Quick answer: Both tools handle the core job of small business email well: building lists, sending good-looking campaigns and reporting on opens and clicks. Mailchimp has a free entry plan, a broad feature set that now includes landing pages, ads and audience tools, and more flexible automation on paid plans. Constant Contact is known for straightforward campaigns, strong phone and chat support, and built-in event and registration tools. Choose Mailchimp if you want room to grow into automation and segmentation. Choose Constant Contact if you value hands-on support and simple, reliable campaigns.
Start with what you need email to do
Before comparing features, write down your actual use:
- Regular newsletters to customers and prospects
- Promotional emails for sales or launches
- Welcome emails and simple follow-ups
- Event invitations and registrations
- Ecommerce emails such as abandoned cart reminders
- Segmented campaigns for different customer types
If most of your email is a monthly newsletter and the occasional promotion, both tools will serve you. Differences appear once you need automation, ecommerce links or support.
Mailchimp in plain terms
Mailchimp is one of the best-known email platforms and has been widening its scope. In 2019 it repositioned itself as an all-in-one marketing platform, adding landing pages, social ads, postcards and audience management features to its email tools.
Strengths:
- A free plan for small lists, which makes it easy to start
- Drag-and-drop campaign builder and a large template library
- Automations for welcome series, date-based emails, and ecommerce behaviour on paid plans
- Segmentation and tags for targeting parts of your audience
- A large number of integrations and form embeds
- Good reporting, including comparisons with industry averages
Watch-outs:
- Plans are priced by audience size, so costs rise as your list grows; check how contacts are counted, including unsubscribed contacts
- The feature set is wide, which can feel busy if you just want to send a newsletter
- Mailchimp’s direct Shopify integration ended in 2019, so Shopify stores rely on third-party connectors
- Support depth depends on your plan
We cover practical workflows in our guide to Mailchimp automation.
Constant Contact in plain terms
Constant Contact has served small businesses for many years and focuses on making email simple for non-specialists. It is popular with local businesses, nonprofits and organisations that run events.
Strengths:
- Simple, guided campaign creation with plenty of templates
- Phone, chat and email support, plus training resources
- Built-in event management and registration, useful for workshops, classes and fundraisers
- List building tools, sign-up forms and social sharing
- Contact import from spreadsheets and other tools is straightforward
- A free trial to test before you commit
Watch-outs:
- No permanent free plan
- Automation on entry plans is limited to basics like welcome and birthday emails; more advanced automated series need the higher tier
- Segmentation and reporting are simpler than Mailchimp’s paid plans
- Design flexibility is good for standard layouts but tighter for custom designs
Side-by-side comparison
| Area | Mailchimp | Constant Contact |
|---|---|---|
| Entry option | Free plan for small lists | Free trial, then paid |
| Ease of use | Easy, but a wider product to learn | Very straightforward |
| Templates | Large library, flexible editor | Large library, guided editor |
| Automation | Stronger on paid plans | Basic on entry tier, more on higher tier |
| Segmentation | Tags, segments, behaviour on paid plans | Lists and simpler segments |
| Events | Basic, through integrations | Built-in event management |
| Support | Varies by plan | Phone, chat and email |
| Integrations | Very broad | Broad, with common small business tools |
Ease of use
Both tools are built for people who are not email specialists. Constant Contact tends to feel simpler at first because it guides you through each step and has fewer extra features in view. Mailchimp is still easy to use, but its newer features add more menus and choices.
If the person sending email is busy with other jobs and wants to finish a campaign quickly, Constant Contact’s simplicity can be a real advantage. If someone on the team enjoys digging into segments and automations, Mailchimp offers more room.
Automation
Automation is often the deciding factor.
Mailchimp’s paid plans support:
- Welcome series for new subscribers
- Date-based emails such as birthdays
- Ecommerce emails like abandoned cart and product follow-ups when connected to a supported store
- Tag- or behaviour-based triggers
Constant Contact supports welcome, birthday and anniversary emails on its entry tier, with automated series and behaviour triggers on the higher tier.
If you plan to build sequences like a drip campaign or a structured email autoresponder, check exactly which plan includes the triggers you need.
Segmentation
Sending the right message to the right group usually improves results more than any design tweak. Mailchimp’s tags and segments allow fairly detailed targeting based on activity, signup source and purchase data. Constant Contact handles segmentation mainly through separate lists and contact details, which is simpler but less flexible.
Our guide to email segmentation explains how to plan segments that are useful rather than complicated.
Deliverability
Both providers maintain sending infrastructure and compliance teams. In practice, your own habits decide most of your deliverability: list quality, consent, sending consistency and domain authentication. Set up SPF and DKIM for your domain on either tool. Our post on email deliverability covers the details.
Pricing posture
Both tools price mainly on the number of contacts, with higher tiers adding features. Rather than comparing headline prices:
- Estimate your list size today and in 12 months
- List the features you need, such as automation, segmentation, events or multiple users
- Price both tools at that list size and feature level
- Include the time your team will spend learning and running each tool
Prices and plan details change, so check the current pricing pages before you decide.
Integrations
Both connect with common website platforms, forms, CRMs and ecommerce tools. Confirm the specific connection you need works the way you expect. For WordPress sites, both offer sign-up form plugins. For WooCommerce, Mailchimp has an official integration. For a CRM, check whether contacts and tags sync both ways.
When to choose each
Choose Mailchimp if:
- You want to start free and grow into the tool
- You plan to use automation and segmentation seriously
- You run an online store and want ecommerce emails
- You want landing pages and ads alongside email
Choose Constant Contact if:
- You want simple campaigns and quick setup
- You value phone and chat support
- You run regular events, classes or fundraisers
- Your team prefers fewer features and less to learn
If you find yourself needing CRM features, the decision may shift toward a different tool altogether. We compared one option in HubSpot vs Mailchimp.
FAQ
Can I move from one to the other later?
Yes. Export your contacts with their consent status and tags, recreate your templates and automations, and authenticate your domain in the new tool before sending.
Which is better for nonprofits?
Both offer nonprofit discounts. Constant Contact’s event tools are often useful for nonprofits running fundraisers and volunteer events.
Which has better templates?
Both have plenty of professional templates. Mailchimp’s editor offers a little more flexibility; Constant Contact’s is a little simpler.
Pick the tool your team will use
The best email tool is the one your team will use consistently. Match the tool to your list size, automation plans and need for support. If you want help setting up email, automation and integrations with your website, see our Automate the busywork service.
