Omnisend alternatives for ecommerce email and SMS

What people leave Omnisend over

The offer price is not the price

Omnisend’s pricing page shows Standard at $11.20 a month and Pro at $41.30 a month, both flagged as 30%-off first-three-month offer rates. The page itself says the Standard offer is “$33.60 today vs. $48.00 total” — meaning the ongoing monthly rate after the offer is $16 a month at 500 contacts ($48 ÷ 3). Pro’s offer is “$123.90 today vs. $177.00 total,” implying $59 a month ongoing at 2,500 contacts. Teams that budgeted $11.20 find a 43% increase at month four. The alternatives below quote list prices without introductory offers.

SMS costs extra, per message, by country

SMS is included in the Pro plan’s feature set but the messages are metered: pricing starts at $0.007 per SMS for high-volume US sends, with country and volume affecting the price. A store that sends 5,000 SMS messages a month is looking at $35 or more in message costs on top of the subscription. Klaviyo’s SMS pricing is similarly metered; Brevo includes SMS as a channel with its own credits. If SMS is a core channel, model the message cost separately from the plan price — it is not in the subscription number on the pricing page.

A tiny free plan

Omnisend’s free plan covers 250 contacts, 500 emails and 500 web push notifications a month. That is a trial, not a runway. MailerLite’s free plan covers 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month; Mailchimp’s free plan covers 250 contacts and 500 sends a month (similar to Omnisend); Brevo’s free plan allows 300 emails a day to a stored list of up to 100,000 contacts. If you need a free tier to build and test before paying, Omnisend’s 500 emails is the smallest of the group.

Built for ecommerce, period

Omnisend’s automation triggers, segmentation, and product recommender are built around store data: browse behaviour, cart events, order history, product catalog. A SaaS, B2B, or publisher with no store data gets the campaign tools but none of the context that makes Omnisend worth the price. The AI features (Forms AI, Reports AI, Product recommender AI) all assume a catalog. If you are not a store, the alternatives below are more honest fits.

Where Omnisend is still the better choice

Stay if email, SMS and web push need to work together in one customer journey with store context. Omnisend’s automation flows coordinate across channels from a single workflow builder, and the product recommender AI, Forms AI and Reports AI are built for retail. The billing model (subscribers and non-subscribers who received automated messages, excluding unsubscribed) is unusual but transparent. If SMS coordination across a cart-recovery journey is the reason you chose Omnisend, the alternatives may not match it without extra configuration.

The alternatives, one by one

Klaviyo — commerce email with the deepest store data

Klaviyo is the natural upgrade when Omnisend’s store integration is good but not deep enough. The Email plan starts at $20 a month for 500 active profiles with unlimited email sends; the selector shows $30 at 1,000 profiles, $60 at 2,500, $100 at 5,000 and higher bands beyond. Browse, cart, purchase, replenishment and product-level behaviour are first-class data in segmentation and flows, and the revenue attribution is built around catalog events. Where it falls short: Klaviyo prices by active profiles and the cost scales quickly — at 5,000 active profiles it is $100 a month for email alone, before SMS. If Omnisend’s Standard at $11.20 (or $16 ongoing) feels expensive, Klaviyo is not the cheaper option; it is the more capable one. Prices: klaviyo.com/pricing.

Drip — commerce automation at a flat band price

Drip is priced differently from Omnisend: $39 a month for 1–2,500 people with unlimited email sends, dynamic segments and up to 50 workflows. A store at 2,400 contacts pays what a store at 1,100 pays. The band jumps at 2,500 ($59 at 2,501–3,000), 4,500 ($89 at 4,501–5,000) and beyond — the 9,001–10,000 band is $154 a month. Drip offers a 14-day free trial with no credit card required. The trade-off: Drip is email-first — SMS is not a native channel, and the product vocabulary (workflows, people, events) is retail-oriented without Omnisend’s web push coordination. Prices: drip.com/pricing.

Mailchimp — the connector ecosystem

Mailchimp is the pragmatic swap when your store, CRM or forms already speak to it. Free is 250 contacts and 500 sends a month (with a 250-a-day cap); Essentials starts at $13 a month at 500 contacts with sends up to 10 times your contacts; Standard is $20 a month at 500 contacts with 6,000 emails a month and sends up to 12 times contacts. Watch the bands: Standard moves to $100 a month at 2,501–5,000 contacts and $135 at 5,001–10,000, so the plan that wins at 500 contacts rarely wins at 5,000. Mailchimp’s ecommerce features are broad but less deep than Klaviyo’s catalog modelling. Prices: mailchimp.com/pricing.

Brevo — email and SMS from one bill, priced by sends

Brevo is worth comparing when SMS is a requirement and Omnisend’s per-message rate adds up. It is priced by emails sent rather than by contacts: free is 300 emails a day with storage for up to 100,000 contacts; Starter is $9 a month from 5,000 emails with no daily cap; Standard is $18 a month and adds marketing automation, A/B testing and advanced reports. SMS is a channel on the same account with its own credits. The trade-off: Brevo’s product recommender and store-context automation are simpler than Omnisend’s. If your flows depend on browse-and-cart behaviour with dynamic product blocks, test that on Brevo before moving. Prices: brevo.com/pricing.

MailerLite — a small store that needs newsletters and forms

For a store that sends a newsletter and a welcome series but does not need catalog-driven automation, MailerLite’s Comfort plan is $12 a month at 500 subscribers on monthly billing ($10.80 a month billed annually) with a 5,000-email monthly allowance. The free plan covers 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month with 2 user seats. Where it falls short: MailerLite does not model product catalogs, order events, or browse behaviour as first-class data. Store integrations exist but are simpler than Omnisend’s. If your Omnisend flows are cart abandonment and post-purchase series, test whether MailerLite’s automation triggers cover them before treating the $12 as the answer. Prices: mailerlite.com/pricing.

ActiveCampaign — automation depth and a CRM

ActiveCampaign is the alternative when the ecommerce programme also needs sales follow-up or deeper branching than Omnisend’s flows provide. Starter is $15 a month at 1,000 contacts billed annually, with limited segmentation, 1 user and 5 actions per automation. Plus is $49 a month at 1,000 contacts and adds CRM Pipelines, lead scoring and unlimited automation actions. The catch: ActiveCampaign counts every contact toward the limit on accounts created on or after November 3, 2025, including unsubscribed and bounced ones. If your Omnisend list carries a lot of inactive contacts, the switch can raise your bill on both tools. Prices: activecampaign.com/pricing.

How to choose

1. Model the ongoing price, not the offer price. Omnisend Standard at $11.20 is a 30%-off first-three-month rate; the page shows the offer as $33.60 today versus $48.00 total, implying $16 a month ongoing at 500 contacts. Compare that against the alternatives at their list prices.
2. Count your SMS volume separately. Omnisend SMS starts at $0.007 per message for high-volume US sends; Klaviyo and Brevo meter SMS independently. A 5,000-message month adds $35 or more to any of them.
3. Decide whether store data depth matters. If your flows trigger on browse, cart and purchase events with dynamic product content, Klaviyo and Drip are deeper than Mailchimp or MailerLite. If your flows are welcome-series and win-back, the cheaper tools are enough.
4. Check who counts as a contact. Omnisend bills subscribers and non-subscribers who received automated messages (not unsubscribed). Klaviyo prices by active profiles. Mailchimp counts subscribed, unsubscribed and non-subscribed contacts. The same list is a different price on each tool.
5. Budget the rebuild: product feeds, coupon logic, dynamic content blocks, and revenue attribution do not export as working copies. Two to five days of rebuilding is part of the price of switching.

Moving off Omnisend without losing customers

Omnisend holds store data, consent records, automation flows and SMS opt-ins. The risk in moving is not losing subscribers — it is losing the context that made the emails work. Export subscribers with their purchase history and consent status first, then document every automation flow before touching the new tool. SMS consent is a separate legal basis from email consent; do not assume it transfers.

1. Export subscribers with custom fields, signup source, purchase history if available, and consent dates. Export unsubscribes and bounces as a suppression file — anyone who opted out on Omnisend must stay opted out.
2. Export SMS opt-ins separately. Email consent does not cover SMS in most jurisdictions; re-confirm or re-collect SMS permission in the new tool before sending any text messages.
3. Document every automation flow: trigger (cart abandoned, order placed, browse abandonment), email steps, SMS steps, wait times, split logic, and exit rules. Omnisend does not export flow logic as a portable file.
4. Export or screenshot dynamic content blocks and product recommender settings. These are catalog-bound and will need to be rebuilt against the new tool’s product feed.
5. Authenticate the sending domain in the new tool (SPF and DKIM), rebuild one low-risk flow first (a welcome series), send to a small segment, and compare engagement against your last Omnisend send before moving the cart and purchase flows.

FAQ

Does Omnisend have a free plan?

Yes, but it is small: 250 contacts, 500 emails and 500 web push notifications a month. No credit card required. It is enough to test the editor and build one automation flow, not to run a programme. MailerLite (250 subscribers, 2,500 emails a month) and Brevo (300 emails a day) both offer more generous free tiers.

What does Omnisend really cost after the discount ends?

The pricing page shows Standard at $11.20 a month as a 30%-off first-three-month rate and labels the offer “$33.60 today vs. $48.00 total” at 500 contacts — implying $16 a month ongoing. Pro’s offer at 2,500 contacts is “$123.90 today vs. $177.00 total,” implying $59 a month ongoing. Always ask what the recurring rate is before budgeting the introductory price.

Is Klaviyo or Omnisend better for a small store?

Klaviyo has deeper catalog and order data but starts at $20 a month for 500 active profiles. Omnisend Standard is $11.20 a month (offer rate) or about $16 ongoing at 500 contacts and includes web push. For a store that needs email plus SMS coordinated in one journey, Omnisend is simpler. For a store that needs product-level segmentation and revenue attribution, Klaviyo is stronger. Compare at your contact count — Klaviyo at 5,000 profiles is $100 a month.

Can I keep my SMS programme if I switch from Omnisend?

Only if you re-collect or re-confirm SMS consent. Email consent does not cover SMS in most jurisdictions, and Omnisend’s SMS opt-in records are specific to its platform. Export your SMS subscriber list with consent dates, then use a double opt-in or confirmation message in the new tool before sending any marketing texts. Ignoring this step risks complaints and carrier penalties.

Which alternative keeps web push alongside email?

Omnisend includes 500 web push notifications a month on the free plan and unlimited on Pro. Brevo has web push as a channel. Klaviyo, Drip, MailerLite and Mailchimp do not include web push as a core feature on their standard pricing pages — if push is a requirement, verify it on each vendor’s site before assuming it travels with you.