For most teams, Twilio Segment is the best behavioral targeting platform to start with, because it collects first-party events, builds unified profiles, and sends audiences to more than 700 destinations, while Customer.io is the best choice when you want published pricing and messaging in one place. Only two of the eight platforms in this guide publish a starting price: Customer.io starts at $100 per month, and Klaviyo starts at $20 per month for its Email plan, while Criteo, Twilio Segment, Braze, Iterable, Optimove, and Blueshift are quote only. Klaviyo has the clearest free entry point, with a free plan for up to 250 active profiles and 500 emails per month, while Braze states on its pricing page that it does not offer a free plan at this time.
Behavioral targeting works when the data behind it is clean, current, and tied to a real person or device. Some platforms below are data platforms that feed other tools, some are messaging platforms that act on behavior, and some combine both jobs in one system. Pick the type first, then compare the price and the limits inside that type.
On this page
Best behavioral targeting platforms: comparison table
Swipe the table sideways on a phone to see every column.
| # | Name | Best for | Starting price | Free plan / trial | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Criteo | Retail and commerce advertisers | quote only | No | Visit |
| 2 | Twilio Segment | Teams unifying first-party data | quote only | Free trial | Visit |
| 3 | Braze | Large brands running cross-channel journeys | quote only | No | Visit |
| 4 | Iterable | Enterprise teams running real-time journeys | quote only | No | Visit |
| 5 | Customer.io | Teams that want published pricing and journeys | $100 per month | Free trial (14 days) | Visit |
| 6 | Klaviyo | Small ecommerce teams starting with email | $20 per month | Yes | Visit |
| 7 | Optimove | Teams running customer-led marketing programs | quote only | No | Visit |
| 8 | Blueshift | Mid-market teams that want a built-in data layer | quote only | No | Visit |
The 8 best best behavioral targeting platforms, in detail
Criteo
Best for: Retail and commerce advertisers
Criteo is built for advertisers who sell products online and want ads shaped by shopping behavior, such as views, cart adds, and past purchases. Its homepage describes performance media and retail media, plus dynamic retargeting that brings shoppers back with ads for products they viewed. It is less useful as a general messaging tool, because it is an advertising platform first, not an email or journey builder.
- The price is quote only, because Criteo does not publish a price list on its site.
- Cost is tied to advertising spend and campaign scope rather than a flat monthly seat price, so you need a written quote that names the campaign types,
- Choose Criteo if your main goal is to reach shoppers with commerce ads.
- Choose a data or messaging platform instead if your main goal is to send email, SMS, or push to your own list.
Pros
- Commerce data for retargeting and audience building
- performance media and retail media in one platform
Cons
- No published price on its site
- no free plan listed
Twilio Segment
Best for: Teams unifying first-party data
Twilio Segment collects first-party events from websites, apps, and other sources, then routes that data to warehouses and to marketing tools. Its pricing page describes two main offers: Connections, the customer data pipeline, and the Customer Data Platform, which adds Unify and Engage. Unify turns events into identity-resolved profiles, while Engage builds audiences and runs journeys from those profiles.
- The pricing page opened on 2026-11-12 describes custom volume pricing for the Customer Data Platform, billed by invoice, and prices on monthly tracked
- AI predictions, recommendations, and generative audiences are included in the full platform and are add-ons for the pipeline alone.
- Choose Segment if you need one clean data layer that feeds many tools.
- Choose a messaging platform instead if you only need to send campaigns and do not need a separate data layer.
Pros
- Collects events from many sources and sends them to more than 700 destinations
- unified profiles with identity resolution in the full platform
Cons
- Full platform uses custom volume pricing
- identity resolution and predictive audiences sit in the higher tier
Braze
Best for: Large brands running cross-channel journeys
Braze is a customer engagement platform for brands that run large, cross-channel programs. Its pricing page lists email, push notifications, SMS, MMS, RCS, WhatsApp, in-app messages, banners, and content cards, plus journey orchestration through campaigns and canvases. The platform also includes BrazeAI features, data ingestion, and segmentation, so a team can build an audience from behavior and then act on it in the same system.
- The price is quote only.
- Braze states that a contract combines a Platform Edition, monthly active users and profiles, an allotment of Action Credits, and CX Services.
- Action Credits are one currency for messaging and some AI features, and Braze gives an example where an SMS may cost 1 credit and a WhatsApp message m
- The pricing page also states that Braze does not offer a free plan at this time, though trials and startup programs are offered.
Pros
- Cross-channel messaging across email, push, SMS, and in-app
- Action Credits work across channels and some AI features
Cons
- No published price
- no free plan, with trials and startup programs offered instead
Iterable
Best for: Enterprise teams running real-time journeys
Iterable is an AI customer engagement platform for global brands that run real-time, cross-channel programs. The platform brings behavioral, product, and engagement data together so a message can reflect what a customer did most recently, not only what segment they sat in last week. That real-time focus suits teams with high message volume and complex journeys.
- The price is quote only.
- The pricing address redirects to the Iterable homepage, which offers a demo and a platform tour, and no plan names, prices, or free tier appear on the
- That means you cannot model the cost before a sales call, and you should ask what the quote counts, which channels are included, and which Nova AI fea
- Choose Iterable if you run enterprise-scale journeys and you want real-time decisioning.
Pros
- Real-time AI decisioning across channels
- unified behavioral, product, and engagement data in one profile
Cons
- Pricing page redirects to the main site with no published price
- no free plan listed
Customer.io
Best for: Teams that want published pricing and journeys
Customer.io is a customer engagement platform that stores profiles and events, builds segments, and sends automated email, SMS, push, in-app, and WhatsApp messages. Its pricing page, opened on 2026-11-12, shows Essentials starting at $100 per month, billed monthly. Premium starts at $1,000 per month, billed yearly, for teams scaling across channels with custom workflows, and Enterprise is listed as a talk-to-sales plan.
- Essentials includes 5,000 profiles and 1 million emails a month, with extra profiles at $0.009 each and extra emails at $0.12 per 1,000, as shown on t
- Essentials also includes unlimited monthly push and in-app messages, a visual workflow builder, and two object types, while Premium adds custom profil
- Choose Customer.io if you want a clear entry price and event-based journeys.
- Choose Klaviyo if your audience is mainly ecommerce and you want a free plan to start.
Pros
- Published starting price of $100 per month for 5,000 profiles
- 1 million emails a month included on Essentials
Cons
- Premium starts at $1,000 per month billed yearly
- anonymous messages are held back for higher plans
Klaviyo
Best for: Small ecommerce teams starting with email
Klaviyo is a marketing platform for ecommerce teams that want email, SMS, and related tools tied to store behavior, such as browsing, cart adds, and past orders. Its pricing page, opened on 2026-11-12, shows a free plan for up to 250 active profiles and 500 emails per month, with $5 of Composer usage and $5 of mobile messages per month. The Email plan starts at $20 per month for 500 active profiles and 5,000 emails per month.
- A Custom plan covers more than 150,000 active profiles.
- The free plan has firm limits.
- Once an account passes 250 active profiles or 500 sends in a month, it cannot send more until the next billing cycle or until it upgrades.
- Email support on the free plan lasts only the first 60 days, after which the help center and community are the main support routes.
Pros
- Free plan for up to 250 active profiles and 500 emails a month
- Email plan starts at $20 per month for 500 profiles
Cons
- Email support on the free plan lasts only the first 60 days
- SMS and many add-ons cost extra
Optimove
Best for: Teams running customer-led marketing programs
Optimove is a customer-led marketing platform that starts with customer data and builds segments, journeys, and personalization from that data. Its site describes positionless marketing, where one person can run a campaign that once needed several teams. The platform suits teams that run lifecycle programs and want to plan by customer value and behavior, rather than by one campaign at a time.
- The price is quote only.
- Optimove does not publish a price list, and its pricing guidance states that cost depends on data volume, active profiles, and capability scope, with
- That means you need a written quote for a named configuration, with your current volume and growth assumptions stated in the request.
- Choose Optimove if you want a customer-led model and you can run a sales process.
Pros
- Customer-led marketing with segmentation and orchestration
- no per-user charge stated in its pricing guidance
Cons
- No public price list
- no free plan listed
Blueshift
Best for: Mid-market teams that want a built-in data layer
Blueshift is a customer engagement platform for mid-market B2C teams that want data and messaging in one system. Its site states that its built-in customer data platform collects and unifies behavioral, transactional, and identity data into a single real-time profile, so marketers can build audiences without waiting on a separate data team. It supports email, SMS and MMS, mobile push, in-app messages, website personalization, and WhatsApp.
- Blueshift also describes AI at three levels: predictive AI scores customers for purchase likelihood, churn risk, or email engagement; generative AI he
- Common use cases include cart abandonment, post-purchase sequences, win-back campaigns, and product recommendations.
- The price is quote only, with no published price or free plan on its site.
- Choose Blueshift if you want a built-in data layer and you do not want to buy a separate data platform.
Pros
- Built-in customer data platform unifies behavioral, transactional, and identity data
- predictive AI scores purchase and churn risk
Cons
- No published price
- no free plan listed
How we chose
We chose platforms that collect or act on behavior, such as site views, purchases, cart adds, email opens, and app events, and that can build an audience from that behavior. We checked official pricing pages and homepages opened on 2026-11-12, and we used only the prices shown there. Where a vendor showed no price, we wrote quote only. We did not test any tool hands-on, and we did not install or use any platform. A unique fact in this guide is that Customer.io bills on the highest profile count in a period, so a short spike can set the monthly charge, and that detail is easy to miss in a short pricing table.
Which platform fits your size and budget
| Situation | Best pick | Why it fits | First cost to check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 250 contacts, ecommerce | Klaviyo | Free plan covers 250 profiles and 500 emails a month | $20 per month when you pass 250 profiles |
| Under 5,000 profiles, published price | Customer.io | Essentials starts at $100 per month with 1 million emails | $0.009 per extra profile |
| Need one data layer for many tools | Twilio Segment | Sends events to more than 700 destinations | Custom volume quote, priced on monthly tracked users |
| Large cross-channel brand | Braze | Four editions, Action Credits across channels | Quote based on monthly active users and credits |
| Enterprise real-time journeys | Iterable | Real-time decisioning and unified profiles | Quote only, with no published plan list |
| Commerce ads and retargeting | Criteo | Commerce data and dynamic retargeting | Quote tied to ad spend and campaign scope |
| Customer-led lifecycle programs | Optimove | Segmentation and orchestration by customer value | Quote based on data volume and scope |
| Mid-market, data plus messaging | Blueshift | Built-in data platform with predictive AI | Quote only, with no published price |
Frequently asked questions
What is behavioral targeting?
Behavioral targeting is the use of actions such as site views, searches, cart adds, purchases, and email opens to decide who sees an ad or receives a message. A platform collects those events, builds an audience from them, and then sends a relevant ad or message to that audience. It works best when the data is first-party and current.
Which behavioral targeting platform is best for most teams?
Twilio Segment is the best pick for most teams that need a data layer, because it collects events and sends them to more than 700 destinations, while Customer.io is the best pick for teams that want published pricing and messaging in one place. Klaviyo is the best pick for small ecommerce teams, because its free plan covers up to 250 active profiles.
How much does behavioral targeting software cost?
The cost ranges from free to quote only in this guide. Klaviyo is free for up to 250 active profiles, and its Email plan starts at $20 per month. Customer.io starts at $100 per month for 5,000 profiles and 1 million emails. Criteo, Twilio Segment, Braze, Iterable, Optimove, and Blueshift are quote only, so you need a written quote for your volume and channels.
Is there a free behavioral targeting platform?
Yes, Klaviyo has a free plan for up to 250 active profiles and 500 emails per month, and Twilio Segment offers a free trial for its Connections pipeline. Customer.io offers a 14-day free trial. Braze states that it does not offer a free plan at this time, and Criteo, Iterable, Optimove, and Blueshift list no free plan on their sites.
What is the difference between a data platform and a messaging platform?
A data platform, such as Twilio Segment, collects events, unifies profiles, and sends audiences to other tools, while a messaging platform, such as Customer.io or Klaviyo, sends email, SMS, and push from those audiences. Blueshift and Braze combine both jobs in one system. Choose a data platform first if you use many tools, and choose a messaging platform first if you only need to send campaigns.
Do I need consent to use behavioral targeting?
Yes, you need a lawful basis and clear consent where the law requires it, and you should check the privacy rules for your country and for each channel you use. Use first-party data you collected with consent, give people a clear way to opt out, and check the data retention and sharing terms in each vendor contract before you collect behavior at scale.
Sources
- https://www.criteo.com/
- https://segment.com/pricing/
- https://braze.com/pricing
- https://iterable.com/pricing
- https://customer.io/pricing/
- https://www.klaviyo.com/pricing
- https://www.optimove.com/
- https://blueshift.com/
Prices and features were read on each company’s own website in November 2026. They change often, so confirm the current offer on the official site before you sign up or buy.