This article is the side-by-side I wish someone had handed me before I migrated a client's nonprofit list both directions in the same year. For the wider field, see best email marketing tools. For beginner-focused shortlists, best email marketing tools for beginners is the right next read.
TL;DR: which one to pick
| Scenario | Pick | Why |
|---|
| Small business, nonprofit, or association running events | Constant Contact | Native event registration, RSVP tracking, donation forms |
| General SMB email marketing with automation and ecommerce | Mailchimp | Better automations, deeper integrations, broader template library |
| Solo founder or freelancer prioritizing value | Neither — pick MailerLite | Both are pricier than newer SMB-focused tools |
At-a-glance comparison
| Constant Contact | Mailchimp |
|---|
| Free tier | No free plan; 60-day free trial only | 250 contacts, 500 sends/mo, 250/day cap |
| Paid entry (500 contacts) | Lite ~$12/month, Standard ~$35/month, Premium ~$80/month | Essentials ~$13/month, Standard ~$20/month |
| Paid entry (5,000 contacts) | Lite ~$80/month, Standard ~$110/month, Premium ~$170/month | Essentials ~$60/month, Standard ~$85/month |
| Paid entry (10,000 contacts) | Lite ~$120/month, Standard ~$170/month, Premium ~$260/month | Essentials ~$110/month, Standard ~$150/month |
| Best for | Event-driven SMB, nonprofits, associations, local businesses | All-in-one SMB marketing with automation |
| Automation depth | Basic on Lite, Standard adds automations and resending; not as deep as Mailchimp Standard | Customer Journeys on Standard+; mature visual builder |
| Templates | ~200 templates, industry-skewed | 100+ templates plus a marketplace |
| Integrations | 100+, with native event registration and donation tools | 300+ apps, broader categories |
| Events | Native event registration with RSVP tracking, payments, attendee management | Event invites only; no native RSVP/payment tooling |
| EmailToolScout rating | 3.8 / 5 | 4.2 / 5 |
One-line verdict: Mailchimp wins for general SMB email marketing. Constant Contact wins narrowly for event-heavy small businesses and nonprofits.
Pricing showdown
Constant Contact is the only tool in this matchup without a forever-free plan. That alone disqualifies it for many bootstrapped use cases, where Mailchimp's 250-contact free tier is at least a starting point.
- Free trial: 60 days, full features
- Lite: ~$12/month at 500 contacts, ~$35/month at 2,500, ~$80/month at 5,000, ~$120/month at 10,000 (basic email, single-step automations, event marketing tools)
- Standard: ~$35/month at 500, ~$80/month at 2,500, ~$110/month at 5,000, ~$170/month at 10,000 (multi-step automations, A/B subject testing, contact segmentation, marketing CRM)
- Premium: ~$80/month at 500, ~$135/month at 2,500, ~$170/month at 5,000, ~$260/month at 10,000 (SEO recommendations, dynamic content, custom automations, ad campaigns, dedicated account consulting)
The hidden cost on Constant Contact: contact billing includes all stored contacts, including unsubscribed and inactive. Lists tend to bloat over time, and Constant Contact's plan jumps are steeper than Mailchimp's.
Mailchimp pricing ladder (2026, USD, monthly)
- Free: 250 contacts, 500 sends/mo, 250/day cap, 1 audience, 1 seat
- Essentials: ~$13/month at 500, ~$26/month at 1,500, ~$60/month at 5,000, ~$110/month at 10,000
- Standard: ~$20/month at 500, ~$35/month at 1,500, ~$85/month at 5,000, ~$150/month at 10,000 (Customer Journeys, predictive segmentation)
- Premium: $299+/month at small lists
The hidden cost on Mailchimp: same contact-bloat problem, but the entry tier is meaningfully cheaper than Constant Contact at every band.
Verdict on price: Mailchimp is cheaper at every comparable tier. At 5,000 contacts, you save about $20-30/month on Essentials vs Constant Contact Lite, and about $25/month on Standard vs Standard. Constant Contact's pricing only makes sense if you actively use the event marketing or nonprofit-specific features bundled in.
Features face-off
Email editor
Constant Contact's editor is functional and beginner-friendly, with an industry-skewed template library (~200 templates organized for restaurants, real estate, nonprofits, salons, etc.). The drag-and-drop is mature but feels slightly dated compared to newer tools.
Mailchimp's editor is more polished, with brand-style management on paid tiers, a deeper template marketplace, and modern block layouts. Mailchimp 2026 is significantly better than Mailchimp 2018.
Verdict: Mailchimp for design-forward layouts. Constant Contact if you want industry-specific templates that look "right" without customization.
Automation
Constant Contact's automation is basic on Lite (welcome series, single-step triggers). Standard adds multi-step automations, contact segmentation, and resending to non-openers. The automation builder works but is shallower than Mailchimp Standard.
Mailchimp's Customer Journeys on Standard+ are mature: visual builder, branching, goals, conditional waits, pre-built journey maps. Essentials offers basic single-step automations.
Verdict: Mailchimp wins, comfortably. If automation matters, this category alone tips the decision toward Mailchimp Standard.
Events
This is the category where Constant Contact actually wins.
Constant Contact includes native event registration: create an event landing page, collect RSVPs, accept payments through integrated payment processors, send reminder emails, and track attendance. It is genuinely useful for nonprofits, associations, training providers, and local businesses running classes or workshops.
Mailchimp lets you send event invites and link out to Eventbrite or similar. There is no native RSVP, no native payments, no native attendee management.
Verdict: Constant Contact, by a wide margin, for event-driven businesses.
Reporting
Both tools cover the basics: opens, clicks, unsubscribes, click maps, comparative reports.
Constant Contact's reporting is clean and includes social engagement (when integrated). It does not match Mailchimp's depth on revenue attribution or predictive insights.
Mailchimp's reports are richer with comparative reports across campaigns, predictive segmentation insights on higher tiers, and a more polished revenue dashboard for connected stores.
Verdict: Mailchimp for marketers who live in dashboards. Constant Contact for "good enough" SMB reporting.
Integrations
Constant Contact has 100+ integrations covering the SMB stack: Shopify, WooCommerce, QuickBooks, Eventbrite, Canva, Zapier, plus native event and donation tools.
Mailchimp has 300+ apps and a deeper Zapier ecosystem. If your stack includes obscure tools, Mailchimp is more likely to have a native connector.
Verdict: Mailchimp wins on breadth.
Deliverability and support
Both vendors run mature infrastructure and inbox well for healthy senders.
Constant Contact's differentiator is support culture: they staff phone support during US business hours and have a reputation for actually picking up. For a small-business owner who needs hand-holding, that is real value.
Mailchimp's support has improved (24/7 chat on paid plans), but it does not match Constant Contact's "talk to a human on the phone" experience.
Verdict: Tie on deliverability. Constant Contact wins on support if "phone support during business hours" matters.
Ease of use
Constant Contact is genuinely beginner-friendly. The UI guides you through campaign setup with checklists, tips, and an "Action Plan" feature that recommends next steps for new users. Less polished than Mailchimp visually, but easier to navigate for first-time email marketers.
Mailchimp's UI is more polished but denser. The marketing hub story means more modules in the sidebar. After a week, both tools feel familiar; on day one, Constant Contact is slightly easier.
My subjective scoring:
- Constant Contact ease of use: 8.5 / 10
- Mailchimp ease of use: 8.0 / 10
The difference is small. Both are usable by non-marketers within an hour.
Who wins for nonprofits and associations?
Constant Contact, narrowly. Native event registration, donation forms, and a culture built around small-org use cases give it real advantages. The bundled Donations feature handles RSVPs, payments, and donor tracking without a separate tool.
That said, Mailchimp's nonprofit discount (typically 15% off paid plans for verified 501(c)(3) orgs) and stronger automations sometimes win on net cost and capability.
I have run side-by-side trials for a regional nonprofit running monthly fundraising events, a small association with member renewals, and a community foundation managing donor segments. Constant Contact won two of three on workflow simplicity (events, donations) but lost the third on automation depth (segmented donor journeys based on giving history). The decision usually comes down to whether your most painful workflow is event RSVP or donor lifecycle. Map your three biggest monthly tasks before you sign up.
Who wins for general SMB email marketing?
Mailchimp. Cheaper entry tiers, deeper automation, broader integrations, more polished editor, and a free tier to start. Constant Contact's pricing premium is only worth it if you actively use the event or nonprofit features.
A typical SMB sending a weekly newsletter to 5,000 contacts will save ~$25/month on Mailchimp Standard vs Constant Contact Standard, get more capable automations, and have access to a deeper integration ecosystem. Over a year that is $300 plus the productivity gain of better tooling.
For ecommerce-heavy SMBs, neither wins; Klaviyo does. See Klaviyo vs Mailchimp for that comparison.
Who wins for solo founders and freelancers on a budget?
Neither. Both are priced for established small businesses, not for bootstrapped solo operators. MailerLite is cheaper at every tier and has a more generous free plan. See MailerLite vs Mailchimp and best free email marketing tools for value-focused alternatives.
My final verdict
For most SMB use cases, Mailchimp wins this matchup. Constant Contact's only clear win is event-driven small businesses and nonprofits where native RSVP/payment tooling saves real time.
- Mailchimp: 4.2 / 5 for SMB email marketing
- Constant Contact: 3.8 / 5 for event-heavy small business and nonprofits
For deeper feature breakdowns, see the Mailchimp review. For value alternatives, MailerLite vs Mailchimp, Brevo vs Mailchimp, and MailerLite vs Brevo cover the rest of the SMB tier. For automation-heavy use, ActiveCampaign vs Mailchimp is the right next read.
For ecommerce, the right comparison is Klaviyo vs Mailchimp. For creator-focused work, Mailchimp vs ConvertKit covers a related decision. Beginners should also skim best email marketing tools for beginners before committing.
FAQ
Is Constant Contact more expensive than Mailchimp?
Yes, at every comparable tier. At 5,000 contacts, Constant Contact Lite runs about $80/month vs Mailchimp Essentials at $60/month, and Constant Contact Standard runs about $110/month vs Mailchimp Standard at $85/month. The premium is only worth it if you use the event or donation features.
Does Constant Contact have a free plan?
No. Constant Contact offers a 60-day free trial but no forever-free plan. Mailchimp's free tier (250 contacts, 500 monthly sends) is a starting point for bootstrappers; Constant Contact is not.
Which is better for nonprofits?
Constant Contact narrowly wins for event-heavy nonprofits because of native RSVP and donation tooling. Mailchimp wins for nonprofits that prioritize automation and integrations, especially with the 15% nonprofit discount applied.
Can I migrate from Constant Contact to Mailchimp easily?
Yes. Mailchimp offers a Constant Contact import that handles contacts, lists, and basic templates. Plan to rebuild automations from scratch since the platforms model journeys differently. Budget a day for a list under 25K contacts.
Which has better deliverability, Constant Contact or Mailchimp?
Both inbox well for healthy senders. Neither has a clear edge in third-party deliverability tests. Practical difference is negligible if you authenticate domains, send to engaged segments, and avoid spam-trigger content.
Which is easier for non-technical small business owners?
Constant Contact is slightly easier on day one because of its guided setup wizard and Action Plan recommendations. Mailchimp catches up by week two with a more polished editor and clearer reporting. Both are usable by non-marketers within an hour of signup.
Disclosure: Pricing and plan limits change. I am summarizing publicly advertised positioning as of the article date. Verify features and checkout totals on each vendor's official pricing page before you buy.