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Use a Klaviyo campaign for a one-time broadcast to a list or segment you choose in advance. Use a Klaviyo flow when messages should be triggered automatically by each person’s signup, purchase, browsing, date, price change, or inventory event. Campaigns can go out immediately or at a scheduled time; flows send one recipient at a time as people qualify.
The most effective lifecycle programs use both: campaigns create planned newsletter and promotion moments, while flows provide always-on follow-up after customer actions.
What is the difference between a Klaviyo campaign and a flow?
A campaign is a manually prepared, one-time send to a pre-established audience. A flow is an automated sequence that starts with a trigger and can branch according to profile or event data. Klaviyo’s Help Center describes campaigns as one-time sends to target groups and flows as automated messages curated by triggers and filters.
| Comparison point | Campaign | Flow |
|---|---|---|
| Audience | A list or segment selected before sending | People who meet a trigger and any entry filters |
| Timing | Sent immediately or scheduled for a chosen date and time | Runs automatically as qualifying events occur |
| Structure | Usually one broadcast message | One or more messages connected by delays and branches |
| Best uses | Newsletters, sale announcements, launches and planned promotions | Welcome, abandoned-cart, browse-abandonment, post-purchase, price-drop, low-inventory and winback journeys |
| Delivery pattern | Batch send to the selected audience | Individual qualification and queued steps |
That distinction is operational, not merely a naming convention. A campaign asks, “Who should receive this broadcast on this date?” A flow asks, “What should happen when this person performs a particular action or matches a condition?”
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When should I use a Klaviyo campaign?
Choose a campaign when the message is tied to a calendar date or planned promotion and you know the audience before you build the send.
Newsletters and editorial updates
A regular newsletter is a classic campaign: select the subscribers who should receive this edition, design the message, and send it on the publication schedule. The same approach works for a company update or a seasonal content roundup.
Sales and promotional announcements
If a sale begins at a specified time, a campaign lets you coordinate the announcement with that launch. You can select a broad list, a high-intent segment, or several audiences with appropriate exclusions before scheduling.
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A launch announcement is normally a campaign because the timing is controlled by your release calendar. You can prepare the email in advance, schedule it for the launch moment, and use a separate flow later for people who browse or purchase the new product.
Situations where a campaign is a poor fit
A campaign is not the right foundation for a message that must follow an individual event. A welcome email should not wait for the next newsletter date, and an abandoned-cart reminder should not be sent to everyone who was on a list at a particular time. Those cases need event-driven flow logic.
When should I use a Klaviyo flow?
Use a flow when each recipient should enter because of a trigger, then receive one or more messages based on timing, profile details or event data.
Common flow triggers
| Trigger or condition | Typical journey | Why automation fits |
|---|---|---|
| Joining a list or segment | Welcome series | Each new subscriber starts when they enter, rather than on a fixed broadcast date |
| Placing an order | Post-purchase or thank-you sequence | Follow-up timing can begin from the individual order |
| Starting checkout without purchasing | Abandoned-cart recovery | The reminder follows the shopper’s own checkout event |
| Viewing a product | Browse-abandonment journey | Messages can respond to a specific viewed item or event |
| Price changing | Price-drop alert | The send waits for the qualifying price event |
| Inventory reaching a condition | Low-inventory notification | Delivery is tied to stock information rather than a calendar date |
| Extended inactivity | Winback sequence | Eligibility is determined by a person’s behavior or profile state |
What a flow can do beyond a single email
A flow can pause between messages with time delays, exclude people with flow filters, inspect event properties with trigger filters, and route people through conditional or trigger splits. For example, a post-purchase journey could wait, check an order attribute, and send different follow-up content to different paths.
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Klaviyo’s glossary defines a flow as an automated sequence set in motion by a single trigger and filtered by profile or trigger details. Unlike a campaign batch, flow messages are delivered to recipients one at a time as individuals qualify.
How do I create and schedule a Klaviyo campaign?
Campaign creation is a deliberate, audience-first process. You choose the recipients, build the message, then decide whether to send now or later.
- Open the Campaigns tab. Start a new campaign from Klaviyo’s campaign workspace.
- Choose the recipient list or segment. Select the pre-established audience that should receive this send. Confirm that the segment’s definition matches the promotion or announcement.
- Set exclusions. Remove audiences that should not receive the message, such as people already covered by a separate communication or a group that is not eligible for the offer.
- Build the email. Start from a template or use the editor, then add the copy, links, imagery and call to action required for the announcement.
- Review sending controls. Klaviyo recommends using engaged subscribers. Check Smart Sending and any account-level or campaign-level suppression choices before finalizing recipients.
- Choose the send time. Send immediately or schedule the campaign for a specific date and time. Scheduling is useful when the message must align with a sale, launch or editorial calendar.
- Verify the final audience and content. Recheck the audience, exclusions, links, subject line and timing immediately before confirming the send.
A campaign remains a one-time operation even when it is scheduled. Scheduling changes when the broadcast happens; it does not turn the campaign into an ongoing automation.
How do I build a Klaviyo flow?
Flow setup starts with the event or state that should qualify a person. After that, you design the waiting periods, checks and branches that determine what happens next.
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- Define flow filters. Restrict who may enter based on profile attributes or other eligibility rules. This prevents people outside the intended audience from starting the journey.
- Add the first message. Create the email or other flow step that should follow the trigger. The message is queued for each qualifying person rather than sent as a single batch.
- Insert time delays. Set the waiting period before a reminder, educational message or follow-up. Delays make the sequence relative to each person’s entry time.
- Apply trigger filters where needed. Inspect event data, such as the product, order value or other properties attached to the triggering action.
- Create conditional or trigger splits. Branch the journey when different profiles, events or trigger values require different messages or timing.
- Review the complete path. Check every branch, delay and filter so that each possible qualifying person has a defined next step.
- Activate the flow. Once enabled, it can continue operating as new people meet the trigger and filters. Monitor the live journey and adjust content or logic when the underlying customer experience changes.
A flow can therefore be simple—a single welcome message—or a multi-step journey with waits and decision points. Its defining feature is the trigger-driven entry, not the number of emails.
Can campaigns and flows work together?
Yes. Treat them as complementary layers of the same lifecycle program instead of competing formats.
Use campaigns for planned broadcast moments
Map newsletters, launch announcements, seasonal promotions and other calendar-based communications to campaigns. Their audience and send time are explicit, which makes them suitable for a marketing calendar.
Use flows for always-on responses
Map signup, checkout, purchase, browsing, price and inventory events to flows. These journeys remain available between campaigns and respond when each person qualifies.
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Coordinate the two systems
Before scheduling a campaign, consider whether recipients are currently in a flow that covers the same topic. Use audience exclusions and sending controls to reduce conflicting messages. The exact suppression behavior depends on the filters and settings you configure, so validate the final audience instead of assuming that one format automatically overrides the other.
What is the best way to compare campaign and flow performance?
Compare the two formats against the same business outcome, not open rate alone. A placed order, completed registration or another shared conversion gives you a more meaningful basis for comparison.
Use a common conversion goal
Choose the conversion event that both messages are intended to influence, such as a placed order. Then review how many eligible recipients received the message, clicked, converted and generated revenue where that data is available.
Separate delivery from engagement
Check delivery and click data before interpreting conversion results. A lower conversion count can reflect a smaller eligible audience, delivery differences or a different offer—not necessarily a weaker message.
Treat open rates as directional
Klaviyo’s open-rate guidance says flows generally report higher opens than campaigns and cites around 40% open rates for welcome, abandoned-cart, browse-abandonment and post-purchase or thank-you flows. That figure is Klaviyo guidance from a page dated 2025, not a universal benchmark for every account, industry or period.
Apple Mail Privacy Protection can inflate recorded opens by loading tracking pixels without a person actually opening the email. Use opens as a directional signal and give more weight to clicks, conversions and revenue when deciding whether a campaign or flow is working.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What mistakes cause campaign and flow problems?
Most issues come from choosing the wrong delivery model, defining the audience too broadly or overlooking a branch condition.
Using a campaign for an event-driven message
If a reminder must follow a person’s checkout, signup or purchase, a scheduled broadcast will reach people at the wrong time or include people who never took the action. Rebuild that communication as a flow with the relevant trigger.
Using a flow for a calendar announcement
A flow is unnecessary when every recipient should receive one announcement at the same planned moment. A campaign gives you direct control over the audience and send schedule.
Skipping exclusions and engaged-audience checks
Sending to an entire list without reviewing engagement or exclusions can create irrelevant deliveries and overlap with other communications. Check the final recipient definition and Smart Sending settings before a campaign send.
Leaving flow logic unfiltered
A broad trigger may admit people who are not eligible for the journey. Add profile filters for who may enter and trigger filters for event details that matter to the message.
Building branches without testing each path
A conditional or trigger split can produce different experiences. Walk through every branch, including the “not matched” path, and confirm that each has the intended message and delay.
Judging success from opens alone
Privacy-related measurement changes make opens an imperfect proxy for attention. Pair them with clicks and the same conversion event you use to evaluate the other format.
Which option should I choose? A quick decision checklist
Answer these questions before creating the message:
- Is there a fixed date or promotion calendar? Choose a campaign.
- Does each person need to enter after an action, date or changing condition? Choose a flow.
- Is the audience known before the send? That points to a campaign; qualification at the moment of an event points to a flow.
- Will the journey require waits, event checks or different paths? Choose a flow.
- Is this one announcement to everyone in a defined group? Choose a campaign.
- Do you need both a launch announcement and follow-up based on behavior? Use a campaign for the announcement and a flow for the follow-up.
If the answer is still unclear, write the intended rule in one sentence: “Send this on a planned date to this audience” describes a campaign; “Send this after this person does this, then adapt based on what happened” describes a flow.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do flows send to an entire list at once?
No. A flow evaluates people as they meet its trigger and filters, then queues the relevant steps for each individual. Two people entering on different days can therefore receive the same sequence on different schedules.
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Yes. Trigger filters can inspect event details, and conditional or trigger splits can route qualifying people into different paths. This lets one automated journey adapt without creating a separate broadcast for every variation.
Why might a campaign and a flow show different open-rate patterns?
They reach people in different contexts: a campaign is a planned broadcast, while a flow often arrives soon after a person’s action. Apple Mail Privacy Protection can also inflate recorded opens, so compare clicks and a shared conversion event before drawing conclusions.
What should I check before activating a new flow?
Confirm the entry trigger, profile and trigger filters, every split branch, each delay and the message content on every path. Also verify that the journey will not conflict with scheduled communications aimed at the same people.
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