.

Here’s what’s under the hood:

• Automated list cleaning to remove inactive subscribers
• Real-time updates of subscriber data
• Custom fields for much more in-depth customer profile 
• Advanced segmentation 
• Behavioral segmentation based on website activity and purchase history

With Klaviyo, you can create extremely well-defined micro-segments. 

For example, 

• You could segment profiles who viewed a specific product three times in the last week but haven’t purchased, 
• You can create a segment of customers who have previously bought from a related category. 

This level of granularity allows you to send extremely personalized and targeted campaigns.

Mailchimp keeps things simple yet very effective. Mailchimp’s goal is to help you save your time with basic tagging and pre-built segments such as “inactive subscribers.”

Not as sophisticated as Klaviyo, but it gets the job done while saving a ton of time:

• Manual list management with a tagging system
• Basic segmentation options suitable for most small businesses
• Pre-built segments for common use cases (e.g., “Inactive Subscribers”)
• Limited custom fields on lower-tier plans

You can easily create segments based on subscriber activity, demographics, and purchase behavior.

While not as advanced as Klaviyo, Mailchimp’s segmentation feature is sufficient for most businesses. 

3. Klaviyo vs. Mailchimp Automation

When it comes to email marketing, automation is where the game is won or lost. Klaviyo and Maichip have their own unique approaches and both shine in some way or the other.

Let’s take a look at Klaviyo’s automation first.

Klaviyo’s marketing automation is like a chess grandmaster. It is always thinking about several moves at once and even contemplating what you can do next.

Klaviyo offers:

• Complex, multi-step automations made simple with a visual flow builder
• Trigger-based automations using real-time customer data
• Pre-built automation templates that make it a breeze to launch automated campaigns (e.g. abandoned cart, browse abandonment, etc.)
• Advanced A/B testing for the marketing nerds

With Klaviyo, you can set up extremely sophisticated email flows.

For instance, you could set up a welcome series that triggers based on a customer’s interaction with your website.

Or you can send an automated follow series based on their purchase history, and their engagement with previous emails.

This level of granularity allows you to create sophisticated customer journeys without guesswork.

Additionally, integrating SMS campaigns can enhance customer engagement through real-time notifications and targeted messaging.

Let’s talk about Mailchip’s automation.

Mailchimp’s automation is like a friendly game of checkers.

Easy to set up and perfect for simpler stuff like welcome emails or birthday wishes.

Here’s where Mailchimp automation shines:

• User-friendly automation builder
• Wide range of pre-built automation templates for a variety of industries and use cases
• Basic conditional logic in automations
• Limited A/B testing capabilities for automations

Mailchimp also offers a pretty good selection of pre-built automation templates such as welcome series, abandoned cart reminders, and re-engagement campaigns.

4. Analytics: Making Sense of the Numbers

When it comes to analytics, both Klaviyo & Mailchimp have their own strengths.

Let’s break it down:

Klaviyo doesn’t just give you data but it gives you actionable insights.

From Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) predictions to churn risk assessments, Klaviyo offers advanced reporting analytics that can significantly impact your ROI (Return on Investment).

It’s pure bliss for the data nerds.

Here’s what you will discover inside:

• Advanced analytics dashboard with customizable reports
• Predictive analytics for customer lifetime value and churn risk
• Revenue attribution reporting
• Benchmarking against industry peers
• Detailed e-commerce analytics

If you are a data-driven marketer, Klaviyo allows you to dive deep into metrics like predicted next order date, and customer engagement scores.

It even uses cohort analysis to understand how different groups of customers behave over time.

Sometimes I am in awe at the kind of marketing data Klaviyo can produce.

Mailchimp keeps things simple and sweet.

It is not only easy to understand but quite refreshing.  It shows who opened what and how much money you made, without making your head spin.

Plus, you can integrate it with Google Analytics for a more comprehensive look at how your campaigns drive traffic to your website.

Let’s take a closer look at Mailchimp analytics:

• Clear, easy-to-understand reporting interface
• Basic e-commerce analytics
• Click maps for visual engagement analysis
• Google Analytics integration for website traffic analysis
• Comparative reporting to benchmark campaign performance

While not as advanced as Klaviyo, Mailchimp’s analytics are user-friendly and provide valuable insights for most businesses. The platform’s comparative reporting feature is particularly useful, allowing you to easily see how your campaigns stack up against industry averages.

5. Multi-Channel Marketing: Mailchimp’s Secret Weapon

In today’s noisy world, the ability to reach customers across multiple channels is important. 

This is where Mailchimp pulls an ace from its sleeve.

Mailchimp offers a comprehensive multi-channel solution:

• Email Marketing
• SMS Marketing
• Social Media Posting (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter)
• Social Media Advertising
• Google Ads
• Postcard Marketing
• Landing Pages
• Website Builder

This integrated approach means you can manage your digital marketing efforts from a single platform. 

For instance, you can create an email campaign, a matching social media post, and a Google Ad all within Mailchimp, ensuring consistent messaging across channels.

Klaviyo, on the other hand, sticks to its guns with email and SMS marketing. 

It’s like that friend who’s really good at one thing, while Mailchimp is the jack-of-all-trades. 

Klaviyo’s approach includes:

• Email Marketing
• SMS Marketing

While more limited in scope, Klaviyo’s approach allows for deep integration and sophisticated campaigns that are truly impactful. 

If you are an e-commerce business focused on email and SMS marketing, this approach can be advantageous.

6. AI and Predictive Analytics Tools: Welcome to the Future

Everyone is jumping on the AI bandwagon, and both Klaviyo as well as Mailchimp aren’t too far. 

Klaviyo’s AI capabilities are deeply integrated with its core software. For example, its predictive analytics can help you identify which customers are likely to make a purchase soon, allowing you to target them with timely offers.

Klaviyo’s AI Features at a glance:

• Predictive Analytics (customer lifetime value, next order date, churn risk)
• AI-Powered Segmentation
• Content Optimization (AI-generated subject lines)
• Automated A/B Testing
• Product recommendations based on AI analysis

Mailchimp on the other hand offers AI features that make email marketing more accessible to beginners. 

The Creative Assistant, for instance, can help non-designers create visually appealing emails with minimal effort.

Mailchimp’s AI Features at a glance:

• Creative Assistant (AI-powered design suggestions)
• Content Optimization (subject line helper, send time optimization)
• Personalization (product recommendations, dynamic content)
• Audience Insights (predictive segmentation, CLV predictions on higher-tier plans)

7. Deliverability: Keeping Your Emails Out of Email Jail

Email deliverability is a critical success factor in your email marketing campaigns. 

In this area, both Klaviyo and Maichimp seem to be at par but they approach the challenge differently.

Klaviyo takes a more proactive approach with:

• Automated list cleaning to improve overall deliverability
• Advanced tools for monitoring and improving sender reputation
• Built-in spam testing for campaigns
• Dedicated IP addresses available for high-volume senders

Klaviyo’s approach to deliverability is geared towards e-commerce businesses sending high volumes of emails. 

The platform’s automated list cleaning helps maintain a healthy sender reputation.

However, when it comes to email deliverability, Mailchimp isn’t too far away either. It offers robust infrastructure and strict anti-spam policies that contribute to consistently good deliverability rates.

Mailchimp focuses on:

• Strong overall deliverability rates
• Basic list of hygiene recommendations
• Inbox preview feature to check rendering across email clients
• Dedicated IP addresses available on higher-tier plans

8. Pricing and Scalability: What’s the Cost of Growth?

Pricing is a crucial factor in the Klaviyo vs Mailchimp debate. 

We’ve seen that the cost can often shoot through the roof if you haven’t made the right choice from the start. 

Klaviyo can get pricey as you grow.  The platform’s pricing reflects its advanced features and e-commerce focus. 

While it may be more expensive than Mailchimp, you may find the advanced features justify the cost.

Klaviyo Pricing Plans

Klaviyo Pricing:

• Free plan: Up to 250 contacts, 500 email sends
• Email plans start at $20/month for up to 500 contacts
• Email + SMS plans start at $35/month for up to 500 contacts and 1,250 SMS credits
• Custom pricing for lists of over 150,000 contacts

Mailchimp is more budget-friendly, especially as you scale up. 

It offers a tiered pricing structure and makes it accessible for businesses of all sizes, from startups to large enterprises.

Mailchimp Pricing Plans

Mailchimp Pricing:

• Free plan: Up to 500 contacts, 2,500 emails sent per month
• Essentials plan: $4.56/month for up to 500 contacts
• Standard plan: $6.81/month for up to 500 contacts
• Premium plan: $136.23/month for up to 500 contacts

9. Integration Ecosystem and Customer Support Options

While both Mailchimp and Klaviyo offer robust integration capabilities with various apps, including Zapier for enhanced connectivity. Mailchimp focuses on simplicity and ease of use, while Klaviyo provides more in-depth features, particularly suited for eCommerce brands.

Klaviyo’s deeper e-commerce integrations give it an advantage for online retailers.

Its deep integrations with platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce allow for real-time data syncing. That means you can send highly personalized and timely email campaigns at scale. 

Klaviyo Integrations:

• 300+ native integrations
• Strong focus on e-commerce platforms and tools
• Deep integrations allow for detailed data synchronization
• Zapier integration for connecting with thousands of other apps

However, Mailchimp’s broader range of integrations makes it a versatile choice for businesses with diverse needs.

Mailchimp Integrations:

• 300+ native integrations
• Broad range of integrations across various categories (CRM, social media, analytics, etc.)
• Native integrations with popular tools like Canva and Eventbrite
• Zapier integration for expanded connectivity

10. Customer Support and Service

In terms of the customer support the options are rather vast but they are oriented differently in Klaviyo and in Mailchimp.

Klaviyo provides customer success managers for the user, who deals with those customers who are subscribed to paid services of Klaviyo. Due to its large knowledge base, as well as in-application support and valuable online seminars, the platform has all the necessary resources.

On the other hand, Mailchimp provide support services in line with the tier of the plan to support. While the free version offers an auto chat support and email support the paid version offers chat and email support. In addition to what is stated above, users of the premium plan get the benefits of having phone support during weekdays.

What is helpful is that Mailchimp has a vast help center with additional information and articles supported by tutorial videos and most information has written explanations. For their part, this platform features both assisted and dedicated sign-up processes for premium users hence the convenience of the customer setup.

Check out our in-depth analyses of other top email marketing platforms:

•  Klaviyo vs Constant Contact
•  Privy vs Klaviyo
•  Klaviyo vs Aweber
•  Klaviyo vs Iterable
•  Klaviyo vs HubSpot
•  ActiveCampaign vs Klaviyo
•  Klaviyo vs Sendinblue
•  Omnisend vs Klaviyo
•  Dotdigital vs Klaviyo

Explore these comparisons to find the best platform that fits your unique needs and goals!