Email is the app every store eventually buys, because it is the one channel where you own the audience. The question is less which app is best than when you outgrow the free one you already have.
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Start with the one already in your admin
Shopify Messaging is made by Shopify and comes with every store: 10000 email sends a month are free, then $1 per thousand. For a new store that is months of newsletters and abandoned-cart emails at no cost, with nothing to connect.
The email apps worth considering
| # | Name | Store rating | Reviews | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shopify Messaging Starting out, with nothing to integrate | 4.8 | 4527 | Free to install; pay per send beyond the allowance | |
| 2 | Klaviyo Stores that live on email | 4.7 | 3320 | Free to install; email from $20/mo, SMS from $15/mo | |
| 3 | Omnisend The cheaper specialist | 4.7 | 3183 | Free to install; paid $16 / $59 a month | |
| 4 | AfterShip Email The cheapest paid entry | 4.8 | 2356 | Free plan and trial; paid $11 / $119 / $179 a month | |
| 5 | Mailchimp Teams already on Mailchimp | 4.8 | 1482 | Free plan; paid $13 / $20 / $350 a month |
Ratings, review counts and prices read from the Shopify App Store on 24 September 2026, sorted by review count — a 5.0 from forty merchants is not a 4.9 from four thousand. These are the store’s figures, not our test results: we have not yet run these apps side by side on our development store. Buttons appear only where we have a link, and never change the order.
When to move to a specialist
When you need segmentation and automated flows that Shopify’s tool cannot express — a series that branches on what someone bought, win-back campaigns timed to purchase cycles, SMS alongside email. That is where Klaviyo and Omnisend earn their fee. Both price by list size, so compare them at the size you expect to be in a year, not at today’s.
Klaviyo
The specialist most growing stores end up on. Email plans start at $20 a month on its App Store listing, with SMS priced separately.
What works
- Free to install
- Separate email and SMS plans
What will annoy you
- Pricing rises with list size — check the tier you will need in a year
- Rated 4.7, below most of the field
Omnisend
Klaviyo’s nearest rival on review volume, with a lower entry price.
What works
- Free to install
- Entry price $4 below Klaviyo's email plan
What will annoy you
- Pricing rises with list size
- Rated 4.7, like Klaviyo
If you are cost-sensitive
AfterShip Email has the cheapest first paid tier among the major apps at $11 a month. Mailchimp makes sense mainly if your team already uses it elsewhere.
Questions we get asked
Is Shopify’s email tool good enough?
For a new store, usually yes — and it is free up to its monthly allowance. Move when a specific automation you need is missing, not before.
Klaviyo or Omnisend?
Nearly identical on the store’s ratings and review volume. Price them both at your expected list size in twelve months and pick the cheaper for the features you will actually use.
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