Mailchimp’s Standard plan is cheaper than Constant Contact’s up to 10,000 contacts, and Constant Contact is cheaper at 25,000. As of November 2026, Standard costs $160 a month on Constant Contact and $135 on Mailchimp at 10,000 contacts, then $310 against $340 at 25,000. Constant Contact fits small teams that want live phone and chat support on every plan. Mailchimp fits teams that want a free tier, code-based templates and an API that reaches beyond contacts and campaigns. Every price below comes from each vendor’s official pricing page, or the plan data that page loads, read on November 12, 2026, in US dollars.
Constant Contact vs Mailchimp at a glance
| Constant Contact | Mailchimp | |
|---|---|---|
| Billing unit | Contact tier, plus a monthly send allowance | Contact tier, plus a monthly send allowance |
| Free plan or trial | Free trial, no credit card; 30-day money-back guarantee. Trial length not published on the pricing page | Free plan (250 contacts); 14-day free trial on Essentials and Standard |
| Entry paid price (500 contacts) | Lite $12, Standard $35, Premium $80 | Essentials $13, Standard $20, Premium from $350 |
| Standard plan at 2,500 / 10,000 contacts | $75 / $160 | $60 / $135 |
| Monthly send limit | 10x, 12x, 24x contacts (Lite, Standard, Premium) | 10x, 12x, 15x contacts (Essentials, Standard, Premium) |
| Automation | 1 template (Lite), 3 templates (Standard), unlimited custom (Premium) | Up to 4 flow steps (Essentials), up to 200 flows (Standard, Premium) |
| A/B testing | Subject line only, Standard and up | Subject, from name, content or send time; multivariate on Standard and up |
| Users | 1, 3, unlimited | 3, 5, unlimited (Free has 1) |
| API | REST V3 API, OAuth2 only; no transactional product listed | Marketing API (API key or OAuth); separate Transactional add-on |
| Support | Live phone and chat on every plan | 24/7 email and chat on Essentials and Standard; phone on Premium |
Both tools list 300+ integrations. Sources: Constant Contact pricing and Mailchimp pricing, as of November 2026.
Pricing at the same list size
Both vendors price by contact tier and cap monthly sends as a multiple of your contacts. Constant Contact’s pricing page converts to local currency by location, and Mailchimp offers a currency switch, so figures here are USD list prices on monthly billing.
Constant Contact has three plans. Lite is one user, one automation template and basic reporting. Standard adds three users, subject line A/B testing and 10 custom segments. Premium adds unlimited users, unlimited custom automations and segments, dynamic content and a dedicated priority support team. Prepaying 12 months saves up to 15%, and sends over your allowance cost $0.002 each.
Mailchimp has a Free plan plus Essentials, Standard and Premium. Essentials and Standard include a 14-day free trial, and Mailchimp lists a 15% saving for the first 12 months on larger contact counts. Premium starts at $350 a month and stayed at $350 across the tiers up to 10,000 contacts.
Monthly price by contact count (November 2026)
| Contacts | CC Lite | CC Standard | CC Premium | MC Essentials | MC Standard | MC Premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 500 | $12 | $35 | $80 | $13 | $20 | $350 |
| 2,500 | $50 | $75 | $150 | $49 | $60 | $350 |
| 10,000 | $120 | $160 | $275 | $110 | $135 | $350 |
| 25,000 | $280 | $310 | $425 | $270 | $340 | $620 |
Each row uses the top of its tier band (up to 500, 1,501 to 2,500, 5,001 to 10,000, 20,001 to 25,000 on Mailchimp; the same ceilings on Constant Contact). CC is Constant Contact and MC is Mailchimp.
At the same list size, Mailchimp Standard is $15 cheaper than Constant Contact Standard at 2,500 contacts ($60 vs $75) and $25 cheaper at 10,000 ($135 vs $160). At 25,000 contacts the order flips: Constant Contact Standard is $310 and Mailchimp Standard is $340.
The top tier is lopsided. Constant Contact Premium is $275 at 10,000 contacts against Mailchimp Premium’s $350, and $425 against $620 at 25,000. If you need unlimited users or dynamic content, Constant Contact’s top plan costs less at every size in the table.
A worked budget: a SaaS team with 10,000 contacts
Say a growth team wants onboarding sequences and subject line tests. Both vendors put that on Standard: $160 a month on Constant Contact, $135 on Mailchimp. Mailchimp’s page shows $114.75 a month for the first 12 months at that tier with its 15% offer. Constant Contact’s equivalent is the prepay discount of up to 15%.
Now add app email such as password resets. Mailchimp Transactional is an add-on to Standard or Premium at $20 per block of 25,000 emails, so 50,000 messages a month is two blocks, $40, for $175 in total with Standard. Constant Contact lists no transactional product, so the same team would pay a separate provider. Neither tool is priced for that job, which is why SendGrid vs Mailchimp matters if sending code-triggered email is a requirement.
Automation and segmentation: what each plan can trigger
Automation is where plan gating bites hardest, so check the tier before the headline price.
Constant Contact gates by template count and segment count:
- Lite: one automation template and one custom segment.
- Standard: three automation templates, an AI campaign builder, automatic resend to non-openers and 10 custom segments.
- Premium: unlimited templates, custom automations, ecommerce templates, welcome emails and unlimited custom segments.
Mailchimp gates by flow size and features:
- Free: no automation on its plan comparison.
- Essentials: up to 4 flow steps.
- Standard and Premium: up to 200 flows, plus dynamic content and custom reports.
The practical difference: Constant Contact’s cheaper tiers are template-driven, so a branching lifecycle program means Premium. Mailchimp opens multi-flow automation at Standard, which is why its Standard plan covers more ground per dollar below 10,000 contacts. Neither plan listing mentions triggers based on in-app product events. For that kind of trigger, see our guide to email automation for SaaS.
Testing differs too. Constant Contact’s A/B test API states “Currently, A/B tests support subject line only.” Mailchimp’s help center says you can test “1 of 4 variables: subject line, From name, content, or send time”, and Standard or higher adds multivariate tests.
Editor, templates and design
Both tools give you a drag-and-drop editor and ready-made templates on every plan.
- Constant Contact: the pricing page lists a drag-and-drop editor, AI copy generator and templates on all plans. Dynamic content arrives on Premium.
- Mailchimp: pre-built templates and email scheduling are on every plan. Branded templates, custom reports and dynamic content start at Standard.
The notable gap is custom code. Mailchimp’s comparison lets you create custom-coded templates on every paid plan, but sending them requires Standard or Premium. Constant Contact’s pricing page has no custom-code row, so confirm it with sales if hand-coded HTML is a requirement.
Integrations, API and developer access
Both vendors list 300+ integrations. The developer story differs more.
Constant Contact’s V3 API is REST, and its overview says “The V3 API only supports the OAuth2.0 authentication method.” The resources it names include contacts, contact lists and custom fields, and the navigation lists email campaigns, segments and events. The overview does not mention a transactional sending API.
Mailchimp’s Marketing API takes either an API key sent as a bearer token or OAuth. For app email, Mailchimp Transactional (formerly Mandrill) is a separate paid add-on: $20 per 25,000-email block, with new users getting up to 500 free sends to a verified domain. A dedicated IP is $29.95 a month. The Mailchimp Transactional pricing page also states it is an add-on to Standard or Premium. Our SendGrid vs Mailchimp comparison covers when that add-on is enough.
For developer teams: Mailchimp reaches further because it can send both marketing and application mail from one vendor relationship. Constant Contact’s API is for syncing contacts and managing campaigns.
Deliverability and compliance
No vendor can promise inbox placement, so compare what each helps you configure.
Google’s sender guidelines require bulk senders to Gmail (5,000+ messages a day) to set up SPF, DKIM and DMARC, support one-click unsubscribe, and “Keep spam rates reported in Postmaster Tools below 0.30%.”
- Mailchimp: DKIM uses two CNAME records and DMARC one TXT record. Authentication is recommended for most senders and mandatory for Mailchimp Transactional, which must authenticate the domain before sending to external recipients.
- Constant Contact: its authentication hub says to set up self-authentication and add the DNS records it generates. If you send from a free webmail address you cannot authenticate, Constant Contact handles it for you.
Constant Contact’s pricing page also cites a 98% inbox rate from 2025 Validity Everest test results. That is a vendor-reported figure, and Mailchimp publishes no comparable number, so it does not decide this comparison.
Support by plan
- Constant Contact: live phone and chat with marketing experts on every plan, onboarding for new accounts, and a dedicated priority support team on Premium.
- Mailchimp: Free gets email support for the first 30 days. Essentials and Standard get 24/7 email and chat. Premium adds phone and priority support. Onboarding is 1 session on Standard and 4 sessions on Premium, with a dedicated specialist.
If your team is not technical and wants to call someone, Constant Contact’s plan structure is the clearer fit.
Which to choose
Choose Constant Contact if:
- You want live phone support without paying for the top plan.
- You need unlimited users or dynamic content and can afford Premium, where it costs $275 against Mailchimp’s $350 at 10,000 contacts.
- Your list is around 25,000 contacts and you need Standard-level features, where it is $30 cheaper.
- You run events or simple newsletters and subject-line testing is enough.
Choose Mailchimp if:
- You are under 250 contacts and want a free plan, or want a 14-day trial of a paid tier.
- Your list sits between 500 and 10,000 contacts and you need Standard features, where it is $15 to $25 cheaper.
- You need multi-flow automation or A/B tests beyond subject lines.
- You want custom-coded templates, or one vendor for marketing and transactional mail.
Constant Contact in one line: the phone-support pick for small teams that mostly send newsletters and promotions.
Mailchimp in one line: the cheaper Standard plan below 10,000 contacts, with the deeper automation and developer surface.
If neither fits, our Constant Contact alternatives and Mailchimp alternatives guides cover the wider field.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Constant Contact cheaper than Mailchimp?
It depends on list size and plan. As of November 2026, Mailchimp’s Standard plan is cheaper at 500 ($20 vs $35), 2,500 ($60 vs $75) and 10,000 contacts ($135 vs $160). At 25,000 contacts Constant Contact Standard is $310 against $340. Constant Contact Premium is cheaper than Mailchimp Premium at every size checked.
Does Constant Contact have a free plan?
No. Constant Contact says it is a paid platform, but you can start with a free trial with no credit card required, and new plans carry a 30-day money-back guarantee. Mailchimp has a Free plan limited to 250 contacts, plus a 14-day free trial on Essentials and Standard.
Which is easier to use, Constant Contact or Mailchimp?
Both offer drag-and-drop editors and templates on every plan, so ease of use is mostly about support and plan gating. Constant Contact includes live phone and chat on every plan. Mailchimp has more features unlocked by plan, so the interface you want may sit on a higher tier. Try both trials with your own template.
Can I move my list from Mailchimp to Constant Contact?
Yes, through a CSV export. Mailchimp lets Owners and Admins export an audience, and the export does not include open and click report data. Constant Contact accepts CSV, XLS, XLSX, VCF and TXT uploads, and its import guide lists other email marketing platforms as a source. Rebuild automations by hand, since only contacts move.
Which has better automation, Constant Contact or Mailchimp?
Mailchimp, on lower plans. Its Standard plan allows up to 200 flows, while Constant Contact’s Standard plan has three automation templates and needs Premium for custom automations. Neither plan listing mentions triggers based on in-app product events.
Which is better for a small business?
A small business that wants to phone someone and sends mostly newsletters and event promotions is better served by Constant Contact. One with under 10,000 contacts that wants automation and testing at the lowest price is better served by Mailchimp Standard, or the Free plan if it has under 250 contacts.
Do Constant Contact and Mailchimp have APIs?
Both do. Constant Contact’s V3 API uses OAuth2 only and covers contacts, lists and email campaigns. Mailchimp’s Marketing API accepts an API key or OAuth, and Mailchimp Transactional is a separate add-on for application email. Constant Contact lists no transactional sending product.
I’ve spent my career building software at scale with a soft spot for email: deliverability, lifecycle campaigns, and getting messages to actually land. I started Coldletter to fix what bugged me about transactional and marketing email tools. I’m based in Vancouver.