Pick Klaviyo if you sell on Shopify and want revenue from automated flows. In our flow benchmarks, cart abandonment alone earns $1.50 per recipient, and that store-triggered revenue is what Klaviyo is built for. Pick Brevo if you have a large list you email rarely, or need a CRM and WhatsApp on a small budget.
The two bill on opposite models, and that difference decides most cases. We run Klaviyo daily for the DTC brands we manage and have watched founders get blindsided by a bill they never saw coming. This comparison covers pricing, features, ease of use, support, and fit.
What's the Difference Between Klaviyo and Brevo?
Klaviyo is an ecommerce-first email and SMS platform built around Shopify data and predictive analytics. Brevo, formerly Sendinblue, is a broader marketing suite with email, SMS, WhatsApp, and a built-in CRM. The core difference is how they bill: Klaviyo charges by profiles stored, Brevo by emails sent.
That one distinction drives most of the decision, which is why we lead with it, not a price tag. Both can run the same core program; the fundamentals of DTC email do not change with the logo. What changes is the billing and the ecommerce depth.
| Decision Criteria | Klaviyo | Brevo |
|---|---|---|
| Ideal for | Ecommerce brands that email often | Large lists emailed rarely, multichannel plus CRM |
| Billing model | By active profiles stored | By emails sent per month |
| Primary strength | Deep ecommerce automation and predictive analytics | Affordability, high contact limits, built-in CRM |
| Ecommerce depth | Native and deep (Shopify, reviews, predictions) | Solid, less ecommerce-specific |
| Free plan | Roughly 250 contacts, 500 monthly sends | 300 emails/day, large contact storage |
| SMS | Native, ecommerce-integrated | Pay-per-send credits |
| Starting paid price | Not officially published | From about $9/month (5,000 emails) |
Which Is Cheaper, Klaviyo or Brevo?
Neither is cheaper across the board, because they bill on different axes. Brevo charges by emails sent per month with high contact limits, so it favors large lists emailed infrequently. Klaviyo charges by active profiles stored, so cost tracks your audience size no matter how often you send.
The detail that trips brands up, and that most comparisons skip, is how Klaviyo defines an active profile. It is any contact Klaviyo can email, including “never subscribed” profiles auto-created when someone reaches checkout, abandons a cart, or views a product, per Klaviyo's own billing docs.
A store with 3,000 real subscribers can carry 8,000 billable profiles and pay for all 8,000. That is how brands get blindsided.
Half the work when we manage Klaviyo for ecommerce brands is keeping that profile count clean, so you are not paying to store people who never engage.
Brevo sidesteps the problem by not billing on contacts at all; you store the list and pay only when you send. Confirm current figures on Brevo's pricing page, since both vendors changed pricing recently.
“The brands that win in email are the ones that treat their list as a community rather than a series of discount-seekers.”
The table below is illustrative, not exact pricing. Figures are directional as of August 2026, so verify current pricing with each vendor.
| Scenario: ~10,000 contacts | Klaviyo (by profiles) | Brevo (by emails sent) |
|---|---|---|
| Emails 2x per month (20K sends) | Billed on 10K profiles, higher | Billed on ~20K emails, lower |
| Emails 12x per month (120K sends) | Billed on 10K profiles, flat | Billed on ~120K emails, higher |
| Free plan | ~250 contacts, 500 sends | 300 emails/day, big storage |
Brevo's paid plans start around $9/month for 5,000 emails. Klaviyo prices through a calculator on its pricing page rather than a fixed price list, and the total moves with every billable profile, so treat any single Klaviyo dollar figure as a snapshot.
The Winner: Brevo, on cost and flexibility. Score: Brevo 8/10, Klaviyo 6/10.
Does Klaviyo Have Better Ecommerce Features Than Brevo?
Yes, for ecommerce specifically. Klaviyo leads on native Shopify depth, predictive analytics, and automation built around store events. Brevo covers the core flows and adds a CRM and multichannel messaging, but its ecommerce reporting and triggers are less specialized than Klaviyo's.
Klaviyo's view: native Shopify sync, predictive metrics like customer lifetime value and churn risk, product review sync, and granular segmentation. Its flows that drive revenue run on store behavior, and its SMS is built into the same ecommerce data.
In our flow benchmarks, back in stock earns $0.84 per recipient, yet 71% of the brands we studied don't run it, a store-event flow Klaviyo maps natively.
Brevo's view: a capable drag-and-drop automation builder with cart and ecommerce triggers, plus a sales pipeline CRM that Klaviyo lacks. On G2, the two score nearly level on automation, 8.9 for Klaviyo and 8.8 for Brevo, so the gap is depth, not basic capability.
The Winner: Klaviyo, for ecommerce depth and predictive analytics. Score: Klaviyo 9/10, Brevo 7/10.
How Do They Compare on Ease of Use, Deliverability, and Support?
Brevo is the easier platform to learn and gets stronger support marks; deliverability is a near-draw when both are configured well. On G2, Brevo scores 9.0 on ease of use versus Klaviyo's 8.7, and 8.8 on quality of support versus Klaviyo's 8.4.
On ease of use, reviewers describe Brevo as quick to navigate and fast to launch a first campaign. Klaviyo is more powerful and steeper to learn.
On deliverability, both are reliable, and inbox placement depends more on your list hygiene and sending than on the logo. One caveat: Brevo's free and lower tiers send from a Brevo subdomain by default, with a custom domain on higher tiers.
The Winner: Brevo, on ease of use and support; deliverability is a draw. Score: Brevo 8/10, Klaviyo 7/10.
Klaviyo vs Brevo: Pros and Cons
Category by category, this is how they split, with an overall rating for each.
| Category | Winner |
|---|---|
| Cost and flexibility | Brevo |
| Ecommerce features | Klaviyo |
| Predictive analytics | Klaviyo |
| Ease of use | Brevo |
| Support | Brevo |
| SMS for ecommerce | Klaviyo |
| Built-in CRM | Brevo |
| Deliverability | Draw |
Klaviyo strengths: deep Shopify integration, predictive analytics, advanced segmentation, native ecommerce SMS. Klaviyo tradeoff: cost rises with your profile count, including profiles that never opted in.
Brevo strengths: send-based pricing, high contact limits, built-in CRM, a 300-a-day free plan, easy setup. Brevo tradeoff: shallower ecommerce reporting and SMS depth, plus branding on lower tiers.
Overall: Klaviyo 4.5/5 for ecommerce, Brevo 4/5 for value and multichannel.
Is Brevo a Good Alternative to Klaviyo?
Brevo is a genuine Klaviyo alternative for budget-conscious stores, large infrequent senders, and teams that want a CRM. It is a weaker fit for brands needing deep ecommerce automation, predictive analytics, or native SMS at scale.
Migration reality: moving from Brevo to Klaviyo is a CSV export and import for contacts and consent status, and Klaviyo backfills order history through its native Shopify integration. Email engagement history from Brevo, like past opens and clicks, does not carry over, so plan a short re-warming period.
Brevo is not the only Klaviyo alternative worth weighing. Teams that want a full CRM in the same tool usually end up looking at HubSpot, while stores with simpler needs tend to land on Constant Contact. Newsletter-first teams often start on Mailchimp, which we break down in Klaviyo vs Mailchimp.
Should I Use Klaviyo or Brevo for Ecommerce?
Use Klaviyo if ecommerce is your growth engine and you email often; use Brevo if you are early, budget-first, or email a large list infrequently. The real question is a revenue one: at what point does Klaviyo's premium pay for itself.
In our experience, Klaviyo's premium starts earning its keep once email and SMS drive a real share of revenue, usually once a store is doing roughly $20,000 or more a month and running actual flows rather than the occasional broadcast. Below that, Brevo keeps more margin in your pocket while you build the list.
Choose Klaviyo if
You run a Shopify store, email at least weekly, want predictive analytics and native SMS, and expect flows to drive a real share of revenue. Klaviyo's depth pays off when you use it: for Condition 1, aligning flows and campaigns grew BFCM revenue 679.9%.
Choose Brevo if
You email a large list infrequently, want a built-in CRM, are early or budget-constrained, or value ease of use over ecommerce depth.
Do not switch to Klaviyo if your list is full of never-subscribed profiles you would be paying to store, or if you will not use its flows and segmentation. Paying for power you leave idle is the most common Klaviyo regret.
What Third-Party Reviews Say
Both review well, and the split is predictable: Klaviyo praised for ecommerce power, Brevo for value and ease.
Klaviyo: G2 rates it about 4.6/5 across 1,300-plus reviews, and Capterra sits near 4.6/5. Reviewers highlight ecommerce automation, segmentation, and the Shopify integration. The recurring complaint is that cost escalates as the list grows.
Brevo: G2 rates it about 4.5/5 across 2,500-plus reviews, with Trustpilot lower at roughly 4/5 across 7,000-plus reviews. Praise centers on affordability, ease of setup, and the no-contact-billing model.
The negatives that repeat are a strict account-approval process and slower ecommerce depth. Brevo's Trustpilot score is the weaker of its marks, and we include it on purpose.
Methodology
We compared Klaviyo and Brevo across billing model, ecommerce features, ease of use, deliverability, and support, weighted for DTC ecommerce brands on Shopify. Scores reflect verified vendor documentation and aggregated third-party reviews from G2, Trustpilot, and Capterra, not vendor claims. Last reviewed: August 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Can You Migrate From Brevo to Klaviyo Without Losing Historical Data?
Mostly. Contacts and consent status export from Brevo as a CSV and import into Klaviyo, and Klaviyo's Shopify integration backfills order and purchase history automatically. What does not transfer is Brevo's email engagement history, like past opens and clicks, so expect a short list re-warming period.
2. Does Brevo Integrate With Shopify as Well as Klaviyo Does?
Not as deeply. Both connect to Shopify, but Klaviyo's integration is native and built around store events, with richer ecommerce reporting and triggers. Brevo covers the essentials like cart and order events, but reviewers note its Shopify depth and ecommerce analytics trail Klaviyo's.
3. Is Brevo's Free Plan Enough for a New Ecommerce Store?
For a brand-new store, often yes. Brevo's free plan allows 300 emails per day and stores a large contact list, enough to launch a welcome flow and early campaigns. You will hit limits as you send more, and advanced automation sits on paid tiers, but it is a low-risk starting point.
4. Which Handles SMS Better, Klaviyo or Brevo?
Klaviyo, for ecommerce. Its SMS is native to the same store data as its email, so texts trigger on the same flows and segments. Brevo sells SMS as pay-per-send credits, which works for basic campaigns but lacks the ecommerce depth Klaviyo builds in.
5. Is Brevo the Same as Sendinblue?
Yes. Brevo is the rebranded Sendinblue; the company changed its name in May 2023 to reflect its expansion beyond email into SMS, CRM, and chat. The underlying platform and account structure carried over, so older Sendinblue reviews still describe the same product.