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E-Commerce · head to head

Drip vs Shopify

Drip logo

Drip

E-Commerce

Ecommerce email marketing and automation priced purely on contact count

From
$39/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Shopify logo

Shopify

E-Commerce

The most trusted ecommerce platform to start, grow, and scale your business

From
$24/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Drip drip SMS is closed to new accounts and was US-only when it was open, so the multichannel positioning that competitors offer is not actually available to a new customer.; Shopify using any payment provider other than Shopify Payments adds a transaction fee on top of the card rate, at 2% on Basic falling to 0.2% on Plus
  • They diverge on capability: Drip covers Ecommerce data sync, Shopify covers Hosted ecommerce platform.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 15 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Drip and Shopify actually diverge.

Attributes where Drip and Shopify differ
AttributeDripShopify
Starting price$39/month$24/month
Pricing modelPer month by contact countsubscription
PlatformsWeb, APIWeb
FoundedUnknown2006

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (E-Commerce).

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 Drip

  • Ecommerce data sync
  • Visual workflow builder
  • Behavioural segmentation
  • Onsite forms and popups
  • Unlimited sends
  • No feature gating
  • Product recommendations
  • A/B testing

Only in Shopify

  • Hosted ecommerce platform
  • Payment processing
  • Inventory management
  • Order tracking
  • Marketing automation
  • Apps and integrations
  • Multi-channel selling
  • SSL certificate

What people use each for

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

Drip

  • A Shopify retailer wants abandoned cart, winback and post-purchase automation without the tier-by-tier feature gating that makes Mailchimp and ActiveCampaign quotes unpredictable.not Shopify
  • A store with a mid-sized list finds Klaviyo expensive for the volume it sends and wants a comparable ecommerce data model at a lower monthly cost.not Shopify
  • A marketer needs onsite capture forms and popups included rather than paying separately for a popup tool alongside the email platform.not Shopify
  • A team sends high email volume to a modest list, such as daily deals or frequent restocks, where unlimited sends on a contact-based price is materially cheaper than send-metered plans.not Shopify

Shopify

  • Running a hosted ecommerce store with payments and fulfilmentnot Drip
  • Selling across online, in person and social channels from one cataloguenot Drip

Where each one falls short

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

Drip

  • Drip SMS is closed to new accounts and was US-only when it was open, so the multichannel positioning that competitors offer is not actually available to a new customer.
  • Pricing scales on total contacts regardless of engagement, so an unpruned list of lapsed subscribers costs the same as an active one and list hygiene becomes a direct budget item.
  • Analytics and revenue attribution are thinner than Klaviyo, with no predictive lifetime value or churn scoring, so a data-led ecommerce team hits the ceiling on measurement before it hits it on sending.
  • The integration catalogue is far smaller than Klaviyo or Mailchimp, and outside the main ecommerce platforms and Zapier you will often be writing against the API yourself.
  • It sits inside Leadpages rather than being an independent company, and as the smaller of the two products its roadmap is subject to a parent whose primary business is landing pages rather than ecommerce email.

Shopify

  • Using any payment provider other than Shopify Payments adds a transaction fee on top of the card rate, at 2% on Basic falling to 0.2% on Plus
  • That fee makes the cheapest plan the most expensive place to use an outside processor, which is the opposite of how plans usually work
  • Card rates also improve with the plan, from 2.9% on Basic to 2.7% on Advanced
  • Amex is charged at a higher rate than other cards on every plan below Plus
  • Plus starts at $2,300 a month
  • The advertised lower monthly prices require paying a year up front

Pricing, plan by plan

Drip

$39/month
  • Up to 2,500 contacts$39/month
    • Unlimited email sends
    • All workflows and segmentation
    • Onsite forms and popups
  • Up to 5,000 contacts$89/month
    • Identical feature set
    • Unlimited email sends
  • Up to 10,000 contacts$154/month
    • Identical feature set
    • Unlimited email sends
    • Price continues to scale with contact count above this

Shopify

$24/month
  • Basic$24/month
    • For solo entrepreneurs
    • $32/month on monthly billing
    • 2.9% + AED1.00 transaction fee (standard cards)
  • Grow$69/month
    • For small teams
    • $92/month on monthly billing
    • 2.8% + AED1.00 transaction fee (standard cards)
  • Advanced$299/month
    • For global reach
    • $399/month on monthly billing
    • 2.7% + AED1.00 transaction fee (standard cards)
  • Plus$2300/month
    • For complex businesses
    • most competitive transaction rates

Which should you pick?

Choose Drip if

  • You need ecommerce data sync.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want visual workflow builder.
Drip review

Choose Shopify if

  • You need hosted ecommerce platform.
  • You also want payment processing.
Shopify review

Questions people ask

Is Drip or Shopify better?
Neither clearly leads. Drip starts at $39/month and Shopify at $24/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Drip or Shopify?
Drip starts at $39/month and Shopify at $24/month.
Does Drip or Shopify run on more platforms?
Drip runs on Web, API. Shopify runs on Web.
What is Drip best used for?
Drip is most often used for a shopify retailer wants abandoned cart, winback and post-purchase automation without the tier-by-tier feature gating that makes mailchimp and activecampaign quotes unpredictable., a store with a mid-sized list finds klaviyo expensive for the volume it sends and wants a comparable ecommerce data model at a lower monthly cost., a marketer needs onsite capture forms and popups included rather than paying separately for a popup tool alongside the email platform., a team sends high email volume to a modest list, such as daily deals or frequent restocks, where unlimited sends on a contact-based price is materially cheaper than send-metered plans.. Of those, a shopify retailer wants abandoned cart, winback and post-purchase automation without the tier-by-tier feature gating that makes mailchimp and activecampaign quotes unpredictable. and a store with a mid-sized list finds klaviyo expensive for the volume it sends and wants a comparable ecommerce data model at a lower monthly cost. are not what Shopify is typically brought in for.
What can Drip do that Shopify cannot?
Drip covers Ecommerce data sync, Visual workflow builder, Behavioural segmentation, Onsite forms and popups. Shopify covers Hosted ecommerce platform, Payment processing, Inventory management, Order tracking.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Drip: Does Drip do SMS?

Not for new customers. Drip SMS is closed to new accounts and was only ever available in the United States, so treat Drip as an email and onsite platform.

Shopify: How much does Shopify cost?

Shopify's Basic tier is $24/month (or $32/month monthly), Grow is $69/month (or $92/month monthly), Advanced is $299/month (or $399/month monthly), and Plus starts at $2,300/month. Annual subscriptions include 25% discount versus monthly billing.

Source
Drip: How is Drip priced?

Entirely by contact count, from 39 US dollars a month for 2,500 contacts. Email sends are unlimited and no features are held back on lower tiers.

Shopify: Does Shopify offer a free trial?

Yes, Shopify offers 3 days free, then $1/month for 3 months without requiring a credit card.

Source
Drip: Who owns Drip?

Leadpages, which acquired it in 2016. Drip retains its own name, site and product.

Shopify: What payment processing fees does Shopify charge?

Transaction rates vary by plan: Basic charges 2.9% + AED1.00 (standard cards), Grow charges 2.8% + AED1.00, Advanced charges 2.7% + AED1.00, and Plus offers the most competitive rates. American Express charges 0.1% higher across all plans.

Source
Drip: How does it compare to Klaviyo?

Cheaper at small and mid list sizes with a similar ecommerce data model, but weaker on analytics, predictive segmentation and the breadth of its app ecosystem.

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