Constant Contact vs Mailchimp Comparison 2026
Constant Contact is built for a local business: templates, an event tool, a phone line to call, from $12 a month with no free plan. Mailchimp is built to connect to whatever else you already run, a shop, a booking tool, a CRM, with a free plan for a small list and Standard from $20 a month at 500 contacts. Constant Contact stays out of your way if you do not want to learn marketing software. Mailchimp is the one your other tools already talk to.
Email marketing aimed at small businesses
Email marketing with the longest integration list
At a glance
- Constant Contact starts cheaper, at $12.
- Only Mailchimp has a free tier.
Side by side
Constant Contact | Mailchimp | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $12 | From $20 |
| Pricing model (they differ) | Free trial, then paid | Free plan, paid tiers |
| Free tier (they differ) | No | Yes |
| Billing | Monthly or annual | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | Not stated | 14 days |
| API |
Constant Contact
Email marketing aimed at small businesses
Constant Contact is the one a local business gets recommended by its accountant, and that shapes the product: templates, an event tool, social posting, and support you can telephone. A creator running a list will find it plainer than the platforms built for newsletters. What it does well is stay out of the way of somebody who does not want to learn marketing software.
Our note
The list price rises after the introductory period, so quote yourself the second-year number before comparing. For a creator this is rarely the right pick against MailerLite or Brevo; for a business that will phone somebody when a send fails, it earns its keep.
Only on this side
- Covers social media management
Mailchimp
Email marketing with the longest integration list
Mailchimp is the default nobody gets fired for picking, and the reason is that whatever else you run already connects to it. The editor and the reporting are fine rather than good. Its pricing counts contacts rather than sends, so a large list you mail once a month costs the same as one you mail daily, which is the wrong shape for most creators.
Why people weigh these two
- Mailchimp instead of Constant Contact
- Mailchimp is the other name a small business hears first, with the longest integration list and a free tier; paid starts at $20 against Constant Contact's $12.
- Constant Contact instead of Mailchimp
- Constant Contact adds social post scheduling alongside email, aimed at a small business that wants both under one account.
Which one should you pick
Pick Constant Contact if you want software that assumes no technical knowledge, with support you can telephone and an event tool built in. It has no free plan, so the $12 a month Lite tier is the real floor, and the rate rises after the introductory period.
Pick Mailchimp if a shop, a form tool or a CRM already runs your business and needs to talk to your email list without custom work. The free plan covers a small list before anything is owed, and Standard starts at $20 a month once you outgrow it. Its own listing is direct that integrations should be the reason you choose it, not the editor.
Common questions
- Does Mailchimp have a free plan?
- Yes, for a small list, with Mailchimp's own branding on the footer. Standard starts at $20 a month at 500 contacts once you outgrow it. Constant Contact has no free plan at all; Lite starts at $12 a month, introductory, and rises later.
- Which is cheaper to start?
- Constant Contact, at $12 a month against Mailchimp's $20 for Standard. But Mailchimp's free plan costs nothing at all for a small list, which beats either paid starting price if your list still fits inside it.
- Do either of these connect to other software I already use?
- Mailchimp is built around that: whatever shop, booking tool or CRM you run, a connector for it already exists. Constant Contact's own strength is elsewhere, in support you can telephone and an events tool, not in the length of its integration list.
- Is Constant Contact's pricing tied to my list size the way Mailchimp's is?
- Mailchimp's price moves on a contact slider, so a big list mailed rarely costs the same as one mailed daily. Constant Contact's tiers are stated flat, from Lite at $12 to Premium at $80, though the message allowance itself also has its own add-on cost above the included amount.
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.