Klaviyo
Email / SMSThe most data-rich email + SMS platform for Shopify stores.
How they bill
Per active profile. ~$150/mo at 10k contacts, ~$720 at 50k, ~$1,380 at 100k (email only; SMS billed separately). On Feb 18, 2025 Klaviyo switched to billing on total active profiles — you pay whether or not you email them.
The gotcha
You pay for every profile in your database — including dead 2022 signups who never open — and the bill won't drop automatically when you clean the list.
What users report
- Been paying for 50K+ profiles when maybe 15K actually care about my emails. — Shopify Community, 2025
- I reduced my contacts by ~50,000 and Klaviyo kept charging the same amount — support said billing doesn't auto-adjust down. — Klaviyo Community, 2025
- My email revenue hasn't budged in months but my bill keeps going up. — Shopify Community, 2025
Where SNAILMAIL wins
- Send-priced, not list-priced: ~$0.10 per 1,000 emails on your own SES, so a send to a full 100k list costs about $10 in SES fees instead of $1,380/mo just to store it.
- Inactive subscribers cost effectively nothing — no "ghost profile" tax on people who never open.
- Your profiles live in your own database (full export, no lock-in), and the sending reputation is yours.