Constant Contact vs Mailchimp (2026)
A head-to-head on price, free access, and staying power. Both live and price-verified as of Jul 20, 2026.
The verdict, first
Constant Contact
- if it starts cheaper, at $12/mo against $13/mo.
- if a longer track record matters to you; it has run since 1995.
Mailchimp
- if you want a permanent free tier, not just a trial.
- if you lean toward the more recent build, from 2001.
What each one is
Constant Contact
What sets it apart A built-in AI Content Generator (launched April 2023) that drafts copy across email, SMS, and social from a short brief, layering OpenAI/ChatGPT models on top of Constant Contact's own engagement data.
Constant Contact is an email and digital marketing platform for small businesses and nonprofits. Pricing tracks contact-list size, starting at $12 a month on the Lite tier and rising through Standard and Premium as the list grows; there is no permanent free plan, only a trial. Its distinguishing piece is the AI Content Generator, added in 2023, which drafts email, SMS, and social copy from a short brief by combining the company's own engagement data with OpenAI models. It fits solo operators and small teams that want list management, scheduling, and content drafting in one place rather than a developer-oriented stack.
Sources Constant Contact - Marketing Pricing Plans · PRNewswire - Constant Contact Launches First Multichannel AI Content Generator (Apr 2023) · Wikipedia - Constant Contact · Omnisend - Constant Contact Pricing 2026
Mailchimp
What sets it apart Intuit Assist, a generative AI assistant integrated into the campaign editor that rewrites email copy in line and drafts campaigns, bundled at no extra cost on paid tiers rather than sold as an add-on.
Owned by Intuit, Mailchimp is an email and SMS marketing platform built for small businesses and e-commerce sellers. Its campaign builder embeds Intuit Assist, a generative AI assistant that edits email copy in line (adjusting length, tone, or grammar) and drafts product-announcement campaigns, included at no added charge on the Standard and Premium plans. Pricing runs from a free tier capped at 250 contacts to Essentials at $13 per month, with Standard at $20 and Premium at $350. Billing scales with contact count, so costs climb as an audience grows.
Sources Mailchimp Marketing Pricing (official) · Introducing Intuit Assist for Mailchimp (official newsroom) · Mailchimp homepage
Side by side
| Metric | Constant Contact | Mailchimp |
|---|---|---|
| From $/mo | $12 | $13 |
| Free tier | No | Yes |
| Founded | 1995 | 2001 |
| Best for | solo & SMB | solo & SMB |
| Status | Live | Live |
ALL FIGURES = LOWEST PAID MONTHLY PLAN · STATUS & PRICE VERIFIED JUL 20, 2026
Where they differ
Price
Constant Contact is the cheaper entry at $12/mo, versus $13/mo for Mailchimp. Both prices are the lowest paid monthly plan, verified Jul 20, 2026.
Free access
Mailchimp offers a permanent free tier; Constant Contact is trial-only. A permanent free tier lowers the risk of committing before you have validated the fit.
Track record
Constant Contact has been operating since 1995; Mailchimp since 2001. For a tool you build a business process on, a longer survival record matters.
Questions of record
Constant Contact or Mailchimp - which is better in 2026?
Is Constant Contact cheaper than Mailchimp?
Does Constant Contact or Mailchimp have a free tier?
Are Constant Contact and Mailchimp still maintained?
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