Looking for the best email marketing app for your Shopify store? With over a dozen options available, let's take a closer look at tinyEmail and how it stacks up against the competition.
Here's my analysis. I present the facts as accurately as I can (if I get any facts wrong, let me know) regarding usability, features, automations, and pricing.
Shopify email app options
I looked at three apps. Of course, I included the Shopify Email app because, well, it's made by Shopify. I also selected Klaviyo. It's one of the biggest names in the email marketing industry.
App usability
Usability includes all the factors that shape the user's experience and their ability to achieve marketing success. Based on the data in the table below, here's what I found.
Customer scores for the Shopify Email app and the Klaviyo app are low compared to tinyEmail.
tinyEmail gets high marks for overall satisfaction thanks to an easy-to-navigate UI, a short learning curve, and responsive customer support.
The Shopify Email app is easy to install, but some users found it buggy. Many people reported a less-than-wonderful customer support experience.
The Klaviyo app gets high marks for an easy-to-navigate UI and a rich set of analytic tools. But, IMHO, that toolset is best suited for mid to large companies with a team of marketers who have the time and skills needed to finesse the data and identify opportunities for personalized segmentation. Customer support is sometimes cited as less than helpful.
All three options have good reporting dashboards. Klaviyo is better suited for people who want to do a deep dive into the data.
Variable | Shopify Email | Klaviyo | tinyEmail |
Trustpilot score * | na | 3.7 | 4.8 |
Shopify App Store score * | 3.8 | 3.8 | 4.9 |
Reporting & Analytics | Basic tools | Advanced tools | Essential tools |
Ease of Use | Easy to install and navigate. The app quickly integrates with the store. Some reports of buggy software | Intuitive UI with an impressive range of tools. May require a considerable learning curve. | A simplified UI ensures a quick onboarding process. Users spend more time crafting campaigns and less time mastering tools. |
Customer support | Customer reviews highlight support as an area that could be improved. | Tiered customer support. Customers on free plans get limited live support. Live support 24/5, with some weekend and holiday support. Email and chat 24/7. | Available to users with free and paid plans. 24-5 chat, email, and phone. |
* Scores checked on June 28, 2023.
App features
The range of available features is far greater than I could possibly document here, so let me cover a few points.
Segmentation
Klaviyo is the gold standard for segmentation. You can create segments on almost any behaviour and property. The result of all that segmenting? A steady data flow that needs time and brain power to convert information into revenue, otherwise, why bother? Unless you're on a team, managing that much data would be like drinking water from a fire hydrant.
Shopify has solid segmentation tools. It's possible to create segments based on six templates and or custom segments with a dozen or so filters. That's all good, but the filter UI is a bit of a head-scratcher.
tinyEmail has 15 pre-defined segments and the chance to build custom segments. Oh, and the UI is super easy to follow.
Lead generation forms
Both tinyEmail and Klaviyo have forms that are great for list-building. All the form information is pulled into a separate audience. Shopify Email does not have any lead generation forms.
tinyEmail has three form styles (embedded, popup, and flyout) with dozens of template options and the chance to create custom forms.
AI subject line assistant
All three apps have a next-gen AI tool that helps users write more compelling subject lines. Shopify Magic goes one step further with AI-generated text suggestions for product descriptions, email subject lines, theme content, and Shopify Inbox instant answers.
Tip tinyAlbert, our companion product, takes AI email marketing to the next level.
Features | Shopify Email | Klaviyo | tinyEmail |
Email templates | Y | Y | Y |
Template customization with drag-and-drop content blocks | Y | Y | Y |
A/B testing | N | Y | Y |
Advanced segmentation | Y | Y | Y |
Lead generation forms | N | Y | Y |
Support available by email and chat | Y | Y | Y |
AI assistant | Y | Y | Y |
App automations
All three apps have automations that cover four essential e-commerce needs: abandoned cart, win-back, welcome series, and thank you for purchase.
Klaviyo has the most automations, plus a robust selection tied to customer purchases (e.g. first purchase upsells and direct mail to big spenders) and inventory (back in stock). Shopify has nine ready-to-go automations with an option to create custom flows.
tinyEmail has five automations and a few more in the pipeline. For a bigger selection of AI-generated, customizable automations, check out our companion product, tinyAlbert.
Email automations | Shopify Email | Klaviyo | tinyEmail |
Abandoned cart | Y | Y | Y |
Abandoned checkout | Y | Y | N |
Abandoned product browse | Y | Y | N |
Customer win-back | Y | Y | Y |
First purchase upsell | Y | Y | N |
Post-purchase thank you | Y | Y | Y |
Welcome email series (with discount) | Y | Y | Y |
Welcome new subscriber | Y | Y | Y |
Back-in-stock | N | Y | N |
Happy birthday messages with a discount | N | Y | N |
App pricing
Among the three options, the Shopify Email app offers the lowest cost to send. That's great news for small store owners or anyone on a budget. But, is that good value?
The Shopify list only includes people who subscribe to the store or made a purchase. It doesn't help you build a list of prospects which is why store owners seek out other products, like the Klavioyo and tinyEmail apps.
Klaviyo calculates costs based on list size with some pretty generous caps on total monthly sends. That's great news for people with relatively small lists who send a lot. But as the list grows, the price goes up.
tinyEmail calculates costs based on sends, and not list size. That's awesome value for store owners who don't want to pay more for their aggressive list-building efforts.
Sends per Month | Shopify Email | Klaviyo | tinyEmail * |
250 | $0 | $0 (max 250 contacts) | $0 (max 500 contacts) |
500 | $0 | $0 (max 250 contacts) | $0 (max 500 contacts) |
2500 | $0 | $20 (max 500 contacts) | $15 Standard Plan, $65 Pro plan |
10,001 | $1 | $30 (max 1,000 contacts) | $15 Standard Plan, $65 Pro plan |
25,000 | $15 | $60 (max 2,500 contacts) | $25 Standard Plan, $75 Pro plan |
100,000 | $90 | $175 (max 10,500 contacts) | $100 Standard Plan, $200 Pro plan |
* No limit on the number of contacts in tinyEmail paid plans.
What's the bottom line?
I'm a big fan of Shopify and see why the Shopify Email app might look good to email marketing newcomers, but sometimes you need to balance price and value. Customer reviews about the product and support are not always kind. Support is really important, especially for newcomers. There are lots of questions when starting out, so on that front, I'd give tinyEmail the thumbs-up.
Klaviyo is the gold standard of Shopify email marketing apps. But, here's the thing, not everyone wants or needs the best. Not everyone has the time, skill, or inclination to master the tools and then take advantage of that considerable power.
That's what makes tinyEmail an intriguing option. There's a full suite of email marketing tools on an intuitive UI backed up by responsive support. Newcomers can learn the platform and get set up with automations and campaigns in minutes, not days or weeks. That's what I call an unbeatable time-to-value ratio.