Startup Program

Grow Your Startup With Customer.io

Send personalized emails, push notifications, and SMS messages to lower churn and drive revenue.

About Our Startup Program

The goal of Customer.io’s startup program is to give businesses access to a best-in-class messaging tool that harnesses real-time behavioral data and advanced segmentation for those who normally wouldn’t have the opportunity due to funding and budgetary restrictions.

We’re passionate about supporting small startups because not too long ago, we were one.

The mission of our startup team is to help small businesses grow using Customer.io as an integral part of their business and messaging strategy.

Plans and Pricing

Startup Basic

Free for 12-months

Startup Basic includes everything you need to start sending messages to your customers.

Up to 12,000 users*
Customer Community Support
Send emails
Send SMS, push notifications, webhooks
$1,800 value

APPLY TO STARTUP BASIC

Startup +Plus

$100 per month for 12-months

Startup +Plus includes all basic features plus additional technical and onboarding support.

Up to 100,000 users*
Limited Technical Support
1-hour onboarding and planning call
Send emails
Send SMS, push notifications, webhooks
$12,000 value

APPLY TO STARTUP +PLUS

Program Requirements

To be eligible for Customer.io’s startup program, all businesses must meet the following qualifications*:

Funding

Your business has raised less than $2 million in total funding.

Contacts

Contact lists cannot be purchased. Lists must be acquired through traditional business methods.

Membership

Your business must be an active member of at least one of our startup partner’s organizations.

Service

Your business is currently not and has never been a customer of Customer.io.

* Falsely misrepresenting your eligibility for the Customer.io startup program set out above may constitute a material breach of the Terms of Service and could result in the termination of your subscription agreement and/or the removal of any discount applied to your purchase. Furthermore, you may be required to repay Customer.io for any discounts received as a result of falsely misrepresenting your eligibility.

Apply to the Startup Program

“Can’t recommend the Customer.io Startup Program enough if you need a marketing automation tool that just gets out of the way. We’ve looked at every tool in the space and Customer.io is hands-down the most feature rich, has all the integrations you need and the startup offer is very generous.”

David Chouinard Cofounder of candor.co

Join Hundreds of Other Startups

Use Customer.io to improve your customer messaging experience, onboarding series, engagement, and so much more…

Our Startup Partners

Frequent questions and their answers

Do I need a credit card to sign up?

Yes. We keep a card on file for all of our startup program companies. We do this for overages and will also begin charging this card at our normal rate after your initial 12-month deal expires.

Can I change plans after I start?

Yes. After you apply and are accepted into the startup program, you can upgrade or downgrade your plan at any time to suit your business needs. However, changing plans does not extend your plan length.

I’m not sure if I qualify for the startup program – what should I do?

Check out the requirements above on this page and apply if you meet them. Our team will review your application and respond quickly to your inquiry. We reserve the right to not accept any company for any reason.

Which plan makes sense for my business?

That depends. If you think your team will need support and/or you have a lot of users (over 20k) then we’d recommend the Customer.io Startup +Plus plan. If you have less than 12k users and think your team can get up and running without our help, we’d recommend our free basic plan.

I didn’t get accepted into the startup program. Now what?

That’s okay! You can still use our product! Let us know you’re still interested and our sales team will help get you set up on a plan that makes sense for you.

How often are applications reviewed?

Applications are reviewed weekly. All applicants will be contacted upon approval only.

What type of support do I have access to?

If you’re on our Basic Startup Plan, then your support is limited, although community support is available.

If you’re on our Startup +Plus plan you have access to support. Please email startups@customer.io with as much detail as possible about your issue.

What are overages? How and when will I be charged for them?

Overages are calculated based on the number of customer profiles you have in your Customer.io account. These overages are only charged when the number of profiles you have in your account exceeds your plans allotted amount (12K for Basic, 100K for Plus). If overages occur, we will charge the card we have on file.

The overage fee for Startup Basic is $0.008 per profile, and it’s $0.004 per profile on Startup Plus.

I’m looking for a higher level of support – what should I do?

Please email startups@customer.io. We can discuss which paid option gets you the support you need.

We are a bootstrapped company who has not received financial backing from one of your partners. Can we apply to the startup program?

We offer a special startup program for bootstrapped companies and are currently accepting a limited amount of companies to this program. You can learn more and apply here.

Who can I contact if I have additional questions?

Please send all questions to startups@customer.io.

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