Home › Best tools › Best Email Marketing for Ecommerce
Last updated: October 29, 2026
TechCurato is reader-supported. Some links are affiliate links: we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Learn more.
Best Email Marketing for Ecommerce (2027): 6 Tools Ranked by Price and Fit
For most small and mid-size online stores, the best email marketing tool is Omnisend: it's free for 250 contacts, Standard starts at $16 a month for 500 contacts, and Pro adds unlimited emails under fair use and SMS from $0.007. Klaviyo is the best for larger brands that need deep segmentation and revenue analytics (about $30 a month at 1,000 profiles, according to 2026 pricing guides). Mailchimp is best for stores that want a familiar tool with many integrations, and MailerLite is the cheapest for simple stores.
- Best overall for small stores: Omnisend (Standard from $16/month)
- Best for growing DTC brands: Klaviyo (about $30/month at 1,000 profiles *)
- Best for integrations: Mailchimp (Essentials $13/month, 12-month intro)
- Best with webinars and funnels: GetResponse (Marketer about €44/month at 1,000, annual)
- Best for advanced automation: ActiveCampaign (Plus about $49 at 1,000 contacts *)
- Cheapest for simple stores: MailerLite (Comfort from $12/month)
Ecommerce email tools compared
| Tool | Free plan | Entry paid price | Ecommerce automation | SMS | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Omnisend | 250 contacts, 500 emails | Standard from $16 (500 contacts) | Yes, on Standard | Pro, from $0.007 | Small and mid-size stores |
| Klaviyo | 250 profiles, 500 sends | about $30 at 1,000 profiles * | Deep, data-driven | Email + SMS plan | Growing DTC brands |
| Mailchimp | 250 contacts, 500 emails | Essentials $13 (12-month intro) | Stronger on Standard | Add-on | Integrations and familiarity |
| GetResponse | Limited free account after trial | Starter about €13 at 1,000 (annual) | Abandoned cart on Marketer (about €44) | Available | Funnels and webinars |
| ActiveCampaign | No (14-day trial) | Starter about $15 at 1,000 * | Advanced on Plus and above | Available | Complex automation |
| MailerLite | 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails | Comfort from $12 | Basic ecommerce | No | Simple stores |
* From 2026 pricing guides.
The four flows every store needs
Before comparing features, make sure the tool runs these four automations well, because they usually earn most of an online store's email revenue:
- Welcome series: introduce the brand and convert new subscribers into first-time buyers.
- Abandoned cart: remind shoppers who left items in their cart.
- Browse abandonment: follow up with visitors who viewed products.
- Post-purchase: thank buyers, ask for reviews and suggest related products.
All six tools can run some version of these; the difference is how easy they are to set up, how deeply they use store data, and which plan you need.
1. Omnisend: best overall for small and mid-size stores
Omnisend is built for ecommerce: its templates for welcome, abandoned cart, browse abandonment and post-purchase flows launch in minutes. It's free for 250 contacts and 500 emails a month, Standard starts at $16 a month for 500 contacts with 6,000 emails, and Pro at $59 a month for 2,500 contacts includes unlimited emails under fair use and SMS from $0.007 per message. Paying three months upfront saves 30%.
Watch for: SMS requires Pro, and analytics are less deep than Klaviyo's. See Omnisend pricing.
2. Klaviyo: best for growing DTC brands
Klaviyo syncs products, orders and browsing events from your store and uses them for detailed segments, predictive data and revenue reporting on every flow and campaign. It's free for 250 active profiles and 500 sends a month, and the Email plan costs about $30 a month at 1,000 profiles and about $150 at 10,000, according to pricing guides. Suppressed profiles aren't billed.
Watch for: higher cost than Omnisend for small stores and a steeper learning curve. See Klaviyo pricing and Klaviyo vs Omnisend.
3. Mailchimp: best for integrations and familiarity
Mailchimp connects with a huge range of apps and store platforms, and its editor is easy for beginners. It's free for 250 contacts and 500 emails a month; paid plans are advertised at 50% off for 12 months (Essentials $13, Standard $20, Premium $350). Ecommerce automation is stronger on Standard, which allows up to 200 automation flows.
Watch for: prices double after the first year. See Mailchimp pricing and Mailchimp vs Klaviyo.
4. GetResponse: best with webinars and funnels
GetResponse combines email marketing with landing pages, funnels and webinars. Starter costs about €13 a month at 1,000 contacts on annual billing, but it allows just 1 automation workflow; abandoned-cart automations require Marketer at about €44 a month for 1,000 contacts.
Watch for: the jump to Marketer for ecommerce flows. See GetResponse alternatives.
5. ActiveCampaign: best for advanced automation
ActiveCampaign's automation builder handles complex, multi-branch journeys and connects email with sales follow-up. Starter costs about $15 a month at 1,000 contacts (5 actions per automation), and Plus about $49 with unlimited actions, according to 2026 pricing guides. It has a 14-day trial with no credit card.
Watch for: no free plan. See ActiveCampaign pricing.
6. MailerLite: cheapest for simple stores
MailerLite is free for 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month with 3 automations, and Comfort starts at $12 a month with 50 active automations. It suits small stores that mainly send newsletters and a few simple flows.
Watch for: less ecommerce depth than Omnisend and Klaviyo. See MailerLite pricing.
What a store pays at different sizes
| Store size | Omnisend | Klaviyo * | Mailchimp (year 1) | MailerLite |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 250 contacts | Free | Free | Free | Free |
| 500 contacts | Standard from $16 | price by calculator | Essentials from $13 | Comfort from $12 |
| 1,000 contacts | Standard by list size | about $30 | by list size | by list size |
| 10,000 contacts | Pro by list size | about $150 | by list size | by list size |
Use each tool's calculator for exact prices at your list size.
Three real-world scenarios
A new Shopify store with 150 subscribers
Start free on Omnisend or Klaviyo and set up welcome and abandoned-cart flows now, so they run as traffic grows.
A growing store with 2,500 contacts sending three times a week
Omnisend Pro from $59 a month includes unlimited emails under fair use, so frequent campaigns don't raise the bill.
A DTC brand with 20,000 profiles and a marketing team
Klaviyo's segmentation, predictive analytics and revenue reporting usually justify its higher price at this scale.
Start Omnisend free → 250 contacts and 500 emails a month · Affiliate link
How to judge an ecommerce email tool: the revenue test
Divide the monthly bill by the revenue your flows and campaigns bring. If welcome and abandoned-cart flows recover two or three orders a month, most entry plans pay for themselves several times over. After 30 days, compare:
- Revenue attributed to each flow.
- Revenue per recipient for campaigns.
- Unsubscribe and spam complaint rates.
- Time your team spends building emails.
Mistakes stores make with email
- Waiting to set up flows until the list is large.
- Importing contacts without consent, which hurts deliverability.
- Sending only discounts, which trains customers to wait for sales.
- Ignoring list hygiene; most tools price by contacts or profiles.
- Skipping domain authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC). See our email deliverability guide.
How to choose in 5 steps
- Count contacts and estimate growth.
- Decide whether you need SMS now or later.
- Price your list size in Omnisend and Klaviyo calculators.
- Build the abandoned-cart flow in two free plans.
- Compare revenue per recipient after 30 days.
Terms explained
- Flow: an automated email sequence triggered by behaviour.
- Active profile: Klaviyo's billing unit.
- Fair use: Omnisend's limit on "unlimited" sending.
- Revenue per recipient: revenue divided by recipients.
- Segmentation: grouping contacts by behaviour or data.
Our verdict
Start with Omnisend if you run a small or mid-size store: it's free for 250 contacts, affordable on Standard, and Pro's unlimited emails and SMS scale well. Choose Klaviyo once deep segmentation and revenue analytics justify a higher price. Choose MailerLite for the lowest cost if your store mainly sends newsletters.
How we compiled this ranking
We checked official pricing pages on October 29, 2026 (Omnisend, Mailchimp, MailerLite, GetResponse) and used 2026 pricing guides where vendors price through calculators (Klaviyo, ActiveCampaign), marked with *. We ranked tools on ecommerce automation, total cost for common store sizes and ease of setup. See also best email marketing software for small business.
FAQ
What is the best email marketing tool for ecommerce?
Omnisend for most small and mid-size stores; Klaviyo for larger brands that need deep data and analytics.
Is Klaviyo worth it for small stores?
If its flows recover more than its price, yes. Many small stores start on Omnisend or Klaviyo's free plan and compare results.
Which ecommerce email tools have free plans?
Omnisend, Klaviyo, Mailchimp and MailerLite all have free plans for about 250 contacts.
Do I need SMS marketing?
Not at the start. Add SMS once email flows are working and you have subscribers who opted in to texts.
What is the most important ecommerce email flow?
Abandoned cart, followed by the welcome series.
Sources
omnisend.com/pricing, klaviyo.com/pricing, mailchimp.com/pricing, getresponse.com/pricing and mailerlite.com/pricing, checked October 29, 2026. Klaviyo and ActiveCampaign prices from 2026 pricing guides.