Fractional CMO vs Marketing Agency for Startups: The GTM Decision Framework

Omnisend vs. Klaviyo: Which One Is Better for Most Modern Businesses

Choosing the right tool to send emails and text messages is important and requires research before committing. The research, however, can take a lot of time, especially considering the number of ESPs currently competing in the market.
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Omnisend and Klaviyo stand on top of the competition list, and people often compare the two to choose the best one.

Omnisend serves almost all online stores extremely well. It works perfectly for businesses of any size that need advanced features but aren’t looking for niche capabilities. It’s powerful without being clunky and doesn’t come with excessive technical overheads or overkill features, which is also reflected in the affordable pricing.

Klaviyo offers very deep data details for your store, but this deep data usually requires trained data scientists. You have to invest a significant amount of time setting everything up, and you also pay a premium price for these deep data insights. The thing is, many regular businesses simply do not need this extreme level of detail to sell their goods.

We’ll compare pricing, campaigns, automations, and customer support to see which platform is the winner for most modern businesses so you don’t have to do all the legwork.

How price changes

Money always matters when you want to grow your online store, so you must look at the pricing rules carefully to see not only the starting costs, but also your future costs. Your monthly costs will increase as your customer list grows over time, but the main difference here is the pace at which the costs increase. 

To begin with, bots platforms provide a free plan where you can test the platform to see if it works for you. 

Omnisend gives you completely free access to all its main tools. You can use advanced automated workflows, detailed reporting features, AI tools, and get 24/7 live chat and email support on the free plan. There’s also professional templates for campaigns, automations, and segments. It allows you to build proper marketing campaigns right from the very start.

Klaviyo limits many features when you use their free plan, including AI tools and customer support. Free users can only use the AI subject line generator and get email support for the first 60 days. Live chat is unavailable on the free tier altogether.

When you upgrade to a paid plan, Omnisend keeps its pricing structure very clear and predictable. As you add more customers to your list, the price grows, but it scales fairly and provides value once you reach higher expenses. For example, at $400/month, they give you a dedicated account expert as a bonus that you can use for more complex issues instead of relying on customer support.

Klaviyo charges higher prices for similar features as your list grows, and the pricing structure becomes highly inconvenient for businesses that only need strong email tools without the overkill and configuration-heavy functionalities. You end up paying extra money for complex tools that you might never use.

For example, Omnisend’s pricing starts at $16 for its cheapest (Standard) plan, and Klaviyo’s cheapest (Marketing) plan starts at $20. That’s for up to 500 contacts. If we’re talking about standard needs that most businesses have, the features are nearly identical (Omnisend may even be better as they offer 24/7 live chat and email support, whereas Klaviyo only provides 24/5).

Either way, the $4 difference isn’t all that huge, but once you get to higher numbers, for example 50,000 subscribers, Klaviyo becomes $720/month, whereas Omnisend remains much lower, standing at $413/month + you get the dedicated account expert we talked about.

That’s why Omnisend is good for any business regardless of its size. You get strong capabilities to drive revenue without the heavy price tag, and you save a lot of money to spend on other parts of your growing business.

Building campaigns

Creating emails and text messages should feel fast and intuitive, as your marketing team needs to build campaigns quickly to announce new sales. 

Omnisend gives you a clean interface that makes campaign building very simple. You can drag and drop different blocks to design your emails, and the platform offers many professional templates to help you start your design.

You can easily add products to your emails by using the product picker block that allows you to search for items right there and automatically add the product’s name, image, description, price, and purchase link. As you get more experience, you can build a simple promotional email campaign in under 30 minutes.

Klaviyo also provides a strong email builder with many design options. You can create customized emails using their block system and templates, just like with Omnisend. Adding products is a bit more complicated as you need to create a product feed first and set up the settings, but once you get the hang of it, it’s not a huge inconvenience.

How automation differs

Automation is one of the most important aspects of email marketing as it can drive revenue without your continuous input. Begin by setting up core workflows like the welcome sequence, abandoned cart recovery, post-purchase follow-ups, and then you can create more personalized workflows to generate more revenue.

Both tools allow you to seamlessly create automation flows, and both platforms have a wide library of templates to choose from. You can use these templates to quickly launch an automation when you have no time, or you can use them as a base to build upon. These templates are fully customizable so you can tailor them to your needs.

Klaviyo provides more granular control over their automations and segmentation, but that level of control comes at a learning curve. Additionally, not many businesses require said niche capabilities and it’s an overkill for most.

If you don’t need these functions, and your demands can be satisfied with standard-advanced automations, there’s no need to overpay for Klaviyo’s additional features.

Migration and customer support

Moving your store data to a new platform often scares both owners and marketers. You worry about losing your customer contacts or breaking your current automations, which is not an ideal scenario.

Omnisend provides a dedicated Kickstart service to completely handle this move for you. Their team moves your contacts, automations, segments, templates, and forms in 3-5 business days. They do this completely free of charge when you sign up for a qualifying plan ($250/month or more). The entire process becomes stress-free and you don’t need to do anything until the work is done.

Klaviyo handles the moving process very differently for new customers. They usually give you a bunch of extensive documents to read, and you have to figure out the technical steps and do the work yourself. There’s also the option to pay for the migration, but it’s handled by their partner agencies that charge their own fees.

When it comes to customer support, Omnisend provides 24/7 live chat and email support for everyone, even free users. Klaviyo, on the other hand, restricts free users to just 60 days of email support (live chat not available), and once you upgrade, you get access to 24/5 live chat and 24/7 email support. For live chat, weekends only become available once you upgrade to a higher tier.

Additionally, both Omnisend and Klaviyo give access to huge libraries of help center articles where you can find tutorials, explanation videos, step-by-step guides, and more.

Omnisend vs. Klaviyo: Verdict

Both software platforms provide excellent tools for selling products online, but you need to think about your specific business needs before you decide. 

Klaviyo serves businesses that employ highly trained data experts very well, and you pay a high price to access highly specific details and complex technical setups. If your store has those needs, Klaviyo is your best choice, but be prepared to have the time, team, and money to use it properly.

If you don’t have these niche needs, then Klaviyo will most likely become a financial burden in the long term, as Omnisend can provide the same capabilities at a fraction of the price. Omnisend delivers exceptional financial value to growing brands, as you get all the tools you need to drive revenue without the technical overhead. The clear user interface helps your marketing team work faster, and you can easily build emails and set up automated workflows.

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Hi, I'm Lillian Pierson, P.E.
Fractional CMO & GTM Engineer for Tech Startups
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HI, I’M LILLIAN PIERSON.
I’m a fractional CMO that specializes in go-to-market and product-led growth for B2B tech companies.
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If you’re looking for marketing strategy and leadership support with a proven track record of driving breakthrough growth for B2B tech startups and consultancies, you’re in the right place. Over the last decade, I’ve supported the growth of 30% of Fortune 10 companies, and more tech startups than you can shake a stick at. I stay very busy, but I’m currently able to accommodate a handful of select new clients. Visit this page to learn more about how I can help you and to book a time for us to speak directly.
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