Software · head to head
Klaviyo vs Novu

Novu
Software
Open-source notification infrastructure for multi-channel messaging
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Klaviyo the free plan caps active profiles at 250 and sends at 500 emails a month; Novu free plan activity feed retention is limited to 24 hours, restricting how far back teams can debug delivery issues.
- They diverge on capability: Klaviyo covers Email marketing, Novu covers Multi-channel workflows.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Klaviyo and Novu actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (freemium), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).
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 Klaviyo
- Email marketing
- SMS marketing
- Push notifications
- Marketing automation
- Segmentation
- A/B testing
- Reporting & analytics
- Ecommerce integrations
Only in Novu
- Multi-channel workflows
- Advanced email editor
- Activity feed
- Multi-environment support
- Role-based access control
- Self-hosting
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Klaviyo
- Email and SMS marketing automation for ecommerce storesnot Novu
- Segmenting customers on purchase and behaviour datanot Novu
Novu
- Building multi-channel notification workflows for a SaaS productnot Klaviyo
- Self-hosting notification infrastructure for data controlnot Klaviyo
- Managing separate notification environments for staging and productionnot Klaviyo
- Tracking notification delivery history and activitynot Klaviyo
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
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
Novu
- Free plan activity feed retention is limited to 24 hours, restricting how far back teams can debug delivery issues.
- Overage on Pro and Team plans is billed at $1.20 per 1,000 additional workflow runs, which can add up at scale.
- HIPAA BAA compliance and dedicated SSO are Enterprise-only and require custom pricing.
Pricing, plan by plan
Klaviyo
Free- FreeFree
- Up to 500 contacts
- Unlimited campaigns
- Basic automation
- Pro$20/month
- Unlimited contacts
- SMS campaigns
- Advanced automation
Novu
Free- FreeFree
- 10,000 workflow runs/month
- All channels included
- Up to 20 workflows
- Pro$30/month
- 30,000+ workflow runs/month
- Advanced email editor
- Remove Novu branding
- Team$250/month
- 250,000+ workflow runs/month
- Up to 10 environments
- 90-day activity feed retention
Which should you pick?
Choose Klaviyo if
- You need email marketing.
- You want to start without paying.
- You also want sms marketing.
Choose Novu if
- You need multi-channel workflows.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on web, api.
- You also want advanced email editor.
Questions people ask
- Is Klaviyo or Novu better?
- Neither clearly leads. Klaviyo starts at Free and Novu at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Klaviyo or Novu?
- Klaviyo starts at Free and Novu at Free.
- Does Klaviyo or Novu run on more platforms?
- Klaviyo runs on Web. Novu runs on web, api.
- Can I use Klaviyo for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Klaviyo best used for?
- Klaviyo is most often used for email and sms marketing automation for ecommerce stores, segmenting customers on purchase and behaviour data. Of those, email and sms marketing automation for ecommerce stores and segmenting customers on purchase and behaviour data are not what Novu is typically brought in for.
- What can Klaviyo do that Novu cannot?
- Klaviyo covers Email marketing, SMS marketing, Push notifications, Marketing automation. Novu covers Multi-channel workflows, Advanced email editor, Activity feed, Multi-environment support.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Novu: What does Novu cost?
Novu offers a Free plan for 10,000 workflow runs per month, Pro from $30/month for 30,000+ runs, Team from $250/month for 250,000+ runs, and custom Enterprise pricing for 10M+ runs.
SourceNovu: Is there a free plan, and what are its limits?
Yes, the Free plan includes 10,000 workflow runs per month, all messaging channels, up to 20 workflows, 2 environments, and up to 3 team members.
SourceNovu: How is usage metered?
Billing is based on the number of workflow runs per month rather than per user or per message, with overage on paid plans charged at $1.20 per 1,000 additional runs.
SourceRelated pages
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