Does Klaviyo Do SMS Marketing? 2026 Guide + How It Works
TL;DR
Yes, Klaviyo offers native SMS marketing built directly into its email platform. It launched SMS in 2020, and over 117,000 brands now use it on Shopify alone. The platform uses a credit-based pricing model (not a flat fee), supports SMS and MMS campaigns inside automation flows, and provides unified reporting across email and text. However, it has geographic limitations, credit costs that scale quickly, and pricing gotchas around emojis and MMS that catch many users off guard.
If you’re running a Shopify store and already using Klaviyo for email, adding SMS is straightforward. If you’re evaluating Klaviyo from scratch, understanding the credit system before you commit will save you real money.
Explore our Klaviyo services if you want expert help setting it up right from day one.
What Klaviyo SMS Actually Includes
Klaviyo’s SMS marketing isn’t an afterthought or a bolt-on. It’s integrated into the same platform you’d use for email, sharing the same customer profiles, segments, and analytics dashboard. This means every piece of data you collect (purchase history, browsing behavior, email engagement) also informs your SMS strategy.
Here’s what the SMS product covers in 2026:
SMS and MMS campaigns. You can send one-time text blasts to segmented lists, just like email campaigns. MMS support lets you include images, GIFs, and branded media alongside your text, though MMS messages cost more per send.
SMS inside automation flows. This is where Klaviyo SMS gets powerful. You can add text messages into any automation flow, mixing email and SMS in the same sequence. Abandoned cart, welcome series, post-purchase follow-ups, win-back campaigns: all of them can include SMS touchpoints triggered by customer behavior.
AI-powered SMS copywriting. Klaviyo has a built-in AI feature that generates concise SMS copy optimized for the character limits of text messages. It’s useful for first drafts, though you’ll want to edit for brand voice.
Smart Opt-in. When a visitor enters their phone number on a Klaviyo sign-up form, they receive a 6-digit authentication code to confirm their subscription. This reduces friction compared to double opt-in methods that require clicking a link.
Conversational SMS. Klaviyo’s Conversations feature enables real-time two-way texting within the platform. Brands can respond to customer replies, creating a more personal exchange that goes beyond one-directional blasts. Keyword detection lets you trigger automated responses based on what customers text back.
Revenue attribution and cross-channel analytics. The SMS dashboard shows clicks, conversions, and revenue tied to each message. Shared reporting across email, SMS, and push means you can see exactly how text messages contribute alongside your email marketing automations.
For a broader overview of what Klaviyo does beyond SMS, check out our complete guide to Klaviyo.
How Klaviyo SMS Pricing Works (The Credit System Explained)
This is the single biggest source of confusion for brands evaluating whether Klaviyo does SMS marketing well enough to justify the cost. The pricing model is credit-based, not a flat monthly fee, and the details matter.
The Basics
You purchase a monthly credit pack as part of your Klaviyo plan. Each SMS message you send consumes credits. How many credits depends on two things: the destination country and the message type.
In the US, a standard SMS consumes 1 credit, which works out to roughly $0.01 to $0.015 per message. That sounds cheap until you look at the multipliers.
Per-Country Credit Multipliers
International SMS gets expensive fast. Sending to Canada costs 3 credits per message. Australia costs 4 credits. The UK costs 5 credits per message. If you have a global customer base, these multipliers can erode your credit balance much faster than you’d expect.
The Emoji and MMS Credit Trap
This is the pricing gotcha that practitioners talk about most. A standard SMS with emojis reduces the character limit from 160 to just 70 characters per segment. If your message spills into multiple segments, you’re suddenly using 2 to 3 times the credits for what feels like the same text.
MMS messages (those with images or GIFs) consume 3 credits each in the US.
One agency shared a cautionary tale that’s worth remembering: a client sent a single SMS campaign loaded with emojis and burned through her entire monthly credit budget in one send. She came to them confused about why she had zero credits left. The culprit was character encoding. An SMS that costs one credit can cost three the moment you add a smiley face.
Credit Expiry: No Rollover
Unused SMS credits expire at the end of each month with no rollover. For seasonal brands that only send heavy SMS during Black Friday or holiday periods, this means paying for credits you won’t use during quiet months. It’s a hidden cost that Klaviyo’s marketing pages don’t emphasize.
What the Free Plan Includes
Klaviyo’s free plan covers up to 250 active profiles, 500 email sends per month, and 150 SMS credits per month. It’s enough to test whether SMS works for your store, but not enough for any serious volume.
Real-World Billing Examples
A mid-size DTC brand (roughly $1M to $5M in revenue) typically pays around $575 per month for 35,000 active profiles, 350,000 email sends, and 2,500 SMS credits.
At larger scale, a brand with 155,000 active profiles pays approximately $2,745 per month for 1.15 million email sends and 87,500 credits. At that level, SMS makes up about 29% of the total Klaviyo bill. That’s a meaningful chunk of spend that needs its own ROI justification.
The Active Profile Billing Trap
Here’s something almost no guide mentions: Klaviyo bills based on active profiles, meaning the contacts you can still reach. If someone opts in to SMS but never subscribes to email, they still count as an active profile. That increases your email tier cost even if you never send them a single email. The cross-subsidy between channels is real, and it catches brands off guard when their profile count jumps after launching SMS collection.
Navigating this pricing model without wasting money takes experience. If the credit system feels overwhelming, working with a Klaviyo-focused agency can prevent costly mistakes.
Where Is Klaviyo SMS Available?
Klaviyo SMS is not available globally. This is a critical limitation that many articles skip over.
SMS sending is supported in a defined set of countries, with the US, UK, Canada, and Australia being the primary markets. The type of sending number you get (toll-free, short code, long code, or branded sender ID) varies by country.
For markets where Klaviyo SMS isn’t available, or where SMS simply isn’t the dominant messaging channel (like India, where WhatsApp drives most commerce conversations), brands need an alternative strategy. WhatsApp commerce paired with tools like WATI often performs better than SMS in these regions.
If your customer base spans multiple countries, check Klaviyo’s help documentation for the current list of supported sending countries before committing to SMS. For a broader look at what’s available, see our overview of SMS marketing options for ecommerce.
2026 SMS Performance Benchmarks
Does Klaviyo do SMS marketing effectively enough to justify the cost? The benchmarks suggest yes, but with a wide gap between average and top performers.
According to Klaviyo’s 2026 SMS benchmarks, based on data from over 183,000 customers across fashion, beauty, health, and other verticals:
Average SMS campaign click rate: 14.18%
Top 10% click rate: 27.5%
Average placed order rate: 0.09%
Top 10% placed order rate: 0.44%
Top 10% revenue per recipient: 11x higher than the average
The difference between average and top-tier performance is stark. What separates them is almost always segmentation. Brands that send the same SMS blast to their entire list get average results. Brands that segment their audience based on purchase behavior, engagement history, and predicted lifetime value see dramatically better returns.
When Klaviyo SMS Works Best (and When It Doesn’t)
Best For
Shopify brands already on Klaviyo email. The unified data layer is the biggest advantage. You don’t need to sync data between separate email and SMS tools, and you can build flows that intelligently switch between channels based on customer behavior.
US-centric SMS programs. Credit costs are lowest for domestic US sends, and Klaviyo’s compliance tools are built around US regulations (TCPA, 10DLC registration).
Brands running multi-step flows. If your strategy involves abandoned cart sequences that start with email and escalate to SMS, or post-purchase flows that mix both channels, Klaviyo handles this natively without third-party integrations.
One Shopify reviewer put it simply: “I’ve tried a few different email / SMS / review apps and while they were good, Klaviyo is the best all-in-one tool I’ve found so far.” The app holds a 4.5 rating with 2,573 reviews on the Shopify App Store, with 85% being 5-star ratings.
Not Ideal For
Heavy international senders. The credit multipliers for non-US countries make large-scale international SMS campaigns expensive. A brand sending 10,000 messages to UK customers uses 50,000 credits, the same budget that would cover 50,000 US messages.
Brands needing advanced conversational commerce. Dedicated SMS platforms like Attentive or Postscript offer richer conversational features and deeper two-way messaging capabilities. They create data silos by separating SMS from email, but for brands whose primary strategy is conversational, they may be worth evaluating.
Indian D2C brands. SMS open rates in India don’t match WhatsApp engagement rates. WhatsApp commerce automation (using tools like WATI integrated with Shopify and Razorpay) typically outperforms SMS for Indian markets.
Brands comparing costs with Omnisend. On SMS pricing alone, Omnisend provides more credits per dollar at entry-level tiers (1,667 credits for $15/month versus Klaviyo’s 1,250). The difference narrows at scale, and Klaviyo’s segmentation engine is stronger, but price-sensitive brands should run the numbers.
How to Get Started with Klaviyo SMS
Setting up SMS in Klaviyo is straightforward if you follow the steps in order.
1. Integrate Klaviyo with your store. If you haven’t already, connect Klaviyo to Shopify to sync your customer data. SMS relies on the same product and order data that powers your email flows.
2. Enable SMS in your Klaviyo settings. Navigate to your account settings and activate SMS. You’ll choose your primary sending country and select a number type (toll-free is most common for US senders).
3. Set up consent collection. Add SMS opt-in to your existing sign-up forms using Klaviyo’s Smart Opt-in feature. This sends a 6-digit code to the subscriber’s phone for instant verification. Never add phone numbers to your SMS list without explicit consent.
4. Build your first SMS flow. The highest-ROI starting point is almost always the abandoned cart flow. A simple two-step sequence (email first, then SMS if no conversion within a few hours) typically recovers more carts than email alone.
5. Monitor your credit burn rate. Check the Text Message Usage view in Klaviyo regularly, especially after your first few campaigns. This is where you’ll catch issues like emoji-inflated costs or unexpected international sends eating through your budget.
6. Scale gradually. Start with flow-based SMS (automated, triggered by behavior) before adding broadcast campaigns. Flow messages tend to have higher conversion rates because they’re sent at relevant moments, not on your marketing calendar’s schedule.
Get expert help with your Klaviyo SMS setup so you avoid the credit traps and start generating revenue from day one.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Klaviyo charge extra for SMS?
Yes. SMS credits are purchased separately from your email plan. While both are managed within the same Klaviyo account, the credit costs are in addition to your base subscription price. Even on the free plan, you get 150 SMS credits, but any meaningful volume requires a paid credit pack.
Can I use Klaviyo SMS on the free plan?
Yes, the free plan includes 150 mobile message credits per month alongside 500 email sends and up to 250 active profiles. It’s enough to test a basic abandoned cart SMS flow but not enough for regular campaigns.
Does Klaviyo support MMS?
Yes. You can send images, GIFs, and branded media through MMS. In the US, each MMS message consumes 3 credits instead of the 1 credit a plain SMS uses. Factor this into your budget before adding images to every message.
Is Klaviyo SMS available in India?
Klaviyo’s SMS support for India is limited. For Indian D2C brands, WhatsApp is typically the better channel for customer communication and commerce. Many brands in this market use WhatsApp automation tools alongside Klaviyo email rather than relying on Klaviyo SMS.
Can I use Klaviyo SMS and email in the same automation flow?
Yes. Klaviyo’s Visual Flow Builder lets you add both email and SMS steps in a single automation. You can set conditional splits so that customers who don’t open an email receive an SMS follow-up, or vice versa. This cross-channel approach is one of Klaviyo’s strongest selling points.
Do unused Klaviyo SMS credits roll over?
No. Unused SMS credits expire at the end of each billing month. There is no rollover. This is worth planning around, especially if your SMS volume fluctuates seasonally.
How does Klaviyo SMS compare to Postscript or Attentive?
Klaviyo’s main advantage is the unified data layer: one platform for email, SMS, and customer profiles. Postscript and Attentive are dedicated SMS tools with potentially richer conversational features, but they create a data silo that requires syncing with your email platform. For most Shopify brands already on Klaviyo, keeping SMS in the same platform simplifies operations and improves targeting accuracy.
What does Klaviyo SMS cost per message in the US?
A standard US SMS costs 1 credit, which translates to roughly $0.01 to $0.015 per message depending on your plan tier. MMS messages cost 3 credits. Messages with emojis may consume 2 to 3 credits due to character encoding that reduces the per-segment character limit from 160 to 70.
