These two get compared more than almost any other email marketing pair, and the answer is more straightforward than most comparisons make it sound. Mailchimp has a real free plan and better automation. Constant Contact has phone support and is simpler to operate. That's most of the decision right there. This breaks down the rest.
Quick comparison
| Feature | Mailchimp | Constant Contact |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free up to 500 contacts | ~$12/mo (60-day trial) |
| Free plan | Yes — no expiry | No |
| Automation | Customer Journeys (good) | Basic welcome series |
| Ecommerce integrations | Shopify, WooCommerce (mature) | Limited |
| Event tools | Basic | Built-in RSVP and ticketing |
| Phone support | No (paid plans: chat/email) | Yes |
| Learning curve | Low | Very low |
| Best for | List building, ecommerce, automation | Newsletters, events, local businesses |
Mailchimp
Mailchimp's free plan is the main reason most small businesses start here. Up to 500 contacts and 1,000 sends per month, no credit card required, no expiry. For a business testing email as a channel or building its first list, that removes every barrier to getting started.
The drag-and-drop email editor is genuinely easy. Templates cover newsletters, promotions, and announcements. The free plan includes a landing page builder, signup forms, and basic reporting. Shopify and WooCommerce integrations are mature — abandoned cart emails and post-purchase sequences are straightforward to set up for ecommerce stores.
Automation lives under Customer Journeys. It handles welcome sequences, re-engagement campaigns, and simple behavioral triggers well. It's more limited than ActiveCampaign's automation builder, but for most businesses sending a welcome series and a few follow-ups, it's enough.
Limitations to know:
- Free plan's 1,000 send cap means 500 contacts can only get 2 emails per month before hitting the limit
- Pricing scales by contact count and can get expensive past 10,000 contacts
- No phone support at any plan level
- Customer Journeys can't handle complex conditional logic
Constant Contact
Constant Contact gets overlooked because Mailchimp has better brand recognition and a free plan. That's fair. But Constant Contact has one thing Mailchimp doesn't at entry-level: a phone number to call when something breaks. For business owners who aren't technical and want to talk to a human if the email doesn't send, that matters.
The interface is simpler than Mailchimp's. There's less to configure, fewer decisions to make, and the basics — upload your list, build an email, schedule it — work without friction. The 60-day free trial gives you time to evaluate properly before committing.
Event tools are Constant Contact's standout feature. Built-in RSVP management, event registration pages, and ticketing make it a practical choice for event-based businesses, gyms, studios, and nonprofits running fundraisers. Mailchimp doesn't have equivalent event functionality without third-party integrations.
Deliverability is Constant Contact's other quiet strength. They've maintained a strong sender reputation over many years, which means emails land in the inbox more reliably — something that matters more than most people realize.
Limitations to know:
- No free plan after the 60-day trial
- Automation is basic compared to Mailchimp, let alone ActiveCampaign
- Ecommerce integrations are limited
- Less design flexibility than Mailchimp's email editor
Mailchimp gives you more for less money. Constant Contact gives you a phone to call when things go wrong. Most businesses underestimate how much that second thing is worth.
Which one to pick
You want a free plan with no expiry. You run an ecommerce store and need Shopify integration. You want a welcome series or basic behavioral automation. You're comfortable figuring things out via chat or email support.
You want phone support. You run events and need RSVP or ticketing tools. Your team is non-technical and wants the simplest possible interface. You prioritize deliverability over feature depth.
Do you need a free plan? Mailchimp. Constant Contact's 60-day trial is generous but ends. If budget is a constraint and you're still building your list, Mailchimp's free plan lets you stay there indefinitely until you're ready to pay.
Do you run events? Constant Contact. Built-in event registration, RSVP management, and ticketing are features Mailchimp doesn't offer without adding third-party tools. For gyms, nonprofits, studios, and event planners, this is the deciding factor.
Do you sell online? Mailchimp. Shopify and WooCommerce integrations are more mature. Abandoned cart sequences, product recommendation emails, and post-purchase follow-ups work better out of the box.
How important is phone support to you? If you need it, Constant Contact is your only option between the two. Mailchimp's support at entry-level plans is chat and email only. That's fine for most people. Not fine for everyone.
Do you want automation beyond a welcome series? Neither platform is the right answer. Both handle simple sequences. For behavioral automation — emails triggered by what contacts do on your website, lead scoring, conditional branching — you'd be looking at ActiveCampaign or HubSpot.
The gap both tools leave open
Mailchimp and Constant Contact both send email. Neither one knows what's happening in the rest of your business. A new booking in your scheduling system, a job completed in your field service software, an invoice paid in QuickBooks — none of those events trigger an email automatically unless you build the connection between your email platform and those tools.
The most common version we see: a service business has Mailchimp set up, the list is growing, but the follow-up sequence only fires for new subscribers, not for existing customers who just finished a job or paid an invoice. The email tool is fine. The workflow connecting it to the rest of the business doesn't exist yet.
Using Mailchimp or Constant Contact but your automated sequences aren't connected to the rest of your tools? We build the integration layer that makes your email platform respond to what actually happens in your business.
Get a Free Automation Audit →Your email tool is only useful if it fires at the right moment.
Mailchimp and Constant Contact both send email well. The hard part is connecting them to the rest of your business so the right email goes out when something actually happens — not just when someone subscribes.
Frequently asked questions
Mailchimp is better if you want a free plan, stronger automation, or Shopify/ecommerce integrations. Constant Contact is better if you want phone support, a simpler interface, or you're running events. Both handle basic newsletter sends well.
Constant Contact does not have a permanent free plan. It offers a 60-day free trial. After that, paid plans start at approximately $12/month. Mailchimp's free plan covers up to 500 contacts and 1,000 sends/month with no expiry.
Mailchimp's free plan covers 500 contacts and 1,000 sends/month. Paid plans start at $13/month. Constant Contact starts at approximately $12/month with no free plan after the trial. At higher contact counts, pricing is comparable. Verify current pricing at mailchimp.com and constantcontact.com.
Constant Contact offers phone support, which Mailchimp does not at entry-level plans. If calling a human when something breaks matters, Constant Contact has the edge. Mailchimp's support is chat and email-based.
Both are beginner-friendly. Constant Contact is slightly simpler with less to configure. Mailchimp has more features, which means more decisions to make. For someone who wants to send a newsletter without much setup, either works. Constant Contact is the lower-friction starting point for non-technical users.