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Email Marketing · head to head

Dotdigital vs Klaviyo

Dotdigital logo

Dotdigital

Email Marketing

UK-listed email and cross-channel marketing platform with deep Adobe Commerce and Dynamics connectors

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: Dotdigital pricing is anchored on contact tiers, so inactive and unsubscribed contacts keep counting until you actively delete them and the bill grows with list decay rather than with sending.; Klaviyo the free plan caps active profiles at 250 and sends at 500 emails a month
  • They diverge on capability: Dotdigital covers Automation builder, Klaviyo covers Email marketing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Dotdigital and Klaviyo actually diverge.

Attributes where Dotdigital and Klaviyo differ
AttributeDotdigitalKlaviyo
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquotefreemium
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, REST APIWeb
FoundedUnknown2012

Identical on both: 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 Dotdigital

  • Automation builder
  • Commerce connectors
  • Dynamics 365 integration
  • Regional data residency
  • Liquid personalisation
  • SMS and WhatsApp

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.

Dotdigital

  • A Microsoft Dynamics 365 organisation that needs marketing automation without building the CRM sync itselfnot Klaviyo
  • An Adobe Commerce retailer that wants basket and order data in campaigns without middlewarenot Klaviyo
  • A European buyer that needs contact data held in the UK or EU with a named hosting region in the contractnot Klaviyo
  • A procurement team that wants to review published financial statements before committing to a multi-year platformnot Klaviyo

Klaviyo

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

Where each one falls short

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

Dotdigital

  • Pricing is anchored on contact tiers, so inactive and unsubscribed contacts keep counting until you actively delete them and the bill grows with list decay rather than with sending.
  • SMS, WhatsApp and chat are add-ons billed on top of the platform fee, so cross-channel programmes cost noticeably more than the headline quote suggests.
  • The automation builder handles scheduled and behavioural triggers well but is not designed for high-frequency real-time orchestration, which is where growing teams outgrow it.
  • Attribution reporting beyond opens, clicks and connected commerce revenue is thin without the additional analytics module.
  • Automation logic is not portable, so migrating away means rebuilding programmes by hand after exporting contacts and data through the API.

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

Dotdigital

On request
  • Dotdigital$undefined/month
    • Priced on a contact tier combined with a monthly email send allowance
    • SMS, WhatsApp and additional channels billed separately
    • Annual contracts standard, monthly available on entry tiers

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 Dotdigital if

  • You need automation builder.
  • You work on Web, REST API.
  • You also want commerce connectors.
Dotdigital 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 Dotdigital or Klaviyo better?
Neither clearly leads. Dotdigital 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, Dotdigital or Klaviyo?
Klaviyo has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Dotdigital and Free for Klaviyo.
Does Dotdigital or Klaviyo run on more platforms?
Dotdigital runs on Web, REST API. Klaviyo runs on Web.
Can I use Klaviyo for free?
Yes. Klaviyo has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Dotdigital starts at On request.
What is Dotdigital best used for?
Dotdigital is most often used for a microsoft dynamics 365 organisation that needs marketing automation without building the crm sync itself, an adobe commerce retailer that wants basket and order data in campaigns without middleware, a european buyer that needs contact data held in the uk or eu with a named hosting region in the contract, a procurement team that wants to review published financial statements before committing to a multi-year platform. Of those, a microsoft dynamics 365 organisation that needs marketing automation without building the crm sync itself and an adobe commerce retailer that wants basket and order data in campaigns without middleware are not what Klaviyo is typically brought in for.
What can Dotdigital do that Klaviyo cannot?
Dotdigital covers Automation builder, Commerce connectors, Dynamics 365 integration, Regional data residency. Klaviyo covers Email marketing, SMS marketing, Push notifications, Marketing automation.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Dotdigital: Are unsubscribed contacts billed?

Yes, if they remain in the account. Contact tiers count stored contacts, so suppression lists still consume allowance until records are removed.

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
Dotdigital: Is it a real alternative to enterprise engagement platforms?

For scheduled and behavioural ecommerce and B2B programmes, yes. For real-time cross-channel orchestration at scale it is not competing in the same bracket.

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
Dotdigital: Where is contact data stored?

In the region contracted, with UK, EU, US and Australian hosting available, which is why it appears on European shortlists with residency requirements.

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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