Comparison of Email Marketing Tools for Shopify

Are you looking for a suitable email marketing tool for your Shopify store? This article provides an overview of the most effective options available, from basic solutions to more advanced automation platforms.

Introduction

If you run an online store on Shopify, you have probably come across the built-in tool Shopify Email. It is a good choice for getting started as it offers a simple interface, low cost, and is fully integrated into the Shopify admin environment. For basic newsletters and simple communication with customers, it is usually sufficient.

However, as your store begins to grow and you require more advanced automation, detailed segmentation, or integration with additional channels such as SMS or push notifications, it becomes necessary to explore more robust tools. Fortunately, there are several platforms on the market that are tightly integrated with Shopify and offer scalable solutions for e-commerce businesses of various sizes.

Omnisend: Multichannel automation tailored for Shopify

Omnisend is one of the most frequently recommended email marketing tools for Shopify and regularly appears at the top of comparison rankings. No surprise there – it was built from the ground up with e-commerce in mind and offers everything a growing store needs for effective communication.

Powerful automation and multichannel approach

One of Omnisend’s biggest advantages is the wide range of channels you can combine within a single campaign or automation workflow:

• Email
• SMS
• Web push notifications
• Facebook and Google retargeting

This makes it possible to create complex customer journeys that respond to user behavior in real time. For example, an abandoned cart workflow can start with an email, continue with an SMS, and finish with a push notification.

Who is Omnisend suitable for?

Omnisend is a great fit for stores that want more than just basic email marketing. It is especially suitable for:

• Medium-sized and fast-growing e-commerce businesses

• Teams that want intuitive automation without coding

• E-commerce projects that are planning a multichannel communication strategy

Klaviyo: Top-tier automation and segmentation

Klaviyo is one of the most powerful email marketing tools in the e-commerce space. It is particularly popular among medium and large stores that want to get the most out of their customer data and build long-term relationships through personalized, data-driven communication.

Automation tailored for e-commerce

Klaviyo offers a broad library of ready-made automation templates, which can be easily customized to fit the needs of your store. The most commonly used automations include:

• Abandoned cart: Sends automated reminders to customers who added products to their cart but did not complete the purchase. You can set up multiple follow-up emails with various incentives.

• Welcome series for new customers or subscribers: Helps introduce your brand and strengthen the first impression.

• Birthday emails: Personalized messages sent to customers on their birthday, often including a special offer or discount.

• Post-purchase follow-up: Thank-you messages, product review requests, and related product recommendations.

• Win-back campaigns: Target customers who haven’t purchased in a while, often with a time-limited discount.

Advanced segmentation

One of Klaviyo’s key strengths is its advanced segmentation engine. Thanks to real-time data, you can create accurate and automatically updating segments based on behavior, purchase history, email interactions, demographics, and more.

Examples include:

• Customers who purchased in the last 30 days

• Users who abandoned their cart and also opened the last newsletter

• Customers with the highest order value

• Visitors who viewed specific product categories

Who is Klaviyo suitable for?

Klaviyo is especially recommended for:

• Medium to large Shopify stores that need powerful automation and analytics
• Merchants who want to build long-term customer relationships and optimize the customer journey
• Brands aiming for personalized, multichannel communication across email, SMS, and social media

Thanks to its user-friendly interface, data-driven approach, and deep Shopify integration, Klaviyo is a robust tool built to support e-commerce growth.

ActiveCampaign: Email marketing and CRM in one platform

ActiveCampaign combines email marketing with built-in CRM capabilities, making it a powerful tool not only for standard campaigns but also for more complex B2B or hybrid B2C use cases. It’s especially useful where longer sales cycles, lead-based segmentation, and personalized customer workflows are required.

Key advantages

• Email and CRM in one system
  ActiveCampaign allows you to manage not only email campaigns and automation, but also sales pipelines, follow-up tasks, and the entire customer lifecycle – ideal for e-commerce stores with B2B elements.
• Advanced visual automation builder
  Create complex workflows using conditional logic, branching paths, behavior tracking, and multichannel actions (including email, SMS, and web events).
• Lead scoring
  Assign scores to contacts based on user behavior (such as email opens, clicks, or purchases), allowing you to prioritize and personalize communication for the most engaged contacts.

Common automation scenarios

ActiveCampaign offers a wide selection of ready-to-use templates as well as the flexibility to build custom automation flows. Common use cases include:

• Post-registration or post-purchase series
  Thank-you emails, product education, cross-selling, or review requests.

• Abandoned cart reminders
  Timed sequences reminding users of incomplete purchases, optionally combined with follow-ups via multiple channels.

• Customer reactivation
  Campaigns designed to win back customers after a period of inactivity.

• Automatic contact assignment to sales pipelines (for B2B)
  Useful for teams handling deals, proposals, or account-based strategies.

Who is ActiveCampaign best suited for?

ActiveCampaign is a strong choice for:

• E-commerce businesses that need a combination of email marketing and CRM

• Brands with B2B elements that manage longer and more complex sales cycles

• Marketing teams that require high levels of customization and advanced automation

It’s the ideal solution when basic email tools no longer meet your needs and your business requires a more complete approach to customer engagement.

Brevo: A budget-friendly solution for smaller Shopify stores

Brevo (formerly known as Sendinblue) is a French email marketing platform positioned as a cost-effective alternative to more advanced tools like Klaviyo or ActiveCampaign. While it does not offer the same level of automation or segmentation, its simplicity and clean interface make it a popular choice for smaller Shopify stores just getting started with email marketing or looking for a straightforward, affordable solution.

Key benefits

• Simple and intuitive interface
  Easy to use even for individuals or small teams without prior email marketing experience.

• Affordable pricing structure
  In addition to a free plan, Brevo offers very competitively priced paid tiers that allow for higher email volumes and access to advanced features.

• Basic CRM and multichannel capabilities
  The platform combines email marketing with SMS messaging, live chat, and simple contact management, making it more versatile than basic email-only tools.

• Support for essential automation
  Brevo allows you to create simple automation workflows, such as welcome emails, abandoned cart reminders, or birthday campaigns. While not as powerful as enterprise-level tools, these features are typically sufficient for smaller e-commerce stores.

Who is Brevo suitable for?

Brevo is an ideal option for:

• Smaller or newly launched Shopify stores

• Projects with limited budgets that need an efficient, no-frills tool

• Teams that value easy setup and minimal technical requirements

Overall, Brevo serves well as a first step into the world of email marketing for e-commerce. It’s clean, affordable, and easy to use – making it a smart starting point for growing brands.

Mailchimp: A well-known classic with an easy-to-use interface

Mailchimp is one of the most widely used email marketing platforms in the world. Its strength lies in its simplicity, clean user interface, and long-standing trust among users globally. While its integration with Shopify is not as native or seamless as with some more specialized tools, it still provides sufficient functionality for small to mid-sized stores that do not require advanced automation scenarios.

Key benefits

• User-friendly and intuitive interface
  Mailchimp is designed to be accessible even for users without previous experience in email marketing, making it easy to get started.

• Wide range of templates and simple drag-and-drop editor
  Great for launching quick campaigns without the need for a designer or developer.

• Basic automation features available
  The platform supports common automation workflows, such as welcome emails and abandoned cart reminders.

• Extensive integrations outside of Shopify
  Mailchimp connects with a wide variety of other marketing platforms, social media tools, and content management systems, making it versatile beyond just e-commerce.

Who is Mailchimp suitable for?

Mailchimp may be a good fit for:

• Small and medium-sized Shopify stores that prefer a familiar, easy-to-use tool

• Teams that do not require complex automation and are comfortable with standard email campaigns

• Users who appreciate a large selection of templates and a simple interface without technical overhead

Conclusion

Every online store has different needs. Whether you're looking for a simple tool to get started or a more advanced solution with automation and segmentation, there is a suitable option for Shopify.

Not sure which platform to choose? Need help with integration, automation setup, or data migration?

Feel free to get in touch – we’ll be happy to help you select and implement the right tool for your store.