7 Best Drip Alternatives for Ecommerce Email in 2026
Drip is a solid ecommerce-focused email marketing platform with a friendly visual workflow builder, but it has gaps: no free plan, pricing that scales steeply past 5,000 contacts, and weaker reporting than Klaviyo for serious Shopify stores. If you're shopping for something different, here are 7 alternatives. For a deeper look at Drip itself, see our Drip review and pricing breakdown. For a head-to-head, check Drip vs ConvertKit.
The 10-second pick
Serious Shopify store: Klaviyo (free up to 250 contacts, then ~$45/mo). Cheapest small store: MailerLite (~$9/mo). All-in-one marketing: Mailchimp (~$13/mo). B2B / non-ecommerce: ActiveCampaign ($15/mo at 1k contacts). Creator selling digital products: ConvertKit (Kit) (free up to 10k subs). Automated link building outreach (different category): MentionAgent ($99/mo).
Quick comparison
| Tool | Best For | Starting Price | Free Plan | Cold Email? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MentionAgent | Automated link building outreach | $99/mo | No | Yes (link building) |
| Klaviyo | Shopify and ecommerce-first stores | ~$45/mo (1k contacts) | 250 contacts / 500 emails | No |
| ActiveCampaign | Marketing automation + CRM | $15/mo (1k contacts) | No (14-day trial) | No |
| Mailchimp | All-in-one marketing | ~$13/mo | 500 subs | No |
| MailerLite | Simple ecommerce email at low cost | ~$9/mo | 1,000 subs / 12,000 emails | No |
| Brevo (Sendinblue) | Email + SMS + WhatsApp | ~$9/mo | Unlimited subs / 300 emails/day | No |
| ConvertKit (Kit) | Creators selling digital products | ~$15/mo | 10,000 subs (broadcasts only) | No |
1. MentionAgent
Best for: Automated link building and blog outreach
MentionAgent solves a different problem than Drip. Instead of sending automated emails to your existing customers, it handles outbound link building outreach, finding relevant blogs in your niche, looking up contacts, writing personalized pitches, and sending follow-ups. You just approve the emails. Useful if you want to drive new traffic, not just monetize existing subscribers.
- AI finds and qualifies relevant blogs in your niche automatically
- Every email is personalized to the recipient's content
- Built-in deliverability optimization
- No leads to import, no templates to write
- Pricing: From $99/mo flat, no contact-based scaling
2. Klaviyo
Best for: Shopify and serious ecommerce stores
Klaviyo is the category leader for ecommerce email. Predictive analytics, deeper segmentation than Drip, native SMS, and the most robust Shopify integration in the market. The trade-off: pricing scales aggressively, and the platform takes more effort to learn than Drip's visual builder.
- Predictive analytics (lifetime value, churn risk, next order date)
- Deepest Shopify integration in the market
- Native SMS, push, and reviews built in
- Benchmark reporting against industry peers
- Pricing: Free up to 250 contacts / 500 emails, paid plans from ~$45/mo at 1,000 contacts
3. ActiveCampaign
Best for: Marketing automation beyond ecommerce
ActiveCampaign is the natural step up if you outgrow Drip's ecommerce-only focus. Deep workflow branching, lead scoring, and a full CRM with deal pipelines. Better fit for B2B, agencies, and businesses where email is part of broader marketing automation. See our pricing breakdown and alternatives.
- Conditional, multi-trigger automation workflows
- Built-in CRM with deal pipelines and lead scoring
- 900+ integrations including Shopify and WooCommerce
- Site tracking and event-based triggers
- Pricing: $15/mo Starter, $59/mo Plus, $99/mo Pro (1,000 contacts)
4. Mailchimp
Best for: All-in-one marketing with strong Shopify integration
Mailchimp covers most of Drip's use cases at a lower entry price, with the bonus of an all-in-one marketing suite (email + landing pages + social + postcards) and a mature Shopify integration. Less ecommerce-specialized than Drip or Klaviyo, but covers most needs. See our Mailchimp review and pricing breakdown.
- Mature Shopify integration with abandoned cart and product recommendations
- 300+ native integrations
- Drag-and-drop builder with the largest template library
- All-in-one suite (email, landing pages, social, postcards, basic CRM)
- Pricing: Free (500 subs) / ~$13/mo (Essentials) / ~$20/mo (Standard)
5. MailerLite
Best for: Simple, low-cost ecommerce email
MailerLite isn't as ecommerce-specialized as Drip or Klaviyo, but it has a clean Shopify and WooCommerce integration, abandoned cart automation, and a clear product feed. The biggest free plan in the category and the cheapest paid plans for stores under ~10,000 contacts. See our MailerLite review and pricing breakdown.
- Free plan: 1,000 subscribers, 12,000 emails/month
- Native Shopify and WooCommerce integration with abandoned cart flows
- Built-in landing pages, websites, and digital product selling
- Strong deliverability, often ranked at the top of independent tests
- Pricing: Free / ~$9/mo (Growing Business) / ~$18/mo (Advanced)
6. Brevo (formerly Sendinblue)
Best for: Multichannel ecommerce (email + SMS + WhatsApp)
Brevo charges by emails sent, not by subscribers, which flips the math against Drip's contact-based pricing for stores with large but lower-frequency customer lists. Native SMS and WhatsApp campaigns are built in, plus transactional email API. See our Brevo review and pricing breakdown.
- Unlimited contacts on the free plan (300 emails/day)
- Charges by email sends, not contact count
- Native SMS and WhatsApp marketing
- Transactional email API included
- Pricing: Free / ~$9/mo (Starter) / ~$18/mo (Business)
7. ConvertKit (Kit)
Best for: Creators selling digital products and paid newsletters
ConvertKit (now branded as Kit) is the choice if you sell digital products or paid newsletters rather than physical ecommerce. Native paid subscription, digital product, and recommendation network features that Drip doesn't have. See our ConvertKit review and pricing breakdown.
- Free plan up to 10,000 subscribers (broadcasts only)
- Tag-based segmentation built for creators
- Native paid newsletter and digital product selling
- Sponsor Network for monetization
- Pricing: Free / ~$15/mo (Creator) / ~$29/mo (Creator Pro) at 300 subs
You run a Shopify store with 8,000 customers and want predictive analytics, SMS, and benchmark reporting. Which alternative fits?
Right! Klaviyo is the category leader for serious Shopify stores. Predictive analytics, native SMS, deeper segmentation, and benchmark reporting are stronger than Drip and Mailchimp.
For predictive analytics and benchmark reporting in Shopify, Klaviyo is the strongest specialized option. Mailchimp and MailerLite are more general-purpose.
You have a B2B SaaS, not a physical store, but want event-based automation and a CRM. Which Drip alternative fits?
Right! ActiveCampaign covers the B2B SaaS use case with deeper automation, lead scoring, and a built-in CRM. Klaviyo is great for ecommerce but light on B2B; ConvertKit is for creators selling digital products.
ActiveCampaign is the natural fit for B2B SaaS use cases that need event-based automation plus a CRM. Klaviyo and ConvertKit are more specialized.
Why people switch from Drip
- Pricing scales steeply past 5,000 contacts. Klaviyo and Mailchimp aren't always cheaper, but per-contact pricing makes the upgrades sting.
- No free plan. Drip starts at $39/mo. Klaviyo, Mailchimp, MailerLite, and ConvertKit all have free tiers for testing.
- Klaviyo's deeper ecommerce features. Predictive analytics, benchmarks, and native SMS that Drip doesn't match.
- Need broader automation. Drip is ecommerce-focused. ActiveCampaign covers a wider range of use cases.
- No cold outreach. Drip prohibits cold email. Teams doing sales or link building outreach switch to Instantly, Lemlist, or MentionAgent.
How to choose the right alternative
| If you need... | Choose |
|---|---|
| Automated link building outreach | MentionAgent |
| Deepest Shopify integration with predictive analytics | Klaviyo |
| Marketing automation + CRM beyond ecommerce | ActiveCampaign |
| All-in-one marketing with mature Shopify integration | Mailchimp |
| Cheapest ecommerce email at small list sizes | MailerLite |
| Email + SMS + WhatsApp in one tool | Brevo |
| Creator selling digital products | ConvertKit (Kit) |
Before importing any list, clean it with our free email list cleaner and verify individual addresses with our email verifier. Test your subject lines with our subject line tester.
How to switch from Drip in 5 steps
- Export your contacts and order data. In Drip, go to People, then export as CSV. If you're on Shopify or WooCommerce, export order history separately so the new tool can rebuild revenue attribution.
- Clean the list. Run it through our email verifier and list cleaner to drop bounces and invalid addresses before paying for them on the new tool.
- Reconnect your store. Install the new tool's Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, or Magento app. Let it sync customers, products, and order history before importing the CSV.
- Rebuild ecommerce flows. Abandoned cart, browse abandonment, post-purchase, and win-back flows don't transfer. Use the new tool's pre-built templates as a starting point, then test each flow on a small segment.
- Switch forms and pop-ups. Replace Drip embeds on your store and landing pages. Run both tools in parallel for one billing cycle to verify revenue attribution before cancelling Drip.
You run a SaaS and want to get 10 quality backlinks per month from relevant blogs. Drip can't do outreach, which tool fits?
Correct! MentionAgent ($99/mo) automates link building specifically: finding relevant blogs, looking up contacts, writing personalized pitches, and following up. Instantly is for high-volume sales cold email, not targeted link building.
For link building specifically, MentionAgent automates the full workflow. Instantly is strong for high-volume sales outreach but you'd still need to find prospects and write emails yourself.
Link building that runs itself
MentionAgent finds relevant blogs, looks up contacts, writes personalized pitches, and follows up. You just approve the emails. No leads to import, no templates to write.
Start Getting Mentioned For $99/moRelated
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Frequently asked questions
What is the best alternative to Drip?
It depends. For deeper ecommerce, Klaviyo. For broader automation, ActiveCampaign. For affordable Shopify-friendly email, Mailchimp or MailerLite. For automated link building outreach, MentionAgent ($99/mo).
Is there a free Drip alternative?
Yes. MailerLite (1,000 subs free), Mailchimp (500 subs free), Brevo (unlimited subs, 300 emails/day free), ConvertKit (10,000 subs free, broadcasts only), and Klaviyo (250 contacts free) all offer free plans. Drip itself doesn't.
Can I do cold email with Drip alternatives?
Why do people switch from Drip?
Common reasons: pricing scales steeply past 5,000 contacts, Klaviyo's deeper ecommerce features, ActiveCampaign's broader automation for non-ecommerce businesses, and the lack of a free plan.
Can I migrate my subscriber list from Drip?
Yes. Export subscribers as CSV from Drip and import to the new tool. Most platforms accept CSV imports. Drip's visual workflows don't transfer, so plan to rebuild automations.
Which alternative is best for Shopify?
Klaviyo is the category leader, deeply integrated with predictive analytics, segmentation, and SMS. Mailchimp also has a mature Shopify integration. ActiveCampaign works for stores that also need broader marketing automation.
Is Klaviyo worth it over Drip?
For most Shopify stores past 2,500 contacts, yes. Klaviyo's predictive analytics, deeper segmentation, native SMS, and benchmarks are stronger. Drip is sometimes cheaper at smaller list sizes and has a friendlier visual workflow builder. Test both.
Will I lose my revenue attribution if I leave Drip?
Historic revenue stays in Drip's reports as long as your account is active. New revenue attribution starts from zero on the new tool, so most teams run both tools in parallel for one billing cycle. Re-sync your store's order history to the new platform first so it can rebuild attribution before you cancel Drip. Clean your list with our email verifier before importing to avoid paying for dead addresses.