klaviyo-cost-tuning

What this skill does

# Klaviyo Cost Tuning

## Overview

Optimize Klaviyo costs through active profile management, list hygiene, event sampling, and API usage monitoring. Klaviyo bills primarily by **active profiles** and **message volume**, not API calls.

## Prerequisites

- Access to Klaviyo billing dashboard
- Understanding of active profile definition
- `klaviyo-api` SDK for programmatic management

## Klaviyo Pricing Model

Klaviyo bills based on **active profiles** (contacts who have received or been targeted by marketing), not API requests.

| Component | How It's Billed | Cost Driver |
|-----------|----------------|-------------|
| Email | Per active profile tier | Number of marketable profiles |
| SMS | Per message sent + carrier fees | Message volume |
| Push | Included with email plan | N/A |
| API calls | Free (rate limited, not billed) | N/A |
| Reviews | Per request volume | Review request sends |

### Email Pricing Tiers (Approximate)

| Active Profiles | Monthly Cost |
|----------------|-------------|
| 0 - 250 | Free |
| 251 - 500 | $20/mo |
| 501 - 1,000 | $30/mo |
| 1,001 - 1,500 | $45/mo |
| 1,501 - 5,000 | $60-$100/mo |
| 5,001 - 10,000 | $100-$150/mo |
| 10,001 - 25,000 | $150-$375/mo |
| 25,001+ | Custom pricing |

> **Key insight:** Reducing **active profiles** has the biggest cost impact. Cleaning suppressed/unengaged contacts directly reduces your bill.

## Instructions

### Step 1: Audit Active Profile Count

```typescript
import { ApiKeySession, ProfilesApi, SegmentsApi } from 'klaviyo-api';

const session = new ApiKeySession(process.env.KLAVIYO_PRIVATE_KEY!);
const profilesApi = new ProfilesApi(session);

// Count total profiles
let totalProfiles = 0;
let cursor: string | undefined;
do {
  const response = await profilesApi.getProfiles({
    pageCursor: cursor,
    fieldsProfile: ['email'],  // Minimal fields for speed
  });
  totalProfiles += response.body.data.length;
  const nextLink = response.body.links?.next;
  cursor = nextLink ? new URL(nextLink).searchParams.get('page[cursor]') || undefined : undefined;
} while (cursor);

console.log(`Total profiles: ${totalProfiles}`);
```

### Step 2: Identify Unengaged Profiles

```typescript
// Find profiles that haven't opened/clicked in 180+ days
// Create a segment in Klaviyo for this, then query it
const segmentsApi = new SegmentsApi(session);

const segments = await segmentsApi.getSegments({
  filter: 'equals(name,"Unengaged 180+ Days")',
});

if (segments.body.data.length > 0) {
  const segmentId = segments.body.data[0].id;
  const unengaged = await segmentsApi.getSegmentProfiles({
    id: segmentId,
    fieldsProfile: ['email', 'created'],
  });
  console.log(`Unengaged profiles: ${unengaged.body.data.length}+`);
}
```

### Step 3: Suppress Unengaged Contacts

```typescript
// Move unengaged profiles to a suppressed list (removes from active count)
import { ListsApi, ListEnum, ProfileEnum } from 'klaviyo-api';

const listsApi = new ListsApi(session);

// Option 1: Unsubscribe (profile stays but isn't marketable = not billed)
await profilesApi.unsubscribeProfiles({
  data: {
    type: 'profile-subscription-bulk-delete-job',
    attributes: {
      profiles: {
        data: unengagedEmails.map(email => ({
          type: ProfileEnum.Profile,
          attributes: {
            email,
            subscriptions: {
              email: { marketing: { consent: 'UNSUBSCRIBED' } },
            },
          },
        })),
      },
    },
    relationships: {
      list: { data: { type: ListEnum.List, id: 'MAIN_LIST_ID' } },
    },
  },
});

// Option 2: Suppress via profile update (add to global suppression)
for (const email of unengagedEmails) {
  await profilesApi.createOrUpdateProfile({
    data: {
      type: ProfileEnum.Profile,
      attributes: {
        email,
        properties: { suppressedAt: new Date().toISOString(), suppressReason: 'unengaged-180d' },
      },
    },
  });
}
```

### Step 4: Event Sampling for Non-Critical Tracking

```typescript
// Not all events need to be tracked -- sample non-critical ones
function shouldTrackEvent(eventName: string, samplingRates: Record<string, number>): boolean {
  const rate = samplingRates[eventName] ?? 1.0;  // Default: track everything
  return Math.random() < rate;
}

const samplingConfig = {
  'Placed Order': 1.0,       // Always track (revenue attribution)
  'Started Checkout': 1.0,   // Always track (cart abandonment)
  'Viewed Product': 0.25,    // 25% sample (high volume, less critical)
  'Page View': 0.1,          // 10% sample (very high volume)
};

// Before tracking
if (shouldTrackEvent('Viewed Product', samplingConfig)) {
  await eventsApi.createEvent({ /* ... */ });
}
```

### Step 5: API Usage Monitor

```typescript
// Track API call volume to detect runaway processes
class KlaviyoUsageTracker {
  private callCount = 0;
  private readonly startTime = Date.now();

  track(): void {
    this.callCount++;
    // Warn if approaching steady rate limit
    const elapsedMinutes = (Date.now() - this.startTime) / 60000;
    const ratePerMinute = this.callCount / Math.max(elapsedMinutes, 1);

    if (ratePerMinute > 500) {
      console.warn(`[Klaviyo] High API rate: ${Math.round(ratePerMinute)} req/min (limit: 700)`);
    }
  }

  getStats(): { totalCalls: number; ratePerMinute: number } {
    const elapsedMinutes = (Date.now() - this.startTime) / 60000;
    return {
      totalCalls: this.callCount,
      ratePerMinute: Math.round(this.callCount / Math.max(elapsedMinutes, 1)),
    };
  }
}

export const usageTracker = new KlaviyoUsageTracker();
```

## Cost Reduction Checklist

- [ ] Suppress profiles unengaged >180 days
- [ ] Remove hard-bounced email addresses
- [ ] Audit and merge duplicate profiles
- [ ] Use double opt-in to reduce fake signups
- [ ] Sample high-volume, low-value events
- [ ] Batch API calls instead of individual requests
- [ ] Cache frequently-read data (segments, lists)
- [ ] Use sparse fieldsets to reduce transfer size
- [ ] Review SMS sending -- highest per-message cost
- [ ] Set up sunset flow (auto-suppress after N days unengaged)

## Error Handling

| Issue | Cause | Solution |
|-------|-------|----------|
| Unexpected bill increase | Unengaged profiles grew | Run suppression script |
| SMS costs spiking | Flow sending to full list | Add engaged-only segment filter |
| Duplicate profiles | Multiple identify calls | Merge duplicates, use `createOrUpdateProfile` |
| API rate limits hit | Bulk operations | Use queue with concurrency control |

## Resources

- [Klaviyo Pricing](https://www.klaviyo.com/pricing)
- Understanding Active Profiles
- Sunset Flow Best Practices
- [Data Privacy API](https://developers.klaviyo.com/en/reference/data_privacy_api_overview)

## Next Steps

For architecture patterns, see `klaviyo-reference-architecture`.