Constant Contact vs Mailchimp: plans and pricing compared (Oct 2026)
Pricing last verified: — may be outdated; check the vendor page
Two long-established small-business tools. Here is how their published entry options compare.
Plans side by side
| Tool | Plan | Price | Billing basis | Contacts | Sends | Source / confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constant Contact | Free | No permanent free plan. 30-day free trial, no card (vendor page) | source · Vendor page via search excerpt | |||
| Constant Contact | Lite | $12/mo | monthly ($10.20/mo prepaid annually) | 0-500 contacts | 10x contacts (5,000/month); overage $0.002/send | source · Vendor-published |
| Mailchimp | Free | $0 | n/a | 250 contacts | 500 emails/month (max 250/day) | source · Vendor-published |
| Mailchimp | Essentials | $13/mo | monthly, starting price at 0-500 contacts | 500 contacts | 10x contacts (5,000/month) | source · Vendor-published |
What the published numbers say
- Free options: Mailchimp has a free plan (250 contacts, 500 sends/month). Constant Contact has a 30-day free trial and no permanent free plan.
- Entry paid: Constant Contact Lite $12/mo for 0-500 contacts ($10.20 prepaid annually; sends capped at 10x contacts); Mailchimp Essentials $13/mo for 500 contacts, Standard $20.
- Money: Constant Contact has an affiliate program (paying up to $105 per new account, per its page); Mailchimp has no publisher program.
Per-tool summary
Constant Contact
No permanent free plan; a 30-day free trial with no credit card required. Lite starts at $12/month ($10.20/month if prepaid annually) for 0-500 contacts, with sends capped at 10x your contacts (5,000 at 500 contacts); sends over the cap cost $0.002 each.
Mailchimp
Free plan: 250 contacts and 500 sends a month (max 250 a day). Paid plans start with Essentials and Standard; the entry prices we captured are for 500 contacts. Mailchimp has no publisher affiliate program (its "Mailchimp & Co" program is built for agencies managing client accounts), so we do not earn from Mailchimp links.
Who might lean which way
These are inferences from published limits, not test results. Match them to your list size and whether you need automations. For other options see Mailchimp alternatives and the hub.
What we could not verify
- Feature depth, ease of use, deliverability and support quality. We did not test these products, so we make no claims about them.
- Prices for larger lists: we captured the entry paid tier and the free plan only. Use each vendor's calculator for your list size.
Sources
- Constant Contact: https://www.constantcontact.com/pricing (checked Oct 28, 2026)
- Mailchimp: https://mailchimp.com/pricing/marketing/ (checked Oct 28, 2026)
Sources marked "third-party" are pricing guides, not vendor pages; the confidence label in each table explains which figures need re-checking. Full data: pricing-data.json.
Questions or corrections: gb1@mail.grokbot.com. Prices change often; always confirm on the vendor's own page before you buy.