Klaviyo, Mailchimp or HubSpot: which fits you

The short answer

Choose Klaviyo if you run an online store, especially on Shopify, and want emails triggered by what customers browse and buy. Choose Mailchimp if you send newsletters and simple automations to a modest list and want the lowest starting price. Choose HubSpot if you sell services or B2B and want email, a CRM and a sales pipeline in one system, and you can afford its Professional tier when you outgrow the basics.

All three bill mainly on list size, so cost rises as your list grows. As of 2026, Mailchimp’s paid plans start at $13 a month (Essentials) and $20 a month (Standard) for small lists. Klaviyo is free up to 250 active profiles, and its Email plan was $20 a month for 500 active profiles and $150 a month for 10,000, according to Kanal’s October 2026 pricing breakdown. HubSpot Marketing Hub Starter is $15 per seat a month billed annually, and Professional starts at $890 a month plus a one-time $3,000 onboarding fee, according to TinyCommand’s September 2026 guide. Prices change often, so check each vendor’s pricing page before you commit.

Klaviyo vs Mailchimp vs HubSpot at a glance

How each one charges

The billing rules matter as much as the list price, because they decide what you pay as your list grows.

• Klaviyo bills on active profiles: people you can actually reach by email or text. Klaviyo’s help center says unsubscribed and suppressed profiles do not count once processed. If your count goes above your plan, you move up a tier at the next billing cycle. Text messages are billed separately.
• Mailchimp bills by contact tier, and each plan has a monthly send limit tied to your contacts. On paid plans, going over your contact or send limit triggers overage charges. On the free plan, sending is paused instead.
• HubSpot charges for seats (users) and for marketing contacts. Starter is priced per seat. Professional is a big step up in price and includes a required onboarding fee.

A practical tip for all three: remove contacts who have not opened or clicked in a long time. A cleaner list costs less and lands in inboxes more often.

Feature by feature

• E-commerce data. Klaviyo leads here by design, syncing products, orders and browsing activity so you can segment by what people bought and how much they spent. Mailchimp has store integrations but less depth. HubSpot can connect to stores but is not built around them.
• Automation. Klaviyo’s flows are strongest for store events. Mailchimp Standard allows up to 200 flows; Essentials is limited to very short ones. HubSpot’s richest automation sits in Professional, where workflows can update records, assign leads and notify sales.
• CRM and sales. HubSpot is the clear choice if you need a pipeline, deal tracking and sales email in the same place. Klaviyo and Mailchimp store contacts but are not sales tools.
• SMS. Klaviyo includes text messaging alongside email. Mailchimp offers SMS as an add-on on paid plans.
• Ease of use. Mailchimp is the easiest to learn. Klaviyo takes more setup but rewards it. HubSpot has the most to learn because it does the most.
• Reporting. Klaviyo reports revenue by campaign and flow. HubSpot can connect email to closed deals. Mailchimp covers opens, clicks and basic revenue for connected stores.

Which one fits your business

Use these rules to narrow the choice quickly:

• Shopify or other online store, most revenue from online orders: Klaviyo.
• Service business or nonprofit sending a monthly newsletter and a few automations: Mailchimp.
• B2B or high-value services with a sales team following up on leads: HubSpot.
• Already using HubSpot CRM for sales: start with HubSpot’s marketing tools before adding another system.
• Very tight budget and a small list: start on a free or entry plan and move up when automations start paying for themselves.

Not sure which platform fits?

Book a free 30-minute call. We look at your current email setup, your list and your website with you and tell you what we would change first. No obligation. Pick a time.

What it costs as your list grows

The entry price is rarely the real price. Before choosing, estimate your cost at your current list size and at twice that size. For example, using the Kanal figures, Klaviyo’s Email plan goes from $20 a month at 500 active profiles to $100 at 5,000 and $150 at 10,000. Mailchimp and HubSpot also rise by tier, and HubSpot adds per-seat costs as more of your team needs access.

Compare that cost to what email earns. For a store, a single abandoned-cart flow often recovers sales that would otherwise be lost, which can justify a pricier platform. For a service business sending one newsletter a month, a simpler, cheaper tool is usually enough.

Switching platforms without losing results

Moving from one platform to another is common. Done carelessly, it can hurt delivery for weeks. A safe sequence:

1. Export contacts with their consent status, including unsubscribes, so no one who opted out gets emailed again.
2. Rebuild your key automations first: welcome series, abandoned cart, post-purchase, and lead follow-up.
3. Authenticate your sending domain. Google requires SPF, DKIM and DMARC for bulk senders, plus one-click unsubscribe for marketing email, and asks senders to keep spam complaint rates below 0.3%.
4. Warm up gradually. Send first to your most engaged subscribers, then widen.
5. Connect your store or CRM and check that new orders and leads sync correctly.
6. Run both platforms briefly, then close the old one once automations and data are confirmed.

Mistakes to avoid when choosing

• Choosing on the entry price. Price your current list and twice that size before deciding.
• Buying HubSpot Professional for email alone. Its value comes from the CRM and sales tools. If no one will use those, you are paying for features that sit idle.
• Using Mailchimp for a busy store without store flows. If abandoned carts and post-purchase emails are not set up, you leave revenue on the table whichever tool you use.
• Importing purchased or scraped lists. Email platforms generally forbid it in their policies, and it damages deliverability for your real subscribers.
• Ignoring who will run it. A powerful platform that no one on your team has time to manage performs worse than a simple one used every week.

Questions to answer before you decide

1. Where do most of your sales happen: online checkout, phone, or a sales team?
2. How many contacts do you have now, and how many do you expect in a year?
3. Which automations matter most: welcome, abandoned cart, lead follow-up, renewals?
4. Which systems must email connect to: your store, CRM, accounting or booking tool?
5. Who will build and send campaigns each month, and how much time do they have?

Your answers usually point clearly to one platform.

How JLB USA helps with email marketing

JLB USA has handled marketing for growing businesses for more than 15 years, with 500+ clients and 1,000+ projects. Our email marketing team works on MailChimp, Klaviyo and HubSpot, so we recommend the platform that fits your business rather than the one we happen to use. We set up automations, design campaigns and connect email to your store or CRM through systems integration. If you are moving platforms, we can handle the list export, automations and domain setup so nothing breaks along the way. Based in South Florida? See email marketing in Fort Lauderdale.

Related services

• Email marketing
• Email marketing in Fort Lauderdale
• Systems integration
• Web design