Comparison — from the record, 2026-08-26
MailerLite vs Constant Contact: what the pricing pages actually say
OUR PICK
Our pick: MailerLite, for almost everyone comparing these two.
Both start at $12/month, but MailerLite gives you a genuinely free plan below it (250 subscribers, 2,500 emails), a cleaner editor, and prices that mean what they say. Constant Contact's $12 is a 'starting at' that climbs with your contact count, there's no free plan, and emails over your allowance are billed at $0.002 each — the bill grows quietly instead of stopping.
The other way: Pick Constant Contact if hand-holding is worth paying for — its live 1:1 onboarding is real and rare at this price, and its SMS marketing add-on matters for US local businesses that text their customers.
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
MailerLite — USD, read 2026-08-26
| Plan | Price | Contacts | What the page says |
|---|
| Free | Free | up to 250 | 2,500 monthly emails, 2 seats, 3 automations, 1 landing page, community support |
| Comfort | $12/mo ($10.8 annual) | from 500 (scales) | 5,000 monthly emails, 3 seats, 50 automations, 10 landing pages, removes MailerLite logo |
| Power | $25/mo ($22.5 annual) | from 500 (scales) | Unlimited emails, unlimited seats, unlimited automations & landing pages, 24/7 live chat |
| Enterprise | Custom | 200K+ | Custom volume, dedicated support |
Source: https://www.mailerlite.com/pricing · read 2026-08-26 (UTC) · Prices shown at the 500-subscriber base tier; annual billing saves 10% (annual per-month rates shown alongside). Prices rise with subscriber count. New Comfort/Power plan structure.
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
On the surface these two start at the same $12 a month. The pricing pages show two different philosophies underneath.
MailerLite's $12 Comfort tier is a flat, honest number at its 500-subscriber base: 5,000 monthly emails, 50 automations, 10 landing pages — and below it sits a real free plan a small newsletter can live on. When you outgrow the send limit, the upgrade is explicit: $25 for unlimited.
Constant Contact's $12 Lite is a 'starting at' — the price scales with contacts, and the page doesn't publish the bands. There is no free plan. And its most distinctive fine print cuts both ways: exceed your monthly send allowance and your emails still go out, billed at $0.002 per extra send — $2 per thousand. Kinder than a hard stop mid-campaign; quieter on your invoice.
What Constant Contact genuinely offers for the difference: live 1:1 onboarding with real humans — rare anywhere near this price — plus social tools and a US-centric SMS add-on from $10/month. It's the pick for the small business that wants to be walked through everything. For everyone comfortable clicking around a clean interface, MailerLite simply delivers more per dollar, more predictably.
Beyond the price tag
Getting started
Constant Contact's live onboarding is its best feature — a human helps you set up. MailerLite counters with an editor clean enough that most people don't need help.
Automation
MailerLite offers more automation at the low tiers (50 flows on Comfort). Constant Contact holds its automation strength for Standard at $35 and Premium at $80.
Channels
Constant Contact bundles social posting and SMS (US) alongside email — a mini marketing hub. MailerLite stays email-first and adds a creator toolkit: landing pages, websites, paid products.
Questions people actually search
Which has a free plan?
Only MailerLite — 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month, permanently. Constant Contact's page shows no free plan, only paid tiers from $12. Read 26 Aug 2026.
What happens if I send too much?
Different philosophies: MailerLite's Comfort tier has a 5,000/month limit (upgrade to lift it). Constant Contact keeps sending and bills you $0.002 per extra email — $2 per 1,000 over.
Is Constant Contact's $12 comparable to MailerLite's $12?
Not really: MailerLite's is a defined 500-subscriber tier; Constant Contact's is a 'starting at' that scales with contacts on unpublished bands. Same sticker, different contracts.
THE VERDICT, ONE MORE TIME
Our pick: MailerLite, for almost everyone comparing these two.
Both start at $12/month, but MailerLite gives you a genuinely free plan below it (250 subscribers, 2,500 emails), a cleaner editor, and prices that mean what they say. Constant Contact's $12 is a 'starting at' that climbs with your contact count, there's no free plan, and emails over your allowance are billed at $0.002 each — the bill grows quietly instead of stopping.
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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