Drip vs Klaviyo: which costs less as your list grows?
Email marketing and CRM platforms · Verified · By Joonas Rotko
Drip
Desk research
From Drip, billed monthly
$39/mo
Klaviyo
Desk research
From Marketing, billed monthly
$20/mo
vs
Quick answer
Klaviyo is the cheaper start for a small list. At 500 contacts its Marketing plan is $20/month billed monthly against Drip's $39/month billed monthly, and its free plan covers up to 250 profiles. By 5,000 contacts the order flips: Drip is $89/month billed monthly and Klaviyo is $100/month billed monthly. Both are monthly prices. Klaviyo counts active profiles and Drip counts people on your list, so count your own list both ways before you decide. Prices as of 1 Oct 2026.
Across the three setups below: Klaviyo in 2 of 3 scenarios.
Which one fits you?
Solo marketer or small business, a list just past the free tier
Klaviyo
My pick
$20/mobilled monthly
At about 500 contacts Klaviyo's Marketing plan is $20/month billed monthly and Drip is $39/month billed monthly, both on monthly billing. Drip's entry price covers a much bigger list than 500, so you pay for room you don't use. If your list is under 250 profiles, Klaviyo's free plan costs nothing.
Why this pick, and when to skip it
Skip it if you expect the list to pass a couple of thousand soon. Drip is cheaper than Klaviyo at most sizes from there on, and Drip has no free plan, only a 14-day trial.
At about 5,000 contacts Drip is $89/month billed monthly and Klaviyo's Marketing plan is $100/month billed monthly, both monthly. Drip also puts every feature in that one price, and its sends are unlimited at this size. Klaviyo's allowance is 10 x active profiles (5,000 emails/month at 500 profiles, 50,000 at 5,000, 1,500,000 at 150,000).
Why this pick, and when to skip it
Skip it if you want SMS and other mobile messages in the same account. Klaviyo sells those separately and prices them on top of the email plan, so check that total before you compare.
Neither tool publishes how many people can log in, so a 3-person team can't be priced for either. What's left is list size. At about 1,000 contacts Klaviyo's published price is below Drip's single entry price, so I'd lean Klaviyo here.
Why this pick, and when to skip it
Neither tool publishes a seat count, so this pick rests on the lower published price at a 1,000-contact list, not on a seat advantage.
Skip it if you need a confirmed login count before you buy. Ask both vendors how many users the plan you'd be on includes.
One plan, one price by list size. It starts at $39/month billed monthly and steps up to 180,000 people. Above that Drip shows "Let's chat" instead of a price. No annual rate is published.
Klaviyo
The Marketing plan (email) starts at $20/month billed monthly for 500 active profiles and steps up through 150,000 profiles. Above that Klaviyo says to talk to sales. Monthly only: no annual rate is published.
Klaviyo is cheaper for lists around 1,000 or fewer. From a couple of thousand contacts up, Drip is lower at almost every size, and Drip's entry price covers up to 2,500 people.
What each tool counts
Drip
People on your email list. Drip's FAQ says cost is based on the active people in your account and the volume of emails you send in the month.
Klaviyo
Active profiles: unique people in the account. The free plan limit is 250 of them, and paid bands are priced by the same count.
A list size on one tool is not automatically the same number on the other. Count your own list the way each vendor does before you compare prices.
Free plan or trial
Drip
No free plan. A 14-day trial with no credit card needed, without unlimited email sends during the trial.
Klaviyo
A permanent free plan: 250 profiles and 500 email sends a month, $0/month billed monthly. Klaviyo's pricing page states no trial for the paid plan.
Klaviyo lets a very small store run for free indefinitely. Drip lets you test everything for a fixed period, then you pay.
Sending allowance
Drip
Unlimited up to 30,000 people; from 30,001 people the list shows 12 email sends per person (390,000 at 30,001-32,500).
Klaviyo
10 x active profiles (5,000 emails/month at 500 profiles, 50,000 at 5,000, 1,500,000 at 150,000).
Klaviyo's allowance grows with your profile count. Drip's is unlimited up to a large list, so a store that sends often is less likely to hit a cap on Drip.
One plan or add-ons
Drip
Every feature is in the single plan at every list size: segments, onsite campaigns, API access, MCP connection and up to 50 workflows.
Klaviyo
Email comes with the Marketing plan. Composer, Customer Hub, social marketing, reviews and SMS usage are priced separately, and Data + Analytics, Service and Customer Agent are other tiers.
Drip is simpler to budget. Klaviyo lets you add only the pieces you want, each at its own price.
What will Drip or Klaviyo cost for your setup?
The cheapest plan that covers each setup, add-ons included. Prices exclude VAT.
Solo marketer or small business, a list just past the free tier
500 subscribers · mailed 3 times a month (for tools priced by emails sent) · 1 user
ToolMonthlyYearly, per month
Drip
$39
Monthly only
Drip
Above 180,000 subscribers: nothing published fits.
Klaviyo
My pick
$20
Monthly only
Marketing
Above 150,000 subscribers: nothing published fits.
The plan's price is published, but a limit this setup needs isn't, so the fit can't be confirmed.
Klaviyo
The plan's price is published, but a limit this setup needs isn't, so the fit can't be confirmed.
How I calculated this
For each tool I price every current plan plus the add-ons a setup needs, from the vendor's published prices only, and take the cheapest. Monthly and annual billing are priced separately. When a limit or price isn't published, the tool shows as not fitting instead of a guess.
Solo marketer or small business, a list just past the free tier: A list of about 500 contacts, just past the free tiers most vendors offer. One login. Tools priced by emails sent are costed at three mailings per subscriber a month.Drip, annual billing: Not sold on annual billing. Price limit isn't published.Klaviyo, annual billing: Not sold on annual billing. Price limit isn't published.
Growing list, sending regularly: A list of 5,000 contacts, sending regularly. One login. Tools priced by emails sent are costed at three mailings per subscriber a month.Drip, annual billing: Not sold on annual billing. Price limit isn't published.Klaviyo, annual billing: Not sold on annual billing. Price limit isn't published.
Small team managing one list together: Three people logging in to the same 1,000-contact list. Seats, not list size, are the deciding limit. Tools priced by emails sent are costed at three mailings per subscriber a month.Drip, monthly billing: Drip is priced, but users limit isn't published. Users limit isn't published.Drip, annual billing: Drip has no published price. Users limit isn't published. Price limit isn't published.Klaviyo, monthly billing: Marketing is priced, but users limit isn't published. Users limit isn't published.Klaviyo, annual billing: Marketing has no published price. Users limit isn't published. Price limit isn't published.
Drip vs Klaviyo side by side
I compare email/CRM platforms on: Real cost per list size, both billing bases; Free-tier contact ceiling before you must pay anything; Team seats included, and the seat price past that; List segmentation depth; Automation workflow depth and any step/action limits; Deliverability and sending limits (emails per month, per day, or per rolling window); CRM and ecommerce integration depth; What happens past your plan's contact ceiling (overage pricing vs a forced upgrade).
Drip and Klaviyo compared on the main buying criteria
Criterion
Drip
Klaviyo
Real cost per list size, both billing bases
Starts at $39/month billed monthly and rises in bands with list size. Monthly only: no annual rate is published.
Starts at $20/month billed monthly for 500 active profiles and rises in bands. Monthly only: no annual rate is published.
Free-tier contact ceiling before you must pay anything
None. No free plan, only a 14-day trial.
250 active profiles on the Free plan, permanently.
Team seats included, and the seat price past that
The pricing page lists unlimited sub-accounts but doesn't state a user seat count or an extra-seat price.
The pricing page states no seat count or extra-seat price for the Marketing plan.
List segmentation depth
Dynamic segments are in the plan at every list size, built on what people browse, buy and return to.
Segmentation is a named Klaviyo feature, but its pricing page doesn't say how deep it goes on each plan.
Automation workflow depth and any step/action limits
Workflows are capped at 50 on every list size. No step limit is published.
No workflow or step limit is published for the Marketing plan.
All details, including automation and AI workflows
All compared details for Drip and Klaviyo
Criterion
Drip
Klaviyo
Deliverability and sending limits (emails per month, per day, or per rolling window)
Unlimited up to 30,000 people; from 30,001 people the list shows 12 email sends per person (390,000 at 30,001-32,500). Unlimited sends aren't available during the trial.
10 x active profiles (5,000 emails/month at 500 profiles, 50,000 at 5,000, 1,500,000 at 150,000). The free plan allows 500 email sends a month.
CRM and ecommerce integration depth
One-click Shopify, WooCommerce and BigCommerce integrations, with revenue traced back to the email that earned it. The pricing page doesn't mention WordPress or Zapier.
Integration pages for Shopify, WooCommerce and BigCommerce, plus an app marketplace. Data + Analytics is a separate tier.
What happens past your plan's contact ceiling (overage pricing vs a forced upgrade)
The price moves up one band at a time. Past 180,000 people there is no price on the page and you talk to Drip.
The price moves up one band at a time. On the free plan you must move to Marketing past 250 profiles. Past 150,000 profiles you talk to sales.
Full price list
One plan, priced by people on the list. It starts at $39/month billed monthly and the published bands run up to 180,000 people. Above that the page says "Let's chat" with no number.
Free: $0/month billed monthly, up to 250 profiles. Marketing (email) starts at $20/month billed monthly for 500 active profiles and runs up to 150,000 profiles. Add-ons and the other tiers are priced separately.
Pricing model
Priced by the number of people (contacts) on the email list, in bands of 500 to 5,000 people. The slider and the "How many people are on your email list?" box both count people. One plan; every feature is included at every list size. The FAQ adds: "Your cost is based on the number of active people in your account and the volume of emails you send during the month."
Klaviyo prices email by active profiles (unique people in the account) on a slider, not by a flat plan: Email is included in the Marketing solution and costs $20/month at 500 profiles up to $1,955/month at 150,000 profiles, with send limits at 10 emails per profile; above 150,000 profiles it is Talk to sales. The page shows monthly USD prices only (no annual toggle). Other add-ons (Composer, Customer Hub, Social marketing, Reviews, SMS and other mobile messages) are priced separately; Service and Customer Agent carry an introductory discount.
Annual billing
No annual option and no annual price on the pricing page. The label reads "Price per month".
No annual option and no annual price on the pricing page. Prices are monthly in US dollars.
Trial and free plan
14-day trial, no credit card needed. After the trial you're asked to upgrade to a paid plan.
Permanent free plan: 250 profiles and 500 email sends a month. No paid-plan trial is stated on the pricing page.
Refund and cancellation
The pricing page and FAQ state no refund policy. You can cancel any time in Billing Settings.
No refund policy is stated on Klaviyo's pricing page.
Support
Email support up to 5,000 people; chat and email support from 5,001 people.
Standard support included; FAQ lists onboarding, Community, Academy, chat, growth success team, agency partners. On the free plan: Email support for first 60 days, then Help Center and community only.
Migration and onboarding help
Free migration and personalized onboarding are included on larger lists (From 15,001 people).
Step-by-step onboarding is listed in Klaviyo's pricing FAQ. Professional Services is a separate paid tier.
Automation and AI workflows
An MCP connector for Claude, ChatGPT or any MCP-compatible client is included at no extra cost, and open API access is in the plan.
Composer (builds flows and campaigns from a prompt) and Customer Agent are priced separately from the email plan.
Who should pick Drip, and who should pick Klaviyo?
Drip
Desk research
Best for growing lists sending regularly
Drip is an ecommerce-first email and automation platform with one plan where every feature is included and only the list size sets the price, starting at $39/month billed monthly. It comes with 50 workflows, an open API, an MCP connection and one-click Shopify, WooCommerce and BigCommerce integrations. The catch is that cost climbs steadily with every extra band of people on the list.
Best for: Online stores on Shopify, WooCommerce or BigCommerce that want revenue-tracked email, segmentation and onsite campaigns in a single plan, without choosing between feature tiers.
Strengths
One plan with every feature at every list size, so there are no tiers to compare: automations, segmentation, onsite campaigns, API and MCP are all in the base price.
No credit card is needed for the 14-day trial.
Built for ecommerce, with one-click integrations for Shopify, WooCommerce and BigCommerce plus 90+ other integrations.
Limits
Pricing is by people on the list, and the price moves up in a new band as the list grows. Drip quotes pricing above 180,000 people and asks you to talk to the team.
The pricing page states no refund or money-back terms and no annual discount.
Workflows are capped at 50, and unlimited sends are not available during the trial.
Skip it if you want a permanent free plan, since Drip offers only a trial, or you want to compare against a yearly rate, since Drip publishes no annual billing option. Skip it too if your list is very large and you need a published price: Drip quotes pricing above 180,000 people and shows "Let's chat" instead of a number.
Klaviyo has a free plan for up to 250 profiles and 500 email sends per month. Its Marketing (Email) plan is priced per active profile, starting at $20/month billed monthly at the smallest profile band and rising with each band up to 150,000 active profiles. Above that Klaviyo says to talk to sales. Prices are published monthly only.
Best for: Teams that want to start on the free plan and move to a published per-profile Email price as their list grows.
Strengths
Free plan for up to 250 profiles and 500 email sends per month.
Marketing (Email) pricing is published: $20/month billed monthly at the entry band, with a price for each active-profile band up to 150,000 profiles.
Limits
Prices are monthly only; the pricing page shows no annual option.
Above 150,000 active profiles the page says to talk to sales rather than showing a price.
The free plan caps at 250 profiles and 500 email sends per month.
Skip it if you want annual billing, a published price above 150,000 active profiles, or a flat price that does not rise with list size.
Neither pricing page promises an import from the other, so plan to rebuild your segments and automations by hand in either direction. Drip's trial runs 14 days and needs no credit card, so you can rebuild your main flows before paying. Klaviyo's free plan has no end date, so you can build a real account there up to 250 profiles before deciding. Drip's own setup is three steps: connect your store, import your list, then turn on a campaign or workflow.
What would change my pick?
A list under 250 active profiles makes Klaviyo's free plan the pick, whatever the paid prices are.
A list that will pass a few thousand contacts soon would move me to Drip, because its single price is lower from there.
Needing SMS or other mobile messages would add a separate Klaviyo charge on top of the email price, which could change the total.
Drip or Klaviyo publishing an annual rate would show whether paying yearly saves anything.
A price or plan change on either side.
Drip vs Klaviyo: questions people ask
Is Drip cheaper than Klaviyo?
It depends on list size. At 500 contacts Klaviyo is $20/month billed monthly and Drip is $39/month billed monthly. At 5,000 contacts Drip is $89/month billed monthly and Klaviyo is $100/month billed monthly. These are monthly prices, and the two tools count contacts differently, so check your own count on each.
Which is cheaper for a small list?
Klaviyo. Under 250 active profiles its free plan costs $0/month billed monthly, and at 500 profiles its Marketing plan is $20/month billed monthly against Drip's $39/month billed monthly.
Does Klaviyo have a free plan?
Yes, and it's permanent: 250 active profiles and 500 email sends a month for $0/month billed monthly. Email support for first 60 days, then Help Center and community only.
Does Drip have a free plan?
No. Drip offers a 14-day trial that doesn't ask for a credit card, then asks you to upgrade. Unlimited email sends aren't available during the trial.
Do Drip and Klaviyo count contacts the same way?
Not exactly. Drip prices by the people on your email list, and its FAQ says the cost follows the active people in your account and the emails you send. Klaviyo prices by active profiles, meaning unique people in the account. The two numbers for the same business can differ, so check how many of your contacts each vendor would count.
Which one fits a Shopify or WooCommerce store better?
Both connect to Shopify and WooCommerce. Drip names one-click integrations for Shopify, WooCommerce and BigCommerce on its pricing page and includes onsite campaigns in the single plan. Klaviyo lists more messaging channels, including SMS, mobile push and WhatsApp, and sells SMS usage separately from the email plan. If one fixed price matters as the list grows, start with Drip; if the list is small or you want the broadest channel mix, start with Klaviyo.
Do Drip or Klaviyo offer annual billing?
Neither publishes an annual rate. Both pricing pages show monthly prices only.
What do Drip and Klaviyo cost for a large list?
Drip's published prices run up to 180,000 people and Klaviyo's up to 150,000 profiles. Past those sizes neither shows a number and you talk to the vendor. Within the range Drip's price is lower at most sizes above a couple of thousand contacts.
How I verified this
Every price and limit here comes from the vendors' own pages, last checked . Drip: desk research. Klaviyo: desk research.
: New page. Klaviyo is the pick for a small list (free up to 250 active profiles, lowest monthly price at 500), Drip for a growing list around 5,000 contacts, and Klaviyo for the 1,000-contact team scenario on list price, since neither publishes a seat count. Both prices are monthly only. Neither tool has an affiliate link, so every link on the page is plain.
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