PushOwl vs. MailChimp

PushOwl and Mailchimp approach retention from two very different starting points.

One is built for speed and simplicity, the other for flexibility and scale.

One prioritizes high-intent ecommerce workflows; the other casts a broader net across industries.

If you are trying to decide which platform to use for cart recovery, re-engagement, and long-term customer journeys, it helps to look beyond “email vs. push” or “CRM vs automation.” The fundamental differences lie in how each tool fits into your stack, how much setup you’re willing to take on, and how quickly you want to start seeing results.

The table below breaks down PushOwl (with Brevo) and Mailchimp across the metrics that actually matter.

Full disclosure: we are PushOwl. We know our product inside out, and yes, it is an excellent fit for many Shopify brands. But we also understand that it is not about picking a “winner." It is more related to finding the right tool for your workflow.

What You Need to Know Before Comparing Them

Mailchimp has experienced multiple security incidents, including phishing-related account breaches as recent as May 2024, where attackers gained access to account management tools and internal customer support. The attack impacted approximately 105,000+ individuals.

While Mailchimp has since strengthened its security measures, these incidents highlight an essential consideration for ecommerce merchants: your marketing platform is more than a campaign tool. It’s a repository of sensitive customer data. Any breach can have downstream effects on your brand’s trust, compliance standing, and even deliverability.

PushOwl (via Brevo) hasn’t had publicly reported breaches of this scale because it’s built with GDPR-compliant functionalities.

In short: before comparing automation flows and creative tools, factor in how each platform stores, secures, and limits access to your customers’ data. For many Shopify brands, data safety is as important as open rates or ROI.

PushOwl vs Mailchimp:Feature-by-Feature Comparison

This jargon-free, skimmable comparison between PushOwl (+ Brevo) and Mailchimp is built to help you decide which fits your needs, based on actual product priorities, not just feature lists.

PARAMETER

PushOwl (Powered by Brevo)

Mailchimp

Overall Goals

Built for Shopify stores to recover revenue and engage customers without relying on email capture. Web push-first, now integrated into Brevo’s broader retention suite. Prioritizes fast, low-effort ROI for ecommerce.

All-in-one marketing platform for small businesses, creators, and ecommerce brands. Email-first, with additional tools for digital campaigns and growth.

Pricing

Generous free tier for small stores. Scales with push subscribers. It’s volume-based, so highly cost-effective for omnichannel use.

Tiered pricing based on the number of contacts. Access to key features (automation, segmentation) is often gated behind higher plans. Scaling can get expensive.

Core Differentiators

Shopify-native push notifications
GDPR-compliant, cookie-less tracking
Build for omnichannel e-commerce
Contact management is fast and smooth
Pop-up builders are advanced

General-purpose tool with broad applicability beyond ecommerce
E-commerce automations are quite detailed

Product Suite Features

Web push, email, SMS, and WhatsApp campaigns
Cart recovery, browse abandonment, price drop, and back-in-stock alerts.
Landing pages, forms, CRM.

Email campaigns, automations
SMS (limited)
Landing pages, forms, ads, and social posting
Basic CRM.

Segmentation / Personalization

Behavioral triggers via Shopify (abandoned cart, viewed product, etc.)
Dynamic segments using contact activity across channels.

Detailed segmentation using merge fields, tags, and purchase behavior (if ecommerce). Strong but often manual to set up.

Level of Marketing Automation

Ready-made flows like cart recovery and price-drop alerts.
Visual journey builder for multi-channel workflows.
Automation occurs across channels.

Powerful multi-branch automations, but require more manual setup (Best for brands with a team or an experienced marketer).
Many features are locked to higher tiers.

Ease of Use and Setup

Shopify plug-and-play with 2-click onboarding.
Easy setup with good documentation and support available across all plans
White-glove migrations

Requires more setup time, especially for automation and ecommerce data.
The interface is cluttered for first-time users.

Cost-effectiveness

Extremely ROI-driven. You can generate revenue on the free PushOwl plan.
The pay-as-you-go pricing (especially for email/SMS) is startup- and mid-size-friendly.

Good at early stages, but becomes expensive as the contact list grows.
Many users report pricing creep.

Customer support

Highly rated support for Shopify-specific help, fast onboarding, and dedicated assistance during setup.
Chat, email, and knowledge base are available.

Mixed reviews. Support is available, but quality varies by plan.
Email/chat support is not always prompt for lower tiers.

UX/UI

Modern UI is on both dashboards, but PushOwl and Brevo are accessed separately. Interfaces are clean and task-specific, not all-in-one.

The interface is older and feels cluttered. Too many nested menus. Beginners report difficulty navigating without prior experience.

Integrations

Shopify-native
Native integrations with WooCommerce, Stripe, Zapier, Typeform, Calendly, and others.

Integrates with major platforms (Shopify, WooCommerce, Stripe, etc.) but requires more manual configuration to sync correctly

Reporting

Real-time notification-level performance (impressions, clicks, conversions).
Email/SMS campaign metrics and contact-level reporting.
Two dashboards

Strong analytics but segmented by feature.
Less ecommerce-native data unless connected and configured correctly.

Deliverability (emails going to spam, not getting sent, etc.)

High deliverability for emails/SMS when the domain is authenticated.
Push notifications are immune to email deliverability issues (as they bypass the inbox entirely).

Strong email deliverability reputation, but issues may occur for unverified domains or poor list hygiene.
Spam flagging is more likely on lower plans.

User Feedback & Reviews

Praised for instant ROI, simplicity, and support.
Appreciated for affordable omnichannel automation and contact management.
Users like the modular approach, but note dashboard separation and limited automation

Mixed reviews. Users like the branding tools and templates, but complain about sudden pricing changes and feature limitations on free/lower plans.

Use Case Scenarios

For a fair comparison, the scenarios below are intended to match the situations of Yotpo users before the tool discontinued email and SMS:

Scenario 1

Bootstrapped Shopify Store Needing Fast Setup & White-Glove Support

A founder has just launched a small Shopify store and needs to set up abandoned cart recovery and price-drop notifications quickly, without learning how to design email campaigns or build a list. Their focus is on converting existing traffic, not marketing overhead.

PushOwl is what they will need.

Its Shopify-native push flows, zero-dependency on email capture, and ready-to-deploy setup mean the store can start generating retention ROI almost immediately, while also starting easy and slow with email and SMS.

The simplicity, speed, and onboarding experience are unmatched for early-stage merchants with limited bandwidth.

Scenario 2

Multi-Channel Brand With Deep Email Strategy and High Creative Needs

A mid-sized brand that already has a solid email list wants to create complex, multi-branch email automations, say, conditional content based on product categories, dynamic discounting, or lead-nurture flows with multiple touchpoints. They also want strong template control and design flexibility, and are not interested in push or SMS.

Mailchimp may take the lead here.

Its email builder, merge tags, and audience segmentation tools offer more flexibility for brands that treat email as the core of their marketing. For businesses with in-house creative and marketing teams, Mailchimp supports granular control over message design, logic, and testing.

Scenario 3

Shopify Store Scaling Into Omnichannel Retention

A fast-growing DTC brand is ready to expand beyond email into channels like push, SMS, and WhatsApp, but it doesn’t want to cobble together four different tools or pay for channels it isn’t using yet. They want flexibility without platform switching.

PushOwl makes a strong case, with a caveat.

It is ideal for full omnichannel automation and multi-channel campaigns, starting with push and then layering on SMS or WhatsApp, with basic automations and reporting.

What It’s Not

Some limitations you need to know:

PushOwl is not:

An all‑in‑one creative powerhouse, as email template flexibility is more basic than dedicated email builders.
A heavy CRM; while it manages contacts well, it’s not built for deep lead management across non‑ecommerce use cases.
A replacement for high‑volume email marketing teams or those who live entirely in complex email workflows.

Mailchimp is not:

A Shopify‑native ecommerce tool. It’s a general‑purpose platform with ecommerce features bolted on.
The cheapest option at scale; pricing creeps quickly as your contact list grows.
A plug‑and‑play retention solution because setup, segmentation, and automation often require a learning curve.
The best fit if you want lean, multi‑channel automation out of the box.

PushOwl vs Mailchimp: Which Should You Pick?

PushOwl

PushOwl, backed by Brevo, is built differently. It started as a Shopify-first web push tool focused on helping merchants recover revenue from anonymous store visitors. Over time, with Brevo in the mix, it’s grown into a lean, modular retention engine, offering email, SMS, WhatsApp, and multi-channel automation without sacrificing ease of use. It’s designed to start small and scale with your store, not overwhelm you upfront.

Mailchimp

Mailchimp has been around for decades. It’s earned its spot as the go-to email marketing platform for small businesses, agencies, and creators alike. Over time, it’s evolved into an all-in-one tool: email, landing pages, forms, ads, basic CRM, and some automation. But it was never purpose-built for ecommerce. Shopify compatibility exists, but it’s layered on top of a very general system.