CleverTap review (2026): is it worth $85 a month?
Customer engagement platform for push, email, SMS and WhatsApp
Black Friday: is there a CleverTap sale?
CleverTap report card
Fair · out of 4.0 · graded Nov 13, 2026
Best for retention messaging for apps and sites, from $85 a month
CleverTap handles push, email, WhatsApp, in-app, web, RCS and SMS with analytics and segmentation, from $85 a month for 5,000 monthly active users. Pro and Ultimate have no published price, and the trial bills you after 30 days.
Who CleverTap is for
- Fits if you run an app and want retention messaging across several channels
- Works for teams that price by monthly active users
Who CleverTap is not for
- Pricey if you grow: $85 at 5,000 users becomes $550 at 40,000
- Skip it if you need Pro features, whose price is only given on a demo
- Watch out: Core excludes add-ons and taxes, which are charged on top
- Not for you if you want a free plan, as there is only a 30-day trial
- Watch out: AI features draw on a token allowance
Why CleverTap gets a 2.0
Five grades, each with its reason. The GPA is their average: an A is 4 points, an F is none.
- CValue for moneyCore is $85 a month for up to 5,000 monthly active users, $275 at 20,000 and $550 at 40,000, which is above what most email tools charge. Pro and Ultimate are sold through a demo.
- DFree plan and trialA 30-day trial on Core with billing starting after it, so it is a D and no free plan.
- BFeaturesOmnichannel messaging, segmentation, analytics, experiments and orchestration. Automated segmentation and send-time optimisation are on Pro.
- CEase of useNo store rating on record. You connect your app and data first, and build your own campaigns.
- CPlatforms and integrationsWeb only. The listing names WhatsApp as the one integration.
What these grades rest on. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from CleverTap's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. How we review and grade.
Make CleverTap? Put this grade on your site
Paste this where you want the badge. It links here and follows the grade if it changes. About badges
<a href="https://toolgpa.com/tools/clevertap#review"><img src="https://toolgpa.com/badge/clevertap.svg" alt="CleverTap: 2.0 GPA on ToolGPA" width="196" height="56"></a>Where CleverTap stands among email marketing and newsletter tools
CleverTap's GPA of 2.0 is higher than 25 of the 102 other email marketing and newsletter tools we grade, and level with 16.
It stands best on features (B, above 47 of 102) and worst on free plan and trial (D, above 28).
Its paid plans start at $85 a month, against a middle price of $19 for the category: 64 of the 78 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.3 out of 4. 31 tools score higher and cost less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 103 email marketing and newsletter tools we grade, cut by the letter each got. CleverTap’s own letter is outlined.
- CValue for moneyAbove 21 of 102, level with 59
- DFree plan and trialAbove 28 of 102, level with 4
- BFeaturesAbove 47 of 102, level with 55
- CEase of useAbove 11 of 102, level with 86
- CPlatforms and integrationsAbove 0 of 102, level with 30
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 82 email marketing and newsletter tools. Further left costs less, and higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Point at a dot to see which tool it is.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Keep CleverTap, or make your own?
Keep it
To replace CleverTap you would be making email sent in volume that still reaches the inbox. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 61 of the 102 other email marketing and newsletter tools grade higher. It costs $1,020 a year.
What you could make
- Reports: an app builder makes this well.
What you could not
- Email sent in volume that still reaches the inbox.
- Newsletters sent to thousands of people that still reach the inbox.
- Texts to thousands of numbers, registered with the carriers.
- The WhatsApp Business API, which Meta opens only through approved partners.
- Splitting visitors between versions and telling you which won.
- AI features, unless you pay a model provider for each request yourself.
- The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.
What this rests on. CleverTap’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
What is CleverTap?
CleverTap is a customer engagement and retention platform for consumer apps and websites. It combines customer data, analytics, segmentation and campaign orchestration with messaging over push, email, WhatsApp, in-app, web, RCS and SMS. Plans are priced by monthly active users, with an AI token allowance included.
Worth knowing
- Pro and Ultimate have no published price; they are reached through a demo request.
- Core is priced by monthly active users, with steps to 100,000 and a 100,000+ option that shows no price.
- Core excludes add-ons and taxes, which are charged on top.
- AI features draw on tokens; each plan includes a starting allowance.
Key features
- Omnichannel messaging
- Push notifications, email, WhatsApp, in-app messages, web messaging, RCS and SMS from one platform.
- Segmentation and analytics
- Real-time behavioral segments plus analytics; Pro adds automated segmentation and in-depth insights.
- Campaign orchestration
- Builds omnichannel journeys; Pro adds send-time and channel optimization.
- Experimentation
- Built-in experimentation on Core, with AI-driven optimization named on higher plans.
- CleverAI tokens
- AI features such as content and image creation draw on tokens, with a starting allowance included in each plan.
- Promos and loyalty
- A rewards management product for promotions and loyalty programs.
CleverTap pricing
As of Nov 13, 2026, CleverTap is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $85 per month for up to 5,000 monthly active users.
- Starts at
- $85 per month for up to 5,000 monthly active users
- Free plan
- None
- Free trial
- 30-day free trial on the Core plan; billing starts after the trial
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Core | $85per month for up to 5,000 monthly active users | Omnichannel engagement, behavioral segmentation, experimentation and analytics. $275 a month at 20,000 users, $550 at 40,000. A sale is shown. |
| Pro | Custom | Everything in Core plus automated segmentation, in-depth insights, send time and channel optimization and personalization across touchpoints. Sold through a demo. |
| Ultimate | Custom | Everything in Pro plus agentic orchestration, predictions and recommendations, and up to 10 years of data retention. Sold through a demo. |
Read from clevertap.com on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with CleverTap before you buy.
Ways to pay less
- Other savingsSale on the Core plan
At the time of reading, the pricing page advertised 75% off the Core plan for 12 months, or 50% off for 6 months; the price afterwards reverts to the regular monthly price. No end date was stated beyond a countdown.
Stated on clevertap.com
Works with
CleverTap alternatives
- CleverTap vs Braze
Free trial
- CleverTap vs Customer.io
Free trial · from $100/mo
Common questions
Does CleverTap have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. CleverTap is listed for Web.
Does CleverTap have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. CleverTap is listed for Web.
Is CleverTap open source?
CleverTap is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Nov 13, 2026.
Sources for this page
The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026.