Choosing an email platform for an online store isn't about newsletters — it's about automated revenue. The right tool recovers abandoned carts, segments by purchase behavior, and fires an SMS when email gets ignored. The wrong one charges you $150/mo for features you could get at $25.
I compared six platforms that ecommerce stores actually use. Here's the pricing at 10,000 contacts — a typical list size for a growing store:
| Service | Price (10K contacts) | SMS Built-in |
|---|---|---|
| Klaviyo | $150/mo | ✅ Email + SMS in one workflow |
| Omnisend | $115/mo | ✅ Email + SMS + Push |
| Brevo | $25/mo (20K emails) | ✅ Pay-as-you-go |
| SendPulse | $53/mo | ✅ + Viber, Telegram |
| Mailchimp | $100/mo | ❌ US only |
| Drip | $99/mo | ❌ US/CA only |
The Key Insight: Brevo Charges Per Email, Not Per Contact
Most platforms charge per contact count — even if half your list hasn't opened an email in months. Brevo charges per emails sent. For stores with large but not highly active lists, this flips the economics entirely: 20,000 emails/mo for $25 vs. $150/mo at Klaviyo for the same contact count.
A Real Case: Abandoned Cart Recovery at 12%
A WooCommerce clothing store (8,000 contacts) set up Omnisend with a 3-email abandoned cart series:
- 1 hour → reminder with cart contents
- 24 hours → social proof (review from a recent buyer)
- 72 hours → 10% promo code as final push
Result: 12% of abandoned carts recovered in month one. Revenue from automations: $4,200 at a platform cost of $89/mo.
The key factor? SMS as a fallback for email non-openers. SMS open rate was 94% with 4.2% conversion — more than double the email conversion of 1.8%.
Quick Decision Framework
- Under 2K contacts, budget < $30/mo → SendPulse or Brevo
- 5K–20K contacts, $50–150/mo → Omnisend (best price-to-feature ratio)
- 20K+ contacts, data-driven → Klaviyo (predictive analytics, RFM segmentation)
📖 The full article includes: detailed reviews of all 6 platforms, a second case study on Viber + email doubling repeat purchases, a Klaviyo predictive analytics case with 1,400% ROI, and integration guides for WooCommerce and Shopify.
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