Klaviyo vs Attentive: Which Marketing Platform Fits Your eCommerce Business?

Klaviyo or Attentive? A Question Worth Asking

Klaviyo or Attentive? That’s the question many eCommerce business owners find themselves asking when it comes to choosing the right platform for email and SMS automation. These two platforms are clear market leaders, each with impressive capabilities. With such strong competition between them, it makes sense that you’d want to weigh your options carefully.

In one of our earlier articles, I covered a broader comparison of top email marketing platforms. You can dive deeper into that here, but today, I want to zero in on what I consider to be the two giants: Klaviyo and Attentive.

Let’s look at the numbers first. As of the end of 2024, Klaviyo serves over 167,000 clients globally, according to investors.klaviyo.com. In contrast, Attentive is used by just over 10,000 companies, primarily small and mid-sized businesses, as reported by Enlyft.

That’s a substantial difference—and it says a lot. But what exactly does it mean? Should you join the massive Klaviyo ecosystem, or are you better off with a more focused platform like Attentive? In my opinion, the answer depends entirely on your needs, business model, and long-term goals.

In this article, I’ll walk through the core features, standout functionalities, and key differences between Klaviyo and Attentive. My goal? To help you clearly decide which side of the fence you’re on.

Let’s get started.

Klaviyo: Main Features and Capabilities

In my experience working with hundreds of eCommerce brands, Klaviyo is hands-down the most comprehensive tool for those who value control, flexibility, and deep integration.

Here are the core features that make Klaviyo stand out:

1. Advanced Email Marketing Automation
   Klaviyo is built around email marketing. From complex segmentation to automated flows and drag-and-drop builders, the platform offers full control over the customer journey. It integrates with virtually every major eCommerce platform and gives businesses the tools to build automated email marketing campaigns that actually convert.
2. Native SMS Automation
   With Klaviyo, SMS isn’t an afterthought. The SMS automation features are baked into the platform. You can create fully integrated flows that combine email and SMS into a single, streamlined customer experience as well as the new features as Klaviyo Automated SMS Conversations, more details on it can be found here. This synergy between email and SMS is one of the things I believe truly sets Klaviyo apart.
3. Deep Data Access and Segmentation
   Klaviyo pulls in real-time data from your store, enabling dynamic segments based on behaviors, purchase history, and more. In my opinion, this level of granularity is unmatched and essential for personalization at scale.
4. Transparent Pricing
   Unlike many competitors, Klaviyo offers clear pricing based on the number of contacts and messages you send. There are no surprises, which makes budgeting easier and ROI calculations more precise.
5. Reporting and Attribution
   Klaviyo provides detailed analytics with revenue attribution across campaigns and flows. You can easily see what’s working and optimize accordingly. This is particularly useful when scaling an eCommerce business.
6. Ecosystem and Integrations
   Whether you’re using Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, or custom solutions, Klaviyo fits right in. It also integrates seamlessly with tools like Recharge, Gorgias, Smile.io, and much more.Looking into developing an ecosystem? In this article, you can see why I stand for this.
7. A/B Testing and Deliverability Tools
   For email marketers who are serious about performance, Klaviyo offers robust A/B testing features and deliverability tools. You can test subject lines, timing, content blocks, and more.
8. Customer Support and Resources
   Klaviyo offers chat and email support along with a robust library of resources. Their community forums, certification programs, and customer success teams also offer added value.From my agency’s perspective, the strength of Klaviyo lies in its flexibility. It allows brands to adapt, test, and grow their email marketing automation and SMS automation strategies without constraints.

Attentive: Main Features and Capabilities

Attentive has built a solid reputation, especially among DTC brands that want to focus heavily on SMS. It’s an SMS-first platform that does a great job at it.

Here are the key features worth knowing:

1. SMS-First Approach
   Attentive was built around SMS marketing. Every aspect of the platform focuses on engaging customers through text. From welcome series to cart reminders, Attentive makes SMS simple, quick, and effective. If SMS is your primary channel, this specialization may be exactly what you need.
2. Onsite Tools and List Growth
   One thing I genuinely appreciate about Attentive is its focus on list growth. Their pop-ups, banners, and opt-in tools are among the best I’ve seen. For brands just starting out with SMS, this is a major plus.
3. Attentive Concierge
   This is an AI-powered messaging tool that creates personalized product suggestions and answers questions. While still evolving, it’s a strong attempt at combining support with marketing. In practice, this means you can offer a personalized touch without adding to your support team’s workload.
4. Targeted Campaigns and Journeys
   Attentive allows users to build behavior-based journeys, though not quite at the level of depth seen in Klaviyo. Still, it offers solid automation paths for SMS engagement, and the UI is very intuitive.
5. Compliance and Deliverability
   SMS marketing is highly regulated. Attentive takes compliance seriously, offering built-in tools that help brands stay on the right side of TCPA and other regulations. This is crucial for U.S.-based businesses operating at scale.
6. Analytics and InsightsWhile not as deep as Klaviyo’s reporting, Attentive does offer campaign-level insights and engagement tracking. For small to mid-sized brands, this often covers the essentials.Attentive is especially suitable for small to mid-sized brands looking to get results quickly. The learning curve is minimal, and the UI is clean and intuitive. It’s perfect for marketers who want to hit the ground running.

Klaviyo vs Attentive: Platform Comparison

Now that we’ve explored each platform individually, let’s dive into a side-by-side comparison. If I had to summarize:

Additional Considerations

• Scalability: In my opinion, Klaviyo scales better due to its deep feature set and customization options. It’s built for growth.
• Speed to Launch: Attentive might get you started faster, especially with SMS, but lacks the long-term depth.
• Email + SMS Synergy: Klaviyo wins here again, offering a fully unified platform where data is shared across both channels.
• Deliverability Tools: Klaviyo has a stronger track record when it comes to email and SMS deliverability tools and reputation management.

In my opinion, Klaviyo is a better fit for brands that want a long-term marketing engine—something they can scale, test, and customize over time. If you’re running a larger eCommerce business or planning to scale, Klaviyo offers the tools to do that.

Attentive, on the other hand, works well for businesses that want a more guided, SMS-first experience and don’t need the depth or complexity of Klaviyo. It’s an excellent entry point to SMS automation.

Which One Should You Choose?

At the end of the day, it comes down to priorities. If your focus is on scalable email marketing automation, robust segmentation, and deep customer journey mapping, Klaviyo is the clear winner. It has the infrastructure, community, and integrations to support a modern eCommerce business at any stage.

If, however, your primary channel is SMS and you want a platform that makes it simple and fast, then Attentive deserves strong consideration. It’s intuitive, effective, and optimized for mobile-first strategies.

From my experience, Klaviyo is more than a tool—it’s a foundation for growth. When email marketing, SMS automation, push notifications, and real-time data are aligned, the potential for driving ROI is enormous. That’s why so many of our clients lean toward Klaviyo: it’s a platform you grow into, not out of.

In conclusion, don’t just choose based on features—choose based on your goals. Where do you see your business in one year? Three years? Five?

Make the decision that supports that future.

If you are still unsure about what to decide, contact our specialists for a consultation!