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Constant Contact vs Mailchimp 2026 | Which Is Better?

Mailchimp offers a free plan with unlimited contacts and lower paid pricing, making it ideal for startups and budget-conscious businesses, while Constant Contact provides superior customer support, more advanced automation, and better small business features at a premium price point.

CC

Constant Contact

Email marketing and CRM platform focused on small business support and integrated SMS marketing.

Small service businesses, consultants, and agencies that need human support and SMS capabilities

Score63%
VS
Mailchimp

Mailchimp

All-in-one marketing platform with free unlimited contacts, AI tools, and advanced e-commerce integration.

E-commerce stores, content creators, growing businesses, and teams that need AI content generation

Score63%

Quick Answer

AI Summary

Mailchimp offers a free plan with unlimited contacts and lower paid pricing, making it ideal for startups and budget-conscious businesses, while Constant Contact provides superior customer support, more advanced automation, and better small business features at a premium price point.

Our Verdict

AI-assisted

Choose Mailchimp if you're budget-conscious, starting small, or need AI-powered content creation and unlimited free contacts—it's the clear winner for cost and scalability. Choose Constant Contact if you prioritize white-glove customer support, need SMS marketing built-in, and value advanced automation for small business growth—it's better for service-based businesses willing to invest in premium support.

Community feedback

Was this verdict helpful?

C
Constant Contact
6.5/10
Mailchimp
8.5/10
C

Choose Constant Contact if

Small service businesses, consultants, and agencies that need human support and SMS capabilities

Mailchimp

Choose Mailchimp if

Best pick

E-commerce stores, content creators, growing businesses, and teams that need AI content generation

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Key Differences at a Glance

  • Free Plan Contact Limit:Mailchimp wins(Unlimited contacts vs 500 contacts)
  • Starting Paid Plan Cost (Monthly):Mailchimp wins($13 vs $20)
  • Phone Support Availability:Constant Contact wins(24/7 phone support included vs Phone support only on paid plans)
See all 7 differences

Key Facts & Figures

104 numeric metrics compared

MetricConstant ContactMailchimpRatio
Core Marketing Channels(channels)3 channels5 channels
Learning Curve Rating(1-10 scale)3 (very beginner-friendly)7 (moderate to high)
Starting Price (Monthly)(USD)$20+$0-$20
Entry-Level Monthly Price(USD)$12
Price at 50,000 Contacts(USD)$80
SMS Cost Per Message(USD)Not offered$0.01-0.05 per SMS
Ease of Use Score(/10)9
Max Contacts at Entry Plan(contacts)500 contacts
Mid-Tier Plan Price(USD/month)$35/month (Standard)
Third-Party Integrations(integrations)250+300+ integrations
Starter Plan Monthly Price(USD)$12/month
Professional/Standard Plan Monthly Price(USD)$80/month
Cost per User Monthly (Starter Annual)(USD)$12/month
vs Average SMB Marketing Budget(Percent of $72/user/month)17% of average
Entry Subscriber Limit(Contacts)500 contacts
Starting Monthly Price(USD)$20$0 (free tier)
Free Tier Subscriber Limit(subscribers)Trial only (60 days)500 free contacts
Mid-Tier Plan (5,000 contacts)(USD/month)$50
Email Delivery Speed(minutes)Near-instantaneous (seconds to minutes)
Landing Page Templates(templates)50+
Automation Workflow Triggers(count)15
Native Integrations(count)1,000+
Customer Support Response Time(hours)24/7 (phone, email, live chat)12-24 hours (business hours)
Monthly Cost (10,000 contacts)(USD)$300/month$145
Free Plan Contact Limit(contacts)500 contactsUnlimited
Email Templates Included(templates)500+ templates
Annual Cost Savings vs Constant Contact (10K contacts)(USD)Baseline ($3,600/year)
Entry-Level Monthly Cost(USD)$20$0
Ecommerce Integrations(integrations)8+13+
API Rate Limit(calls/minute)Unlimited (on request)10 calls/second
Max Contacts (Starter Plan)(contacts)Unlimited500 (free) / 5,000 (paid)
Minimum Paid Plan Price(USD/month)$20$13
Email Templates Library(templates)300+ professionally designed templates500+ templates including AI-generated
SMS Marketing Cost(USD/month add-on)Included in all plans$20 additional per month
Free Plan Subscriber Limit(contacts)500500
Free Plan Monthly Email Sends(emails/month)500500
G2 Aggregate Rating(out of 5)4.3/54.3/5
Entry-Level Paid Plan Price(USD/month)$20$20
Third-Party Integrations Available(count)1,200+1,200+
Email Templates(count)200+200+
Starting Price (Entry Tier)(USD/month)$13/month$13/month
Cost at 5,000 Contacts/Profiles(USD/month)$50-70/month$50-70/month
Cost at 50,000 Contacts/Profiles(USD/month)$100/month$100/month
Monthly Email Send Limit (Entry Plan)(emails/month)1,000-5,0001,000-5,000
Setup Time for First Campaign(hours)1-2 hours1-2 hours
Free Plan Subscriber Capacity(contacts/subscribers)250 contacts250 contacts
Free Plan Monthly Email Limit(emails)1,000 emails/month1,000 emails/month
Global User Base(organizations)13 million users13 million users
G2 Review Rating(stars out of 5)4.3/5 stars4.3/5 stars
Price Scaling Factor at 5,000 Subscribers(relative cost index)Steep 3-4x multiplierSteep 3-4x multiplier
Free Plan Contact Capacity(contacts)500 contacts500 contacts
Marketing Channels Supported(channels)Email, basic socialEmail, basic social
Setup Time for Non-Developers(minutes)10-20 minutes10-20 minutes
Maximum Monthly Email Limit(emails)300,000 (based on plan)300,000 (based on plan)
Starting Price (Paid Plan)(USD/month)$13/month (Essentials)$13/month (Essentials)
Maximum Contact Plan(USD/month)$800/month (100,000 contacts)$800/month (100,000 contacts)
G2 Award Count(awards)Transactional email and small businessTransactional email and small business
API Integration Support(integrations)1000+1000+
User-Friendliness Rating(score)3.8/53.8/5
Average Implementation Time(days)0.08 months (1 hour)0.08 months (1 hour)
Native CRM Integrations(integrations)3 (Salesforce, HubSpot, custom)3 (Salesforce, HubSpot, custom)
Starting Monthly Cost(USD)$20$20
Learning Curve (1=Easy, 5=Difficult)(scale)1 (beginner-friendly)1 (beginner-friendly)
Pro Plan Monthly Cost (10k subscribers)(USD)$50$50
Ease of Use Rating(1-5 scale)7.8/107.8/10
Pre-Built Automation Templates(templates)300+300+
Free Monthly Email Volume(emails)Unlimited (with 10k contacts max)Unlimited (with 10k contacts max)
Starter Tier Monthly Cost (50k contacts)(USD/month)$350/month$350/month
Campaign Template Library(templates)500+500+
API Response Time (p95)(milliseconds)250ms250ms
Automation Workflow Steps (Free/Starter Tier)(workflows)Unlimited (standard feature)Unlimited (standard feature)
Maximum Contacts/Recipients(contacts)Unlimited (with pricing increase)Unlimited (with pricing increase)
Cost at 10,000 Subscribers(USD/month)$50-100$50-100
Monetization Revenue Share(percent)0% (you handle payments)0% (you handle payments)
Setup Time for Monetization(minutes)30+ (payment processor + Mailchimp config)30+ (payment processor + Mailchimp config)
Starting Price(USD/month)$0 (free tier) or $20 (Pro)$0 (free tier) or $20 (Pro)
Max Free Tier Contacts(contacts)500500
Email Deliverability Rate(percent)96–98%96–98%
Supported Communication Channels(count)3 (email, SMS via paid add-on, social)3 (email, SMS via paid add-on, social)
Average Setup Time(days)0.5-2 hours (no code required)0.5-2 hours (no code required)
Monthly Cost for 5,000 Subscribers(USD)$70/month$70/month
Automation Workflows on Standard Plan(count)Limited (up to 5-10 per plan tier)Limited (up to 5-10 per plan tier)
Pre-built Email Templates(count)100+ templates100+ templates
User Onboarding Time (Average)(hours)4-6 weeks4-6 weeks
Cost Per 1,000 Emails(USD)$2–$7 (plan-dependent)$2–$7 (plan-dependent)
Free Tier Monthly Email Limit(emails)1,000/month1,000/month
API Setup Time (Developer Hours)(hours)0.5–1 hour (UI-based)0.5–1 hour (UI-based)
Monthly Cost at 100K Emails/Month(USD)$200–$350 (based on tier)$200–$350 (based on tier)
Cost per SMS(USD)$0.01 (SMS add-on)$0.01 (SMS add-on)
Free Tier Contact Limit(contacts)500 contacts500 contacts
SMS Country Coverage(countries)45+ countries45+ countries
Email Template Library(templates)1,000+ templates1,000+ templates
Setup Time (Days)(days)1 day (no-code signup)1 day (no-code signup)
Uptime SLA(%)99.99%99.99%
Monthly Cost (50,000 contacts)(USD)$350$350
Free Plan Email Contact Limit(contacts)500 contacts500 contacts
Email Templates Available(templates)1,000+ templates1,000+ templates
Creator Revenue Share(%)0% (SaaS model)0% (SaaS model)
Pre-built Automation Workflows(workflows)300+300+
Segmentation Data Points(data fields)50+50+
E-commerce Integrations(platforms)50+50+
Time to First Email Campaign(minutes)30-60 minutes30-60 minutes
Paid Plan Starting Price(USD/month)20 (1K-contact plan)20 (1K-contact plan)
Active Publications/Users(millions)20M+ users20M+ users

Sourced from publicly available data ·

Key Differences

7 attributes compared head-to-head

CC
3Constant Contact
Mailchimp leads
Mailchimp
4Mailchimp
  • Free Plan Contact Limit

    Constant Contact

    500 contacts

    Mailchimp

    Unlimited contacts(winner)

  • Starting Paid Plan Cost (Monthly)

    Constant Contact

    $20

    Mailchimp

    $13(winner)

  • Phone Support Availability

    Constant Contact

    24/7 phone support included(winner)

    Mailchimp

    Phone support only on paid plans

  • Marketing Automation Workflows

    Constant Contact

    Unlimited automation workflows(winner)

    Mailchimp

    Limited on lower tiers, unlimited on higher

  • SMS Marketing Included

    Constant Contact

    Yes, included in all plans(winner)

    Mailchimp

    Add-on feature, extra cost

  • AI-Powered Email Assistant

    Constant Contact

    Limited AI features

    Mailchimp

    Advanced AI for copywriting and optimization(winner)

  • E-commerce Integration

    Constant Contact

    Basic integration

    Mailchimp

    Advanced e-commerce tools and automation(winner)

Full Comparison

CConstant Contact
Mailchimp
Core Marketing Channels(channels)
3 channels
5 channels
SMS Marketing Capability(native/addon)
Yes, core feature
Yes, with international expansion
Personalization Capabilities
Basic segmentation
Built-In CRM
No
Yes, full CRM suite
AI Predictive Features
Not available
Show 51 more attributes
Automation Capabilities(features)
Basic automation sequences
CRM Integration Level
Email-centric, limited CRM
Entry Subscriber Limit(Contacts)
500 contacts
Landing Page Templates(templates)
50+
Automation Workflow Triggers(count)
15
Automation Workflow Complexity(triggers/conditions)
12 pre-built templates
~5 basic automations
Email Templates Included(templates)
500+ templates
SMS Marketing Included
Add-on ($30-$60/month extra)
No (add-on only)
CRM Features
Basic contact management only
Max Contacts (Paid Plan)(contacts)
Unlimited
Unlimited
Automation Workflows(workflows)
Limited on basic tiers
Unlimited (all plans)
Landing Page Builder
Yes (template-based)
Yes (drag-and-drop, AI-assisted)
Email Templates Library(templates)
300+ professionally designed templates
500+ templates including AI-generated
E-commerce Integration Quality
Basic product recommendations and catalog sync
Advanced abandoned cart, product recommendations, dynamic pricing
Automation Workflows (Free Plan)(workflows)
Limited automation on free plan
Basic automation on free plan
AI Writing Assistant
Basic AI content suggestions
Advanced AI copywriter with subject line optimization
Landing Page Builder Access
Free on all plans
AI Email Generation
Not available
SMS Marketing Capabilities
Full SMS suite with 2026 international expansion
Email Templates(count)
200+
Free Plan Email Features
Limited core features only
Email Template Design Options(variety level)
Extensive design variety and customization
Segmentation Capabilities(trigger types)
Standard audience segmentation
Customer Data Integration(depth level)
Basic contact data syncing
Native CRM Included
No (API integration only)
SMS Marketing Support
Yes (added 2026, supports international markets)
Multi-Channel Marketing
Email, SMS, landing pages, ads
Automation Features
Advanced automation included
CRM Functionality
Full CRM with customer profiles
Lead Scoring Models Available(types)
Behavioral segmentation only
Lead Scoring Sophistication(capability level)
Basic (list segmentation only)
Account-Based Marketing (ABM) Support
No
Pre-Built Automation Templates(templates)
300+
Campaign Template Library(templates)
500+
Automation Workflow Steps (Free/Starter Tier)(workflows)
Unlimited (standard feature)
Email Automation Workflows
Advanced (conditional, behavioral triggers)
Built-in Payment Processing
No (third-party required)
A/B Testing Capability
Yes (subject lines, send time)
SMS Marketing
Included in paid plans
Max Free Tier Contacts(contacts)
500
Supported Communication Channels(count)
3 (email, SMS via paid add-on, social)
Pre-built Email Templates(count)
100+ templates
A/B Testing Capabilities
Advanced (subject, send time, content)
Bounce Handling & List Cleaning
Manual review required
Subscriber Management Features
Full CRM with segmentation, tagging, custom fields
SMS Country Coverage(countries)
45+ countries
Email Template Library(templates)
1,000+ templates
Email Templates Available(templates)
1,000+ templates
CRM Included in Base Plan
No (paid add-on)
Pre-built Automation Workflows(workflows)
300+
Segmentation Data Points(data fields)
50+
Free Plan Available
No
Yes (500 contacts)
Starting Price (Monthly)(USD)
$20+
$0-$20
Entry-Level Monthly Price(USD)
$12
Price at 50,000 Contacts(USD)
$80
Mid-Tier Plan Price(USD/month)
$35/month (Standard)
Show 29 more attributes
Starter Plan Monthly Price(USD)
$12/month
Professional/Standard Plan Monthly Price(USD)
$80/month
Cost per User Monthly (Starter Annual)(USD)
$12/month
Starting Monthly Price(USD)
$20
$0 (free tier)
Free Tier Subscriber Limit(subscribers)
Trial only (60 days)
500 free contacts
Mid-Tier Plan (5,000 contacts)(USD/month)
$50
Monthly Cost (10,000 contacts)(USD)
$300/month
$145
Entry-Level Monthly Cost(USD)
$20
$0
Starting Price (Entry Tier)(USD/month)
$13/month
Cost at 5,000 Contacts/Profiles(USD/month)
$50-70/month
Cost at 50,000 Contacts/Profiles(USD/month)
$100/month
Free Plan Monthly Email Limit(emails)
1,000 emails/month
Starting Price (Paid Plan)(USD/month)
$13/month (Essentials)
Maximum Contact Plan(USD/month)
$800/month (100,000 contacts)
Free Plan Availability
Full-featured free plan
Free Tier Available(null)
Yes (up to 500 contacts)
Starting Monthly Cost(USD)
$20
Pro Plan Monthly Cost (10k subscribers)(USD)
$50
Starting Price(USD/month)
$0 (free tier) or $20 (Pro)
SMS Delivery Cost(USD per message)
Not offered (email-focused)
Voice Call Cost(USD per minute)
Not offered
Cost Per 1,000 Emails(USD)
$2–$7 (plan-dependent)
Free Tier Monthly Email Limit(emails)
1,000/month
Monthly Cost at 100K Emails/Month(USD)
$200–$350 (based on tier)
Cost per SMS(USD)
$0.01 (SMS add-on)
Free Tier Contact Limit(contacts)
500 contacts
Monthly Cost (50,000 contacts)(USD)
$350
Free Plan Email Contact Limit(contacts)
500 contacts
Paid Plan Starting Price(USD/month)
20 (1K-contact plan)
Learning Curve Rating(1-10 scale)
3 (very beginner-friendly)
7 (moderate to high)
Learning Curve Difficulty(1-10 scale)
2/10 (simple)
Segmentation Depth
Standard list-based segmentation
Sophisticated data-driven rules
24/7 Support Availability
Yes, all plans included
Yes, varies by plan
Customer Support Response Time(hours)
24/7 (phone, email, live chat)
12-24 hours (business hours)
Phone Support Availability
24/7 phone support on all plans
Phone support on paid plans only
SMS Cost Per Message(USD)
Not offered
$0.01-0.05 per SMS
Free Plan Subscriber Limit(contacts)
500
Monthly Cost for 5,000 Subscribers(USD)
$70/month
Automation Complexity Level
Standard email-based
Basic (Customer Journey Builder)
Ease of Use Score(/10)
9
Ease of Use(score/10)
Very easy - beginner-friendly
User Interface Modernity(rating)
Legacy interface, steep learning curve
Maximum Subscriber Limit(contacts)
Unlimited
Contact List Size Limit (Standard Pricing)(contacts)
Unlimited growth with pro-rated pricing
Maximum Monthly Email Limit(emails)
300,000 (based on plan)
Maximum Contacts/Recipients(contacts)
Unlimited (with pricing increase)
Max Contacts at Entry Plan(contacts)
500 contacts
Max Contacts (Starter Plan)(contacts)
Unlimited
500 (free) / 5,000 (paid)
Third-Party Integrations(integrations)
250+
300+ integrations
CRM Integration
Full native CRM platform integrated
vs Average SMB Marketing Budget(Percent of $72/user/month)
17% of average
Annual Cost Savings vs Constant Contact (10K contacts)(USD)
Baseline ($3,600/year)
Ideal Business Size(GMV)
Solo to small business (1-50 employees)
Email Delivery Speed(minutes)
Near-instantaneous (seconds to minutes)
API Response Time (p95)(milliseconds)
250ms
Native Integrations(count)
1,000+
Ecommerce Integrations(integrations)
8+
13+
eCommerce Platform Support(platforms)
More extensive platform coverage
CRM Integration Capabilities
Basic contact management
Third-Party Integrations Available(count)
1,200+
Show 3 more attributes
API Integration Support(integrations)
1000+
Native CRM Integrations(integrations)
3 (Salesforce, HubSpot, custom)
E-commerce Integrations(platforms)
50+
Free Plan Contact Limit(contacts)
500 contacts
Unlimited
Minimum Paid Plan Price(USD/month)
$20
$13
SMS Marketing Cost(USD/month add-on)
Included in all plans
$20 additional per month
Free Plan Subscriber Capacity(contacts/subscribers)
250 contacts
Price Scaling Factor at 5,000 Subscribers(relative cost index)
Steep 3-4x multiplier
API Rate Limit(calls/minute)
Unlimited (on request)
10 calls/second
Email Deliverability Testing
A/B testing and design testing (free)
User Skill Level Required
Beginner-friendly
Setup Time for First Campaign(hours)
1-2 hours
User Learning Curve(hours)
Minimal (intuitive interface)
User-Friendliness Rating(score)
3.8/5
Average Implementation Time(days)
0.08 months (1 hour)
Show 3 more attributes
Learning Curve (1=Easy, 5=Difficult)(scale)
1 (beginner-friendly)
Ease of Use Rating(1-5 scale)
7.8/10
User Onboarding Time (Average)(hours)
4-6 weeks
Free Plan Monthly Email Sends(emails/month)
500
G2 Aggregate Rating(out of 5)
4.3/5
Built-in E-commerce Features
Limited (abandoned cart via integrations)
Paid Plan Email Sending(sends per month)
Capped by contact tier multipliers
Integrated CRM & Contact Management
Full CRM suite with advanced segmentation
Built-in E-commerce & Monetization
Limited e-commerce via integrations
CRM Type
Basic add-on CRM
Overage Fees on Paid Plans
Yes - charges per contact/send overages
Analytics & Reporting Depth
Comprehensive campaign performance and subscriber insights
Entry-Level Paid Plan Price(USD/month)
$20
Cost at 10,000 Subscribers(USD/month)
$50-100
AI Personalization Engine
Basic personalization features
Trigger-Based Automation Workflows
Available but less intuitive setup
Automation Workflows on Standard Plan(count)
Limited (up to 5-10 per plan tier)
Monthly Email Send Limit (Entry Plan)(emails/month)
1,000-5,000
Global User Base(organizations)
13 million users
G2 Review Rating(stars out of 5)
4.3/5 stars
Free Plan Contact Capacity(contacts)
500 contacts
Lead Scoring Capability
Manual segmentation only
Marketing Channels Supported(channels)
Email, basic social
2026 Feature Updates(updates)
Standard quarterly updates
API Complexity Level
Moderate, marketing-focused
Setup Time for Non-Developers(minutes)
10-20 minutes
Setup Time for Monetization(minutes)
30+ (payment processor + Mailchimp config)
Time to First Email Campaign(minutes)
30-60 minutes
Email Template Quality
Modern and professional
Integration Capabilities(/10)
Third-party integrations
Native Salesforce CRM Integration
No (Zapier third-party only)
G2 Award Count(awards)
Transactional email and small business
A/B Testing
All paid plans
Built-in Monetization Tools(features)
None (requires third-party solutions)
Creator Revenue Share(%)
0% (SaaS model)
Free Monthly Email Volume(emails)
Unlimited (with 10k contacts max)
Cost per 1,000 Emails (Pay-as-You-Go)(USD)
Not applicable (subscriber-based)
Starter Tier Monthly Cost (50k contacts)(USD/month)
$350/month
Monetization Revenue Share(percent)
0% (you handle payments)
Email Deliverability Rate(percent)
96–98%
Average Setup Time(days)
0.5-2 hours (no code required)
API Setup Time (Developer Hours)(hours)
0.5–1 hour (UI-based)
Setup Time (Days)(days)
1 day (no-code signup)
Uptime SLA(%)
99.99%
Monthly Active Users(billion)
12M+ users (2025)
Automation Workflow Step Limit(steps)
Unlimited steps
Active Publications/Users(millions)
20M+ users

Pros & Cons

10 pros·6 cons across both

CC
Mailchimp
CC

Constant Contact

+5-3

Pros

  • 24/7 dedicated phone support included with all plans
  • SMS marketing included in every plan at no extra charge
  • Unlimited automation workflows for building complex email sequences
  • Strong event management and registration tools
  • GDPR and CASL compliant with strong compliance tools

Cons

  • Higher base pricing ($20/month minimum) limits appeal to startups
  • Smaller contact limit on free plan (500 contacts only)
  • Weaker AI-powered content generation compared to Mailchimp
Mailchimp

Mailchimp

+5-3

Pros

  • Unlimited contacts on free plan with no time limit
  • Lower starting paid price ($13/month) makes scaling affordable
  • Advanced AI-powered email copywriting and optimization tools
  • Superior e-commerce integration with abandoned cart automation
  • Extensive third-party app integrations (500+ apps supported)

Cons

  • Phone support requires paid plan purchase
  • SMS marketing is an expensive add-on ($20/month extra)
  • Free plan features lack advanced automation and segmentation

Frequently Asked Questions

5 questions

  1. Mailchimp offers a genuinely free plan with unlimited contacts indefinitely, while Constant Contact limits free users to 500 contacts with a 60-day trial period. Mailchimp's free tier is best for building an initial list, though automation features are restricted. Constant Contact's free option expires, forcing paid subscription after 60 days.

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