Best Email Marketing Software for Shopify Stores

Most of your Shopify visitors will leave without buying. The right email tool is how you bring them back.

This guide compares the best email marketing software for Shopify, using current 2026 pricing. You will see which tool fits your store size, budget, and growth plans.

Why Email Matters So Much for Shopify Stores

Abandoned carts are the biggest leak in ecommerce. Baymard Institute puts the average cart abandonment rate at 70.22%, based on 50 separate studies.

76.04%Cart abandonment rate measured across 958 Shopify stores and 2 million carts in the first half of 2026 (Growth Suite).

Automated emails win a lot of that revenue back. Omnisend’s 2026 ecommerce report found automations made up just 2% of email sends but drove 30% of revenue.

The per-email gap is huge. Automated emails earned $2.87 per send versus $0.18 for campaigns.

You also don’t need dozens of flows to see results. Welcome and abandoned cart emails alone accounted for 76% of all automation-related orders in 2025.

Bottom line: your email tool must run abandoned cart and welcome flows well. Everything else is a bonus.

Quick Comparison: Best Email Marketing Software for Shopify

Tool	Best for	Free plan	Paid from
Klaviyo	Growing stores that want deep data	250 active profiles, 500 emails/month	$20/month (500 profiles)
Omnisend	Best value for email plus SMS	250 contacts, 500 emails/month	$16/month (500 contacts)
Shopify Email	New stores on a tight budget	10,000 emails/month	$1 per 1,000 extra emails
MailerLite	Small stores wanting simplicity	250 subscribers, 2,500 emails/month	$12/month (500 subscribers)
ActiveCampaign	Stores that need a CRM	None (free trial)	$15/month
Mailchimp	Stores already on Mailchimp	Yes, limited	$13/month

Prices checked September 2026. Plans change often, so confirm on each vendor’s pricing page.

1. Klaviyo: Best Overall for Scaling Shopify Stores

Klaviyo is the tool most serious Shopify brands graduate to. Its Shopify sync pulls in every order, product view, and customer detail.

That data powers smarter segments. You can target shoppers who bought once, viewed a product twice, or have not ordered in 90 days.

Klaviyo Pricing

The free plan covers up to 250 active profiles, 500 email sends a month, and 150 SMS credits. The Email plan starts around $20/month and Email + SMS around $35/month.

The catch is scale. Email plan costs climb from about $20 a month at 500 profiles to roughly $400 at 25,000 profiles.

Watch how profiles are counted. Klaviyo bills on active profiles, so any contactable profile counts toward your tier, not just the ones you email.

Pros

Deep Shopify data, predictive analytics, strong flow templates.

Cons

Gets expensive fast. Steeper learning curve for beginners.

Best for: stores with growing revenue that will actually use advanced segmentation.

2. Omnisend: Best Value for Email and SMS

Omnisend is built only for ecommerce. It feels like Klaviyo with a friendlier price tag.

Every plan gets the core features. All three plans include the full feature set, unlike Klaviyo’s tiered approach.

Omnisend Pricing

The free plan is genuinely useful. You get 500 emails a month to up to 250 contacts, with full access to automations, segmentation, forms, and unlimited landing pages.

Standard starts at $16/month and scales by contact count. Pro starts at $59/month, removes the email cap, and includes SMS credits.

Note the SMS change this year. For new subscribers since May 4, 2026, SMS is only available on Pro, with volume pricing from $0.007 per SMS. See the Omnisend pricing guide.

Pros

Full features on every plan, strong free plan, email plus SMS plus push in one place.

Cons

SMS now requires Pro. Fewer advanced analytics than Klaviyo.

Best for: small and mid-size Shopify stores that want ecommerce power without Klaviyo prices.

3. Shopify Email: Best Free Starting Point

Shopify’s built-in tool lives inside your admin. There is nothing to install or sync.

Shopify now groups it under Shopify Messaging. It is available on the Basic, Grow, Advanced, and Plus plans, with 10,000 free emails every month.

Shopify Email Pricing

After 10,000 emails, you pay $1 per 1,000 additional emails up to 300,000, then $0.65 per 1,000. Full details are in the Shopify Help Center.

Two details save money. Abandoned checkout emails are always free, but unused emails don’t roll over.

Pros

Very cheap, zero setup, uses your store branding and products automatically.

Cons

Basic segmentation, limited automation triggers, weak reporting.

Best for: new stores sending simple newsletters and promos.

4. MailerLite: Best Budget Pick for Small Stores

MailerLite is the easiest email tool on this list. It also connects directly to Shopify.

You can add products to emails, segment by purchases, track revenue, and trigger abandoned cart journeys.

MailerLite Pricing

The Comfort plan starts at $12/month for 500 subscribers. Power starts at $25/month with unlimited monthly emails.

The free plan now covers 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month. That was cut in 2026, so check it before you commit.

Read our full MailerLite review for our hands-on test results.

Best for: small stores and side hustles that value simplicity over deep ecommerce data.

5. ActiveCampaign: Best for Stores That Need a CRM

ActiveCampaign is the automation powerhouse. It is a great fit if you sell high-ticket items or wholesale.

Its built-in CRM tracks leads through a sales pipeline. That matters for stores that close deals over the phone or by quote.

Pricing starts around $15/month on the Starter plan. The CRM, lead scoring, and deal pipelines sit on higher tiers.

See our in-depth ActiveCampaign review for the full breakdown.

Best for: B2B, wholesale, and high-ticket Shopify stores.

6. Mailchimp: Best If You Already Use It

Mailchimp is the most familiar name in email marketing. It works with Shopify, but it isn’t built around ecommerce.

Its Shopify listing shows a free plan, Essentials from $13/month, Standard from $20/month, and Premium from $350/month. Billing runs through Intuit Mailchimp, separate from Shopify.

It also charges for unsubscribed contacts. That makes it pricier than it looks as your list grows.

Get the details in our Mailchimp review.

Best for: stores already on Mailchimp that are not ready to migrate.

How to Choose the Right Email Tool for Your Shopify Store

Start with your stage, not the feature list. Here is a simple guide.

• Just launched: Start with Shopify Email. It’s free and good enough for your first few campaigns.
• Growing, under 5,000 contacts: Pick Omnisend or MailerLite. You get real abandoned cart flows without a big bill.
• Scaling with steady revenue: Move to Klaviyo. Its data and segmentation pay off once you have volume.
• Selling high-ticket or B2B: Choose ActiveCampaign. The CRM keeps sales and email in one place.

Must-Have Features for Shopify Email Marketing

Whatever tool you pick, check for these five features first:

1. Native Shopify integration that syncs orders and products in real time.
2. Abandoned cart and checkout flows with ready-made templates.
3. Welcome series automation to convert new subscribers.
4. Purchase-based segmentation so you can target repeat buyers.
5. Revenue reporting that shows which emails make money.

Welcome emails deserve special attention. Omnisend data shows they have the highest click-to-conversion rate of any email type, at 50.98%.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best email marketing software for Shopify?Is Shopify Email free?Is Omnisend cheaper than Klaviyo?Which email tool has the best free plan for Shopify?Do I need SMS marketing for my Shopify store?

Final Verdict

The best email marketing software for Shopify depends on your store’s stage. Start cheap, prove your flows work, then upgrade.

For most stores, Omnisend offers the best balance of price and power. Klaviyo wins once you have the revenue to justify it.

Still comparing general tools? See our guide to the best email marketing software for small business or browse all our email marketing reviews.

Related Reading:

>>> https://softwarestackpro.com/migrate-mailchimp-to-mailerlite/

>>>https://softwarestackpro.com/best-free-email-marketing-tools/

>>>https://softwarestackpro.com/activecampaign-vs-mailchimp/