When it comes to choosing an email marketing and automation platform, Klaviyo and Sendlane are two top options business owners turn to. Both platforms aim to help companies segment contacts, create targeted email campaigns, and track results – critical capabilities for driving revenue growth. However, the two platforms differ in their specific features, integrations, ease of use, and pricing.
With so much riding on the capabilities and reliability of your platform, making the right choice is crucial. In this comprehensive Klaviyo vs Sendlane comparison, we evaluate the two email marketing platforms across ten criteria: market position, ease of use, customization and design, features and functionality, performance, customer support, pricing, reviews and reputation, and final recommendation.
Our goal is to provide small business owners, e-commerce store operators, and marketers with the authoritative information they need to select the best platform for their needs and budget.
1. Understanding the Basics
Founded in 2012 by Andrew Bialecki and Ed Hallen, Klaviyo is a rapidly growing email marketing and automation platform. With over $200 million in funding and thousands of customers, Klaviyo has established itself as an email and SMS marketing leader.
Sendlane, on the other hand, got its start more recently in 2013. Created by entrepreneur Jimmy Kim, Sendlane positions itself as an all-in-one marketing platform for e-commerce.
When it comes to popularity, Klaviyo has greater adoption and name recognition. As one of the most widely used email service providers, Klaviyo powers campaigns for over 90,000 companies. Sendlane, while growing in popularity, still has a smaller customer base as a newer platform.
Klaviyo has an active community and following, with a public Facebook group of over 1,500 members. Sendlane also provides community access through its Facebook page with over 12K followers.
In terms of market presence, Klaviyo’s first-mover status and substantial funding equip it to invest heavily in product R&D and growth. But Sendlane shouldn’t be underestimated as a nimble up-and-comer aiming to disrupt more established players.
2. Features and Functionality
Automation
Klaviyo
Klaviyo provides a visual, drag-and-drop workflow builder to automate campaigns based on customer behaviors and properties. Users can trigger emails or SMS when contacts perform actions like visiting a page, making a purchase, or abandoning their cart.
Advanced features like custom metrics and multi-step flows allow deeper personalization. For example, you can send segmented promotions to customers who haven’t purchased in 60+ days. Klaviyo also offers scheduling based on time delays or dates.
While powerful, some users find Klaviyo’s interface overwhelming at first. The expansive options of the email marketing platform can make it difficult for beginners to know where to start. But with some practice, most digital marketers praise Klaviyo’s automation capabilities.
Sendlane
Sendlane focuses automation primarily on email with tools to trigger campaigns after signup, purchases, and inactive periods. Users can also set up automation rules based on order value, product tags, and other properties.
Workflow options are simpler compared to Klaviyo but still robust for core needs. Sendlane offers easy point-and-click creation of emails in a visual editor. More advanced digital marketers can also build custom journeys with multiple decision points in the automation builder.
In general, the automation editing experience is smooth and intuitive on Sendlane. This makes it faster to start automating compared to Klaviyo’s steeper learning curve. But Klaviyo does enable more complex multi-channel scenarios.
Winner: Klaviyo
For the depth of its automation options, Klaviyo earns the win for ease of use. While Sendlane offers a friendlier starting point, Klaviyo provides the most advanced, customizable workflows between the two platforms. Once mastered, Klaviyo’s visual builder lets you create sophisticated triggers, flows, and experiences that would require code on other platforms.
Email Templates
Klaviyo
Klaviyo offers hundreds of professionally designed email templates optimized for conversions across industries. Users can browse by category to find templates for welcome series, promotions, announcements, holidays, and more.
All templates are mobile-responsive and customizable. The drag-and-drop editor makes it easy to tweak templates without coding, including changing colors, and fonts, and adding images. Those with HTML/CSS skills can further modify template code.
Klaviyo also allows saving customized templates for reuse across campaigns. However, some users want more control to build templates from complete scratch. Overall, Klaviyo streamlines template design for beautiful emails out-of-the-box.
Sendlane
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Sendlane provides over 250 responsive pre-designed email templates with a range of contemporary layouts for eye-catching email campaigns. Each template is fully customizable with a what-you-see-is-what-you-get (WYSIWYG) editing experience that is intuitive for drag-and-dropping content changes.
Beyond the template library, Sendlane has a template designer to create new templates or code custom HTML templates from scratch for complete creative control. Dynamic content tagging lets you reuse templates easily.
For those who value design in their marketing tools, Sendlane templates stand out as ultra-modern and polished. They look great on mobile without additional formatting. The designer is also praised as one of the best among email platforms.
Winner: Tie
The Sendlane Klaviyo comparison shows that both email marketing platforms offer excellent email template design options. Klaviyo provides more template variety out-of-the-box while Sendlane enables greater customization and coding for customizable templates. For non-coders, Klaviyo simplifies template modification using its drag-and-drop editor.
However, creative users may prefer Sendlane’s template designer flexibility. With strengths meeting different needs, we score this category a tie.
Segmentation
Klaviyo
Klaviyo enables users to create unlimited segments based on detailed contact attributes, behaviors, and other properties. Segmentation options include email engagement metrics, order data, custom fields, device type, location, and more.
The platform makes it easy to build segments with simple drag-and-drop rules or use the SQL-style query editor for advanced logic. Users praise Klaviyo’s segmentation as incredibly robust and customizable for targeting emails and offers.
You can also save segments for quick access across campaigns. Dynamic lists automatically update as contacts meet defined criteria so you can consistently engage the desired audience.
Sendlane
Sendlane focuses its segmentation primarily on email and order activity in terms of consumer data. Options for e-commerce companies include create date, open and click activity, order status, lifetime value, and similar basics.
Building segments for your email sequences requires using rules logic in the query builder, which is easy to use but less visually intuitive than Klaviyo. The relative simplicity does make it faster to start segmenting contacts.
Sendlane also allows either real-time or scheduled segment updates. However, advanced options based on enriched customer profiles or predictive data are lacking compared to Klaviyo’s more extensive capabilities.
Winner: Klaviyo
With its unparalleled flexibility to segment contacts based on robust data signals, Klaviyo earns the win for features and functionality. Sendlane covers the fundamentals for many use cases.
But Klaviyo’s breadth of seamless segmentation against custom metrics provides sophisticated personalization rivaling dedicated CDPs. Marketers who require advanced segmentation will get far more possibilities out of Klaviyo.
Analytics
Klaviyo
Klaviyo stands out for its powerful analytics with detailed segmentation and custom reporting. Email metrics track email open rates, clicks, bounces, send times, geolocation, and more to optimize campaigns. You can also view metrics for SMS and web activity.
Custom dashboards allow tailoring analytic displays with different charts, filtered views, and comparisons across date ranges or segments. Klaviyo further surfaces insights through recommendations based on high-performing segments and timing.
With deep segmentation analytics, you can answer questions like which promo code drives the most revenue from previously lapsed customers in Western states. This simplifies data analysis without exporting reports.
Sendlane
Sendlane provides a solid set of email engagement analytics including open, clickthrough, and bounce rates, conversions, and unsubscribe tracking. Reports can filter data by date, campaign, list segment, and other parameters.
The interface enables basic customization of report charts and tables for self-service analysis. However, fewer views are available compared to Klaviyo and multivariate segmentation is lacking to answer more advanced questions.
While covering the fundamentals, Sendlane trails leading platforms on leveraging analytics. However, it may still provide adequate data for average users’ needs without having to export CSVs.
Winner: Klaviyo
Klaviyo wins for its unparalleled analytics among email platforms. The extensive custom reporting and segmentation provide unequaled visibility into the customer journey and campaign performance. Data-driven teams get tremendous flexibility to slice and analyze email and SMS metrics at a granular level within Klaviyo itself, making it a category leader that justifies its premium pricing.
Unique Features
Klaviyo
A few of Klaviyo’s standout unique features include:
SMS Marketing – In addition to email, Klaviyo enables targeted SMS campaigns with automation, analytics, and compliance protections. SMS complements email driving even better results.
Klavogram – This tool auto-generates customized product recommendations for each subscriber based on their on-site behavior and order data. The personalized product galleries can be inserted into emails.
Ratings & Reviews – Collect customer ratings and reviews and showcase them in emails or on your website. This helps drive sales with social proof and feedback.
A/B Testing – KLaviyo provides advanced multivariate testing so you can determine the optimal email content, segment, timing, and other factors to maximize metrics. Tests run simultaneously to conserve the send quota.
Sendlane
Some of Sendlane’s more unique capabilities consist of:
SMS Marketing – Like Klaviyo, Sendlane supports SMS messaging in addition to email. SMS campaigns can be automated based on workflows.
User-Generated Content – Collect customer photos/videos and showcase user content in your emails and site to boost engagement. Sendlane’s tool makes UGC simple to implement.
Countdown Timers – Create a sense of urgency with beautiful scarce timers that trigger FOMO. These can increase email CTRs and take rates.
Email Scheduling – Schedule sends up to 1 year in advance and even set to queue while you’re at sending capacity. Planning ahead has never been easier.
Winner: Klaviyo
Klaviyo wins for having the most impactful and robust combination of unique features that set it apart in power and sophistication.
While Sendlane holds its own on select capabilities like SMS, Klaviyo’s leading-edge toolset including comprehensive analytics, machine learning recommendations, multivariate testing, and reviews make it harder to compete with at the higher end. For advanced functionality, Klaviyo is the winner.
3. Ease of Use
Klaviyo
Klaviyo provides a modern, intuitive interface with smooth workflows for most email and SMS marketing tasks. The dashboard offers clear insights into email metrics and campaign performance.
For new users, Klaviyo’s vast feature set can seem overwhelming initially. The platform is very powerful but less beginner-friendly regarding the learning curve. Be prepared to devote time upfront reading docs and guides to grasp basic functions.
Once understood, the interface is well-designed for user efficiency. Email and automation builders use visual, drag-and-drop workflows for easy creation. And comprehensive analytics put vital data right at your fingertips.
Sendlane
Sendlane focuses on core email marketing needs with a simple, clean interface optimized for e-commerce users. The visual style is modern and interaction flows feel snappy.
Getting started is very straightforward even for those without email marketing experience. Sendlane’s focused features and pre-built templates make it fast to launch the first campaigns. Less complexity means a gentler learning curve.
The tradeoff is reduced capabilities for advanced users. But for most basic email, automation, and SMS needs, Sendlane delivers excellent usability through smart constraints guiding users.
Winner: Sendlane
For the best overall user experience balancing ease of use with functional power, Sendlane wins. Total beginners get running quicker thanks to intuitive workflows and guidance where Klaviyo may overwhelm them. At the same time, experienced users may desire more sophistication than Sendlane provides. Ultimately Sendlane strikes the best balance with strong usability.
4. Email Deliverability
Klaviyo
Klaviyo dedicates substantial resources to optimize email deliverability with receiving ISPs. Sender scores stay consistently high, averaging above 90% inbox placement across Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, and more.
Features that bolster delivery include real-time blacklist monitoring, automated list cleaning, proprietary IP warming technology, and compliance with industry standards like SPF/DKIM.
Klaviyo also enables setting up custom domains and link branding tracking to protect the sender’s reputation. For further assurance of performance, Klaviyo provides deliverability reports showing metrics aggregated across 40 major ISPs.
With a dedicated deliverability team monitoring continuously behind the scenes, Klaviyo users can feel confident in strong email delivery.
Sendlane
As a smaller platform, quantifiable data on Sendlane’s true inbox rates is harder to validate. Anecdotally, users indicate general deliverability feels on par with leading solutions.
We can expect Sendlane to incorporate foundational precautions like list verification, quality link domain usage, and re-engagement approaches. This covers the basics though advanced protections are unlikely matched given Klaviyo’s superior resources.
One advantage worth highlighting is Sendlane’s automatic email rendering previews to confirm consistently great design on all major email platforms. This optimization should slightly bolster delivery.
Winner: Klaviyo
With confirmed high sender scores across top ISPs, Klaviyo stands as the winner for email deliverability. Quantitatively we see superior aggregate inbox placement rates stemming from Klaviyo’s technical capabilities and huge deliverability team fine-tuning performance. Larger brands requiring proven reliability choose Klaviyo confidently based on the data.
5. Customer Support and Community
Klaviyo
Klaviyo provides email and chat support with a live rep on the standard plans. 24/7 phone support is added on higher-tier paid plans. Most users praise Klaviyo’s support as very responsive, technical, and effective in fixing issues.
Extensive self-help resources are also available through Klaviyo’s help documentation, screenshots, webinars, and newsletter content driving education.
While Klaviyo lacks built-in community forums, many users congregate in the Klaviyo Community Facebook group boasting over 1,500 members sharing tips and feedback on how to leverage the platform to their advantage.
Between reliable direct support and peer knowledge exchange, Klaviyo empowers users to find answers both through official and unofficial channels.
Sendlane
Sendlane offers email-based customer support with a focus on fast response times during business hours. Phone support starts at $99/month on premium plans for those needing urgent issues resolution.
The online knowledge base provides FAQs and articles that cover platform guidance sufficiently. Sendlane also facilitates community user engagement through its private Users Group with 500+ members.
Join the Sendlane Users Group Community
While support coverage is lighter overall, reviews confirm Sendlane still delivers capable assistance, especially for less complex technical needs. Their community also adds value by connecting users.
Winner: Tie
Both Klaviyo and Sendlane offer email support with responsive experiences and self-service content adequate for most users. Their Telegram communities add further peer support. For extensive users, Klaviyo provides more reliable resources but Sendlane meets baseline needs making this a tie.
6. Integrations
Klaviyo
Klaviyo integrates with all major e-commerce platforms (Shopify, WooCommerce, etc.), CRMs, email clients, and marketing & sales tools through Zapier and proprietary partnerships.
Native integrations connect seamlessly with web and mobile analytics, payment systems, live chat, reviews management software, and 200+ more apps via the Klaviyo App Directory.
With custom data import options and REST API as well, Klaviyo enables comprehensive syncing of data and contacts from practically any external platform. Users never feel limited connecting other martech stack pieces.
Sendlane
Sendlane offers native integration with every common shopping cart, especially catering to Shopify. CRM connections are also available for basic contact syncing purposes or e-commerce data flows.
Sendlane supports Zapier which expands integration options for migrating email lists, automating workflows, appending data from analytics tools, and more. Over 1,000 total apps can integrate ad hoc through Zapier recipes.
Smaller, niche tools may lack direct integrations however compared to Klaviyo’s expansive catalog. But Sendlane covers the primary integration needs out-of-the-box for most customers.
Winner: Klaviyo
With one of the largest app ecosystems among marketing platforms, Klaviyo wins for integrations – native, Zapier, and custom. Over 200 direct integrations fluidly connect the entire martech stack. The ability to integrate with essentially any app via API means no limits to interfacing with other systems for veterans. Klaviyo simply enables more connectivity.
7. Pricing
Klaviyo
Klaviyo offers a free plan for up to 500 contacts and starter email features. The price for paid plans scales monthly costs primarily based on the number of contacts, starting at $45/month for up to 1,500 contacts. Higher tiers supporting 500k+ contacts are also available.
Top features include advanced tools like SMS, predictive modeling, and custom integrations incur add-on fees. Still, Klaviyo delivers robust email capabilities like automation, landing pages, and reporting in all paid plans.
Overall, Klaviyo provides simplified pricing that flexes with business growth. While premium functionality increases costs, you generally get strong core value for your investment level.
Sendlane
Sendlane’s entry email plan at $545/month covers 500K emails and unlimited subscribers. You also get automation and shopping integrations suited for early-stage needs. From there, pricing depends on contacts, advanced tools desired, and custom enterprise requirements.
Higher Sendlane tiers build in capabilities like SMS marketing, Facebook ads, advanced segments, and pipeline management supporting more sophisticated strategies from your account. Users get access to many key features even at lower prices compared to alternatives.
In total, Sendlane offers strong bang-for-buck, especially for mid-market email and SMS marketing needs. Large-scale pricing can get steep, but you’re generally getting premium-level functionality by top tiers.
Winner: Sendlane
Both services offer a lot of value for money. However, for delivering significant value across all pricing tiers focused on mid-market and growing businesses, Sendlane emerges as the winner for the best pricing approach. Their mid-tier plan capabilities compete with elite offerings from alternatives like Klaviyo priced much higher monthly.
Sendlane’s packed plans better align with companies needing complete email and SMS marketing toolsets on budget. For affordability and a range of features together, Sendlane takes the pricing crown.
8. Email Marketing Platforms Reviews and Reputation
Klaviyo
Klaviyo earns strong reviews averaging 4.7/5 stars across platforms like G2, Capterra, and GetApp. Users praise its powerful email and SMS capabilities, automation features, and integration flexibility.
Areas highlighted positively in Klaviyo reviews include user-friendly workflows for building campaigns, comprehensive analytics and reporting, excellent deliverability rates, and responsive customer support.
The top downsides mentioned involve high costs at higher tiers and complexity in mastering advanced functions like custom metrics for enhanced success. But most agree Klaviyo delivers tremendous value overall as an enterprise-level email platform.
Sendlane
Sendlane garners positive 4.7/5 star reviews on sites like G2, Software Advice, and the Shopify App Store centered on ease of use and good support. Users like the intuitive visual builder and clean interface focused on conversion-driven email.
Pros calling out in Sendlane reviews consist of an extremely simple editor and template builder, strong deliverability with excellent rendering, quality basic reporting and automation, and fast, responsive customer assistance.
Cons tend to focus on missing advanced features present in higher-end alternatives. But Sendlane makes up for it by excelling at core email needs for growing e-commerce brands. Visit popular review sites like the ones mentioned above to learn more about Sendlane’s reviews.
Winner: Klaviyo
With higher overall ratings and praise for the platform’s scalability, Klaviyo wins for best reputation meeting advanced email marketing needs for creating complex campaigns. For those requiring enterprise-grade capabilities plus excellent support, Klaviyo shines as the market leader based on validated customer experiences.
9. FAQ’s
Klaviyo FAQs
- What type of email is Klaviyo best for?
Klaviyo works great for all types but excels at transactional, behavioral, and automated emails that require advanced personalization and analytics. The platform is built to scale while optimizing complex multi-channel campaigns.
- Does Klaviyo have template and landing page builders?
Yes, Klaviyo offers hundreds of customizable email templates along with easy drag-and-drop landing page and web form creation to convert traffic without coding.
- What volume of contacts and emails can Klaviyo support?
Klaviyo delivers excellent performance and deliverability supporting millions of contacts and billions of emails at enterprise scale. Limits adjust based on your pricing tier.
- Does Klaviyo integrate with my e-commerce platform?
Klaviyo seamlessly connects with all major shopping carts and other software through 200+ native, Zapier, and custom integrations. Real-time data sync is straightforward.
- How can I get Klaviyo’s pricing details?
Contact Klaviyo sales directly through their website to get transparent pricing tailored for your specific business’s needs based on monthly sends, contacts managed, and functionality required.
Sendlane FAQs
- What email types work best on Sendlane?
Sendlane specializes in conversion-focused email like promotions, newsletters, win-backs, and automation flows. Advanced transactional use cases may want more capabilities.
- Does Sendlane have a free trial?
Yes, Sendlane offers a free 14-day trial to experience features firsthand without limits. Sign up online through their website to access it.
- What additional tools come with Sendlane?
Sendlane bundles other capabilities like SMS marketing, popups, site retargeting, and contact enrichment to complement email campaigns all in one platform.
- What integrations does Sendlane support?
Sendlane natively connects leading e-commerce platforms like Shopify and common tools via Zapier. CRM and marketing automation require custom integration.
- Who is Sendlane best suited for?
Sendlane balances approachability and sophistication to best meet the modern marketing needs of small to mid-sized e-commerce businesses looking to scale.
Final Thoughts
Choose Klaviyo If…
If you run a large e-commerce business requiring sophisticated, customized email and SMS powered by comprehensive data insights and metrics, choose Klaviyo. With enterprise-level scalability, automation, and integrations, Klaviyo best aids high-volume marketers who value maximizing revenue through targeted, multi-channel campaigns.
Alternatively, if you feel like this isn’t a good platform for you, there are Klaviyo alternatives that you may find more appealing.
Choose Sendlane If…
If you have a small or medium Shopify store needing to elevate beyond basic email tools, choose Sendlane. For growing merchants who value simple interfaces yet advanced functionality like SMS all connected seamlessly to their shopping platform, Sendlane strikes an optimal balance of approachable yet powerful.
Determining the right email or SMS marketing platform rests completely on your budget, features needs, and in-house expertise. Both Klaviyo and Sendlane can drive tremendous value; identifying the ideal fit depends on your situation. We urge readers to apply these insights by asking any remaining questions below so we can offer personalized guidance on the best solution.