FAQ: Feb 18 billing changes
Get answers to frequently asked questions about Klaviyo's billing changes, which took effect February 18, 2025.
If you want answers about the appreciation discount, please see our appreciation discount FAQ.
Why is Klaviyo implementing these pricing changes?
We are introducing pricing changes to simplify billing, improve customer flexibility, and ensure plans align with your value. These changes address customer concerns about confusing or frustrating pricing structures and provide greater control over costs.
What are the key changes effective February 18, 2025?
- Profile plan compliance: your email plan must cover your active profile count.
- Flexible sending options: with this billing preference selected, you pay for additional usage capacity when you exceed your plan’s usage limit, without changing your subscription plan. The extra capacity expires at the start of your next billing cycle.
- Auto-downgrade option: with this billing preference selected, your email plan downgrades to the lowest tier that covers your active profile count for the next billing cycle. This option cannot be used with Automatically upgrade for email sends.
Who do these changes affect?
These changes apply to customers who pay via credit card.
When did the new billing preferences (flexible sending and auto-downgrade) become available?
Flexible sending and auto-downgrade became available on the billing preferences page beginning February 18, 2025.
Did the February 18 changes automatically change my existing billing preferences?
No. The February 18 changes did not automatically opt you into flexible sending or profiles auto-downgrade. You can select these options on the billing preferences page.
How do I turn on profiles auto-downgrade?
Profiles auto-downgrade is available for paid email plans. Only Owners and Admins can change billing settings. If you use shared billing, manage these preferences in the parent account.
- Go to Billing > Preferences.
- For Email upgrade preference, select Flexible overages or None, then click Update. If Automatically upgrade is selected, save a different option before trying to enable auto-downgrade.
- In Profiles auto-downgrade, select Auto-downgrade profiles, then click Update.
What is an active profile?
An active profile is a profile that can receive email through Klaviyo. Active does not mean that the person has recently opened an email, clicked, or purchased. Suppressed email profiles do not count toward your email plan’s active profile limit. Learn more about active profiles.
How can I identify inactive profiles?
Learn how to identify inactive profiles.
Why does Klaviyo price its email plans on active profiles?
Visit the Klaviyo blog to learn more about our pricing philosophy.
What happens if my active profiles exceed my plan limit?
For paid accounts, if your active profiles exceed your plan limit:
- Your plan automatically upgrades to a tier that covers your active profile count for your next billing cycle. This profile-based upgrade applies regardless of your email sending preference.
- Notifications alert account Owners and Admins when:
- You are approaching your plan limit.
- An upgrade occurs.
Free accounts are not automatically upgraded. If you see an active profile limit warning that blocks email sending or prevents you from setting flow emails live, reduce your active profile count to your plan limit or lower, or upgrade to a paid plan that covers your profiles.
Example:
You have 64,000 active profiles and are paying for a plan that allows for up to 65,000 active profiles.
You later add 5,000 more active profiles during your billing cycle, bringing your total to 69,000. If you keep all of these active profiles, Klaviyo automatically moves you to a plan that covers 70,000 active profiles for the next billing cycle.
If you delete or suppress 4,000 or more active profiles before your plan is assessed for renewal, bringing your active profile count to 65,000 or fewer, you stay within your current plan’s profile limit.
How can I manage my profiles to stay within budget?
Klaviyo provides tools to manage active profiles effectively:
- Suppress profiles: stop inactive or unengaged profiles from receiving marketing emails while keeping their profile data. Suppressed email profiles do not count toward your email plan’s active profile limit. Learn how to suppress profiles in your account.
- Bulk deletion: permanently delete profiles and their data when you no longer need them. Deleted data cannot be recovered. Learn how to bulk delete profiles in your account.
- Re-engagement campaigns or sunset flows: attempt to re-engage inactive contacts before deciding to suppress or delete them.
Reducing your active profile count does not by itself lower your email subscription price. Select a lower plan, or turn on profiles auto-downgrade, to move to a lower tier when your count qualifies.
How does flexible sending work?
Flexible sending, shown as Flexible overages in billing preferences, lets you purchase additional usage capacity without upgrading your subscription plan. For email, flexible sending covers extra sends; your subscription plan for the next billing cycle still needs to cover your active profile count.
For Mobile Messaging with dollar-based pricing, flexible sending is available on plans priced $490/month and higher. For credit-based SMS plans, the minimum is $495/month (55,000 credits).
Flexible sending requires an eligible paid plan. To change this setting, you must be an Owner or Admin. If you use shared billing, change these preferences in the parent account.
- Go to Billing > Preferences.
- Open the upgrade preference dropdown for the plan and select Flexible overages. Review the additional capacity and cost shown.
- Click Update to save. Repeat for any other eligible plans you want to use flexible sending for.
How it works:
- Flexible overages applies to eligible paid plans, including Email, Mobile Messaging, Helpdesk, and Composer. Select it separately for each plan you want to use it for.
- When you exceed your usage limit, you are charged for the additional capacity of a tier that covers your usage. For email and credit-based plans, the charge uses your plan’s overage rate. For Mobile Messaging with dollar-based pricing, the charge is the difference in plan price between the flex tiers.
- The extra capacity expires at the start of your next billing cycle. Your subscription plan remains unchanged by flexible sending.
Example for email:
You have flexible sending selected for your email plan and are on an $80/month plan that includes 35,000 monthly emails. In this example, the plan’s overage rate is $2.29 per 1,000 emails. You need 10,000 more emails this month due to increased volume.
After you exceed 35,000 emails, Klaviyo adds 15,000 emails of capacity, bringing your allowance to 50,000 emails for this cycle. You pay for all 15,000 additional emails even though you only need 10,000.
For this, you'll be charged $34.35 before applicable tax. Here’s the math: 15,000 emails × ($2.29 / 1,000) = $34.35.
At the start of the next billing cycle, the extra email capacity expires. If your subscription plan has not changed, your $80 plan again includes 35,000 monthly emails.
Who benefits:
- Ideal for customers with occasional surges, like during Black Friday or seasonal campaigns.
For email and credit-based plans, flexible sending is based on your plan’s overage rate and the added capacity. For Mobile Messaging with dollar-based pricing, it is based on the difference in plan price between flex tiers. Frequent use can make upgrading more cost-effective.
Example for Mobile Messaging with dollar-based pricing:
You are on an $895/month Mobile Messaging plan with flexible sending selected. The next tier is $915/month, a difference of $20. You use your plan’s capacity and need additional capacity before your billing cycle ends.
You are charged $20 before applicable tax for the full capacity increment, even if you use only part of it. Your subscription stays on the $895 plan.
At the start of your next cycle, the extra capacity expires. If your subscription plan has not changed, you return to your $895 plan’s capacity.
You receive an invoice detailing the flexible overage charge. In Billing, open Payment history or Payments & Invoices, depending on the tab shown in your account, to find the invoice. For Mobile Messaging with dollar-based pricing, use the invoice’s Amount to review the charge; Quantity and Unit Price do not represent message counts and per-message rates.
Where can I find more information or help with these changes?
We’ve made several resources available to ensure you have the support you need:
- Help Center articles: Detailed guides on managing active profiles, billing plans, and suppression tools.
- Customer Support: Reach out to Klaviyo’s support team for personalized assistance.
- Billing preferences: Manage your account’s billing preferences directly in-app.