Why SMS Marketing Matters More Than Ever
SMS is no longer just a “nice-to-have” channel—it’s a high-ROI powerhouse. Direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands are seeing returns as high as 20–35x by sending timely, targeted messages that cut through the noise (GetApp).

The Klaviyo vs Attentive Dilemma
With both Klaviyo and Attentive leading the charge in SMS, the big question for CMOs and retention teams is: Which platform gives us more control, better ROI, and scalability we can trust?

What You’ll Learn in This Guide
This is a straight-to-the-point comparison—no fluff. We’ll break down Klaviyo SMS vs Attentive across automation, segmentation, pricing, UX, and compliance—so you can confidently choose the tool that fits your team, tech stack, and revenue goals.

Klaviyo SMS vs Attentive: Quick Comparison at a Glance

Looking for a fast, no-fluff breakdown? Here’s how Klaviyo and Attentive stack up on the features that matter most—so you can quickly see which SMS platform fits your team, tools, and growth strategy.

Onboarding Time: Speed vs Support

Klaviyo

• Fast, guided self-setup with intuitive onboarding tools.

• Ideal for agile in-house teams that prefer a hands-on approach.

• Seamless Shopify integration, enabling automatic syncing of customer data, purchase history, and behavioural triggers — explore more setup tips in our Shopify x Klaviyo Integration Guide.

• Supports Shopify Flow, allowing merchants to automate tasks and trigger Klaviyo campaigns based on store activity.

Attentive

• Concierge onboarding service, offering personalised setup assistance.

• Best for brands with limited internal tech resources that need a fully managed experience.

• Ideal for businesses that prefer hand-held guidance rather than self-setup.

  
  

Opt-In Compliance: Hands-On or Fully Managed

Klaviyo

• Built-in TCPA/GDPR-compliant opt-in forms – Ensures legal adherence with pre-configured templates.

• Self-serve popups and embedded fields – Allows brands to customise opt-in experiences for email and SMS.

• Optional double opt-in – Strengthens subscriber quality by requiring confirmation before adding contacts.

• Smart Opt-in for SMS – Streamlined consent collection designed to maximise conversions while maintaining compliance.

• Preference Centre Management – Enables subscribers to adjust their communication preferences easily.

To optimise your list growth, explore these 5 Proven Techniques for Increasing SMS Opt-Ins in Klaviyo.

Attentive

• End-to-end compliance management – Handles subscriber acquisition while ensuring adherence to TCPA, CTIA, and GDPR.

• CTIA board member – Actively shapes industry standards for SMS marketing compliance.

• Legal assurance built into the platform – Reduces compliance risks with automated opt-in validation and suppression of known litigators.

• Patented two-tap sign-up process – Simplifies mobile opt-ins while maintaining regulatory compliance.

• Litigator Defender for TCPA – Automatically removes phone numbers associated with SMS-related lawsuits.

  
  

Automation: Cross-Channel vs SMS-First

Klaviyo

• Drag-and-drop flow builder for easy automation setup.

• Combine email + SMS in a single journey, ensuring seamless cross-channel engagement.

• Logic splits, delays, dynamic paths for advanced personalisation.

• Supports event-triggered flows, such as abandoned cart recovery and post-purchase engagement.

For specific flow strategies, check out 8 Essential Klaviyo Flows to Boost Customer Loyalty

Attentive

• SMS-first journeys, focusing exclusively on mobile messaging.

• “While Attentive was traditionally SMS-first, the platform has recently expanded into email marketing—allowing brands to run email and SMS campaigns together. However, its email tools are still maturing compared to Klaviyo’s deeply integrated, cross-channel experience. 

• Pre-built templates for cart abandonment, welcome, and restock alerts.

  
  

While Klaviyo and Attentive have had distinct strengths (multi-channel vs SMS-first), both are expanding fast. Attentive now supports email campaigns, and Klaviyo is rolling out more conversational SMS tools. This makes the decision more nuanced than ever—review your team's needs for cross-channel coordination vs managed mobile execution.

Segmentation: Real-Time Behaviour vs AI Suggestions

Klaviyo

• Real-time segment updates, ensuring dynamic targeting.

• Behaviour-based segmentation, including page views, past purchases, and cart events.

• Predictive analytics for LTV forecasting, churn risk assessment, and personalised recommendations.

• Klaviyo's predictive analytics help identify churn risk and LTV—explore how to use them in our Klaviyo Predictive Analytics Guide.

Attentive

• AI-based suggestions, simplifying audience targeting.

• Segments based on SMS clicks and engagement time, rather than broader behavioural data.

• Quick and simple, but lacks manual control over segmentation logic.

  
  

A/B Testing: Intuitive vs Manual

Klaviyo

• Built-in A/B testing for email & SMS – Easily test subject lines, message content, CTAs, and send times.

• Automated winner selection – Klaviyo automatically determines the best-performing variation based on engagement metrics.

• Integrated testing across campaigns & flows – Run experiments within automated workflows to optimise retention strategies.

• Advanced segmentation for precise insights – Test variations across different audience segments to refine messaging.

• AI-powered subject line testing – Automatically generate and test subject lines for improved open rates.

Klaviyo’s built-in A/B tools let you test offers, timing, and content. For more advanced ideas, check out 10 Essential A/B Tests to Boost Email Conversions.

Attentive

• A/B testing available for SMS & email – Requires manual setup within Campaign Composer.

• Limited automation – Winning variations must be manually selected and applied to future campaigns.

• Basic testing options – Focuses on send time, message content, and engagement optimisation.

• Less intuitive for beginners – Requires manual adjustments and lacks built-in AI-driven optimisation.

• Best for brands prioritising SMS engagement – Ideal for testing urgency language, media formats, and subscriber behaviour.

  
  

Pricing: Transparent vs Quoted

Klaviyo

• Public volume-based pricing – Costs are clearly outlined based on the number of active profiles, ensuring transparency.

• No contract required – Brands can scale their email and SMS marketing without long-term commitments.

• Flexible for growing businesses – Pricing adjusts as subscriber lists expand, making it budget-friendly for smaller teams.

• Pay-as-you-go SMS model – Businesses only pay for the messages they send, with tiered rates based on volume.

• Free plan available – Up to 250 contacts with limited features, ideal for testing the platform.

 If you're evaluating platform pricing and ROI potential, it’s also worth reading our Klaviyo vs Mailchimp Comparison to understand broader email + SMS cost dynamics.

Source: Klaviyo 

Attentive

• Quote-only pricing – Requires direct consultation to determine costs based on business needs.

• Long-term contracts – Typically structured for enterprise-level brands with committed SMS strategies.

• Premium service for high-volume senders – Best suited for brands needing concierge-level support and advanced segmentation.

• Additional carrier fees & platform costs – Pricing includes SMS/MMS charges, carrier fees, and quarterly minimums.

• Free 30-day trial – Allows businesses to test the platform before committing to a contract.

  
  

Source: Attentive

UX & Previews: Unified Dashboard vs SMS-Only Focus

Klaviyo

• Unified dashboard, integrating email + SMS in one place.

• Preview texts across devices, ensuring optimal formatting.

• Ideal for multi-channel teams managing both email and SMS campaigns.

  
  

Attentive

• SMS-only interface, focusing exclusively on mobile messaging.

• Rich formatting and real-time character tracking, enhancing SMS readability.

• Clean but limited, restricting multi-channel strategies.

  
  

Best For: Who Should Use Each Platform?

Choose Klaviyo if:

• You want full control over email + SMS in a single, unified dashboard.

• Your team is data-driven and in-house, leveraging analytics for optimisation.

• You need advanced segmentation and automation, including predictive analytics and real-time behavioural targeting.

• You value flexibility and transparency, with scalable pricing and no long-term contracts.

• You require multi-channel marketing, integrating email, SMS, and other customer touchpoints seamlessly.

Choose Attentive if:

• You prefer a fully-managed experience, with concierge onboarding and compliance handling.

• Your brand is SMS-first and mobile-heavy, focusing exclusively on text-based engagement.

• Your team has minimal CRM experience, benefiting from AI-driven segmentation and automated list growth.

• You need hands-off compliance management, ensuring TCPA, CTIA, and GDPR adherence without manual oversight.

• You prioritise high-touch customer engagement, leveraging personalised SMS journeys and AI-powered optimisation.

Still deciding? Our Klaviyo vs Postscript and Klaviyo vs Omnisend comparisons break down even more platform use cases and feature differences.

FAQs

1. Does either platform support WhatsApp or push notifications?

• Not natively. Klaviyo focuses on email and SMS; push requires integration. Attentive is SMS-first with limited multi-channel expansion.

2. Can I use Klaviyo or Attentive to send transactional messages?

• Yes. Both platforms support transactional SMS, including order confirmations and shipping updates. Klaviyo provides granular control when syncing email and SMS for unified post-purchase journeys, while Attentive offers robust, mobile-first transactional flows backed by strong delivery infrastructure

3. What integrations are available beyond Shopify?

•  Klaviyo offers native integrations with WooCommerce, BigCommerce, and over 200 apps. Attentive also integrates with major eCommerce platforms, but many require support to configure.

4. Are there built-in analytics dashboards?

•  Yes. Klaviyo provides real-time analytics across email and SMS. Attentive offers SMS analytics but is more limited outside of SMS performance.

5. Do both platforms support conversational SMS (two-way chats)?

• Attentive supports live 1:1 SMS chat for real-time customer support. Klaviyo has recently introduced conversational SMS features, allowing brands to handle two-way messaging using response branching or human intervention via integrations, making it more interactive than before.

• However, Attentive still holds the edge in live support infrastructure and concierge-style communication.

Conclusion

Choosing between Klaviyo and Attentive depends on how hands-on your team wants to be. Klaviyo is ideal for brands that want control, data depth, and multi-channel power in one place—especially if you're already using Klaviyo for email. Its flexibility, real-time segmentation, and unified dashboard make it great for in-house CRM teams.

On the other hand, Attentive shines if you're SMS-first and want a fully managed service with premium compliance and mobile execution. Whichever you choose, focusing on the right fit now will save time, protect deliverability, and boost your ROI in the long run.

Key Takeaways

• Fast Setup or White Glove: Klaviyo offers quick, self-serve onboarding; Attentive gives a done-for-you setup.

• Compliance Approach: Klaviyo is hands-on and flexible; Attentive manages everything for you.

• Automation Depth: Klaviyo supports cross-channel flows; Attentive is SMS-only but streamlined.

• Targeting Power: Klaviyo uses real-time filters and predictive tools; Attentive leans on AI suggestions.

• Testing Capabilities: Klaviyo has built-in A/B tools; Attentive testing is manual and limited.

• Pricing Models: Klaviyo is transparent and scalable; Attentive uses custom quotes and contracts.

• UX & Campaign Design: Klaviyo unifies email and SMS in one dashboard; Attentive focuses solely on SMS design and delivery.

Still unsure which SMS platform fits your growth plan?

Click here to book your free audit with our CRM experts—we’ll evaluate your list, goals, and use case to recommend the right platform for revenue-driving SMS.