Userlist vs Customer.io: B2B Specialist vs Enterprise Power

Overview

Userlist and Customer.io both serve SaaS companies, but with different approaches. Userlist is purpose-built for B2B SaaS with native company-level tracking. Customer.io is the powerful generalist that can handle any use case with enough configuration.

If you sell to businesses (teams, organizations, companies), this comparison matters. If you sell to individuals, Customer.io is likely the better fit regardless.

Key Differences

Company-Level Tracking

Userlist was built from the ground up for B2B. Companies are a first-class concept - you can track company-level attributes (MRR, plan, team size), segment by company properties, and message based on collective team behavior. Need to email all admins in companies that haven't logged in for 30 days? That's straightforward in Userlist.

Customer.io can do company tracking through their "objects" feature, but it requires custom setup. You need to define relationships, configure data structures, and build the logic yourself. It's flexible but not built-in. For sophisticated B2B use cases, expect significant implementation work.

User Roles and Relationships

Userlist understands that B2B products have different user roles - admins, members, billing contacts. You can segment by role, send role-appropriate messages, and handle the complexity of multi-user accounts natively.

Customer.io treats all contacts as individuals by default. You can model roles as attributes, but the platform doesn't inherently understand multi-user structures. This works but requires more planning.

Automation Power

Customer.io wins on raw automation capability. Multi-step workflows with unlimited branches, A/B testing within sequences, sophisticated wait conditions, and more channels (SMS, push). If you need complex automated journeys, Customer.io has more power.

Userlist has solid automation but less sophisticated than Customer.io. For most B2B SaaS email needs - onboarding, trial conversion, feature adoption - Userlist's automation is sufficient. You'll only hit limits with very complex scenarios.

Pricing Comparison

Customer.io is generally cheaper per contact. But Userlist's pricing reflects the B2B-specific features that would require significant custom work in Customer.io. Consider the total cost of implementation, not just the subscription price.

Pros and Cons

Who Should Choose What

Choose Userlist if:

• You sell to companies/teams, not individuals
• You need company-level tracking and segmentation
• Your product has different user roles (admin, member)
• You want B2B features without custom implementation
• You're a small team without dedicated marketing engineers

Choose Customer.io if:

• You need the most powerful automation available
• Multi-channel messaging is important (SMS, push)
• You have resources to implement custom B2B tracking
• Your use case requires maximum flexibility
• Cost per contact matters more than time to implement

The Bottom Line

This comparison comes down to: do you want B2B-specific features built in, or maximum flexibility with more implementation work?

If your SaaS sells to companies and you want to segment by company attributes, track company-level engagement, and handle multi-user accounts naturally, Userlist does this out of the box. The premium pricing reflects features that would cost you engineering time in Customer.io.

If you have resources to invest in custom implementation and need Customer.io's superior automation power and multi-channel capabilities, it can absolutely handle B2B use cases. Just budget time for the setup.

For most B2B SaaS founders without dedicated marketing engineers, Userlist's native B2B features are worth the premium. The time saved on implementation often exceeds the price difference.