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Which email marketing platform should a small shop use?

The right platform is the one that connects properly to your shop, fits your budget at your list size and that you will actually log into. Answer seven questions below and the Pipe Builder suggests three that fit, with the reason for each.

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Find your email platform

Seven junctions, two minutes

Lay the pipe from your shop to a customer's inbox. Each junction is a question about how you actually work. At the end you get three platforms that fit, with the reason each one came out, and no obligation to take any of them.

Pipe Builder – platform finder_□×
Your shopTheir inbox
Junction 1 of 7

What matters when choosing an email platform

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Most comparison tables list hundreds of features. A small shop uses a handful of them. These four decide whether a platform suits you.

1. How well it connects to your shop

The platform needs your order, product and basket data to send anything useful. Without it, an abandoned cart email cannot show what was left in the basket. Shopify connects well to most of them. Squarespace, Wix and marketplaces have fewer good options.

2. What it costs at your list size

Most platforms charge by the number of contacts. A tool that is cheap at 500 contacts can be expensive at 15,000. Check the price at double your current list, not just today's.

3. How deep the automation goes

Every platform can send a welcome email. Fewer can branch a flow based on what someone bought, or hold back a campaign from people who are already in a flow.

4. Whether you will use it

The cheapest platform you log into every fortnight beats the best one you avoid.

Platforms priced by contacts vs by emails sent

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Klaviyo, Mailchimp, Omnisend and most others charge by how many contacts you hold. Brevo charges by how many emails you send. If you have a large list and send a modest amount, pricing by sends can be much cheaper. If you send often to a small list, contact pricing usually wins.

The full breakdown of platform fees against freelancer and agency costs, in pounds, is in how much email marketing costs. For the two names most Shopify shops end up choosing between, see Klaviyo vs Mailchimp.

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When to stay where you are

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If you already use a platform and it connects to your shop, the answer is usually to stay. Most underperforming accounts are not limited by the tool. They are missing flows, sending irregularly or sending to people who stopped reading a year ago.

A move makes sense when the platform cannot connect to your shop properly, when the bill has outgrown what it earns, or when you need automation it does not offer.

Moving platform later

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Picking the wrong platform is not fatal. A move is a defined job: export the list with its consent records, rebuild the flows, set up the sending domain again and warm it up gradually. The writing and the flow logic come with you.

I build in twelve platforms, so a move is never a condition of working together. Each platform page sets out what it is good at and where it runs out.

Questions people ask

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What is the best email platform for a small Shopify shop?

Shopify Email suits a small list and a tight budget. Klaviyo and Omnisend suit shops that want proper automation. The finder above weighs your answers to suggest one.

Is a free plan good enough?

For learning to send, often yes. Free plans usually limit contacts, sends or automation, so check what happens when the list grows.

Does the platform affect deliverability?

Less than people think. Domain authentication, list quality and how often you send matter more than which tool sends the email.

Do I need to switch platform to work with you?

No. I work in the one you already pay for and only suggest moving when the tool is the limit.

Read next

Start hereNew to emailThe five things you need first and the first 90 days.PlatformKlaviyoThe deepest ecommerce build available.PlatformShopify EmailSends from inside the Shopify admin.
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