Best for
Best for mobile-first product and marketing teams working on retention who want a published entry price and a trial before committing.
- Small and mid-sized
- Enterprise
Email Marketing Comparison
CleverTap vs. Drip
At a glance
At a glance
Best for
Best for ecommerce and direct-to-consumer brands on Shopify, WooCommerce or BigCommerce that want behavior-based email automation with onsite popups in one platform.
- Small and mid-sized
- Enterprise
Cataleo does not name a winner. Both statements come from the vendors themselves.
Full Comparison
| Criterion | CleverTap | Drip |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | From $85 / month The Core plan at up to 5,000 monthly active users. Pricing is set by monthly active users or data points depending on the commercial model, so the amount rises with the band selected; taxes apply and add-ons are extra. Pro and Ultimate are quoted after a demo. | lower value From $39 / month For up to 2,500 active people; the price scales with the number of active people and the volume of emails sent. |
| Free trial | 30 days on the Core plan, billing starts once the trial ends | 14-day free trial |
| API | Yes, import and export API access on every plan, with SDKs and developer documentation | Yes, open API access on every plan |
| Hosting | Cloud (SaaS) on localized AWS instances | Cloud (SaaS) |
| Campaign types | Yes, push notifications, in-app messages, app inbox, web push, web pop-up and web inbox, email, SMS, WhatsApp, RCS and webhooks, plus audience sync to Google Ads, Facebook and TikTok | Yes, one-off email campaigns and newsletters plus automated workflows, with an onsite suite of popups, slide-ins, sticky bars and quizzes |
| Automation and journeys | Yes, Journeys with a journey builder and a Lifecycle Optimizer, with IntelliNODE optimizing paths and IntelliTime and IntelliChannel picking time and channel on the upper plans | Yes, a visual workflow builder with branching logic, goals and split tests, and 15-plus prebuilt templates for abandoned cart, browse abandonment, welcome and win-back |
| Segmentation and personalisation | Yes, behavioural, psychographic and live-user segments, recency-frequency-monetary analysis, custom lists and AI predictions, on top of funnels, cohorts, trends, pivots and uninstall tracking | Yes, dynamic segments that update automatically from behavior, purchase history and engagement, synced from the store in real time |
| Templates and editor | Yes, a drag-and-drop editor with prebuilt templates, plus a no-code AMP for Email editor for carousels, quizzes and live pricing | Yes, a drag-and-drop visual email builder with 50-plus themed templates, plus a plain-text builder |
| Deliverability and testing | Yes, SPF, DKIM and DMARC authentication, IP warm-up, dedicated IP pools, spam diagnostics, inbox previews, Gmail Postmaster setup and message A/B tests | Yes, A/B split testing of up to four subject line or content variations, reporting opens, clicks and revenue per variation |
| Ecommerce and CRM data | Yes, ingestion from web, app and CRM through SDKs and APIs, CSV and SFTP uploads, warehouse and cloud-storage imports, and integrations with mParticle, RudderStack, Tealium, Segment, Amplitude and Talon.One | Yes, deep native Shopify, WooCommerce and BigCommerce integrations that sync customers, orders and product catalog in real time |
| Integrations and API | Yes, import and export API access on all plans, with SDKs and published developer documentation | Yes, open API access and 50-plus integrations on every plan |
| AI features | stated Yes | No |
| Deployment | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based |
| Support | Not stated | Email helpdesk, Chat |
| Onboarding | Documentation and knowledge base | Not stated |
| Company size | Small and mid-sized, Enterprise | Small and mid-sized, Enterprise |
| Integrations | more entries mParticle, RudderStack, Tealium, Twilio Segment, Amplitude, Adjust, Branch, Airbridge, RevenueCat, Talon.One, Snowflake, Amazon S3, Mixpanel | Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce |
Add a tool
Adds a column to the table, from the tools in this category.
Row where the values differ The small markers point at the lower number, the longer list or the stated feature. They describe the data, they are not a verdict.
The short version
Key Differences
- Starting price CleverTap From $85 / month Drip From $39 / month
- Free trial CleverTap 30 days on the Core plan, billing starts once the trial ends Drip 14-day free trial
- Hosting CleverTap Cloud (SaaS) on localized AWS instances Drip Cloud (SaaS)
- AI features CleverTap Yes Drip No
- API CleverTap Yes, import and export API access on every plan, with SDKs and developer documentation Drip Yes, open API access on every plan
Every line is one datapoint from the table above, picked automatically. Nothing here is written text.
The trade-offs
Strengths and Limitations
CleverTap
Strengths
- Publishes a starting price and offers a 30-day free trial, which most platforms in this class do not
- Analytics, segmentation and campaigns in one product, on an event store that keeps up to ten years of history on the top plan
- Deep mobile channel coverage, from push and app inbox to in-app messages and web messaging
- Deliverability tooling covering authentication, IP warm-up, dedicated pools, spam diagnostics and inbox previews
Limitations
- Several channels and most data exports are add-ons rather than part of the plan
- Predictive segments, recommendations and journey automation sit on the upper plans, which are quoted rather than published
- Data retention is three years on Core and Pro and ten only on Ultimate
- Built around app and web behaviour, so a list-only email programme leaves much of it unused
Drip
Strengths
- Every feature included on every plan, with nothing locked behind higher tiers
- Deep native Shopify, WooCommerce and BigCommerce integrations with real-time data sync
- Onsite suite of popups, slide-ins and quizzes included at no extra cost
- Billed only on active people who can receive email
Limitations
- No free plan, only a 14-day free trial
- Purpose-built for ecommerce, so less suited to non-store senders
- Live chat support is reserved for the $99 / month and higher plans
Plans
Pricing
CleverTap
- Core $85 Per month at up to 5,000 monthly active users, rising with the band. Omnichannel engagement, real-time behavioural segmentation, built-in experimentation and analytics, and starter CleverAI tokens. 30-day free trial, taxes apply and add-ons are extra.
- Pro Not stated Everything in Core plus automated segmentation, deeper insights, send-time and channel optimization and personalization across touchpoints. Quoted after a demo.
- Ultimate Not stated Everything in Pro plus AI-powered journey automation, predictive segments with explainability, real-time one-to-one recommendations and up to ten years of data retention. Quoted after a demo.
Drip
- All features From $39 / month For up to 2,500 active people. Every feature is included on every plan; the price scales with the number of active people and email volume. Live chat support is available on the $99 / month and higher plans.
What users say
Review Scores · opens after launch
CleverTap
- Ease of use
- Not rated yet
- User interface
- Not rated yet
- Onboarding
- Not rated yet
- Support and service
- Not rated yet
- Value for money
- Not rated yet
- Features
- Not rated yet
No reviews yet. Nothing has been published here yet, and no score is shown. How a review is checked before it appears is described below.
Drip
- Ease of use
- Not rated yet
- User interface
- Not rated yet
- Onboarding
- Not rated yet
- Support and service
- Not rated yet
- Value for money
- Not rated yet
- Features
- Not rated yet
No reviews yet. Nothing has been published here yet, and no score is shown. How a review is checked before it appears is described below.
How we check reviews
Before sending, the author has to confirm three things: that they have used the product themselves, that they work neither for the vendor nor for a competitor, and that nobody is paying them for the review. We also ask whether the vendor invited them to write it. That answer is required, either answer is accepted, and it stays with the review.
Every review is read by a person before it appears. An email address is required and is confirmed: we send a link to it, and a review does not reach us until the author opens that link, so a review has a sender who was reachable at least once rather than being anonymous. Where what somebody writes needs backing, we ask them for evidence that they used the product, and a review that does not get it is not published. We publish positive and negative reviews alike, we pay nothing and offer nothing for a review, and we accept none that was bought or incentivised.
What we cannot do is verify a purchase. There is no shop here and no account, so whether the author really used the tool rests on their own declaration, on whatever we ask them for, and on the plausibility of what they write. We say so rather than implying a check that does not exist.
A vendor cannot buy a review, and cannot have one removed or changed because they dislike it. We remove or edit a review only if it breaks our rules or the law, for example a false statement of fact. Paid placement has no effect on which reviews appear or on any score.
Where this comes from
Where this comes from
CleverTap https://clevertap.com · checked against the official source on 2026-09-18
Drip https://www.drip.com · checked against the official source on 2026-08-23
This table lists factual criteria taken from information the vendors publish themselves. For how we put it together, see the methodology.