Choosing between Mailchimp vs Constant Contact for small business email marketing is one of the most common decisions a small business owner faces, and the honest answer is that both tools can work. The right choice depends on how you send email, how much help you want, and how fast your list will grow. Mailchimp is the stronger pick when you want to start free, build automated email flows, and sell through an online store. Constant Contact is the stronger pick when you want a simple tool, a real person on the phone, and built-in tools for events.
In this guide, we compare the two platforms on price, ease of use, automation, templates, deliverability, events, and support, with a clear recommendation for different kinds of small businesses and answers to the questions owners ask most.
Quick Answer: Which One Wins for a Small Business?
For most small businesses, Mailchimp wins on value and flexibility, while Constant Contact wins on simplicity and support. Mailchimp is the only one of the two with a permanent free plan, and its mid-tier plan includes far deeper automation at a lower typical price. Constant Contact has no free plan, only a free trial, but every paid plan includes live phone support and one-to-one onboarding.
If your email plan is mostly a regular newsletter, occasional promotions, and event invitations, Constant Contact will feel easier. If it includes welcome series, abandoned cart emails, and behavior-based segments, Mailchimp gives you more power for the money. If you are still weighing your options, our guide to the best email marketing platforms for beginners compares more tools for first-time senders.
Mailchimp vs Constant Contact at a Glance
| Feature | Mailchimp | Constant Contact |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes, 250 contacts, 500 sends a month | No, free trial only |
| Entry plan | Essentials, typically from around $13 a month | Lite, typically from around $12 a month |
| Mid-tier plan | Standard, typically from around $20 a month | Standard, typically from around $35 a month |
| Top plan | Premium, typically from around $350 a month | Premium, typically from around $80 a month |
| Automation | 4-step flows on Essentials, 200 flows on Standard | 1 path on Lite, 3 on Standard, custom on Premium |
| Templates | Around 100 modern templates | 200 plus ready-made templates |
| Event tools | Through third-party apps | Built in, on every plan |
| Support | 24/7 email and chat, phone on Premium only | Live phone and chat on every paid plan |
| Best for | Online stores, growing lists, automation | Local businesses, nonprofits, events, beginners |
What Each Platform Does Best
Mailchimp started as an email tool for small businesses and grew into a broader marketing platform covering email, SMS, landing pages, and customer tools, with strong ecommerce connections to Shopify and WooCommerce. Its strength is depth: more automation, more segmentation options, and reporting that ties campaigns to orders and revenue.
Constant Contact has served small businesses since 1995, and it has stayed focused on one idea: email marketing should be usable by someone with no marketing background. Its strength is simplicity: a clean editor, a large template library, and support from a real person whenever you need it. Neither platform is a bad choice, but check that the plan you will actually use includes the features you need.
Pricing and Plans: What a Small Business Typically Pays
At the entry level, the two platforms cost almost the same: Mailchimp Essentials typically starts from around $13 a month at 500 contacts, while Constant Contact Lite typically starts from around $12 a month. The gap opens at the middle tier, where Mailchimp Standard typically starts from around $20 a month and Constant Contact Standard typically starts from around $35 a month. At the top end, the picture flips: Constant Contact Premium typically starts from around $80 a month, while Mailchimp Premium typically starts from around $350 a month.
Mailchimp offers four plans: Free, Essentials, Standard, and Premium. The free plan covers up to 250 contacts and 500 sends a month, with Mailchimp branding and limited templates, and most growing businesses outgrow it within a few months. Standard adds up to 200 automation flows and predictive segments. Constant Contact offers three plans: Lite, Standard, and Premium. Lite covers the basics with one automation template and one custom segment, Standard adds A/B testing and three automation templates, and Premium removes the limits and includes 500 SMS messages a month. Nonprofits can save up to 30 percent with Constant Contact.
Two hidden details change the real bill. First, Mailchimp counts unsubscribed contacts toward your billing tier until you archive or delete them, while Constant Contact stops billing for people who unsubscribe from email. Second, both platforms raise the price as your contact count crosses each tier. Check the current figures on the official Mailchimp pricing page and the official Constant Contact pricing page before you buy.
Ease of Use and Setup
Constant Contact is the easier tool to learn. Its dashboard is simple, its editor walks you through each step, and its templates are ready to send with only small edits. A first-time sender can build and send a newsletter in under half an hour, and every paid plan includes live one-to-one onboarding with a real person.
Mailchimp has more depth, which means more menus and more decisions during setup. Its editor is polished and modern, but a beginner will spend more time finding where things live. Onboarding help is limited on the lower plans: Essentials includes no personal session, while Standard includes one and Premium includes four.
Automation and Segmentation
Automation is the biggest gap between the two platforms, and it is where Mailchimp pulls clearly ahead. Mailchimp Standard supports flows of up to 200 steps with branching logic, so you can build sequences that react to what each subscriber does: if they click, send one email, if they ignore it, try a different angle. It also adds predictive segments and send-time optimization.
Constant Contact keeps automation deliberately simple. Lite allows one prebuilt path, such as a welcome or birthday email. Standard allows three, adds automatic resends to non-openers, and includes an AI campaign builder. Custom paths and ecommerce automations need Premium. That covers most small businesses, but it cannot match Mailchimp for behavior-based flows.
Segmentation follows the same pattern. Mailchimp combines behavior, purchase history, and engagement in one builder, while Constant Contact limits custom segments to one on Lite, ten on Standard, and unlimited on Premium. If your list is one audience and your campaigns are simple, you will not feel the gap.
Templates, Design, and Deliverability
Constant Contact has the larger template library, with more than 200 ready-made designs covering holidays, industries, event types, and seasonal campaigns. For a small business without a designer, starting from a template that already looks finished saves real time. Its editor is simpler and more linear.
Mailchimp has around 100 templates, but they look more modern, and its editor is more flexible. Dynamic content blocks on Standard let different subscribers see different content inside the same email. Free plan users get only basic templates, and the extra design power takes longer to learn.
Deliverability is closer than the marketing suggests. Independent testing has generally placed Constant Contact slightly ahead, with inbox placement in the high 80s to low 90s percent range. The difference is small, and your own list quality matters far more: clean lists, confirmed opt-ins, and proper domain authentication (SPF, DKIM, and DMARC) matter more than switching tools.
Events, SMS, and Ecommerce
Events are Constant Contact’s clearest advantage. Every plan includes event registration and ticketing with free or paid tickets, so you can send the invitation, collect RSVPs and payments, and follow up afterward from one account. Mailchimp has no built-in event tool, so you would connect a separate ticketing app.
For ecommerce, the advantage runs the other way. Mailchimp connects deeply with Shopify and WooCommerce. Constant Contact offers ecommerce segments on Standard, but its deeper ecommerce automations need Premium. On SMS, Constant Contact includes 500 messages a month on Premium, but it is US only.
Customer Support
Support is Constant Contact’s biggest advantage, and it is the reason many non-technical owners choose it. Every paid plan, including the lowest-priced Lite plan, includes live phone support, live chat, and email support, plus one-to-one onboarding.
Mailchimp offers 24/7 email and chat support on paid plans. The catch is phone support: it is reserved for Premium subscribers only. Free plan users get email support for the first 30 days, then lose access to direct support entirely.
Pros and Cons
Mailchimp pros: a free plan for very small lists, deeper automation and segmentation from the mid-tier plan, and stronger ecommerce integrations and revenue reporting.
Mailchimp cons: no phone support below the top plan, unsubscribed contacts count toward billing until archived, and the free plan now caps at 250 contacts.
Constant Contact pros: live phone and chat support on every paid plan, the simplest editor of the two, a large template library, built-in event registration and ticketing, and a much cheaper top tier.
Constant Contact cons: no permanent free plan, only a free trial, automation is limited until the top plan, and segmentation is capped by plan.
Which One Should You Pick?
Pick Mailchimp if you run an online store, if your list will grow past a few hundred contacts quickly, or if you want automated flows that react to subscriber behavior. It is also the better choice if you want to start free and upgrade only when your list earns its keep.
Pick Constant Contact if you run a local business, a nonprofit, or an association, if you send a regular newsletter and promote events, or if you want a person on the phone whenever you need help. It also suits a non-technical sender who wants a tool that stays out of the way.
A restaurant that sends a weekly special and runs monthly tasting events will be happier on Constant Contact. A small online shop that sends abandoned cart reminders will get more value from Mailchimp. Our local SEO guide for small business beginners covers the basics that bring new subscribers to your list.
How to Switch Without Losing Subscribers
Moving between the two platforms is straightforward, but a little planning protects your list. Both tools export and import contacts as CSV files. Templates can move as exported HTML, but automations do not transfer, so plan time to rebuild any active sequences on the new platform.
Before you move, clean your list. Remove bounced addresses and people who have not opened an email in a year, because dead contacts cost money on both platforms and hurt deliverability. Then set up domain authentication, send a short welcome email explaining the change.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Constant Contact or Mailchimp cheaper?
Mailchimp is cheaper on most plans and list sizes, with a free plan and a Standard plan that typically costs less than Constant Contact Standard. Constant Contact is cheaper on the top tier, where Premium typically starts far below Mailchimp Premium.
Does Constant Contact have a free plan?
No. Constant Contact has no permanent free plan, only a free trial with no credit card required. Mailchimp is the only one of the two with a free plan, capped at 250 contacts and 500 sends a month.
Which has better automation, Constant Contact or Mailchimp?
Mailchimp, from its Standard plan, with flows of up to 200 steps, branching logic, send-time optimization, and predictive segments. Constant Contact allows one prebuilt path on Lite and three on Standard, and custom paths need Premium.
Which is easier for a non-technical small business?
Constant Contact. Its editor is simpler, its templates are ready to send, and live phone and chat support plus one-to-one onboarding come with every paid plan. Mailchimp is more capable but has more to learn, and phone support is limited to Premium.
Which is better for events?
Constant Contact. Every plan includes event registration and ticketing with free or paid tickets, so invitations, RSVPs, payments, and follow-ups happen in one account. Mailchimp needs a separate ticketing app.
Which is better for an online store?
Mailchimp. It has deeper ecommerce integrations with Shopify and WooCommerce, and campaign reports show orders and revenue. Constant Contact includes ecommerce segments on Standard, but ecommerce automations need Premium.
Conclusion
Mailchimp vs Constant Contact for small business comes down to a simple trade: power or simplicity. Mailchimp gives you a free start, deeper automation, and stronger tools for online stores. Constant Contact gives you an easier editor, a person on the phone, and built-in event tools. List the three things you do most with email, pick the platform that does those three things best, and try it free before you pay.
