Constant Contact Pricing Plans

Constant Contact's pricing is based on three different plans: Lite, Standard and Premium. Each plan has been designed to fit your needs as you grow your email list. The Lite plan costs $12 per month for a base number of up to 500 contacts. The standard plan costs $35 per month and the premium plan costs $80 per month.

We do want to note that when you hit specific subscriber numbers (for example, when you have your 501st contact, you'll be charged $30 instead of $12) your cost will increase significantly, so please make sure to check how many subscribers you have before committing to one of their plans. Before locking yourself into a tier, it’s smart to see whether a current Constant Contact discount can soften these pricing jumps.

We think the Lite plan is perfect for anyone that wants an electronic bullhorn without the bells and whistles. You will receive a basic editor and social post options, but you will be limited to 10 times the amount of emails you can send out to your contacts and you will be limited to only having one user.

For our part, we feel like most businesses that are looking to grow will find the Lite plan too limiting. The Standard plan is what we usually recommend as a real starting point. For $35 per month you will receive subject line A/B testing and automated resend options, both of which we feel are very important for getting people to open your emails. The Standard plan also increases your send limits to 12 times your contact count and will allow for 3 users, which we feel is much more realistic for a small group of employees.

The Premium plan is where the cost of Constant Contact goes overboard at $80+. With the premium plan you will double your sending capacity to 24 times and add unlimited users. While we understand that some of the features offered in the Premium plan may be useful for a few of our clients, we truly feel that this plan is used by power users of the system and the Standard plan is still the best "bang for your buck" for the average business that is looking to get beyond simply creating newsletters.

Constant Contact supports businesses as a central "Marketing Headquarters," providing a bridge between a simple e-mail and a multichannel campaign. We think one of Constant Contact's largest strengths is the way they lower barriers to entry for complex marketing activities such as segmenting lists and branding across platforms. One of the largest examples of this is the Branded Template Builder, which allows you to simply add your company website URL and the template builder will pull your logo and colors to create a consistent theme. For small business teams who do not have a full-time graphic designer, this tool is extremely beneficial and provides an opportunity for these teams to create branded e-mails and social media posts that appear to be created by a top-tier marketing firm.

In addition to designing a brand, we believe the support that Constant Contact offers is also what makes them worth the cost. As compared to other SaaS tools that hide their customer service behind multiple layers of chat bots, Constant Contact maintains a focus on offering live phone support regardless of pricing plan. Having a live person available to assist with a broken automation sequence at 2 PM is a major safety net.

Lastly, the addition of Generative AI tools has greatly enhanced Constant Contact's capabilities. Rather than just being able to send mail, the ability to use Constant Contact's Generative AI to create a social media post, SMS message, etc., off of an e-mail in seconds, is a game-changer. While we believe Constant Contact's automation may not be "Pro-Grade" (like Active Campaign), we believe Constant Contact is the safest bet for companies looking to spend less time struggling with software and more time communicating with their clients.

When thinking about what type of teams will benefit the most by using Constant Contact, we are talking about teams that will put an emphasis on "human" support, and speed in getting tasks done versus technical support. We see this platform as a safe haven for both non-profit and event-based organizations, since it offers many built-in tools for RSVP tracking, and ticket sales. I truly believe this is the best option for teams that do not wish to "duct-tape" together three separate apps to simply host a charity gala or a local workshop.

We also believe that "Main Street" small businesses (real estate agencies, local boutique stores, law offices) will also find the most success with this service. Most small business owners do not have a "Marketing Ops" person, therefore we highly recommend Constant Contact due to the live phone support available. I personally believe that being able to speak to a "live human" when your automation fails is well worth the additional cost, compared to less expensive "self-service" competitors.

I believe that if your company is a rapidly growing e-commerce start-up, looking for advanced data mining capabilities, you may find this product to be a bit limited. However, for a team of one marketer, or a small group of volunteers who wish to appear professional while not having to learn how to code, I feel like this is the most dependable engine out there. If you are a team of marketers that wish to have your marketing "completed" versus "optimized" through never-ending technical tweaking, I would highly recommend this.

To consider the question of whether Constant Contact is an appropriate investment for business growth, we need to get beyond the hype of "AI" and look at the true Return on Effort (ROE). In our opinion, Constant Contact is a High-Return-on-Effort (HROE) tool primarily because it excels at what ultimately is the one thing that matters most to all businesses - getting your emails delivered into people's email inboxes. Consistently maintaining deliverability rates above 90% is something we believe will provide a level of dependability for a growing business over many lower-cost, entry-level options which are often relegated to spam folders by inbox filters.

We recommend using Constant Contact for organizations looking to grow without having to hire a full-time SaaS Manager. The primary value of the product is based upon how it saves you time - e.g., the Brand-Crawling Tool which creates your template in seconds is a lifesaver. To us, for a small business, "growth" often simply means doing more with less. By bundling event management, SMS, and social media into a single dashboard, we believe it removes the "Subscription Bloat" that can cripple the budget of a small company.

That being said, from our perspective, you need to be mindful of the scaling costs associated with Constant Contact. Although the initial pricing model is relatively affordable, the jump in prices can be significant once your list grows. That being said, we believe it would be a solid investment for those who are able to utilize the automation and A/B testing capabilities within the Standard and Premium plans to create revenue. If you are simply manually sending one newsletter per month, I do not believe there is enough growth potential to justify the cost. My take: Constant Contact is a growth engine, but only if you're prepared to put it in gear.

Mostly when we examine what Constant Contact plan wins the popularity contest, we're usually looking at the Standard plan. While the Lite tier has a very attractive $12 entry point, we feel that most businesses will find that they've outgrown it before long. The Lite plan has some limitations that prevent it from being suitable for those who want to really build their list, etc.

The Standard plan is our belief to be the "sweet spot" because it opens up the features that make the biggest difference for your business — subject line A/B testing and automatic resend to those who did not open your email in the first place.

We also feel that most users go with the Standard plan because it is the most "business ready" plan. With three seats included (instead of the one seat in the Lite plan), this allows us to recommend the Standard plan for any team that is not strictly a solo operation. We feel that the Lite plan is typically more of a teaser compared to the Standard plan, and while the Premium tier ($80+) includes the "marketing brain" (such as pre-built automation templates) of the system, it's much more expensive than the Standard plan.

Unless you're a power user requiring the Dynamic Content or unlimited automation paths available in the Premium tier, you'll likely join the majority of users on the Standard plan. As such, we consider the Standard plan to be the best all-around investment for building your business — it offers the capabilities necessary to grow your list and send campaigns that represent your brand professionally, but is simple enough that you won't need a month of training to use it effectively.

To truly leverage a Constant Contact plan, your strategy needs to focus on more than just hitting "send"—it's about maximizing your return while keeping your overhead low. In our opinion, many teams end up overpaying because they don't audit their usage or take advantage of existing financial shortcuts. We recommend the following tactics to keep your marketing lean and effective:

1. Switch to annual billing: We think this is the easiest "win" for your budget. By paying for a full year upfront rather than monthly, you can snag a 15% discount. If you're running a nonprofit, that jumps to a 30% reduction when you prepay, which we believe is unbeatable for tight budgets.

1. Optimize your pricing plan: If you aren't using multi-step automation or subject line A/B testing, you might be over-provisioned. We recommend reviewing your current pricing plan; if those high-tier features are sitting idle, moving down to a cheaper pricing plan (like Lite) can save you a chunk of change every month.

1. Trim the extras: Keep an eye on your add-ons. Features like SMS marketing or advanced inbox previews often come with extra fees. In our view, it’s best to limit these extensions unless they are directly driving revenue.

1. Use our marketplace for deals: We suggest you check our Constant Contact promo page regularly to catch the next round of discounts and save on your new pricing plan.

When we look at whether Constant Contact is more affordable than Mailchimp, the answer is rarely a simple "yes" or "no" because their pricing structures cater to very different types of growth. If you are just starting from zero, Mailchimp often feels more affordable because they still offer a "Free" tier for up to 500 contacts, whereas Constant Contact has shifted entirely to a paid model after their 30-day trial. However, we think the "affordability" conversation changes the moment you start scaling and need actual human support.

In our view, here is how the two stack up:

1. Entry-level costs: Constant Contact’s Lite plan starts at $12/month, which is slightly cheaper than Mailchimp’s Essentials ($13/month). However, Mailchimp’s mid-tier "Standard" plan starts at $20/month, significantly undercutting Constant Contact’s $35/month Standard tier for the same 500 contacts.

1. Feature value: We think Constant Contact offers better value for non-technical teams because phone support is included on all plans. With Mailchimp, you have to pay for their $350/month Premium plan just to get a human on the phone, which in our opinion, is a hidden cost for businesses that can't afford to be stuck on a chatbot.

1. List hygiene: A huge win for Constant Contact is that they don't charge you for unsubscribed contacts. Mailchimp counts everyone in your "Audience" toward your bill, which we believe can lead to "sneaky" price hikes if you aren't constantly scrubbing your list.

We recommend checking out our full Constant Contact vs Mailchimp comparison to see the deep dive on how these costs shift once you hit 2,500 or 5,000 subscribers. Ultimately, we feel Mailchimp is cheaper for those who are self-sufficient and tech-savvy, but Constant Contact is often the better investment for those who value simplicity and live assistance. A side-by-side look at current Mailchimp discounts versus Constant Contact deals can make the pricing gap much clearer depending on your growth stage.