# Loops vs Customer.io

An email tool with listed prices against a multichannel platform priced on request.

Canonical: https://brew.new/compare/loops-vs-customerio

## The short version

Choose Loops if email is your only channel and you want listed prices, unlimited sends on paid plans and agents that can send campaigns over the API.

Choose Customer.io if your journeys need SMS, push or WhatsApp next to email, or your data is built on accounts and objects from a warehouse.

Choose Brew if you want a fully agentic setup, where your AI agent drives lifecycle marketing to engage and retain customers. Brew designs every email from your brand and runs your automations agentically.

## Loops vs Customer.io, side by side

### Key differences

| | Loops | Customer.io | Brew |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Billed on | Subscribed contacts; unsubscribed ones are free | Profiles: people and objects | Emails sent and AI credits |
| Fully agentic | Partly: Agents can run it, but write each email in LMX code | Partly: Assists by default; your team does the work in the app | Your agent designs, sends and runs automations end to end |
| Your agent takes it live | Agents can schedule and send campaigns over the API | Partly: Drafts by default; sending needs an admin to allow live access | Sends, schedules and runs automations; OAuth and org-scoped MCP require confirmation, brand API keys do not |
| Designs finished, on-brand emails | You build in the editor, or an agent writes LMX | Suggests copy and brand colors; you design each email | Layout, copy and images from your brand, ready to send |
| Builds an automation from a description | Partly: Coding agents can create workflows over the API | AI Agent configures the automation | Emails, waits and branches together |

### Creating emails

| | Loops | Customer.io | Brew |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Remembers your brand for every email | Partly: Themes built from the style panel or the API | Partly: Brand colors and type from your domain | Brand files your agent reads every time |
| Visual editor | Editor with themes, components and Markdown | Design Studio, drag-and-drop and code editors | Infinite canvas, edit by hand or in chat |
| Bring the emails you already have | Partly: MJML uploaded as a ZIP | HTML in the code editor | HTML, MJML, React Email, Figma or a forwarded email |

### Automation

| | Loops | Customer.io | Brew |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Event-triggered automations | Events, contact changes and list signups | Events or segment membership | Stripe, Shopify, Clerk, Supabase or your own events |

### Channels

| | Loops | Customer.io | Brew |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Email from your own domain | Marketing and transactional | Marketing and transactional | Marketing and transactional |

### Agents and developers

| | Loops | Customer.io | Brew |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| MCP server for AI agents | In Claude, ChatGPT, Codex and other clients | Full API access; read-only by default | Every Brew tool, in Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor and Grok |
| API and CLI | REST API, SDKs, CLI and agent skills | API, CLI and webhooks | REST API, typed SDK and CLI |

### Pricing

| | Loops | Customer.io | Brew |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Unlimited contacts | Priced by subscribed contacts | Priced per profile stored | On every plan; you pay for sends |
| Getting started | Free: 1,000 subscribed contacts, 4,000 sends per 30 days | A year free for startups that raised under $10M | Free trial with 500 AI credits and 1,000 sends |
| First paid plan | $49/month for 5,000 subscribed contacts, unlimited sends | Essentials, price on request: 1 million emails a month | Growth, $99/month: 10,000 AI credits and 50,000 sends |
| Next plan | $99/month for 10,000 subscribed contacts | Standard and Premium, price on request: adds SMS, WhatsApp and LINE | Pro, $249/month: 25,000 AI credits and 200,000 sends |
| Top plan | Contact sales above 1.5 million contacts | Custom volume, dedicated infrastructure and HIPAA | Custom volume and a dedicated account manager |

### Security and compliance

| | Loops | Customer.io | Brew |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| SOC 2 | SOC 2 audit complete | SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 certified | Not yet; security review and DPA on request |

## Where Loops is stronger

- Prices listed publicly: $49/month for 5,000 subscribed contacts with unlimited sends. Customer.io’s are on request.
- Unsubscribed contacts are free. Customer.io bills on every stored profile, people and objects.
- Agents can schedule and send campaigns over the API. Customer.io’s MCP is read-only by default, and sending needs an admin to allow live access.

## Where Customer.io is stronger

- SMS, push and in-app next to email, with WhatsApp and LINE on Premium.
- Accounts and other objects with relationships, and data pipelines built in.
- Its AI Agent configures an automation from a description. In Loops, coding agents create workflows over the API.
- SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 certified; Loops has completed a SOC 2 audit.

## Where both fall short

Neither designs a finished, on-brand email. In Loops, an agent writes each email in LMX code; Customer.io suggests copy and brand colors while your team designs in Design Studio.

Both price on the size of your list: Loops on subscribed contacts, Customer.io on stored profiles.

## Pricing at the same list size

Loops lists its prices: free up to 1,000 subscribed contacts and 4,000 sends per 30 days, then $49/month for 5,000 subscribed contacts and $99/month for 10,000, with no send cap on paid plans. Unsubscribed contacts are free.

Customer.io prices every plan on request and bills on profiles, people and objects. Essentials includes 1 million emails a month, Standard adds SMS and Premium adds WhatsApp and LINE. Startups that raised under $10M can get a year free.

Brew bills on emails sent and AI credits, with unlimited contacts: Growth is $99/month for 50,000 sends and 10,000 AI credits.

## When to consider Brew

Brew is fully agentic: your agent designs on-brand emails, sends them and runs your automations. Unlimited contacts on every plan. OAuth and organization-scoped MCP connections ask you to confirm live sends and launches. Brand-scoped API keys can execute permitted calls without the MCP confirmation step.

- [Brew vs Loops](https://brew.new/compare/brew-vs-loops.md)
- [Brew vs Customer.io](https://brew.new/compare/brew-vs-customerio.md)

## Your agent runs your lifecycle email.

Connect Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or Grok over MCP and your agent gets every Brew tool. It designs emails from your brand, builds audiences, runs automations and schedules sends. OAuth and organization-scoped MCP connections ask you to confirm live sends and launches. Brand-scoped API keys can execute permitted calls without the MCP confirmation step.

## Every email designed from your brand.

Paste your website and Brew writes your brand into two files your agent reads for every email. Describe the email and it appears on the canvas, ready to edit by hand or in chat.

## Questions

### Is Loops or Customer.io better for lifecycle email?

Loops, if email is your only channel and you want listed prices: events, contact changes and list signups start its workflows, and paid plans have no send cap. Customer.io, if the same journeys need SMS, push or in-app, or run on accounts and objects synced through its data pipelines.

### Which is cheaper, Loops or Customer.io?

Only a Customer.io quote can tell you. Loops lists its prices: free up to 1,000 subscribed contacts, $49/month for 5,000 and $99/month for 10,000. Customer.io prices every plan on request and bills on stored profiles, people and objects; startups that raised under $10M can get a year free.

### Which is better for AI agents, Loops or Customer.io?

Loops lets agents do more on their own: over its MCP server, CLI and skills, an agent writes the email in LMX, Loops’ markup, and creates and sends campaigns and workflows. Customer.io’s AI Agent configures automations and suggests copy and brand colors, and its MCP server has full API access but is read-only by default, writes drafts, and needs an admin to allow sending. Neither designs a finished, on-brand email; Brew does.

### Is there an alternative to Loops and Customer.io?

Brew, if you want an agent to run your email. Your agent designs finished, on-brand emails from your brand, sends them and runs your automations, with unlimited contacts on every plan. Brew is email only, so SMS and push stay in another tool.

### Can I use Brew with Loops or Customer.io?

Yes. With Customer.io, export the finished email from Brew as HTML and paste it into Customer.io’s code editor; a direct integration is coming soon. Brew has no Loops export, so each tool sends its own emails: LiveFlow kept its authentication emails in Loops and sends everything a customer reads from Brew.

## Sources and review

Brew publishes this comparison. Brew Team reviewed the linked first-party documentation. This is a documentation review, not a claim of hands-on testing of every product. Pricing and plan limits can change.

Work at Loops or Customer.io? If anything on this page is wrong or out of date, email support@brew.new and we will correct it. We want to compete on the product, not on a mistaken comparison.

- [Loops pricing](https://loops.so/pricing)
- [Loops billing](https://loops.so/docs/account/billing)
- [Loops for agents](https://loops.so/agents)
- [Loops MCP server](https://loops.so/docs/mcp-server)
- [Loops campaign API](https://loops.so/docs/api-reference/update-campaign)
- [Loops custom email upload](https://loops.so/docs/creating-emails/uploading-custom-email)
- [Export contacts from Loops](https://loops.so/docs/contacts/export-contacts)
- [Customer.io pricing](https://customer.io/pricing)
- [Customer.io messaging overview](https://docs.customer.io/messaging/journeys-overview/)
- [Customer.io email editors](https://docs.customer.io/messaging/channels/email/editors/choose/)
- [Customer.io MCP server](https://docs.customer.io/ai/mcp/get-started/)
- [Customer.io AI features](https://customer.io/ai)
- [Customer.io security and compliance](https://customer.io/security)
- [Brew vs Loops](https://brew.new/compare/brew-vs-loops)
- [Brew vs Customer.io](https://brew.new/compare/brew-vs-customerio)
- [Brew pricing](https://brew.new/pricing)
- [All Brew comparisons](https://brew.new/compare)

Updated October 2026