How Klaviyo pricing really works

The short answer

Klaviyo pricing is based on active profiles: the number of contacts you can email. As of 2026, the free plan covers up to 250 active profiles and 500 emails a month, plus $5 of text messaging, according to Klaviyo’s pricing page. Paid plans start at $20 a month for the Email plan or $35 for Email and SMS, each for 251 to 500 active profiles, and the price steps up with each larger profile tier. Every tier includes a monthly email send allowance. Text messages are billed separately, based on volume, message type and country.

Prices change and promotions come and go, so check Klaviyo’s pricing calculator for your list size and region before budgeting. Prices outside the US, including the UK, are shown in local currency and can differ.

Email plan prices by list size

Entry prices are from Klaviyo’s pricing page as of 2026. Klaviyo does not publish a full tier table outside its calculator, so price your own count there. The pattern to expect: the bill climbs with every reachable contact you keep, so the profiles you remove matter as much as the plan you choose.

What counts as an active profile

Klaviyo’s help center defines an active profile as any profile, regardless of consent status, that can be emailed through Klaviyo. Two consequences matter for your bill:

• Suppressed and unsubscribed profiles do not count once suppression is fully processed. They stay in the account for reporting. The help center says the billable count can take up to 72 hours to refresh.
• Never-engaged contacts do count if they can still be emailed. A big list of people who never open costs the same as a list of fans.

Your plan must cover your active profile count at the end of the billing cycle. If you go over, Klaviyo moves you to a higher tier at the next cycle; sending does not stop.

How SMS and other messaging are charged

• Priced in dollars, not credits. Klaviyo’s help center says mobile messaging rates vary by channel and region, and carrier fees are included in the rate.
• $5 a month free for every account. Unused amounts do not roll over.
• MMS costs more than SMS, and WhatsApp and RCS have their own rates, according to Klaviyo’s pricing explainer.
• You commit to a monthly spend based on expected volume, which draws down as you send.

To size an SMS plan, multiply text subscribers by texts per month, then check the per-message rates shown in your account for each country and message type. A store sending two texts a month to 5,000 subscribers needs about 10,000 messages of spend, more if any are MMS or run over one segment.

Upgrades, downgrades and overage settings

• Upgrades take effect immediately. You are charged the difference for the current month, per Klaviyo’s help center.
• Downgrades take effect at the next cycle and are not refunded mid-cycle. The help center says plans do not downgrade on their own after your count falls, so choose a lower tier yourself or turn on auto-downgrade, which the help center says is available for profile plans when flexible sending is on.
• Send limits. When you hit your monthly email limit, your billing preference decides what happens: flexible overage (a temporary bump to the next tier’s send amount at your current rate), automatic upgrade, or no sending until the cycle renews.
• Add-ons such as Helpdesk and Customer Agent carry their own usage fees above their limits, according to the help center.

Check these settings in your account. The default may not be the one you would choose.

Want a second opinion on your email?

Book a free 30-minute call. We review your Klaviyo account, profile count and billing settings with you and tell you what we would change first to lower cost or raise revenue. No obligation. Pick a time.

Seven ways to control Klaviyo cost

1. Suppress inactive profiles regularly. Build a segment of people who have not clicked or ordered in a long period, run a short re-engagement flow, then suppress those who do not respond.
2. Do not import everyone. Bring over only contacts who opted in. Past customers who never agreed to marketing add cost and complaints.
3. Use double opt-in or form protection to keep bots and typo addresses out.
4. Pick the right overage setting. Flexible overage suits seasonal spikes better than a permanent upgrade.
5. Downgrade after cleanups. If your count drops, move to the lower tier rather than waiting.
6. Budget SMS separately. Send texts to engaged segments, keep them short, and avoid MMS unless the image earns its extra cost.
7. Review annually versus monthly billing once your list is stable.

A worked budget example

An illustrative example: say your store has 7,000 contacts in Klaviyo. 1,200 are unsubscribed and 1,800 have not clicked or ordered in over a year. Here is how the tiers play out:

• Before cleanup: 5,800 reachable profiles, which puts you above the 5,000 tier and into the next one up.
• After a re-engagement flow and suppression: about 4,000 reachable profiles, back within the 5,000-profile tier, with room to grow.
• SMS: 2,000 text subscribers receiving two messages a month is roughly 4,000 messages, billed from your mobile messaging plan at the rates for each message type.

The cleanup also tends to improve inbox placement, because the people left on your list actually engage.

Is Klaviyo worth the price

Compare the bill with what Klaviyo’s flows earn, which its reporting shows by flow and campaign. If abandoned checkout, browse abandonment, welcome and win-back flows bring in several times the monthly cost, the price is easy to justify. If you send one newsletter a month and few automations, a cheaper tool or Shopify’s built-in email may serve you better for now.

How JLB USA helps

JLB USA’s email marketing team works on Klaviyo, MailChimp and HubSpot. We set up flows that earn their keep, clean up profiles you should not be paying for, and connect Klaviyo to your store through systems integration. For a wider comparison, see Klaviyo vs Mailchimp vs HubSpot.

Keep reading

• Mailchimp pricing in 2026: plans, contact rules and how to avoid overpaying
• B2B email marketing: a practical strategy for long sales cycles
• Klaviyo vs Shopify Email: when free is enough and when Klaviyo pays
• Email marketing for Fort Lauderdale businesses: what to send and how to get it delivered

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• Klaviyo vs Mailchimp vs HubSpot
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