Most shoppers who add something to a cart never finish the order. Some get distracted, some want to compare prices, and some simply run out of time. Once they close the tab, your store has no way to reach them again unless you captured an email address, a phone number or a browser push opt-in first.

Cart abandonment recovery software handles that second chance. It records who left, what they left behind and when, then sends a timed sequence of reminders by email, text message or web push. The better tools also catch shoppers earlier, when they view a product but never add it to the cart, and let you decide when a discount is worth offering and when a simple reminder is enough.

This guide covers recovery after the shopper has gone. If you want to stop people leaving in the first place, read our comparison of the best checkout optimization software. Below, we compare five well-known recovery tools for Shopify and WooCommerce stores, list what each costs according to its official pricing page or app listing, and explain which store each one suits.

Editorial note: this article contains no affiliate links. Prices and features were checked against each vendor’s official pages on November 7, 2026, and we have not hands-on tested these tools. Vendors change plans often, so confirm current pricing before you buy.

How Much Revenue Recovery Messages Bring In

Baymard Institute, which averages 50 studies of online carts, puts the documented cart abandonment rate at 70.22%. Checkout fixes can lower that number, but a large share of shoppers will always leave, so the follow-up matters. Klaviyo’s 2026 Abandoned Cart Benchmark Report, based on more than 110,000 of its customers, shows how recovery messages compare with other automated emails.

Two takeaways. First, the abandoned cart email earns more per recipient than any other automated email in Klaviyo’s data, so it is usually the first flow worth building. Second, browse abandonment earns less per message but reaches shoppers earlier, before they add anything to the cart. Text messages follow the same pattern: Klaviyo reports $4.48 average revenue per recipient for abandoned cart texts, with a 10.3% average click rate.

These numbers come from one vendor’s customers, so treat them as a reference point. For wider context, see our roundup of email marketing statistics.

1. Klaviyo — Best for Email and SMS Recovery at Scale

Best for: Shopify and WooCommerce stores that want detailed segmentation and email plus text recovery flows in one platform.

What Klaviyo does well

• Abandoned cart, browse abandonment and win-back flows can run by email and text message from the same account.
• Its 2026 benchmark report shows abandoned cart emails averaging a 6% click rate, with 11.3% for the top 10% of brands.
• The free plan includes $5 of mobile messages each month, so you can test text recovery before paying.

Potential drawbacks

• The free plan stops at 250 active profiles and 500 email sends a month, which most active stores outgrow quickly.
• SMS is an add-on on paid plans, and the pricing page does not list the add-on price.
• Price rises with your profile count, so a large but inactive list costs money.

Pricing

Free: up to 250 active profiles, 500 email sends a month and $5 of mobile messages a month. Email: $20/month at the entry level of 500 profiles and 5,000 email sends a month. Marketing: $25/month at 500 profiles, with a $1 first month for eligible accounts up to 5,000 profiles. Custom pricing applies above 150,000 profiles. The page shows prices only at the 500-profile entry point, so use its slider for your list size. Source: Klaviyo pricing page, checked November 7, 2026.

See Klaviyo Pricing →

2. Omnisend — Best Value for Email, SMS and Push

Best for: Small and mid-size stores that want email, web push and optional SMS recovery without paying Klaviyo-level prices.

What Omnisend does well

• Pre-built ecommerce workflows, including cart abandonment, are available on every plan, including Free.
• Web push is included: 500 pushes a month on Free and unlimited on Standard and Pro.
• The Pro plan supports SMS with published per-message rates, starting at $0.009 per US text at the lowest credit tier and falling to $0.007 at higher volumes.

Potential drawbacks

• SMS is only available on the Pro plan for new subscribers. Omnisend’s help center says paid plans started on or after May 4, 2026 cannot add SMS to Standard.
• The headline prices on the pricing page include a 30% discount for paying three months upfront; regular monthly billing applies afterward.
• Browse abandonment is not broken out by plan on the pricing page, so confirm it is included before you commit.

Pricing

Free: $0 for 250 contacts, 500 emails a month and 500 web pushes a month. Standard: $16/month list price for 500 contacts and 6,000 emails a month (shown as $11.20/month with the three-month prepay discount). Pro: $59/month list price for 2,500 contacts and unlimited email (shown as $41.30/month with the prepay discount), with SMS credits bought separately. Source: Omnisend pricing page, checked November 7, 2026.

Check Omnisend Pricing →

3. CartFlows Cart Abandonment Recovery — Best Free Plugin for WooCommerce

Best for: WooCommerce stores that want automatic recovery emails without a monthly subscription.

What CartFlows Cart Abandonment Recovery does well

• The core plugin is free from WordPress.org and captures shopper details at checkout so follow-ups can be sent if the order is not completed.
• Its default sequence sends reminders at 15 minutes, 1 day and 3 days, and it can generate a unique, time-limited coupon for any email in the sequence.
• Webhook support lets you pass abandoned cart data to CRMs and email tools such as ActiveCampaign or Mautic.

Potential drawbacks

• It sends email from your own WordPress site, so you need reliable email delivery (an SMTP service) for messages to reach inboxes.
• Unlimited email, SMS and WhatsApp follow-ups and advanced coupon controls are Pro features.
• WooCommerce only, and it handles cart recovery rather than browse abandonment.

Pricing

Free plugin: $0 from WordPress.org. Pro annual: $99/year (regular price $129) for 10 websites. Pro lifetime: $299 one-time (regular price $399) for 30 websites. Both Pro plans include a 14-day refund guarantee. Source: CartFlows Cart Abandonment Recovery pricing page, checked November 7, 2026.

Compare CartFlows Plans →

4. Retainful — Best Budget Option With Browse Abandonment

Best for: Small WooCommerce and Shopify stores that want cart and browse abandonment emails at a low monthly cost.

What Retainful does well

• Abandoned cart and browse abandonment are both pre-built automation workflows on the Free and paid plans.
• Both plans include unlimited automation workflows and unlimited email campaigns; the main difference is how many emails you can send.
• WhatsApp marketing is free to use in Retainful, though you pay Meta directly for conversations.

Potential drawbacks

• The free plan is capped at 500 emails a month, and sending stops once you reach it.
• Its Shopify App Store listing has far fewer reviews than the larger platforms here (28 at the time of checking, averaging 4.4 out of 5).
• SMS is listed on the Shopify app, but neither the listing nor the pricing page gives SMS rates.

Pricing

Free: $0 for 500 emails a month, with unlimited contact imports. Paid (listed as Pro, and called Starter in the FAQ): $14/month for up to 1,000 contacts, with an email limit of 10 times your contact count. Each additional 500 contacts adds $4/month, so 2,000 contacts costs $22/month and 5,000 contacts costs $46/month. The Shopify App Store listing shows the same Free and $14/month plans. Source: Retainful pricing page and Shopify App Store listing, checked November 7, 2026.

See Retainful Plans →

5. PushOwl — Best for Web Push Recovery on Shopify

Best for: Shopify stores that want to reach shoppers who left without giving an email address or phone number.

What PushOwl does well

• Web push only needs a one-click browser opt-in, so it can recover visitors who never reached the email field.
• Price drop alerts and back-in-stock reminders are included on the free plan.
• It is one of the most reviewed apps in this list, rated 4.8 out of 5 from 2,315 reviews on the Shopify App Store.

Potential drawbacks

• Abandoned cart automation starts on the paid Plus plan, and browse abandonment is only on the higher Power plan.
• Push notifications do not reach shoppers on browsers where they have not opted in, so it complements email rather than replacing it.
• It is a Shopify app, so WooCommerce stores need a different push tool.

Pricing

Free (Basic Bundle): 500 web pushes a month plus the Brevo email suite from 500 emails a month. Plus Bundle: $19/month or $180/year, with 10,000 web pushes a month, abandoned cart recovery automation and email and SMS tools. Power Bundle: $79/month or $852/year, with 25,000 web pushes a month, browse abandonment automation and a dedicated account manager. Source: PushOwl Shopify App Store listing, checked November 7, 2026.

Explore PushOwl Pricing →

Cart Abandonment Recovery Software Compared Side by Side

Which Cart Abandonment Recovery Tool Is Right for You?

Use this decision path to narrow it down in about a minute.

What to Look for in Cart Abandonment Recovery Software

• Channels. Email is the baseline. Text messages and web push reach shoppers who ignore email or never gave you an address, so check which channels each plan actually includes.
• Browse abandonment. Reminders for viewed products catch shoppers before they reach the cart. Several tools keep this feature for higher tiers.
• Discount control. Look for unique, expiring coupons and the option to send a discount only in the second or third message, so you do not train customers to abandon on purpose.
• Platform and data sync. The tool must read cart contents and order status from your store reliably, so it stops messaging people who have already bought.
• Total cost as your list grows. Most tools price by contacts or sends. Model the price at two or three times your current list, not just today’s size. Our Klaviyo vs Omnisend comparison covers how two of these platforms scale.

Quick Wins You Can Make Before Buying Anything

1. Capture the email early. Put the email field first at checkout. Recovery tools can only message shoppers whose contact details they recorded.
2. Turn on your platform’s built-in reminder. Shopify includes a basic abandoned checkout email in its notification settings. Switch it on while you evaluate tools, and turn it off once a dedicated flow replaces it so shoppers do not get duplicates.
3. Send the first reminder quickly. The CartFlows plugin sends its first reminder after 15 minutes by default. Send yours within hours, not days, then test timing once you have data.
4. Hold the discount back. Send one or two plain reminders before offering money off, and protect your margin on shoppers who would have returned anyway.
5. Fix email delivery. Set up SPF, DKIM and DMARC on your sending domain so recovery messages land in the inbox instead of spam.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is cart abandonment recovery software?

It is software that detects when a shopper leaves items in a cart or checkout without paying, then sends automated reminders by email, text or web push to bring them back to complete the order.

What is the best cart abandonment recovery software?

For most growing stores, Klaviyo or Omnisend. Klaviyo offers deeper segmentation and text recovery, while Omnisend costs less and includes web push. WooCommerce stores on a budget can start with the free CartFlows plugin, and Retainful is a low-cost option that includes browse abandonment.

Do abandoned cart emails really work?

Klaviyo’s 2026 benchmark report puts average abandoned cart email revenue per recipient at $6.77, higher than any other automated email it tracked. Results vary by store, product and audience.

What is the difference between cart abandonment and browse abandonment?

Cart abandonment happens when a shopper adds a product to the cart and leaves. Browse abandonment happens when they view a product page but never add it to the cart. Browse reminders earn less per message but reach more shoppers.

How many abandoned cart emails should I send?

Many stores use a sequence of two to three messages over a few days. The CartFlows plugin, for example, defaults to reminders at 15 minutes, 1 day and 3 days. Test the number and timing against your own results.

Should I offer a discount in abandoned cart emails?

Not always. Offering a discount in every first reminder can teach shoppers to abandon on purpose. Many stores send plain reminders first and add a unique, expiring code only in a later message.

Is SMS better than email for cart recovery?

Text messages get higher click rates in Klaviyo’s data (10.3% average for abandoned cart texts versus 6% for emails), but each message costs money and requires explicit consent. Most stores use both.

Can I recover carts on WooCommerce for free?

Yes. The free CartFlows Cart Abandonment Recovery plugin sends recovery emails with optional coupons, and Retainful’s free plan includes 500 emails a month. You will need a reliable email delivery setup on your WordPress site.

Do I need a developer to set this up?

Most of these tools install in minutes and include ready-made recovery flows. If your WooCommerce store has email delivery problems or a custom checkout, our WordPress development service can help.

Final Verdict: Which Cart Abandonment Recovery Software Should You Choose?

If you want the most capable email and text recovery and can pay as your list grows, choose Klaviyo. If you want a similar setup at a lower price with web push included, choose Omnisend. WooCommerce stores that want to start for free should install CartFlows Cart Abandonment Recovery, and stores that want browse abandonment on a small budget should look at Retainful. On Shopify, add PushOwl to reach shoppers who leave before they share an email address.

Your next step: switch on one abandoned cart flow this week, keep the first reminder discount-free, and compare recovered revenue after 30 days. One working flow beats a complex setup you never finish.

Sources

• Baymard Institute: Cart abandonment rate statistics
• Klaviyo 2026 Abandoned Cart Benchmark Report
• Klaviyo pricing
• Omnisend pricing
• Omnisend help center: Pricing plans 2026
• CartFlows Cart Abandonment Recovery
• Retainful pricing
• Retainful on the Shopify App Store
• PushOwl on the Shopify App Store

About the author

Jaykishan Panchal

Founder & CEO, TechCognate · SEO Strategist & WordPress Expert

Jaykishan Panchal is the founder of TechCognate and an SEO strategist with 15+ years of hands-on experience driving organic growth for businesses worldwide. He specialises in technical SEO, content strategy and GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation), helping brands stay visible in both traditional search and AI-driven discovery.

• Technical SEO
• Content Strategy
• AI & GEO
• Google Ads
• E-Commerce SEO

LinkedInX / @TechCognateAll articles