Mailchimp vs Constant Contact: Classic Email Platforms Compared
Two long-standing email marketing platforms with different approaches to template building and overall functionality. Find the right fit for your business.
Quick Verdict
Choose Mailchimp if you want more sophisticated marketing automation, broader integrations, and are comfortable with a complex interface.
Choose Constant Contact if you prioritize ease of use, need excellent customer support, or run events alongside email marketing.
Platform Overview
Mailchimp has evolved from an email marketing tool into a broader marketing platform with CRM, landing pages, social media tools, and more. This expansion brings capability but also complexity. The platform serves millions of users from small businesses to enterprises.
Constant Contact maintains a tighter focus on email marketing and events. The platform is known for excellent customer support and a gentler learning curve, making it popular among small businesses and nonprofits.
Template Building Experience
Mailchimp Templates
Mailchimp offers approximately 100 email templates with a drag-and-drop editor. The editor is capable but can feel cluttered with options. Templates range from modern to dated, with quality varying significantly. Recent AI features assist with content generation, though they require editing.
Constant Contact Templates
Constant Contact provides 200+ templates optimized for different industries and use cases. The editor prioritizes simplicity over features, making it easier for beginners. Templates are mobile-responsive and generally professional, though design flexibility is more limited.
Ease of Use
Constant Contact wins on ease of use. The platform is designed for users without marketing expertise, with clear guidance throughout the interface. Setting up your first campaign is straightforward.
Mailchimp has a steeper learning curve, especially as they have added features. The interface can overwhelm new users, though documentation and tutorials are extensive.
Marketing Features
| Feature | Mailchimp | Constant Contact |
|---|---|---|
| Email Templates | ~100 | 200+ |
| Automation | Advanced | Basic |
| Landing Pages | Yes | Yes |
| CRM | Built-in | Basic |
| Event Marketing | Limited | Excellent |
| Social Media | Posting tools | Limited |
Pricing
Mailchimp: Free tier (limited), then from $13/month. Pricing scales with contacts and features needed. Can become expensive as you grow.
Constant Contact: From $12/month with no free tier (only trial). Generally more predictable pricing that scales more gradually with list size.
Customer Support
Constant Contact is renowned for excellent customer support. Phone support is available, and response times are typically fast. This is a major differentiator for businesses that need help.
Mailchimp offers support but primarily through chat and email. Phone support is limited to higher tiers. Self-service documentation is extensive but navigating it can be challenging.
Recommendation
For small businesses and nonprofits who value ease of use and support, Constant Contact delivers a less frustrating experience. For businesses needing advanced automation and broader marketing tools, Mailchimp offers more capabilities despite the complexity.
Pricing Deep-Dive
Both platforms charge by contact count, but the shape of the pricing differs. Mailchimp's free tier lets very small lists start without paying, while its paid tiers gate automation and segmentation features. Constant Contact has no free tier but includes core email features at every level and its pricing scales more predictably with list size. Both structures change regularly — verify current numbers on the official Mailchimp pricing page and official Constant Contact pricing page rather than relying on a fixed figure here.
| Pricing question | Mailchimp | Constant Contact |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | Yes, with contact and feature limits | Trial only, no ongoing free tier |
| Entry paid tier | Low entry price with feature gates | Similar entry price; most email features included |
| What drives the bill up | Contact growth and premium feature tiers | Contact and email-sending volume |
| What is excluded at low tiers | Advanced automation, segments, custom coding options | Fewer exclusions; simplicity means fewer feature gates |
| Where pricing surprises teams | Needed features turn out to live on a higher tier | Contact thresholds rise faster than send volume does |
Check the official pricing pages before committing; both vendors restructure tiers regularly, and contact thresholds and feature gates shift more often than headline prices.
Reporting and Campaign Analytics
Mailchimp's reports cover opens, clicks, purchases, and audience growth, with deeper paid-tier views into subscriber behaviour. If you want to know which campaign drove the most revenue, Mailchimp answers it once you connect a store, though attribution across automation flows is not its strongest area.
Constant Contact's reporting is simpler: opens, clicks, and bounce rates rolled into a single dashboard. If you only need to know whether a campaign landed, that simplicity is a feature. If you want revenue and commerce breakdowns, Mailchimp gives you more to work with.
Templates for the Long Run
One practical difference for teams that treat templates as long-term assets: Mailchimp templates live inside the Mailchimp ecosystem and moving them to other platforms is harder once your design system is invested there. Constant Contact templates are similarly proprietary. If template portability matters — for example because your team edits HTML in external tools — read the email template design guide for a tool-agnostic workflow, or browse alternatives for major email tools before committing either platform.
| Template consideration | Mailchimp | Constant Contact |
|---|---|---|
| Starting library | ~100 templates, quality varies | 200+ industry-oriented templates |
| Custom code option | Yes, with limits at lower tiers | Limited HTML editing available |
| Portability (export to other tools) | HTML export possible but templates are anchored to Mailchimp | Similar; templates are panel-native |
| AI copy assistance | Built-in AI writer, editing required | More limited AI assistance |
Mailchimp vs Constant Contact FAQ
Is Constant Contact cheaper than Mailchimp?
Not necessarily — it depends on list size and which features you need. Mailchimp's free tier is cheaper than any Constant Contact tier for very small lists, but at larger list sizes or higher feature needs Mailchimp can cost more. Constant Contact typically stays flat across most email features, so monthly cost is more predictable. Check both platforms' current pricing pages at your actual contact count rather than trusting any single published comparison.
Can I use both platforms together?
Technically yes, but it has downsides. You would split subscriber data across two platforms, complicate performance attribution, and need clear rules for which contacts live where. Teams that grow into this pattern usually consolidate onto one platform. If your real problem is template quality rather than sending capacity, an external template tool that exports clean HTML may serve better.
Which do nonprofits and small community organizations prefer?
Constant Contact has historically been popular with nonprofits because of dedicated support and simple workflows. Both vendors have offered nonprofit-related pricing considerations at various points — verify eligibility and current rates directly on their official pricing pages. For small teams without a designated marketer, the trade-off usually comes down to hand-holding support (Constant Contact) versus a broader self-serve toolset (Mailchimp).