Comparison — from the record, 2026-08-26
Mailchimp vs Constant Contact: what the pricing pages actually say
OUR PICK
Between these two giants: Constant Contact, by a nose — but read the last paragraph.
Its $12 is a real price, not a 12-month promo that doubles; its live 1:1 onboarding is genuinely valuable for beginners; and when you exceed your send allowance your campaign keeps going (billed at $0.002/send) instead of pausing mid-send like Mailchimp's caps can.
The other way: Pick Mailchimp if its integration marketplace is the deciding factor — it's the biggest in the category and that ecosystem is Mailchimp's one unanswerable advantage. And know that our actual picks in this category beat both on price honesty: GetResponse for unlimited sending, MailerLite for budget lists — both compared on this site.
How to read this page: every number below was read from the vendor’s own public pricing page on the date shown, and the pages are re-checked daily. Currencies differ because that is what each vendor showed an EU visitor. Some links on this page are affiliate links — if you subscribe through one we earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. Per
our method, that never changes a number or a verdict. Source links always point to the vendor’s plain page.
The two pricing pages, side by side
Mailchimp — USD, read 2026-08-26
| Plan | Price | Contacts | What the page says |
|---|
| Free | Free | Under 250 | Core features; sending pauses if contact or send limit is exceeded |
| Essentials | $13/mo | starts at 500 | $6.50/mo first 12 months (promo). Sends capped at 10x contacts, 3 seats, automation flows limited to 4 steps |
| Standard | $20/mo | starts at 500 | $10/mo first 12 months (promo). Sends capped at 12x contacts, 5 seats, up to 200 automation flows, generative AI add-on |
| Premium | $350/mo | unlimited | $175/mo first 12 months (promo). Sends capped at 15x contacts, unlimited seats, priority support |
Source: https://mailchimp.com/pricing/marketing/ · read 2026-08-26 (UTC) · Prices shown are the 'starts at' base tier (500 contacts) as read from the page; every paid plan was displayed with a 50%-off-for-12-months promo. Prices rise with contact count.
Constant Contact — USD, read 2026-08-26
| Plan | Price | Contacts | What the page says |
|---|
| Lite | $12/mo | starting tier (scales) | Core email + social tools, live onboarding, sends billed over allowance |
| Standard | $35/mo | starting tier (scales) | Automation tools, more sends; the recommended tier |
| Premium | $80/mo | starting tier (scales) | Advanced automation & segmentation, 500 SMS messages included |
Source: https://www.constantcontact.com/pricing · read 2026-08-26 (UTC) · All prices are 'starting at' — they scale with contact count. Sends over the monthly allowance are billed at $0.002 per extra send ($2 per 1,000) rather than paused.
What the record says
These are the two names every small business hears first, and the pricing pages reward a careful read more than any other pairing we've verified.
Mailchimp leads with promos: the advertised $6.50 and $10 are 12-month discounts on real prices of $13 and $20 at a 500-contact base that climbs through bands. Every paid plan caps monthly sends at 10–15× your contacts, with overage charges or pauses beyond. The free tier (under 250 contacts) is real but pauses sending over its limits.
Constant Contact prices straight — $12 / $35 / $80, all 'starting at' and scaling with contacts — with no doubling promo anywhere on the page. Its overflow philosophy is the opposite of Mailchimp's: emails over your allowance still go out, billed at $0.002 apiece. No free plan, though; only trials.
So the honest summary: Mailchimp teaches you a price that isn't real and can stop your campaign at the cap; Constant Contact tells you a real price and lets your bill quietly grow instead. Between the two, we'd rather know the real price — hence the verdict. But if you're not locked to either brand, the same money buys more honest structures elsewhere in this category: flat unlimited sending (GetResponse) or a cleaner budget ladder with a true free plan (MailerLite).
Beyond the price tag
Ecosystem
Mailchimp's integration marketplace is the category's largest — if your tools connect to Mailchimp first, that's its trump card. Constant Contact integrates plenty but can't match the long tail.
Hand-holding
Constant Contact's live 1:1 onboarding stands out at this price point. Mailchimp's polish substitutes documentation and familiarity for humans.
Channels
Constant Contact bundles social tools and US SMS marketing. Mailchimp's strengths concentrate in email, ecommerce reporting and its AI features on higher tiers.
Questions people actually search
Which is cheaper?
At the sticker, Constant Contact ($12 real) beats Mailchimp's $13-after-promo. Both scale with contact count on partially unpublished bands — so at larger sizes, neither page lets you compare precisely. We don't guess; our tracker records more bands over time.
What happens when I hit send limits?
Mailchimp: caps at 10–15× contacts with overage charges or pauses. Constant Contact: sends continue, billed $0.002 per extra email. Know which failure mode you prefer.
Is either your overall category pick?
No — GetResponse (flat, unlimited sends) and MailerLite (honest budget ladder with a real free plan) beat both on pricing structure. Both comparisons are on this site with the receipts.
THE VERDICT, ONE MORE TIME
Between these two giants: Constant Contact, by a nose — but read the last paragraph.
Its $12 is a real price, not a 12-month promo that doubles; its live 1:1 onboarding is genuinely valuable for beginners; and when you exceed your send allowance your campaign keeps going (billed at $0.002/send) instead of pausing mid-send like Mailchimp's caps can.
We verified the prices and plan limits on both vendors' own pages (dates shown above). Feature descriptions are aggregated from the vendors' public materials. What we did not verify is listed in full in our method. The method →
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