Mailchimp or Klaviyo: which solution to choose in 2025?

Choosing the right marketing automation platform directly impacts your ROI and your store's growth. Two players dominate: Mailchimp, an accessible pioneer, and Klaviyo, the e-commerce brand standard for behavioral segmentation and advanced workflows.

Why this choice is strategic

In a context where €1 invested in email generates on average €36 (DMA/Econsultancy benchmarks) and fine personalization significantly increases revenue per recipient, orienting your stack towards the appropriate tool is not a minor detail. Litmus 2024 reports confirm that advanced segmentation and behavioral triggers are among the primary drivers of e-commerce growth. This is precisely Klaviyo's playground, while Mailchimp remains unbeatable for quick and clean launches with a small team.

Mailchimp vs Klaviyo: the complete comparison

The table below summarizes the key differences to help you decide directly.

Quick read: You want to go fast with few resources → Mailchimp. You are looking for growth via data, triggers, and segmentation → Klaviyo.

Automation & segmentation: the sinews of war

Brands that intelligently automate (welcome series, browse/purchase triggers, post-purchase) see significant revenue gains per subscriber (Forrester, 2024). Klaviyo excels with its event-driven logic and dynamic audiences (RFM, purchase probability, lifetime value). Mailchimp remains effective for standard scenarios, with simple A/B testing and a gentle learning curve.

• "Must-have" flows (Klaviyo): Welcome 3-5 emails, abandoned cart (1h/20h/48h), back-in-stock, post-purchase (cross-sell + UGC), re-engagement 60/90 days.
• Useful segmentation: new vs. repeat buyers, high LTV vs. low LTV, high-value uncoverted cart, category X visitors, at-risk churn customers.

Pricing, scalability & support

Mailchimp offers a convenient free entry plan to get started, but costs increase with list size and advanced features. Klaviyo charges based on usage (contacts + sends) with transparency valued by growing brands. In terms of support, both offer documentation and chat; e-commerce brands often report better Klaviyo expertise for complex cases (catalogs, flows, revenue attribution).

E-commerce use cases & winning scenarios

On assignment for a ready-to-wear DNVB, we migrated from generic campaigns to behavioral flows (abandoned cart, post-purchase, product view re-engagement). Result: +22% email revenue in 90 days, without increasing send volume. Conversely, for a startup SMB, Mailchimp allowed for the production of a newsletter and a welcome pack in one day, with immediate time-to-value.

• Large catalogs, stock & variant logic → Klaviyo advantage (events & recommendations).
• Simple newsletter + a few promotions → Mailchimp ticks all the boxes with low initial cost.

Reviews & feedback

“With Mailchimp, we started in 48 hours and sent a clean newsletter without development.” – SMB Marketing Manager.

“The switch to Klaviyo finally linked our revenue to flows. Abandoned cart + post-purchase account for 38% of email revenue.” – Head of Growth, DTC brand.

Best practices for making a quick decision

1. Map your triggers (abandoned cart, back-in-stock, birthdays, 1st purchase → 2nd purchase).
2. Note required integrations (Shopify, payment, UGC, reviews, CDP/CRM).
3. Evaluate your resources (do you have the time to orchestrate complex flows?).
4. Project your volumes (costs at 3-6-12 months according to base growth).

Resources and recent readings

• Litmus, State of Email 2024: personalization & revenue per recipient on the rise.
• DMA / Econsultancy 2023-2024: email remains #1 for direct media ROI.
• Forrester 2024, reports on event-driven marketing and customer lifetime value (LTV) in e-commerce.

Conclusion & recommendation

Mailchimp is ideal for getting started quickly, sending simple campaigns, and controlling costs initially. Klaviyo becomes essential when growth relies on 1st-party data, behavioral segmentation, and sophisticated e-commerce workflows (abandoned cart, post-purchase, recommendations, LTV). If your primary goal is to sustainably increase revenue per recipient, Klaviyo is the best choice.

Need quick advice on your current stack and goals? Contact our Klaviyo team: express audit, revenue projection per flow, and implementation plan in 10 days.