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Email Marketing · head to head

Campaign Monitor vs Klaviyo

Campaign Monitor logo

Campaign Monitor

Email Marketing

Email marketing platform priced by contact tier, with unlimited sends only from the mid tier up

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Klaviyo logo

Klaviyo

Email Marketing

The email and SMS marketing platform for ecommerce

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Klaviyo has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Campaign Monitor the Lite tier caps monthly sends at 2,500 regardless of contact list size, so a list of any meaningful size cannot be emailed even once a month without exceeding it.; Klaviyo the free plan caps active profiles at 250 and sends at 500 emails a month
  • They diverge on capability: Campaign Monitor covers Drag-and-drop email builder, Klaviyo covers Email marketing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Campaign Monitor and Klaviyo actually diverge.

Attributes where Campaign Monitor and Klaviyo differ
AttributeCampaign MonitorKlaviyo
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelPer month by contact tier and plan levelfreemium
Free tierNoYes
FoundedUnknown2012

Identical on both: platforms (Web), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Email Marketing).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Campaign Monitor

  • Drag-and-drop email builder
  • Automation workflows
  • List segmentation
  • Send-time optimisation
  • Landing pages and forms
  • Multi-brand management

Only in Klaviyo

  • Email marketing
  • SMS marketing
  • Push notifications
  • Marketing automation
  • Segmentation
  • A/B testing
  • Reporting & analytics
  • Ecommerce integrations

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Campaign Monitor

  • A small marketing team wanting straightforward campaign design and automation without a full martech stacknot Klaviyo
  • A business with a list under a few thousand contacts and infrequent sends, where the Lite tier's cap is not a real constraintnot Klaviyo
  • An agency managing multiple brands wanting Enterprise-tier multi-brand account managementnot Klaviyo
  • A team wanting a bundled website builder alongside email on the Premier tiernot Klaviyo

Klaviyo

  • Email and SMS marketing automation for ecommerce storesnot Campaign Monitor
  • Segmenting customers on purchase and behaviour datanot Campaign Monitor

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Campaign Monitor

  • The Lite tier caps monthly sends at 2,500 regardless of contact list size, so a list of any meaningful size cannot be emailed even once a month without exceeding it.
  • Unlimited sending only starts at the Essentials tier, so the cheap headline Lite price is not comparable to competitors that offer unlimited sends at their entry tier.
  • Its e-commerce-specific automation (abandoned cart flows, predictive segments) is less developed than Klaviyo's, making it a weaker fit for retail-heavy senders.
  • As part of the Marigold group alongside Sailthru and other acquired brands, product roadmap priority is shared across a portfolio rather than dedicated solely to Campaign Monitor.
  • Pricing multiplies on two axes, contact tier and plan level, so estimating total cost requires checking both dimensions rather than a single number.

Klaviyo

  • The free plan caps active profiles at 250 and sends at 500 emails a month
  • Pricing scales with stored profile count rather than with messages sent, so an unengaged list costs the same as an active one
  • SMS is metered separately, with only $5 of mobile messages included on the free plan
  • Paid tier prices are not published on the pricing page and depend on profile count

Pricing, plan by plan

Campaign Monitor

On request
  • Lite$undefined/month
    • Monthly send cap of 2,500 emails regardless of list size
    • Basic campaign and template tools
    • Priced by contact tier from under 500 to 50,000+
  • Essentials$undefined/month
    • Unlimited monthly email sends
    • Priority support
    • Priced by contact tier from under 500 to 50,000+
  • Premier$undefined/month
    • Unlimited monthly email sends
    • Premier-level phone support
    • Drag-and-drop website builder included
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Custom quote
    • Multi-brand account management
    • Dedicated account manager, SOC2 and GDPR-aligned security

Klaviyo

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Up to 500 contacts
    • Unlimited campaigns
    • Basic automation
  • Pro$20/month
    • Unlimited contacts
    • SMS campaigns
    • Advanced automation

Which should you pick?

Choose Campaign Monitor if

  • You need drag-and-drop email builder.
  • You also want automation workflows.
Campaign Monitor review

Choose Klaviyo if

  • You need email marketing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want sms marketing.
Klaviyo review

Questions people ask

Is Campaign Monitor or Klaviyo better?
Neither clearly leads. Campaign Monitor starts at On request and Klaviyo at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Campaign Monitor or Klaviyo?
Klaviyo has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Campaign Monitor and Free for Klaviyo.
Does Campaign Monitor or Klaviyo run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Klaviyo for free?
Yes. Klaviyo has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Campaign Monitor starts at On request.
What is Campaign Monitor best used for?
Campaign Monitor is most often used for a small marketing team wanting straightforward campaign design and automation without a full martech stack, a business with a list under a few thousand contacts and infrequent sends, where the lite tier's cap is not a real constraint, an agency managing multiple brands wanting enterprise-tier multi-brand account management, a team wanting a bundled website builder alongside email on the premier tier. Of those, a small marketing team wanting straightforward campaign design and automation without a full martech stack and a business with a list under a few thousand contacts and infrequent sends, where the lite tier's cap is not a real constraint are not what Klaviyo is typically brought in for.
What can Campaign Monitor do that Klaviyo cannot?
Campaign Monitor covers Drag-and-drop email builder, Automation workflows, List segmentation, Send-time optimisation. Klaviyo covers Email marketing, SMS marketing, Push notifications, Marketing automation.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Campaign Monitor: Does the cheapest plan include unlimited sends?

No. Lite caps monthly sends at 2,500 emails regardless of list size; unlimited sending starts at the Essentials tier.

Klaviyo: Is Klaviyo free?

Klaviyo has a free tier covering up to 250 active profiles, 500 email sends per month and $5 of mobile messages per month, with 10,000 Composer credits. Email support on the free tier lasts only the first 60 days.

Source
Campaign Monitor: Who owns Campaign Monitor?

Marigold, a marketing technology group that also owns Sailthru and other acquired email and loyalty platforms.

Klaviyo: How much does Klaviyo cost?

Klaviyo does not publish a paid rate card on its pricing page. Paid tiers are priced by active profile count and message volume, and a figure is produced through the plan estimator rather than shown as a list price.

Source
Campaign Monitor: Is there a free plan?

A 30-day free trial with a 500-contact limit is available, but there is no permanent free tier.

Klaviyo: What counts as an active profile in Klaviyo?

Klaviyo defines active profiles as the contacts eligible to receive marketing, and the free tier is limited to 250 of them. Profile count is the main input to what a paid plan costs.

Source
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