12 Best Customer.io Alternatives

Our Pick for SaaS Companies

Sequenzy

AI-powered email marketing with native Stripe integration. Less powerful than Customer.io, but much simpler and half the price. Great for SaaS teams who don't need multi-channel.

Visit

Best for

SaaS founders who want AI + simplicity

Pricing

$49/month for 10,000 subscribers

Pros

AI generates email sequences automatically
Native Stripe integration for SaaS
Half the price of Customer.io for same contacts
Marketing + transactional in one platform
Direct founder support

Cons

No push notifications or in-app messages
Behavioral triggers less sophisticated
No SMS support
Newer platform with smaller community

Start Free Trial

Encharge

Marketing automation built for SaaS. Similar behavioral focus to Customer.io but more accessible. Strong integrations with Stripe, Segment, and Intercom.

Visit

Best for

SaaS teams focused on trial conversion

Pricing

$79/mo for 2,000 subscribers, scales from there

Pros

Powerful visual flow builder
Behavior-based triggers for SaaS
Native Stripe, Segment, Intercom integrations
User scoring and lead qualification
Good for trial-to-paid conversion

Cons

No multi-channel (email only)
No transactional email support
Smaller company than Customer.io
Can be expensive at scale

Loops

Clean, modern SaaS email platform. Much simpler than Customer.io with less behavioral power, but covers the basics well for most SaaS companies.

Visit

Best for

SaaS teams wanting simplicity

Pricing

$49/mo for 5k, roughly $99/mo for 10k

Pros

Genuinely pleasant interface
Built for SaaS from day one
Transactional + marketing together
Good deliverability
All features on all plans

Cons

Behavioral triggers less sophisticated
No multi-channel messaging
No AI content generation
No native Stripe sync

Userlist

SaaS-focused email automation with company + user relationships. Great for B2B with team accounts where you need different messaging for admins vs users.

Visit

Best for

B2B SaaS with team-based accounts

Pricing

$99/mo for 5,000 users

Pros

Company + user model built in
Designed for SaaS onboarding
In-app messages included
Behavior-based messaging
SaaS-specific features

Cons

No push notifications
More expensive than simpler tools
Smaller community
Less powerful than Customer.io

Braze

Enterprise-grade multi-channel engagement. More powerful than Customer.io but enterprise pricing. For large companies with big budgets.

Visit

Best for

Enterprise companies with big budgets

Pricing

Custom pricing (typically $50k+/year)

Pros

Most comprehensive multi-channel platform
Advanced AI and personalization
Handles massive scale
Real-time streaming architecture
Enterprise-grade security

Cons

Enterprise pricing only
Complex implementation
Overkill for most companies
Long sales cycles

Vero

Behavioral email marketing that's been around since 2012. Similar philosophy to Customer.io but simpler and more affordable. Good middle ground.

Visit

Best for

Teams wanting behavioral without Customer.io complexity

Pricing

$54/mo for 10,000 users

Pros

Good event-based automation
Reasonable pricing
Stable and mature platform
Push notifications included
Visual workflow builder

Cons

Less powerful than Customer.io
Interface feels a bit dated
Smaller community
No SMS or in-app messages

Iterable

Growth marketing platform with multi-channel capabilities. Similar to Customer.io but more marketing-focused. Popular with consumer brands.

Visit

Best for

Consumer brands with growth teams

Pricing

Custom pricing (starts around $1k/month)

Pros

Strong multi-channel orchestration
Good for consumer brands
AI-powered send time optimization
Solid mobile push support
Rich integration ecosystem

Cons

Less PLG-focused than Customer.io
Expensive for small teams
Can be complex to configure
Better for B2C than B2B SaaS

ActiveCampaign

The automation powerhouse with CRM included. Not as PLG-focused as Customer.io, but very powerful for complex workflows and sales-driven companies.

Visit

Best for

Teams needing CRM + email automation

Pricing

$79/mo for 10,000 contacts (Lite)

Pros

Most powerful automation builder
Built-in CRM with sales pipeline
Can automate almost anything
Good deliverability
Massive integration library

Cons

Not PLG-focused like Customer.io
No native push or in-app
Steep learning curve
Pricing creeps up with add-ons

Bento

Event-driven email marketing for SaaS with AI features. Does things very differently than Customer.io -powerful once you get it, but steep learning curve.

Visit

Best for

SaaS teams wanting event-driven + AI + chat

Pricing

$100/month for 10,000 contacts ($0.01/contact)

Pros

Event-driven automation
AI content generation built in
Built-in chat + email
Unlimited emails included
Good documentation

Cons

Very different approach -steep learning curve
Per-contact pricing adds up
Smaller than Customer.io
No push notifications

#10

Intercom

Customer messaging platform with email, chat, product tours, and more. If you're already using Intercom for support, you can use it for marketing too.

Visit

Best for

Teams already using Intercom for support

Pricing

$74/mo base + per seat

Pros

Chat, email, product tours in one
Strong user targeting
In-app messaging
Good B2B SaaS focus
Feature-rich platform

Cons

Gets expensive with seat-based pricing
Less behavioral depth than Customer.io
Complex pricing model
Email is secondary to chat

#11

Resend

Best developer experience for transactional email. If you only need transactional and want great DX, Resend is excellent. No marketing features.

Visit

Best for

Developers needing transactional only

Pricing

$20/month for 50,000 emails

Pros

Best developer experience in email
React Email for templates
Modern SDKs for every language
Affordable for transactional volume
Excellent documentation

Cons

Zero marketing features
No behavioral automation
No subscriber management
Need separate tool for marketing

#12

Brevo

Budget-friendly option with multi-channel capabilities. SMS, email, and chat included. Less sophisticated than Customer.io but much more affordable.

Visit

Best for

Budget-conscious teams

Pricing

$25/mo for unlimited contacts

Pros

Unlimited contacts
SMS and chat included
Actually affordable
Transactional included
Basic automation available

Cons

Behavioral automation is basic
Interface feels dated
Pay-per-email model
Support can be slow

Why Consider Alternatives to Customer.io

Pricing scales quickly

Customer.io starts at $100/month for just 5,000 profiles. At 10k profiles, you're looking at $150+. And you pay for all profiles, not just active ones. Simpler tools like Sequenzy offer 10k for $49.

Complexity you might not need

Customer.io is built for sophisticated PLG companies with complex user journeys. If you're sending onboarding emails and occasional campaigns, simpler tools will do the job with less setup time.

Multi-channel might be overkill

Push notifications, SMS, and in-app messages are great if you use them. But many SaaS companies only need email. Paying for multi-channel you don't use doesn't make sense.

Setup requires engineering time

Getting the most out of Customer.io requires proper event tracking setup and engineering resources. Simpler tools can be configured by marketing without developer help.

Feature

Customer.io

Sequenzy

Encharge

Loops

ActiveCampaign

Bento

Brevo

Price at 10k

$150+

$49

$99+

$99

$79+

$100

$25+

Behavioral triggers

Best

Good

Basic

Good

Basic

Multi-channel

AI content

Stripe sync

Transactional

Setup complexity

High

Low

Medium

Low

Medium

Low

When to Use Each Platform

Choose Sequenzy if...

You want AI to write your email sequences
You use Stripe and want automatic sync
Email is your primary channel
You prefer simplicity over power

Choose Stay with Customer.io if...

You need push, SMS, and in-app alongside email
You have complex user journeys requiring sophisticated triggers
You have engineering resources for proper setup
Multi-channel orchestration is critical

Choose Encharge if...

You want Customer.io-like power but SaaS-focused
Trial conversion optimization is your priority
You need Stripe/Segment/Intercom integrations
Email-only is fine for now

Choose Loops if...

You want simple SaaS email that just works
Behavioral automation is nice-to-have, not critical
Clean interface matters to you
You prefer flat, predictable pricing

Choose ActiveCampaign if...

You need CRM alongside email automation
Sales team involvement is part of your process
Complex automation is required
Multi-channel is not a priority

Honest take: Is Customer.io worth it?

Customer.io is genuinely the most powerful behavioral messaging platform available. If you're a PLG company with complex user journeys, need multi-channel orchestration (email + push + SMS + in-app), and have engineering resources for proper setup, it's worth the price.

But most companies don't need all that power. Here's when alternatives make more sense:

If email is your primary channel: Sequenzy or Loops

Customer.io's multi-channel capabilities are wasted if you only send email. Sequenzy gives you AI content generation and Stripe integration at $49/month for 10k subscribers. Loops offers a clean, simple experience for SaaS email.

Both are significantly cheaper and easier to set up than Customer.io.

If you want similar power but SaaS-focused: Encharge

Encharge is built specifically for SaaS with behavior-based triggers, lead scoring, and native integrations with Stripe, Segment, and Intercom. It's email-only, but if that's fine, it's a solid Customer.io alternative.

If budget is tight: Brevo

Brevo offers unlimited contacts with SMS and chat included for $25+/month. The automation isn't as sophisticated as Customer.io, but it covers the basics at a fraction of the cost.

The pricing reality

At 10,000 profiles:

Customer.io: $150+/month
Sequenzy: $49/month (AI + Stripe sync included)
Loops: roughly $99/month
Encharge: roughly $99/month
Bento: $100/month
ActiveCampaign: $79/month (Lite)
Brevo: $25+/month (pay per email)

Customer.io's pricing makes sense if you use multiple channels and need sophisticated behavioral triggers. If you're primarily email-only, you're paying a premium for features you won't use.

When Customer.io is the right choice

Stick with Customer.io if:

You need true multi-channel orchestration (email + push + SMS + in-app)
Your product has complex user journeys requiring sophisticated triggers
You have engineering resources for proper event tracking setup
You're at a scale where the price difference is negligible

Don't switch just to save money if Customer.io's features are driving real value for your business. But if you're paying for power you're not using, simpler alternatives make sense.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sequenzy if you want AI content generation and Stripe integration at $49/mo for 10k. Encharge if you want similar behavioral power. Loops if you prefer simplicity. All are significantly cheaper than Customer.io.

Yes, if you truly need multi-channel messaging (email + push + SMS + in-app) and sophisticated behavioral automation. No, if you're primarily email-only. Simpler tools do email well at half the price.

Customer.io is more powerful with multi-channel support. Encharge is SaaS-focused, email-only, and more affordable. Choose Customer.io for multi-channel, Encharge for focused SaaS email automation.

Customer.io charges based on profiles (contacts) in your account. Essentials starts at $100/month for 5,000 profiles. You pay for all profiles, active or not. Overage is $0.009 per extra profile.

Most alternatives are cheaper. Sequenzy: $49/mo for 10k. Loops: roughly $99/mo for 10k. Brevo: $25+/mo unlimited contacts. ActiveCampaign: $79/mo for 10k. All significantly less than Customer.io's $150+.

No free plan, but Customer.io offers a 14-day free trial. Startups with less than $10M in funding may qualify for the Startup Program with one free year.

Yes, Customer.io is excellent for behavioral email marketing, especially for PLG companies. But it's overkill if you just need campaigns and basic automation. Simpler tools work fine for standard email marketing.

Customer.io for PLG products with behavioral triggers and multi-channel. ActiveCampaign for sales-driven companies needing CRM + email automation. Customer.io is more developer-focused, ActiveCampaign more marketing-focused.

Yes. Export contacts and attributes, recreate workflows in the new platform, update event tracking in your app. Budget 1-2 weeks for complex setups with many automations.

Sequenzy for AI + Stripe integration at $49/mo. Loops for clean simplicity. Both are much cheaper than Customer.io's $100+/month minimum and easier to set up without engineering help.

All Pricing Tiers

0-100 subscribers: Free (Free annually) - 2k emails/month

101-1,000 subscribers: $19/month ($205/year annually) - 20k emails/month

1,001-5,000 subscribers: $29/month ($313/year annually) - 125k emails/month

5,001-10,000 subscribers: $49/month ($529/year annually) - 300k emails/month

10,001-25,000 subscribers: $99/month ($1069/year annually) - 875k emails/month

25,001-50,000 subscribers: $199/month ($2149/year annually) - 2M emails/month

50,001-100,000 subscribers: $349/month ($3769/year annually) - 4.5M emails/month

100,000+ subscribers: Custom pricing (Custom annually) - Unlimited emails/month

Yearly billing: All plans offer a 10% discount when billed annually.

12 Customer.io Alternatives for PLG Teams

TL;DR

12 Best Customer.io Alternatives

Pros

Cons

Pros

Cons

Pros

Cons

Pros

Cons

Pros

Cons

Pros

Cons

Pros

Cons

Pros

Cons

Pros

Cons

Pros

Cons

Pros

Cons

Pros

Cons

Why Consider Alternatives to Customer.io

Feature Comparison

When to Use Each Platform

Honest take: Is Customer.io worth it?

If email is your primary channel: Sequenzy or Loops

If you want similar power but SaaS-focused: Encharge

If budget is tight: Brevo

The pricing reality

When Customer.io is the right choice

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the best Customer.io alternative for SaaS?

Is Customer.io worth the price?

Customer.io vs Encharge: Which is better?

How does Customer.io pricing work?

What's cheaper than Customer.io?

Does Customer.io have a free plan?

Is Customer.io good for email marketing?

Customer.io vs ActiveCampaign: Which should I choose?

Can I migrate from Customer.io?

What's the best Customer.io alternative for startups?

Ready to try Sequenzy?

Related Comparisons

Loops Alternatives

Bento Alternatives

Sequenzy - Complete Pricing Guide

Pricing Model

All Pricing Tiers

Free Plan Features (0-100 subscribers)

Paid Plan Features (1,000 - 100,000 subscribers)

Enterprise Plan Features (100,000+ subscribers)

Important Pricing Notes

Contact