If you’ve got a Shopify store, you’ve already got access to email marketing without realising it. But then someone mentions Klaviyo and suddenly you’re second-guessing everything.
Here’s what we actually think.
Shopify Messaging (formerly Shopify Email)
It’s built in, it’s free up to 10,000 emails a month, and it lives right inside your Shopify admin. Your branding pulls through automatically, setup takes no time at all, and for the basics it genuinely works. Welcome emails, abandoned cart reminders, post-purchase follow-ups. Done.
For a store that’s just getting started? It’s plenty.
Shopify Messaging has come a long way and now includes some handy extras like AI-generated subject lines and better segmentation than it used to have. But it still hits a ceiling when you want to get truly strategic. Automation triggers are fairly basic, multi-step flows are limited, and the reporting won’t give you a huge amount to dig into. For plenty of stores it does the job, but if email is going to be a serious revenue channel, you’ll outgrow it eventually.
Klaviyo
Klaviyo is a dedicated email and SMS platform built specifically for ecommerce, and it’s a different beast entirely.
The automations are where it really earns its keep. Someone browses a product but doesn’t add it to cart? There’s a flow for that. A customer buys once and goes quiet? Win them back. Your top spenders? They get a completely different experience. Flows branch and adapt based on what each person actually does, which means the right message lands at the right time without you lifting a finger.
For stores that use it well, those automations often become one of their most consistent revenue streams.
The honest downsides: it gets expensive faster than people expect. The free plan covers 250 contacts and 500 emails a month, which you’ll outgrow quickly. Paid plans start at $20 USD a month but scale up with your list size, and since early 2025 Klaviyo bills based on active profiles in your account rather than just who you email, which caught a lot of stores off guard with higher bills. If you’re not going to use the advanced features, you’re paying for things that just sit there doing nothing.
So which one?
Start with Shopify Messaging. It’s free, it works, and it’ll do the job while you focus on everything else that comes with running a store.
Switch to Klaviyo when you’re ready to use email properly. Targeted flows, detailed reporting, campaigns that actually move the needle. Most stores make the switch when they grow out of Shopify Messaging and that’s not a bad approach at all.
You’ll know when you’re ready.
Not sure where you’re at with your email marketing? We’re happy to point you in the right direction.
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