Is Shopify Email completely free?

Shopify Email offers 10,000 free emails per month. After that, it costs $1 USD for every 1,000 additional emails. There are no monthly subscription fees, making it extremely cost-effective for small stores.

Why should I pay for Klaviyo if Shopify Email is cheap?

Shopify Email lacks advanced triggers (like Browse Abandonment filters), predictive analytics (churn risk), and deep segmentation. Paying for Klaviyo is an investment in automation that generates 'passive revenue'—often paying for itself with just 1-2 extra orders per month.

Does Shopify Email have automation flows?

Yes, but they are basic. Shopify Email supports simple Welcome and Abandoned Cart automations. It struggles with complex branching logic, split testing, and behavioral filters that are standard in Klaviyo.

When should I switch from Shopify Email to Klaviyo?

We recommend switching when you hit $10k-$15k/month in revenue or exceed 500 subscribers. At this stage, the opportunity cost of missing out on advanced segmentation outweighs the cost savings of using a free tool.

Can I use both Shopify Email and Klaviyo?

It is not recommended. Splitting your sender reputation and data between two platforms creates confusion, duplicates unsubscribe handling, and fractures your customer data. It is best to consolidate on one platform for a single source of truth.

Klaviyo vs Shopify Email: When Is It Time to Upgrade?

It's the most common dilemma for new store owners: "Why pay for Klaviyo when Shopify Email is built-in and basically free?"

It's a valid question. Shopify Email offers 10,000 free emails per month and is incredibly easy to use directly from your Shopify admin. For a brand doing $1,000/month in sales, it's often the smart choice.

But there comes a tipping point—usually around $10k-$15k/month in revenue—where "free" starts costing you money in lost opportunity. Here is your guide to knowing when to upgrade.

1. The Convenience of Shopify Email

Shopify Email shines in simplicity. You don't need to log into another platform. You pick a product, it pulls the image and price, and you hit send.

✓Pros: Native integration, uses your domain automatically, extremely low cost (after free tier, it's $1 per 1,000 emails).
✓Cons: Very basic design customization, limited logic.

2. Where Shopify Email hits the Ceiling

The limitations become painful when you try to generate passive revenue (money while you sleep).

Limited Automation Triggers: Shopify Email has basic "Marketing Automations" (Abandoned Cart, Welcome). But it struggles with complex behaviors like:

✓"Customer bought Product A but not Product B."
✓"Customer viewed the site 5 times in 2 days but didn't buy."
✓"Customer's expected date of next order is today."

No Predictive Analytics: Klaviyo tells you when a customer is likely to churn. Shopify Email just tells you if they opened the last email.

A/B Testing Weakness: Growing brands live and breathe A/B testing (Subject lines, send times, content). Shopify Email's testing capabilities are rudimentary compared to Klaviyo's robust testing suite.

3. The "Switching Cost" Calculation

Let's do the math.

Imagine you have a list of 5,000 people.

✓Shopify Email Cost: ~$5/month.
✓Klaviyo Cost: ~$100/month.

The difference is $95/month.

However, if Klaviyo's Browse Abandonment Flow (which Shopify Email doesn't do natively/well) brings in just two extra orders of $50 each, the platform has paid for itself.

If Klaviyo's Smart Send Time optimization increases your open rate from 20% to 25%, that's 250 more people seeing your offer. If just 1% buy, that's 2.5 extra sales per campaign.

The Tipping Point: We generally recommend Shopify Email for brands with lists under 500 subscribers or revenue under $5k/month. We recommend Klaviyo as soon as you can afford the $20/month starter plan, but definitely once you hit $10k/month revenue. The ROI of advanced flows becomes undeniable at that scale.

4. Migration is Painless

Because both are Shopify-native ecosystems, moving from Shopify Email to Klaviyo is straightforward. Your contact list is already in Shopify, so Klaviyo syncs it instantly. The main work is recreating your branded templates and setting up the logic for your flows.

Conclusion: Don't Step Over Dollars to Pick Up Dimes

Shopify Email is a fantastic utility. Klaviyo is a growth engine.

If you are treating your store as a hobby or side hustle, stay with Shopify Email. If you are building a brand and want to maximize the Lifetime Value of every customer you acquire, Klaviyo is the industry standard for a reason.