Mailchimp and Constant Contact both send good-looking emails to your list. For a small business, the real differences are three: whether there is a free plan, what you pay as your list grows, and how you get help when something breaks.
All facts below come from the Mailchimp pricing page and the Constant Contact pricing page, as of October 2026. Prices are in US dollars. Both vendors say the price depends on your number of contacts, and prices can differ by country.
The short verdict
- Pick Mailchimp if your list is small and you want to start for free, or you want a low price for your first few hundred contacts.
- Pick Constant Contact if you want live phone and chat help on every plan, run events, or want social posting in the same tool.
Free plan or free trial
Mailchimp has a free plan. It allows up to 250 contacts and 500 emails a month, with a limit of 250 a day. You get one user and email support for the first 30 days. Automation flows are not included.
Constant Contact has no free plan. You can start a free trial without a credit card, and new plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Starting prices
Mailchimp, for up to 500 contacts:
- Essentials: $13 a month.
- Standard: $20 a month.
- Premium: for larger teams, with unlimited users and phone support.
At the time of writing, Mailchimp offered 50% off for the first 12 months.
Constant Contact, starting prices:
- Lite: from $12 a month.
- Standard: from $35 a month.
- Premium: from $80 a month.
Prepaying for 12 months saves up to 15%. That brings the starting prices to $10.20, $29.75 and $68 a month.
Who counts as a contact
Mailchimp counts subscribed, unsubscribed and non-subscribed contacts toward your plan, according to its help page on contacts. Archived contacts do not count. If you have many old or unsubscribed contacts, archive them before you compare prices.
Send limits
Both tools tie your monthly sends to your number of contacts:
- Mailchimp: 10 times your contacts on Essentials, 12 times on Standard, 15 times on Premium.
- Constant Contact: 10 times your contacts on Lite, 12 times on Standard, 24 times on Premium.
If you go over, Constant Contact keeps sending and charges $0.002 per extra email, or $2 per 1,000. Mailchimp bills overages on paid plans and pauses sending on the free plan.
Automation
Automation matters for emails that should go out on their own, like a welcome email.
- Mailchimp: Essentials allows flows of up to 4 steps. Standard and Premium allow up to 200 flows.
- Constant Contact: Lite has 1 automation template. Standard has 3, plus automatic resends to people who did not open. Premium adds unlimited custom automations.
Users and support
- Mailchimp: 3 seats on Essentials, 5 on Standard, unlimited on Premium. Paid plans get 24/7 email and chat support. Premium adds phone and priority support.
- Constant Contact: 1 user on Lite, 3 on Standard, unlimited on Premium. Every plan includes live phone and chat support.
Extras
Constant Contact includes social media posting on every plan, with scheduling from Standard. All plans can host events and take payments. In the US, Premium includes 500 text messages a month, and Lite and Standard can add them from $10 a month.
Mailchimp lists more than 300 integrations on its pricing page, and offers text messages as a paid add-on in some countries.
How to decide
- Count your contacts. Include unsubscribed ones if you choose Mailchimp.
- Price both tools at your list size. Use the contact selector on each pricing page.
- Decide how you want help. If a phone call matters to you, that points to Constant Contact.
- List the automations you need this year. A welcome email and a follow-up after purchase cover most small businesses.
- Try both. Send the same email to yourself from each one.
Still building your list? Start with how to build an email list. If neither tool fits, see the other options in Mailchimp alternatives for small business.