How we make this list: we compare pricing pages, product documentation and public user reviews. Ratings come from G2, Capterra or Trustpilot, with the date we checked them.
Key takeaways
- Braze and Iterable suit large consumer brands that need real-time, cross-channel campaigns at high volume, but both require a sales process and larger contracts.
- Klaviyo is the strongest pick for ecommerce teams on Shopify and similar platforms, because purchase data feeds segments and flows directly.
- Vero and Loops fit product-led SaaS teams that want clear pricing and event-driven journeys without enterprise overhead.
- OneSignal is the best starting point for push-led products, with a free tier that covers real push volume.
- MoEngage and CleverTap lead for mobile-first and international consumer brands, while ActiveCampaign fits B2B teams that want automation tied to sales work.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Free plan |
|---|
 Braze | Enterprise cross-channel messaging | See website | No |
 Iterable | Large cross-channel campaigns | See website | No |
 Klaviyo | Ecommerce email and SMS | $20 per month | Yes |
 MoEngage | Mobile consumer engagement | See website | Free trial |
 CleverTap | Mobile retention and analytics | See website | Free trial |
 OneSignal | Push-led messaging | See website | Yes |
 Vero | Product-led lifecycle email | $49 per month | Free trial |
 Loops | SaaS lifecycle email | $99 per month | Yes |
 ActiveCampaign | B2B automation and CRM | $15 per month | Free trial |
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
The best Customer.io alternatives
#1Braze
Best for: Enterprise cross-channel messaging4.4/5 on
G2 (1,965 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit braze.com
Starting priceSee website
Free planNo
Braze is the enterprise benchmark for consumer messaging. It handles high-volume, mobile-first campaigns in real time, with Canvas journeys, in-app messages, content cards, and strong testing tools. Gaming, media, retail, and fintech brands use it when timing, personalization, and scale matter more than a low entry price.
The cost is both money and effort. Pricing is quote based, contracts often run into tens of thousands of dollars per year, and teams without marketing engineers may underuse the platform. Choose Braze only if you have the volume, channels, and staff to use its depth.
What we like- Real-time streaming architecture
- Broad channels including push, email, SMS, and in-app
- Deep experimentation and personalization
Watch out for- No public pricing
- Implementation takes weeks for large accounts
- Overkill for small teams
#2Iterable
Best for: Large cross-channel campaigns4.4/5 on
G2 (839 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit iterable.com
Starting priceSee website
Free planNo
Iterable is the closest like-for-like enterprise swap for Customer.io at scale. Its workflow engine handles email, SMS, push, WhatsApp, and in-app messages, while Catalogs let marketers pull product and content data into campaigns without constant engineering help. Experimentation is a clear strength, with native testing built into journeys.
Buying friction is the main drawback. There is no public price to budget against, and per-subscriber billing means dormant contacts still count unless you clean them. Mid-market teams should compare Iterable with Vero or Klaviyo first, and only move up if cross-channel scale truly demands it.
What we like- Flexible workflow builder
- Catalogs for product data
- Strong A/B and multivariate testing
Watch out for- No public pricing
- Mandatory sales process slows buying
- Per-subscriber pricing charges for inactive contacts
#3Klaviyo
Best for: Ecommerce email and SMS4.6/5 on
G2 (1,368 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit klaviyo.com
Starting price$20 per month
Free planYes
Klaviyo is built around commerce data. Orders, browsing, and customer lifetime value feed segments and prebuilt flows for welcome series, abandoned carts, post-purchase follow-ups, and winbacks. For a store on Shopify, WooCommerce, or BigCommerce, that native data link is a practical advantage over a generic journey builder.
Billing needs attention. Klaviyo charges on active profiles, not only on emailed contacts, so a large list of reachable but unemailed profiles still raises the tier. The free plan covers up to 250 active profiles, and the email plan starts at $20 per month for up to 500 profiles. Audit and suppress unreachable profiles before you judge the price.
What we like- Deep Shopify and ecommerce integrations
- Purchase-based segments and flows
- Free plan for very small lists
Watch out for- Price rises with active profiles
- SMS billed separately
- Add-ons increase the total bill
Starting priceSee website
Free planFree trial
MoEngage serves mobile-first consumer brands in retail, ecommerce, and fintech, with particular strength in international markets. It combines push, email, SMS, WhatsApp, and in-app messaging with analytics that help teams see retention, funnel drop-off, and predicted churn. On-device personalization is a useful edge for app teams that want fast, tailored in-app experiences.
The platform is broader than a simple email tool, so small teams may find setup and analytics heavier than expected. Pricing is quote based, and annual commitment is common. It fits best when mobile retention, not just email delivery, is the core goal.
What we like- Strong mobile push and in-app tools
- AI predictions for churn and lifetime value
- Broad international channel coverage
Watch out for- Quote based pricing
- Learning curve for full analytics
- Less suited to pure B2B SaaS email
#5CleverTap
Best for: Mobile retention and analytics4.6/5 on
G2 (681 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit clevertap.com
Starting priceSee website
Free planFree trial
CleverTap pairs engagement with analytics, so marketers can move from a retention insight to a campaign without exporting data to another tool. It covers push, email, SMS, WhatsApp, in-app messages, and app inbox, and it adds loyalty modules that help consumer brands reward repeat behavior. Teams in Southeast Asia, India, and the Middle East often shortlist it for that regional strength.
Email-only buyers should look elsewhere first. CleverTap is designed around mobile retention, and its full value appears when you use its analytics, segmentation, and journey tools together. Ask for a trial on a real retention problem, such as day-7 churn, and judge it on that result.
What we like- Analytics built into engagement
- Loyalty and retention features
- Strong mobile and international coverage
Watch out for- Pricing tiers are not fully transparent
- Setup takes time for complex funnels
- Email is not its primary strength
#6OneSignal
Best for: Push-led messaging4.7/5 on
G2 (1,221 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit onesignal.com
Starting priceSee website
Free planYes
OneSignal is the easiest way to start with push. Its free plan covers mobile push and a set number of web push subscribers, which is enough for many apps and sites to test push as a retention channel. Setup is straightforward, with SDKs, templates, A/B testing, and delivery by timezone on paid plans.
It is not a full Customer.io replacement for complex event journeys. Email, SMS, and in-app messaging exist, but teams that need deep data-driven workflows will find Vero, Loops, or Iterable stronger. Use OneSignal when push is the lead channel and email plays a supporting role.
What we like- Free tier with real push utility
- Simple setup for web and mobile push
- Email and SMS available on higher plans
Watch out for- Email depth lags dedicated email platforms
- Advanced features sit on paid tiers
- Large push lists need paid plans
Starting price$49 per month
Free planFree trial
Vero is built for product-led teams that want Customer.io style journeys without enterprise procurement. It prices on active profiles, integrates directly with a data warehouse, and offers a clear self-serve path starting at $49 per month in recent pricing summaries. That transparency makes budgeting easier for startups and mid-market SaaS firms.
Channel breadth is the trade-off. Vero covers email well, with push and other channels in a narrower form than Braze or Iterable, so mobile-first consumer brands may need a second tool. For B2B SaaS lifecycle email, onboarding, and product updates, that focus is often an advantage, not a gap.
What we like- Transparent pricing
- Active-profile model avoids paying for dormant contacts
- Direct data warehouse integration
Watch out for- Smaller channel set than Braze or Iterable
- Less native mobile depth
- Enterprise features are narrower
Starting price$99 per month
Free planYes
Loops targets SaaS teams that want clean lifecycle email without a heavy platform. Its builder, templates, and audience tools suit onboarding, activation, billing, and product announcements, and it can handle transactional messages alongside marketing email. That focus keeps the learning curve short for marketers who edit workflows themselves.
The paid entry is higher than some rivals, at $99 per month for the Growing Audience plan in recent summaries, while the free tier limits sends to a rolling window and to the newest contacts. Loops fits when your audience is growing steadily and email is the main channel, not when you need full push, SMS, and in-app orchestration.
What we like- Simple builder for SaaS email
- Free sends for small audiences
- Transactional email support
Watch out for- Higher paid entry than Vero
- Free sends reach only newest contacts
- Less cross-channel depth
Starting price$15 per month
Free planFree trial
ActiveCampaign suits B2B teams that need marketing automation plus a sales handoff in one place. You can score leads, trigger nurture sequences from behavior, and pass warm contacts to sales with context, rather than running email and CRM as separate silos. Its Starter plan is listed at $15 per month for 1,000 contacts in recent summaries, which keeps entry costs low.
Contact-based pricing still needs care, since costs rise as your list grows, and some advanced features sit on higher tiers. It is also less focused on high-volume consumer push than Braze or MoEngage. For B2B SaaS and services firms, that CRM link often outweighs those limits.
What we like- Automation tied to CRM and sales
- Good for B2B nurture and handoffs
- Wide integration library
Watch out for- No permanent free plan
- Price scales with contacts
- Interface can feel crowded at first
How we chose
We compared pricing pages, documentation, and public reviews on G2, Capterra, and Reddit, and we focused on the core Customer.io job: event-driven, cross-channel journeys for product and lifecycle messaging. A tool made the list only if it exists today and offers a distinct fit, from enterprise scale to push-led or SaaS email. Where a vendor does not publish pricing, we wrote See website instead of repeating third-party estimates as fact.
Choosing by team type, not by feature count
Feature lists look similar across this category, so buyer fit matters more than a long checklist. Start with your audience, channels, and data source, then test the two tools that match that profile.
If you are a consumer app or retail brand
Shortlist Braze, Iterable, MoEngage, and CleverTap, and compare them on mobile channels, real-time triggers, and experimentation. Ask each vendor to model pricing at your actual monthly active users, not at a demo list size.
If you are an ecommerce store
Start with Klaviyo, since purchase data is already native to its flows. Only move to a broader platform if you need complex cross-channel journeys that Klaviyo does not cover, or if active-profile billing becomes painful at your list size.
If you are a B2B SaaS team
Compare Vero, Loops, and ActiveCampaign on event setup, warehouse or CRM integration, and editing ease. Check how much engineering time each one needs for the first three journeys, since that hidden cost often decides the winner.
If push is your main channel
Start with OneSignal and prove push value before buying a full engagement suite. Measure opt-in rates, delivery, and retention impact, then add email depth only if push alone leaves a clear gap.
Frequently asked questions
What is the closest alternative to Customer.io?
Vero and Loops are the closest for product-led SaaS lifecycle email, with clearer self-serve pricing and event-driven journeys. Braze and Iterable are closer if you need enterprise cross-channel scale, but they cost and implement very differently.
Which Customer.io alternative has a free plan?
Klaviyo offers a free plan up to 250 active profiles, OneSignal offers a free push tier, and Loops offers free sends for small audiences. Braze and Iterable do not offer permanent free plans, so budget for a sales-led contract with those two.
Is Klaviyo only for ecommerce?
Klaviyo is strongest for ecommerce, but it can serve other email needs. Teams outside ecommerce often prefer Vero, Loops, or ActiveCampaign, since Klaviyo segments and flows are built around purchase behavior.
How do I avoid overpaying for inactive contacts?
Check whether a vendor bills on total contacts, active profiles, or monthly active users, and clean suppressed and unengaged contacts before you migrate. Vero and Klaviyo use active-profile models, while Iterable-style per-subscriber billing penalizes dormant contacts more.
Do I need engineering help to set these tools up?
Customer.io, Vero, and Loops are more developer friendly for event data, while Braze and Iterable often need more implementation help at enterprise scale. Ask each vendor what the first journey requires, and who on your team must build it.
Can I migrate journeys from Customer.io?
Yes, in most cases, but journeys rarely migrate one to one. Export your event names, segments, and message templates, rebuild the highest-value journeys first, and run old and new sends in parallel for a short period to catch data gaps.
Sources we checked (9)
- https://www.braze.com/pricing
- https://www.iterable.com/pricing
- https://www.klaviyo.com/pricing
- https://www.moengage.com/pricing
- https://www.clevertap.com/pricing
- https://www.onesignal.com/pricing
- https://www.getvero.com/pricing
- https://www.loops.so/pricing
- https://www.activecampaign.com/pricing
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
Shihab Mia · Founder, Rankite
Shihab has 5+ years in B2B and SaaS SEO. He writes Rankite's software buying guides from pricing pages, documentation and public user reviews. More about Shihab.