Updated October 2026 · Free plan covers 2,000 contacts · No code required

2,000 contacts on Systeme.io free tier · Unlimited sends · No monthly fee

Stop paying Klaviyo
$20+/month.
Replace it free today.

Systeme.io's free plan holds 2,000 contacts with unlimited email sends, against Klaviyo's 250, which makes it a free home for a small Shopify list. Its pricing FAQ lists one email campaign and one automation rule on the free plan, so one main flow plus broadcasts is free; several flows need its $17 plan.

The bill grows with your audience, not with what your audience earns you. Every dormant subscriber, every duplicate, every address that has not opened anything in two years is charged at the same rate as your best buyer. Most operators discover this only when a seasonal signup spike lands on the invoice.

Calculate_Your_Klaviyo_Savings

What is your monthly Klaviyo bill, and how many contacts do you have?

Read on klaviyo.com/pricing and Klaviyo's Shopify App Store listing on 25 September 2026: free up to 250 active profiles, $20/month for 251–500. Klaviyo does not publish a price above 500 profiles; it quotes those in an in-account estimator, so we show none.

$20+/mo

Klaviyo charges

Active profiles

Billed whether emailed or not

Auto-upgrades

Moves you up tiers silently

$0/mo

Systeme.io costs

Unlimited emails on free plan 2,000 contacts free (8× Klaviyo) Migrate in under 30 minutes Replaces ClickFunnels too

See how it works

Monthly cost forever

2,000

Free contacts (8× Klaviyo)

8×

More free contacts than Klaviyo

30 min

Full migration time

The Klaviyo problem

Why your Klaviyo bill keeps climbing in 2026

Klaviyo changed how it bills in February 2025, and most merchants didn't notice until the invoice arrived.

Until February 2025, Klaviyo billed you based on the contacts you actively emailed each month. If you had 15,000 people on your list but only emailed 8,000 of them, you paid for 8,000. That was already expensive, but it was at least predictable.

The 2025 pricing update changed this fundamentally. Klaviyo now charges based on active profiles: every contact in your account, whether you email them or not. Unengaged subscribers who haven't opened an email in two years. People who signed up for a discount code and never bought. All of them count.

Klaviyo 2026 pricing reality

Up to 250 contacts/mo

$20

251–500 contacts/mo

Not published

Above 500 contacts/mo

The compounding effect is brutal. As you run ads, collect email addresses at checkout, and grow your list through popups and campaigns, your Klaviyo bill climbs automatically, even when your revenue doesn't.

What most stores actually use Klaviyo for

The honest truth is that most Shopify stores use Klaviyo for four things: a welcome email sequence, an abandoned cart flow, a post-purchase sequence, and occasional broadcast campaigns. These are not advanced features, and Systeme.io does not bill for unengaged subscribers. Its free plan covers broadcasts and one sequence (its pricing FAQ lists 1 email campaign and 1 automation rule); all three flows together need its Startup plan, $17/month for up to 5,000 contacts, which is still below Klaviyo for most lists over 500 contacts.

For stores that need more advanced customer support alongside email, consider pairing Systeme.io with Tidio for free live chat and AI chatbots, or Gorgias for a unified helpdesk that integrates with Shopify. Both complement your email marketing with real-time customer engagement.

What you get free

Systeme.io replaces more than just Klaviyo

The free plan is an all-in-one platform. Klaviyo was just one part of what you were paying for.

✉️

Email marketing & automation

Unlimited email sends. Welcome sequences, abandoned cart, post-purchase flows, broadcast campaigns. All the automation logic that sits behind Klaviyo's active-profile tiers.

Replaces Klaviyo: saves $20+/mo

⏽

Sales funnels & landing pages

Build opt-in pages, sales funnels, upsell flows, and squeeze pages. Drag-and-drop builder: no ClickFunnels subscription required.

Replaces ClickFunnels: $97–$297/mo

👥

CRM & contact management

Tag contacts, build segments, track purchase behaviour, and manage your entire customer database, without a separate CRM tool.

Replaces a standalone CRM tool

🎓

Online course hosting

Host digital products, courses, and memberships directly on Systeme.io. No Teachable or Thinkific subscription needed.

Replaces Teachable: $39–$189/mo

🤝

Affiliate programme management

Run your own affiliate programme (track referrals, manage commission payouts, and recruit affiliates) all included free.

Replaces affiliate software

📊

Analytics & reporting

Email open rates, click rates, funnel conversion rates, and revenue attribution: all in one dashboard, no add-on required.

Replaces paid analytics add-ons: free

Free plan limits

Systeme.io's free plan supports 2,000 contacts with unlimited email sends. Klaviyo's free plan caps at 250 contacts and 500 emails per month. For stores larger than 2,000 contacts, Systeme.io's Startup plan at $17/month covers up to 5,000 contacts; Klaviyo does not publish a price for that list size. For stores needing advanced email marketing features with larger lists, GetResponse offers AI-powered automation, landing pages, and webinar hosting: compared further down this page.

Side by side

Klaviyo vs Systeme.io: the full comparison

Every metric that matters for a Shopify email marketing decision.

Feature	Klaviyo	Systeme.io (Free)
Monthly cost	$20+/mo	$0 forever
Free contacts	250 (500 emails/mo cap)	2,000 (unlimited sends)
Email automations	Advanced	1 email campaign + 1 automation rule on free
Billing model	All active profiles (incl. unengaged)	Contact count only
Sales funnels	Not included	Included free
CRM	Basic: email focused	Full CRM included
Course hosting	Not included	Included free
Affiliate management	Not included	Included free
Auto tier upgrades	Automatic: unpredictable cost	Manual: you control upgrades
Shopify integration	Native deep integration	Webhook + Zapier/Make
Shopify segmentation	Deep ecommerce segments	Standard tags and segments
Annual cost (10k contacts)	Not published: in-account estimate	$564/year (Webinar plan)

When Klaviyo is worth keeping

Klaviyo's deep Shopify integration, predictive analytics, and ecommerce-specific segmentation are genuinely more powerful for large stores running sophisticated segmented campaigns. If you have 50,000+ contacts and use Klaviyo's advanced segmentation heavily, the ROI may justify the cost. For everyone else paying a mid-ladder Klaviyo bill to run welcome flows and broadcast campaigns: Systeme.io does that for $0.

🌍 Newsletter-first stores

Running a content-led or newsletter-first Shopify brand? Beehiiv is worth considering alongside Systeme.io: free up to 2,500 subscribers, built-in referral growth tools, and a significantly simpler setup for content creators. Where Systeme.io is built for funnel-led email marketing, Beehiiv is built for newsletter-first audience growth: a meaningful distinction for content-driven stores that prioritise audience over conversion rate optimisation.

UK stores

Klaviyo pricing for UK Shopify stores

Billed in dollars, paid in pounds, with VAT on top. The sticker price is not the bill.

Klaviyo publishes its prices in USD (klaviyo.com/pricing, read 25 September 2026), so a UK store pays whatever the exchange rate says on the invoice date. VAT is then added at the UK standard rate, which is 20% (gov.uk/vat-rates, read 25 September 2026). We quote Klaviyo in the currency it publishes and do not convert: a sterling figure worked out at one day's rate is out of date the next.

VAT-registered businesses reclaim that VAT on the quarterly return, so the true cost is the net figure. The cash-flow effect is still real, because you pay it upfront and recover it later.

Why UK bills rose harder than US bills

Two things landed at once. The active-profile change described above hit UK stores disproportionately, because GDPR practice creates large suppressed segments: contacts who never re-consented during post-Brexit list cleans, unsubscribes, bounces and lapsed customers that UK stores retain for compliance periods rather than delete. Under volume-based billing those cost nothing. Under active-profile billing they are chargeable.

On top of that, a dollar-denominated bill moves with the exchange rate, so the same plan can cost a UK store more in pounds from one year to the next with no change of plan and no change in usage.

GDPR, consent and Making Tax Digital

Systeme.io and GetResponse both maintain UK GDPR compliance, which mirrors EU GDPR under the Data Protection Act 2018, and both support double opt-in, consent recording and data subject access request workflows to ICO expectations. Your existing consent records transfer with your contact export: you do not need to re-obtain consent from subscribers who already opted in.

One administrative detail worth knowing: Klaviyo invoices are issued in USD, so a VAT-registered UK business has to convert each one to GBP at the invoice date for its MTD records. A free plan issues no invoices and creates no such obligation for that cost centre.

The honest UK threshold

If your Klaviyo invoice has moved past the free tier and your use case is triggered sequences plus broadcasts, migrate. The sequences rebuild in under an hour, and the saving starts with the next invoice.

Above the free tier

Over 2,000 contacts: Klaviyo vs GetResponse

Systeme.io's free plan stops at 2,000 contacts. Past that, this is the comparison that matters.

The billing models diverge in a way headline prices hide. Klaviyo charges on all active profiles; GetResponse charges on contacts in your list with no engagement penalty. For a store holding 10,000 contacts but emailing only 6,000, that difference is the entire argument.

GetResponse's monthly plans start at $19 for 1,000 subscribers and rise by list size (getresponse.com/pricing, read 25 September 2026). Neither vendor publishes its full price ladder as fixed figures, so compare GetResponse's quote for your list with the Klaviyo line on your own invoice rather than with a table of estimates.

Where the feature gap actually is

Klaviyo's Shopify integration is genuinely best-in-class: real-time sync of products viewed, collections browsed, search queries, checkout started and order placed, with flows that can trigger on category affinity, cart-value thresholds, purchase frequency or predicted next order date. GetResponse covers the core reliably (orders sync, abandoned cart triggers fire on live cart data, purchase history is available for segmentation) but without the granular event-level tracking behind browse abandonment and predictive triggers.

It also includes two things Klaviyo does not: a full landing-page and funnel builder, and built-in webinars. Klaviyo counters with predictive analytics (CLV and churn modelling) that GetResponse has no equivalent for.

Klaviyo earns the premium when…

You run 25,000+ contacts with active behavioural segmentation; you send several targeted campaigns a week to different segments; your reporting depends on Klaviyo's click-based revenue attribution, which resets when you switch; or SMS is a primary channel and you want it in one platform.

GetResponse wins when…

You are paying for contacts you never email; your core flows are welcome, abandoned cart and post-purchase, which work equivalently; you want landing pages or webinars alongside email; or you are under 25,000 contacts, where the segmentation gap is smallest.

The migration is the same shape as the Systeme.io one below: export from Klaviyo, connect Shopify under Integrations, import the CSV, rebuild the flows. Two differences are worth planning for: GetResponse ships template flows for abandoned cart, welcome and post-purchase that you customise rather than build from scratch, and you should run both platforms in parallel for two to four weeks before cancelling. Export your Klaviyo campaign history and reporting first: it is not accessible after cancellation.

What to rebuild first

The four flows to rebuild, and how to keep them out of spam

Most stores leaving Klaviyo need four automated flows running again before anything else. The timings below are starting points to adjust, not rules.

Welcome. Triggered by a new subscriber. Three to five emails over about ten days: who you are and your best sellers first, then reviews, then a useful guide, then an offer on a first order. In Systeme.io, trigger it from the tag your sign-up form applies.
Abandoned cart. Triggered by Shopify's abandoned checkout event through Make.com, usually three emails over 72 hours. The free abandoned cart recovery guide covers the full build.
Post-purchase. Triggered by a completed order. What to expect, then how to get the most from the product once it arrives, then a review request, then a related product about three weeks later.
Win-back. Triggered when a customer has not bought for around 90 days. Two emails a week apart; after the second, move people who did not open to a suppressed segment so they stop weighing on your sender reputation.

None of this matters if the emails land in spam. Send from your own domain, not a generic address, and set up its authentication records. Gmail's email sender guidelines require SPF or DKIM from every sender, and SPF, DKIM and DMARC from anyone sending more than 5,000 messages a day to Gmail accounts. If the domain has never sent marketing email, start with small daily volumes and build up over a few weeks. Import only contacts who have engaged recently rather than your whole Klaviyo list, and add your domain to Google Postmaster Tools, which reports your spam rate and reputation with Gmail.

Migration guide

Replace Klaviyo in 30 minutes: step by step

No developer required. Your email sequences migrate in under an hour. Cancel Klaviyo the same day.

Create your free Systeme.io account

Sign up at the link below: no credit card required. The free plan activates instantly. You get 2,000 contacts and unlimited email sends. Systeme.io's pricing FAQ (read 15 October 2026) lists the free plan with 1 email campaign and 1 automation rule, so plan which flow you build first.

systeme.io: free plan, no credit card

Export your Klaviyo contact list

In Klaviyo, go to Profiles → All Profiles → Export. Download your list as a CSV. Include email address, first name, last name, and any custom properties. This takes under 2 minutes.

Klaviyo → Profiles → Export CSV

Import your contacts to Systeme.io

In Systeme.io, go to Contacts → Import Contacts. Upload your CSV and map the columns: email, first name, last name. Add a tag like imported-from-klaviyo so you can segment them. Large lists import in under 5 minutes.

Systeme.io → Contacts → Import

Rebuild your key automation sequences

In Systeme.io's automation builder, recreate your welcome sequence, abandoned cart flow, and post-purchase sequence. Most stores need 2–3 core automations. Takes 15–20 minutes per flow.

Systeme.io → Automations → New workflow

Connect Shopify and test

Connect Systeme.io to Shopify using the native integration under Settings → Integrations, or via a Make.com webhook for more advanced triggers. Place a test order and verify your welcome and post-purchase flows fire correctly.

Systeme.io → Settings → Integrations → Shopify

Cancel Klaviyo

Once your Systeme.io automations are confirmed working, cancel your Klaviyo subscription. In Klaviyo, go to Account → Plan → Cancel Plan. You will not be charged again. Your data remains accessible for 90 days after cancellation.

Klaviyo → Account → Plan → Cancel

Some links below are affiliate links (marked sponsored). They fund the free guides and never change a recommendation: our default pick on this page is a free tier. How we test & disclose →

Start replacing Klaviyo: takes 30 minutes

Free forever · 2,000 contacts · Unlimited sends · No credit card

Create a free Systeme.io account

Complete guide

The best free Klaviyo alternative for Shopify in 2026

Everything you need to know about replacing Klaviyo without losing your email marketing performance.

Why Klaviyo became the default, and why that's changing

Klaviyo became the dominant email marketing platform for Shopify stores between 2020 and 2023 because of its deep native integration, real-time ecommerce event tracking, and genuinely powerful segmentation. The 2025 billing change disrupted that value equation. Charging based on total active profiles rather than email volume means stores pay Klaviyo for contacts they never contact.

What makes Systeme.io different from other Klaviyo alternatives

Most Klaviyo alternatives (Omnisend, Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign) are still email-only platforms. Systeme.io replaces all of it in one platform. The free plan includes unlimited email sends, 3 sales funnels, 1 email campaign, 1 automation rule, 1 course and an affiliate programme, per Systeme.io's pricing FAQ on 15 October 2026. For stores that outgrow Systeme.io's contact limits, GetResponse offers a scalable alternative with AI-powered automation, landing pages, and webinar hosting: starting at $19/month for up to 1,000 contacts with no feature restrictions.

Systeme.io vs Klaviyo: the technical reality for Shopify

The one area where Klaviyo outperforms Systeme.io is deep ecommerce event segmentation. For most Shopify stores, this limitation is theoretical. The majority of stores on Klaviyo are not using predictive segmentation. They have a welcome flow, abandoned cart, post-purchase follow-up, and broadcast campaigns. All four work identically in Systeme.io at $0/month.

Beehiiv: the newsletter-first alternative

For content-led Shopify brands building audience before product (or stores that generate more revenue through editorial content than promotional email) Beehiiv is worth evaluating alongside Systeme.io. Free up to 2,500 subscribers with a built-in referral programme that grows your list passively. Where Systeme.io is built for funnel-led email marketing, Beehiiv is built for newsletter-first growth: a meaningful distinction for content-driven stores that prioritise audience over conversion rate optimisation.

Complete your customer engagement stack

Email marketing is one channel. To maximise customer lifetime value, pair your email platform with live chat and support tools. Tidio adds free live chat and AI chatbots to your Shopify store: answering customer questions in real time while your automations handle follow-up. For larger stores needing a unified helpdesk, Gorgias integrates directly with Shopify and centralises email, chat, and social support in one dashboard. Both pair naturally with Systeme.io's email automations.

The $0 marketing stack for Shopify

Systeme.io is one layer of the complete $0 automation stack. Pair it with CAPI Shield for free server-side conversion tracking, Stocky Swap for free inventory management, TikTok Events API for free TikTok server-side tracking, and Make.com for workflow automation. Use Google Workspace for your business email and collaboration: all connecting into a stack that costs $0/month for core operations.

🌍 Newsletter-first alternative

Beehiiv: For content-led stores & newsletter brands

If your Shopify store grows through content, community, or editorial, not just promotions, Beehiiv is built for you. Free up to 2,500 subscribers, with a built-in referral programme that compounds your list passively. Simpler to set up than Klaviyo or Systeme.io, and purpose-built for newsletter-first audience growth.

Free up to 2,500 subscribers Built-in referral programme Newsletter-first design No credit card required

Where Beehiiv fits in the stack →

Best for content-led stores
and newsletter-first brands

Complete the stack

Systeme.io is one part of the $0 automation stack

Email is solved. Here is what else you can replace for free.

Ad tracking

CAPI Shield

Close the browser tracking gap iOS opens. Free server-side tracking replacing paid tools like Triple Whale and Elevar: deploy in 6 minutes.

Saves $145–$650/mo →

Inventory

Stocky Swap

Replace the retired Stocky app. Every order auto-logged to Google Sheets in real time. Free forever: no paid inventory apps needed.

Saves $49–$119/mo →

TikTok tracking

TikTok Events API

Recover lost TikTok conversion data free. Server-side tracking via Make.com: replaces WeltPixel at $0, deploys in 6 minutes.

Saves $39–$275/mo →

P&L reporting

Shopify P&L automation

Every order writes to a live Google Sheets P&L automatically. Revenue, COGS, fees, and net margin tracked in real time: free, no code, 10 minutes.

Saves $35–$299/mo →

Stability

Autocrat Quota Fix

Stop Google Apps Script quota errors breaking your document workflows. Handles 10,000+ rows per day at $0: keeps the entire stack running reliably.

Runs on Make's free plan →

Full stack

$0 Automation Stack

All six free tools in one place: tracking, inventory, TikTok, email, P&L, and workflow stability. Deploy the entire backend for $0/month.

$0 a month for the stack →

Common questions

Replace Klaviyo: FAQ

Every question store owners ask before switching.

Is Klaviyo free in 2026?

No. Klaviyo changed its billing model in February 2025. The free tier is now limited to 250 contacts and 500 emails/month. Paid plans start at $20/month for 500 contacts. Klaviyo now charges for every active profile, including contacts you have not emailed recently.

Is Systeme.io really free as a Klaviyo replacement?

For a small list and one main flow, yes. On 15 October 2026 Systeme.io's pricing FAQ listed the free plan at 2,000 contacts, unlimited email sends, 3 sales funnels, 1 email campaign and 1 automation rule. That covers one sequence, such as a welcome series, plus broadcasts. Running welcome, abandoned cart and post-purchase flows together needs a paid Systeme.io plan, from $17/month.

What is the difference between Klaviyo and Systeme.io for Shopify?

Klaviyo offers deeper native Shopify segmentation. Systeme.io offers a broader platform (email marketing, funnels, CRM, courses, and affiliate management) at $0/month. For stores not using Klaviyo's advanced segmentation, Systeme.io delivers equivalent email results at zero cost.

How do I migrate my Klaviyo email list to Systeme.io?

Export your Klaviyo contacts as a CSV (Profiles → Export) and import them into Systeme.io (Contacts → Import). Map email, first name, and last name. Your list migrates in under 10 minutes regardless of size.

What is the Klaviyo free plan limit in 2026?

Klaviyo's free plan in 2026 is limited to 250 active profiles and 500 email sends per month. Systeme.io's free plan allows 2,000 contacts with unlimited email sends: 8× more contacts and no sending cap at zero cost.

Why did my Klaviyo bill go up in 2025–2026?

Klaviyo changed its billing model in February 2025. Previously you paid based on contacts you actively emailed. Now you pay for all active profiles in your account: every subscribed contact whether or not you send to them.

Does Systeme.io have abandoned cart emails for Shopify?

It can send an abandoned cart sequence when Shopify data reaches it through a Make.com scenario. Shopify has no abandoned-checkout webhook, so the scenario must also tag buyers from completed orders and the sequence must stop for them before each email. Shopify's own Shopify Messaging app also sends a free abandoned checkout email.

What does Systeme.io replace besides Klaviyo?

Systeme.io's free plan replaces: Klaviyo and Mailchimp for email marketing, ClickFunnels ($97–$297/month) for sales funnels, Teachable ($39–$189/month) for course hosting, and most standalone CRM tools.

Is there a free trial or do I need a credit card?

No credit card required. Systeme.io's free plan is permanently free, not a trial. You create an account, access the full platform up to the free plan limits, and never need to enter payment details unless you choose to upgrade.

Is Beehiiv a good alternative to Klaviyo for Shopify?

Beehiiv is a strong alternative for content-led Shopify brands running newsletter-first growth strategies. Free up to 2,500 subscribers with built-in referral tools. It is not a direct Klaviyo replacement for ecommerce automation: it lacks abandoned cart and post-purchase triggers. But for stores where the newsletter is the primary acquisition channel, it outperforms both Klaviyo and Systeme.io on ease of use and organic list growth.

Ready to switch

Stop paying Klaviyo
for contacts you don't email.

Systeme.io replaces Klaviyo (and ClickFunnels, and Teachable) on a free plan that never expires: 2,000 contacts and unlimited sends, with one email sequence and one automation rule. Move your list, build your most important flow first, and upgrade only if you need more.

See the full $0 stack

Newsletter brand? Beehiiv is the better starting point: it is covered in the guide above.

Migrate in 30 minutes No developer required Cancel Klaviyo same day

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Written by Luke Sandelands

Founder, Stack Architect · Shopify Automation Specialist

Developer of StockLog and author of the open-source shopify-capi-validator npm package. Builds Shopify server-side tracking, Meta CAPI and Google Apps Script automations.

Full profile

Updated 16 October 2026