Best Email Marketing Software for Shopify Stores in 2026
Your Shopify store already has the traffic problem half solved. The real leak is the shoppers who leave and never come back.
Email is how you bring them back. This guide compares the best email marketing software for Shopify in 2026, with real pricing and the numbers behind each pick.
Key takeaways
- Klaviyo is the strongest all-round pick for Shopify brands with real revenue behind their list.
- Omnisend gives you most of Klaviyo’s ecommerce power for less money.
- Shopify Messaging is the smartest free starting point for new stores.
- Automated flows matter more than the tool. Build welcome and abandoned cart emails first.
Why email matters more for Shopify stores
Most shoppers do not buy on their first visit. The average cart abandonment rate sits at 70.22%, based on Baymard Institute’s analysis of 50 studies.
That is seven out of ten carts left behind. Baymard also estimates that around $260 billion in lost orders is recoverable across US and EU retailers.
Email is the cheapest way to win part of that back. Omnisend’s 2026 Ecommerce Marketing Report analyzed 150,000 brands and 27 billion emails.
- Automated emails made up just 2% of sends but drove 30% of email revenue.
- Automated emails earned $2.87 per send, compared to $0.18 for scheduled campaigns.
- Abandoned cart and welcome emails produced 76% of all automation orders.
- Average email open rates reached 30.7% in 2025, the fifth straight yearly rise.
The lesson is simple. The best email tool for Shopify is the one that makes automation easy and ties every email to real orders.
How we picked these tools
We judged every platform on what matters to a Shopify seller, not a blogger or a SaaS company. Each tool had to pass five tests.
- Shopify sync depth. Does it pull orders, products, and browsing behavior automatically?
- Ecommerce flows. Are abandoned cart, browse abandonment, and post-purchase flows prebuilt?
- Revenue reporting. Can you see which email made which sale?
- Pricing as you grow. What happens to your bill at 10,000 contacts?
- SMS options. Can you add text messages later without switching tools?
Quick comparison: best email marketing software for Shopify
| Tool | Best for | Free plan | Paid from | SMS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Klaviyo | Scaling Shopify brands | 250 profiles, 500 emails | $20/mo (500 profiles) | Yes, add-on |
| Omnisend | Best value email + SMS | 250 contacts, 500 emails | $16/mo (Standard) | Pro plan only |
| Shopify Messaging | New stores on a tight budget | 10,000 emails/mo | $1 per extra 1,000 emails | Yes, billed separately |
| MailerLite | Small catalogs, content-led stores | 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails | $12/mo (Comfort) | No |
| ActiveCampaign | Advanced automation and CRM | No (14-day trial) | $15/mo billed yearly | Yes, add-on |
| Mailchimp | Beginners who want familiar tools | Yes, limited | $13/mo (Essentials) | Yes, add-on |
Prices in USD, checked September 2026. Plans change often, so confirm on each vendor’s pricing page.
1. Klaviyo: best overall for growing Shopify brands
Klaviyo is the tool most serious Shopify brands end up on. Its Shopify sync pulls in orders, products, and browsing data with almost no setup.
Segmentation is where it shines. You can target “bought twice, not in 60 days” or “viewed this product three times” in a few clicks.
Pricing. The free plan covers 250 active profiles and 500 emails a month. The Email plan starts around $20 a month for 500 profiles and reaches about $150 at 10,000 profiles.
The catch. Since February 2025, Klaviyo bills on active profiles, meaning every contact you can email. Large, unengaged lists get expensive fast, and there is no annual discount on self-serve plans.
Choose Klaviyo if your store already makes steady sales and you want deep segmentation and predictive data like expected next order date.Check Klaviyo pricing
2. Omnisend: best value for email and SMS
Omnisend was built for ecommerce from day one. It gives Shopify stores prebuilt abandoned cart, browse abandonment, and back-in-stock flows at a lower price than Klaviyo.
Its free plan is genuinely usable. You get the same features as paid plans, capped at 250 contacts and 500 emails a month.
Pricing. Standard starts at $16 a month and sends up to 12 times your list size. Pro starts at $59 a month with unlimited email sends.
The catch. For new accounts from May 4, 2026, SMS is only available on the Pro plan as a paid add-on. Standard is now email only.
Choose Omnisend if you want Klaviyo-style automation without Klaviyo-sized bills.See Omnisend plans
3. Shopify Messaging: best free starting point
Shopify’s own email tool (formerly Shopify Email) lives inside your admin. It pulls your logo, colors, and products automatically.
The pricing is hard to beat. Every store gets 10,000 free emails a month, then pays $1 per extra 1,000 emails, according to Shopify’s Help Center.
Better still, abandoned checkout automations are free and do not count toward your monthly limit. Unused emails do not roll over, though.
The catch. Segmentation and reporting are basic next to Klaviyo or Omnisend. Most stores outgrow it once they pass a few thousand engaged subscribers.
Choose Shopify Messaging if you just launched and want abandoned checkout emails running today for zero cost.
4. MailerLite: best budget pick for small stores
MailerLite is clean, fast, and affordable. It connects to Shopify, syncs products, and supports ecommerce automations like abandoned cart emails.
It suits stores that sell a small catalog or lean on content, such as newsletters, guides, or digital products. Read our full MailerLite review for a deeper look.
Pricing. MailerLite changed its plans on June 16, 2026. The free plan now covers 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails, while Comfort starts at $12 a month and Power at $25.
The catch. There is no SMS, and its ecommerce reporting is lighter than dedicated Shopify tools.
Choose MailerLite if you want a simple, low-cost tool and your store is still small.
5. ActiveCampaign: best for advanced automation
ActiveCampaign is the automation heavyweight. Its visual builder handles complex branching, lead scoring, and a built-in CRM.
That makes it a strong fit for Shopify stores with wholesale buyers, high-ticket products, or long sales cycles. See our ActiveCampaign review for the full breakdown.
Pricing. Starter costs $15 a month billed yearly ($19 monthly) for 1,000 contacts. Plus, the most popular tier, costs $49 a month billed yearly.
The catch. There is no free plan, and costs climb quickly as your list grows. It also has fewer ready-made Shopify flows than Klaviyo or Omnisend.
Choose ActiveCampaign if your store behaves more like a B2B business than a quick-checkout shop.View ActiveCampaign pricing
6. Mailchimp: familiar, but not Shopify-first
Mailchimp is the name most people know. It still offers a Shopify app with a free plan and paid tiers from $13 a month.
It works fine for simple newsletters. However, its ecommerce automations and Shopify data sync are not as deep as the tools above.
Choose Mailchimp if you already use it for other businesses and want one familiar dashboard. Our Mailchimp review covers the full picture.
The 5 email flows every Shopify store needs
The tool only matters if you build the right flows. Start with these five, in this order.
- Welcome series. Greet new subscribers and deliver any discount you promised.
- Abandoned cart. Remind shoppers of what they left behind within a few hours.
- Browse abandonment. Follow up on products someone viewed but never added to cart.
- Post-purchase. Thank buyers, share care tips, and ask for a review.
- Back in stock. Alert shoppers when a sold-out item returns.
Back-in-stock emails recorded the highest conversion rate of any automation at 6.46%, per Omnisend’s 2026 report. Birthday emails also produced an average order value of $744.37, more than four times the norm.
Which tool should you choose?
| Your store stage | Our pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Just launched, under 1,000 subscribers | Shopify Messaging | 10,000 free emails and free abandoned checkout emails. |
| Growing, 1,000 to 10,000 subscribers | Omnisend | Full ecommerce flows at a fair price. |
| Established brand with strong sales | Klaviyo | Deepest segmentation and predictive data. |
| Small catalog or content-led store | MailerLite | Simple, cheap, and easy to learn. |
| Wholesale or high-ticket sales | ActiveCampaign | Advanced automation plus a built-in CRM. |
How to keep your email bill under control
Most Shopify email tools charge by contacts, not sends. That means old, silent subscribers quietly raise your bill.
Clean your list every quarter. Remove or suppress anyone who has not opened or clicked in six months.
Also watch for automatic upgrades. Klaviyo, for example, moves you to the next tier at your next billing cycle if your active profiles pass your plan limit.
Final verdict
There is no single best tool for every store. There is a best tool for your stage.
Start free with Shopify Messaging, move to Omnisend as you grow, and graduate to Klaviyo when your list drives serious revenue. Whatever you pick, build your welcome and abandoned cart flows first.
Want to compare more tools? Browse all our email marketing reviews or read our Kit (ConvertKit) review if you sell digital products.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best email marketing software for Shopify?Is Shopify Messaging free?Is Klaviyo worth it for a small Shopify store?Which Shopify email tool includes SMS?What email should a Shopify store set up first?
Disclosure: SoftwareStackPro may earn a commission if you buy through some links on this page, at no extra cost to you. We only recommend tools we would use ourselves.
© 2026 SoftwareStackPro
Free plan up to 10,000 subscribers. 14-day trial of paid plans.
About Vincencia Anyango
IT graduate and freelance web specialist who has built WordPress sites and run email campaigns for clients since 2020. Every review on SoftwareStackPro is based on hands-on testing. More about how I review →
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