Klaviyo

Overview

Klaviyo is an email and SMS marketing platform built specifically for ecommerce businesses, offering deep integration with online stores to enable data-driven, personalized customer communications. Klaviyo unifies marketing and service with its AI-first B2C CRM, delivering personalized experiences across email marketing, WhatsApp, SMS, and more . Klaviyo has become synonymous with email marketing in the ecommerce space , particularly among Shopify store owners who need sophisticated automation tied directly to purchase behavior and customer data.

According to Litmus, email marketing earns $36 for every dollar spent, with ecommerce specifically seeing $45 in returns per dollar invested . Klaviyo capitalizes on this high ROI channel by connecting email campaigns directly to revenue through its ecommerce integrations. The platform automatically syncs customer purchase history, browsing behavior, and cart activity, enabling automated campaigns like abandoned cart recovery, post-purchase follow-ups, and personalized product recommendations based on buying patterns.

For newsletter creators selling physical or digital products, Klaviyo bridges the gap between content publishing and commerce. The platform treats email as a revenue-driving channel rather than just a communication tool, providing attribution that shows exactly how much money each campaign generates. This commerce focus distinguishes Klaviyo from general email platforms, making it powerful for product-based businesses but potentially overbuilt for pure content creators who don't sell products.

Best For

Klaviyo works best for newsletter creators who run ecommerce businesses, sell physical products, operate subscription boxes, or monetize through digital product sales with significant transaction volume. This includes Shopify store owners using newsletters to drive sales, creators selling merchandise alongside content, course creators with robust product catalogs, and membership businesses with complex pricing tiers. The platform particularly suits businesses where understanding customer purchase behavior and automating commerce-related emails matters more than simple newsletter broadcasting.

Key Features

• Deep Ecommerce Integration: Klaviyo integrates with commonly used ecommerce platforms, syncing customer data from CRM or ecommerce systems directly into your contact database . This integration means purchase history, browsing activity, and cart data automatically flow into Klaviyo, enabling segmentation and personalization based on actual buying behavior. For newsletter creators with online stores, this connection between email and commerce data creates targeted campaigns impossible with standard email tools.

• Behavioral Automation Flows: Klaviyo's automated flows include welcome series sent when someone subscribes, with ecommerce brands reaching strong performance metrics through these automations . The platform enables sophisticated triggered campaigns based on specific customer actions like abandoned carts, post-purchase sequences, browse abandonment recovery, and replenishment reminders. These automations run continuously, generating revenue without manual campaign creation.

• Advanced Segmentation: Klaviyo's segmentation divides contacts into smaller lists for highly personalized content , using both demographic and behavioral data. Newsletter creators can segment by purchase frequency, average order value, products purchased, predicted customer lifetime value, or engagement patterns. This granular targeting ensures customers receive relevant offers rather than generic broadcasts.

• Revenue Attribution and Analytics: Klaviyo tracks revenue generated by each email campaign and automation, connecting marketing directly to sales outcomes. Newsletter creators can see which campaigns drive the most revenue, calculate return on email marketing investment, and identify high-value customer segments. This attribution capability makes Klaviyo particularly valuable for businesses where proving marketing ROI matters.

• AI-Powered Personalization: Klaviyo's AI agents deliver personalized experiences by analyzing customer data to optimize send times, predict product recommendations, and personalize content automatically. The platform's machine learning improves campaign performance over time by identifying patterns in customer behavior and adjusting targeting accordingly.

Pricing

Klaviyo's free plan includes 500 monthly emails plus 150 monthly SMS credits, but is limited to 250 active profiles . As of February 2025, Klaviyo transitioned to profile-based pricing, with the free tier now capped at just 250 subscribers and 500 monthly emails , significantly more restrictive than previous years. Paid email plans start at $20 monthly for 251-500 active profiles, increasing by approximately $10-15 for every 500 profiles added . For businesses exceeding 250,000 contacts, Klaviyo offers custom enterprise pricing. Additional features like Klaviyo Reviews cost at least $25 monthly as add-ons , increasing total costs beyond base subscription fees. The profile-based pricing structure means costs scale directly with audience size, making Klaviyo expensive for large lists compared to platforms charging based on email volume rather than contact counts.