Constant Contact vs MailerLite Comparison 2026
Constant Contact's own listing names MailerLite directly as a better pick for a creator, and the numbers explain why. MailerLite is free to 250 subscribers and starts paid plans at $12 a month; Constant Contact has no free plan at all and starts at the same $12, introductory, rising afterward. Constant Contact is built for a local business that wants a phone line to call. MailerLite is built for a writer who cares about the bill as the list grows.
Email marketing aimed at small businesses
Email marketing that stays cheap as lists grow
At a glance
- Only MailerLite has a free tier.
Side by side
Constant Contact | MailerLite | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | From $12 | From $12 |
| 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 | Yes |
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
MailerLite
Email marketing that stays cheap as lists grow
MailerLite sends campaigns, runs automations and hosts the signup forms feeding them, and prices all of it under the tools it competes with. The editor is plain in a way that suits people who write more than they design. The free plan stops at 250 subscribers, which is a fraction of what beehiiv and Kit give away, so the comparison is really about what you pay at ten thousand.
Why people weigh these two
- MailerLite instead of Constant Contact
- MailerLite matches the $12 entry, adds a free tier, and is priced to stay cheap as the list grows.
- Constant Contact instead of MailerLite
- Constant Contact adds social post scheduling next to email, aimed at a small business running both from the same account.
Which one should you pick
Pick Constant Contact if you specifically want a phone line for support and an events tool bundled with your list, and technical marketing features are not the point. Its own listing admits a creator is rarely its right pick, so choose it for the phone line, not the sending.
Pick MailerLite if you are a creator who cares about the bill as the list grows. Free covers 250 subscribers to test deliverability before paying anything, and Comfort starts at $12 a month, the same sticker as Constant Contact's Lite tier, but MailerLite has a free floor underneath it and Constant Contact does not.
Common questions
- Why does Constant Contact's own listing recommend MailerLite?
- Because Constant Contact is built for a local business that wants a phone line and an event tool, not for a creator who cares about deliverability, automation or segmentation. Its own listing names MailerLite as one of the better picks for that second kind of buyer.
- Both list $12 a month. Which is the better $12?
- MailerLite's, because a free plan sits underneath it: 250 subscribers for nothing before you ever pay $12. Constant Contact's $12 is introductory with no free floor, and its own listing states the rate rises after the first period.
- Does MailerLite's price stay $12 as my list grows?
- No. The $12 is quoted against a subscriber count you pick on the page, so the number rises as the list does, the same shape as Constant Contact's rate rising after its introductory period. Compare both at the list size you expect to reach, not at the sticker.
- Which has the bigger free plan?
- MailerLite, by default, since Constant Contact has none. 250 subscribers for free is enough to test real deliverability before committing to either tool's paid tier.
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.