{
  "$schema": "https://tiergauge.com/api/tools.schema.json",
  "feed_version": "1",
  "generated_at": "2026-05-01T03:49:43.064Z",
  "site": "https://tiergauge.com",
  "license": "CC BY 4.0 with attribution to TierGauge.",
  "tool": {
    "slug": "customer-io",
    "name": "Customer.io",
    "vendor": "Customer.io",
    "homepage_url": "https://customer.io",
    "pricing_url": "https://customer.io/pricing/",
    "tagline": "Behavior-driven messaging platform for product-led B2C and B2B teams.",
    "description": "Customer.io is a marketing automation platform built for sophisticated B2C and B2B teams that need to send messaging based on rich behavioral data and custom object models. Where Mailchimp and Kit are list-and-broadcast tools, Customer.io is closer to a CDP plus messaging engine: profiles, objects (accounts, subscriptions, devices), and event streams drive a visual workflow builder. Three tiers are published, with Essentials at $100/month, Premium starting around $1,000/month billed yearly, and Enterprise quoted on request. HIPAA is available on Premium and above; an AI Agent ships across tiers with elevated limits on the higher plans.",
    "primary_category": "marketing-automation",
    "secondary_categories": [
      "email-marketing",
      "customer-data-platform"
    ],
    "plans": [
      {
        "name": "Essentials",
        "slug": "essentials",
        "tagline": "Entry tier with the visual workflow builder",
        "prices": [
          {
            "cycle": "monthly",
            "price": {
              "amount_cents": 10000,
              "currency": "USD"
            }
          }
        ],
        "anchor_monthly_usd_cents": 10000,
        "limits": {
          "contacts": {
            "kind": "number",
            "value": 5000,
            "unit": "profiles (people plus objects)"
          },
          "emails_per_month": {
            "kind": "number",
            "value": 1000000
          },
          "seats": {
            "kind": "number",
            "value": 1
          }
        },
        "features_included": [
          "Visual workflow builder",
          "AI Agent with core skills",
          "Up to 2 object types",
          "Basic data integrations",
          "Email and community support",
          "1 weekly routine"
        ],
        "features_missing": [
          "HIPAA compliance",
          "Daily routines",
          "Premium integrations",
          "Elevated AI Agent limits",
          "Dedicated success manager",
          "Audit logging"
        ],
        "is_free": false,
        "has_free_trial": false,
        "contact_sales": false,
        "source_url": "https://customer.io/pricing/",
        "captured_at": "2026-04-30T21:00:00.000Z",
        "capture_method": "manual",
        "notes": "Startup Program: qualifying early-stage companies can get 12 months free, but this is conditional rather than a generic trial. Seat count is not specified on the public pricing page; 1 is a conservative assumption."
      },
      {
        "name": "Premium",
        "slug": "premium",
        "tagline": "Custom volume, HIPAA available, daily routines",
        "prices": [
          {
            "cycle": "annual",
            "price": {
              "amount_cents": 1200000,
              "currency": "USD"
            }
          },
          {
            "cycle": "monthly",
            "price": {
              "amount_cents": 100000,
              "currency": "USD"
            }
          }
        ],
        "anchor_monthly_usd_cents": 100000,
        "limits": {
          "contacts": {
            "kind": "custom"
          },
          "emails_per_month": {
            "kind": "custom"
          }
        },
        "features_included": [
          "Everything in Essentials",
          "Up to 10 object types",
          "Elevated AI Agent limits",
          "Daily routines",
          "90-day onboarding",
          "Premium chat and email support",
          "HIPAA available",
          "Premium integrations"
        ],
        "features_missing": [
          "Custom AI Agent execution",
          "Dedicated success manager",
          "Dedicated hardware",
          "Audit logging",
          "Migration support",
          "Shared Slack channel"
        ],
        "is_free": false,
        "has_free_trial": false,
        "contact_sales": false,
        "source_url": "https://customer.io/pricing/",
        "captured_at": "2026-04-30T21:00:00.000Z",
        "capture_method": "manual",
        "notes": "Pricing page lists Premium as starting at $1,000/month billed yearly, which is $12,000/year. Profile and email volumes are negotiated."
      },
      {
        "name": "Enterprise",
        "slug": "enterprise",
        "tagline": "Best volume pricing with dedicated infrastructure",
        "prices": [
          {
            "cycle": "custom"
          }
        ],
        "anchor_monthly_usd_cents": null,
        "limits": {
          "contacts": {
            "kind": "custom"
          }
        },
        "features_included": [
          "Best volume pricing",
          "Custom AI Agent execution",
          "Priority support",
          "Dedicated success manager",
          "Dedicated hardware",
          "Audit logging",
          "Migration support",
          "Shared Slack channel"
        ],
        "features_missing": [],
        "is_free": false,
        "has_free_trial": false,
        "contact_sales": true,
        "source_url": "https://customer.io/pricing/",
        "captured_at": "2026-04-30T21:00:00.000Z",
        "capture_method": "manual",
        "notes": "Pricing tagged as Let's talk on the public page. Includes everything in Premium plus dedicated infrastructure and security features."
      }
    ],
    "free_plan_available": false,
    "free_trial_days": null,
    "starting_price_usd_cents": 10000,
    "has_custom_enterprise": true,
    "alternatives": [
      "mailchimp",
      "kit",
      "mailerlite"
    ],
    "pros": [
      "Visual workflow builder is genuinely strong for complex multi-step flows that branch on behavior and time delays",
      "Supports JSON profile data and object types, so you can model accounts, subscriptions, or devices alongside people; templated ESPs like Mailchimp and Kit cannot do this",
      "HIPAA compliance is available on Premium, which opens up healthcare and digital-health use cases",
      "AI Agent is bundled across tiers for routine ops and reporting tasks",
      "Essentials price is published transparently at $100/month, where many comparable platforms hide everything behind a sales call"
    ],
    "cons": [
      "Minimum entry point is $100/month with no free or low-cost tier for testing or hobby projects",
      "Setup overhead is higher than a templated ESP because you need to define profile and object schemas before flows are useful",
      "Premium jumps roughly 10x to $1,000/month for what is largely an unlock of object-type count, daily routines, and HIPAA, so the middle of the market is thin",
      "Real-world pricing on Premium and Enterprise depends on negotiated volume, so the public page only frames the floor"
    ],
    "best_for": [
      "B2C and B2B teams with custom objects in their data model (accounts, subscriptions, devices) who need messaging tied to those entities",
      "Product-led businesses sending behavior-triggered lifecycle messaging across email, SMS, and push",
      "Teams needing HIPAA compliance for healthcare or digital-health workflows"
    ],
    "not_for": [
      "Solo creators and newsletter operators (Kit or beehiiv are the right shape)",
      "Small businesses that need a $0/month or $20/month entry point (MailerLite or Mailchimp Free fit better)",
      "Teams that want a one-click WYSIWYG email tool with no data modeling required"
    ],
    "last_verified": "2026-04-30T21:00:00.000Z",
    "scraper_status": "manual-only"
  }
}