Avada Review: Features, Pricing, & Alternatives

Avada is the top-rate marketing automation platform for Shopify, perfect for automating emails and segmenting your audiences. While it excels in email automation, it can be complex for beginners.

Discover detailed insights in our review. Read on to learn how Avada can transform your ecommerce business’s marketing strategy.

SMB Guide’s Verdict for Avada

Avada scores an impressive 8.1 out of 10, making it a strong choice for Shopify owners seeking comprehensive marketing automation.

While there are areas for improvement, particularly in customization and the initial user experience, the platform’s rich feature set and excellent customer support make it a valuable tool for driving e-commerce success.

Factor	Rating (out of 10)
SMB Guide Rating	8.1
Pricing & Plans	8
Marketing Automation Capabilities	9
Email Builder	7
Personalization & Customization	7
Campaign Performance Tracking	9
User Interface and User Experience	8
Integrations and Compatibility	8
Customer Support	9

In this review of Avada, I’ve followed SMB Guide’s detailed criteria for evaluating the marketing automation software.

Pricing & Plans

Avada is priced based on the number of contacts you have, with additional pay-as-you-go pricing for SMS credits. The plans scale in price based on contacts.

These prices are in addition to the cost of whatever Shopify subscription you’re paying for.

SMS credits in the US are $0.015 each. MMS credits in the US are $0.04 each. Only pay for the number of SMS you send out, but pricing may vary if you want to send SMS messages to other countries. 

The homepage advertises a “good discount if switching from other tools to Avada.”

Free

Reach up to 500 contacts.

Price

• $0
• $0 per year

Features

• 12,000 emails
• Basic automation workflows
• Basic email templates
• Lead captures
• Web push notifications
• Email support only

Who it’s for: People who are just getting started with their email marketing.

Pro

The base-level paid plan offers more features than the free plan.

Price

• Ranges from $16 to $1192/month (up to 200,000) contacts. There doesn’t appear to be any annual billing or discount.

Features

• All features in Free plus:
• Unlimited email sends/month
• Unlimited automation flows
• All email templates
• SMS
• Removable branding
• WhatsApp
• Email and chat support
• Additional fee based on contact count

Who it’s for: Growing businesses who want to remove the Avada branding

Advanced

The top of the line plan available without custom pricing.

Price

• Ranges from $47 to $1800/month (up to 200,000) contacts. There doesn’t appear to be an annual discount or billing.

Features

• All features in Pro plan plus:
• Integrate Google Ads
• Integrate with Facebook Ads
• Personal Account Manager
• Deliverability and implementation (3 workflows)
• Additional fee based on contact count

Who it’s for: Larger businesses that need personalized implementation assistance.

If you have more than 200,000 contacts, you’ll be placed on the Enterprise plan, which requires custom pricing.

Marketing Automation Capabilities

Using Avada, it’s possible to create intricate marketing workflows that include branching logic and conditional actions, to ensure personalized customer journeys.

The flow adapts based on customer interactions and behaviors. You can use user behavior, time-based, or external event triggers to start automations.

Avada can also be used to automate SMS and social media. Integration options are required to manage social media and coordinate campaigns across platforms.

Dynamic personalization is available with advanced segmentation based on recipient attributes and behaviors, so you can be sure each email you send is relevant and engaging. There are several pre-built templates for workflows, but you’re also free to build your own.

Email Builder

There is a variety of pre-built templates to choose from. You can narrow them down by which ones work with the drag and drop editor, or if desired, find ones that work with the rich text editor or with HTML code.

The flexibility to edit HTML ensures you have full control over your email designs. You can preview any of the templates before you select the one you want to work with.

Building the email is as easy as editing the template elements, or adding other elements as needed. There’s built in color templates, and you can create and save your own brand palette if desired.

You can preview what the email looks like on desktop or mobile, and send a test email to make sure everything looks like you want it to before you send it out to your whole list. You can use AI to help you craft a subject line.

Personalization & Customization

It’s possible to personalize email content dynamically based on recipient attributes and behaviors. You can target specific customer segments with tailored messages, leveraging advanced segmentation tools that categorize shoppers based on their shopping behaviors, demographics, and other attributes.

Campaign Performance Tracking

Avada has reports that help you track campaign performance. They also have “Smart Campaign Boost” that will allow you to resend the email (with a different subject line) to anyone who didn’t open it within the first 48 hours.

You’ll get overall information about your Shopify revenue, revenue from Avada, subscribers, conversion rate, emails sent, SMS sent, unsubscribers, emails sent, open rate, click rates, and so on.

As you run multiple campaigns, you’ll be able to see which campaigns are the most successful. Split-testing is possible, but it’s not as clear as I’ve seen it on other platforms.

It looks like you have to build it out yourself and build it into workflows, rather than at the individual email level.

User Interface and User Experience

When you first sign up with Avada, you must have a Shopify account. If you don’t have that, you’ll be prompted to start a free three day trial. Once you create that account, you can add Avada from the app store. 

You’ll be given the option to set up email only, or email and SMS. You’ll be guided through a quick setup process. It can be a bit overwhelming since it all has to be done from within your Shopify dashboard. If you’re not already familiar with that, that adds an extra layer of complexity.

I was able to manage things okay, but it’s definitely not as easy for me as other platforms that standalone and connect to your store.

Integrations and Compatibility

Avada functions as an app in the Shopify App Marketplace, and you can install it for Magento, too. It’s optimized for Shopify Plus, too.

It supports a wide range of third-party integrations, including Google Ads, Facebook Ads, Facebook Audiences, Joy: Rewards, Loyalty PRogram, Wiser, and Avada PDF Invoice, to name a few.

There is not a mobile app, but in theory it could be managed from the Shopify mobile app.

Customer Support

Customer support is available 24/7, though you may only be limited to email support depending on the plan you’re on. Live chat is available, as well as an extensive library of guides and training courses.

These are designed to not only help you learn how to use Avada to its full potential, but also help you build a successful e-commerce business.

Avada — Unique Features

One thing that makes Avada unique is that it includes popup forms and spin-to-win games to integrate lead capture forms with interactive elements to boost customer engagement and grow your email list.

What the Experts Say About Avada

• Trustpilot rating: 4.9/5 (2,306 reviews)
• Shopify App Store rating: 4.9/5 (1,787 reviews)

For a free plan many features of customization, many widgets and works well with great platforms and the implementation of theirs. (Obviously paid models exist too with more features)

Great, responsive support which immediately works with you to solve the issue.

Tom J – Verified Trustpilot review

I have actually installed all of Avada Apps available because of their superb team that handle my enquires at every turn. I know i have not met the whole team behind Avada apps but really kudos to everyone and keep up the excellent service! Special Shout-out to Lydia, Tiana & Tony for the wonderful service provided.

Cathay Electronics – Verified Trustpilot review

Avada Alternatives

Not sold on Avada? Consider these other options:

Klaviyo

Klaviyo stands out as a premier email and SMS marketing solution for e-businesses. Its advanced automation, detailed segmentation, and deep integrations with popular e-commerce platforms make it a powerful tool for driving customer engagement and growth.

Sign up for Klaviyo for free

Constant Contact

Constant Contact is a powerful email marketing platform designed to help businesses of all sizes streamline their marketing efforts, whereas Avada focuses on Shopify store owners.

Constant Contact is ideal for those seeking a versatile marketing solution that offers additional features like social media management and event marketing, making it a comprehensive alternative to Avada.

Start your free trial of Constant Contact

HubSpot Marketing Automation

HubSpot Marketing Hub is a comprehensive inbound marketing platform designed to help businesses attract, engage, and delight customers. While Avada is focused solely on e-commerce, HubSpot offers an all-in-one solution suitable for various business types and industries.

It’s a great choice for anyone who needs a versatile and scalable marketing solution that will handle a broad range of marketing activities outside of email automation.

Get started with HubSpot Marketing Hub for free

Getting Started with Avada

Avada is a top-tier marketing solution for Shopify users. With robust features like a welcome email series, abandoned cart recovery, cross sells, upsells, and SMS automation, it ensures your e-commerce store runs efficiently and effectively.

The user-friendly drag-and-drop email builder, comprehensive reporting tools, and 24/7 customer support further enhance its value.

If you’re looking to elevate your Shopify store’s marketing efforts, Avada gives you the tools you need to automate workflows, engage customers, and drive conversions. Ready to take your e-commerce marketing to the next level?

FAQs