Since I have spent a lot of time with various email marketing services, I know that the feeling of choosing among them is crazy. It’s a judgment call that impacts not only your budget but also the time, effort, marketing and (perhaps most importantly) long-term health of your business.
In this article, I’m going to go for a bearfight vs. comparison between two of the most widely-used email marketing tools on earth -Mailchimp Vs Constant Contact. All platforms are good, but which would you actually trust to deliver results?
Mailchimp Vs Constant Contact: Overview
Mailchimp
Founded in 2001, Mailchimp began as a simple email marketing tool and expanded over the years into an all-encompassing marketing platform. It has a lot – email automation, analytics, landing pages and even CRM. Mailchimp is celebrated for its drag-and-drop friendly interface and is primarily leveraged by solopreneurs or small businesses, as well as bloggers!
Constant Contact
Founded in 1995, Constant Contact is one of the veterans of email marketing. It’s a platform built to serve small businesses, non-profits, and entrepreneurs. Constant Contact is focused on simplifying email marketing, providing an easy-to-use platform that includes drag-and-drop features, automated email campaigns and a broad selection of customer service. It is also famous for its responsive customer service and dependable email delivery.
Mailchimp Vs Constant Contact: Pricing
Price is a major consideration when comparing tools, and not unreasonably so. It’s important that you choose a platform that fits your budget and offers the features you need. Pricing Breakdown Let’s dissect the pricing plans for Mailchimp and Constant Contact to see how each compares.
Mailchimp Pricing
Mailchimp offers several different pricing levels to match your needs. Here’s a closer look at the choices:
Free Plan: For little startups, with 500 subscribers and email No limit per month. You also receive basic templates, audience segmentation and email tracking. If you’re bootstrapping or just getting started and need to get your feet wet at no cost, consider the Free plan.
Essentials: For $13 per month and up, this plan features 500 emails per month, email templates and automation for up to 50,000 subscribers. It’s a nice choice if you’ve outgrown the Free plan and seek additional customization.
Standard: For $20 monthly, you get up to 100,000 subscribers, advanced segmentation, reporting and more automation. It’s ideal for SMEs that require a little bit more power and control.
Premium: Beginning at $350 a month, this plan addresses the needs of larger businesses — with greater complexity. It comes with advanced segmentation and multivariate testing, and priority support.
Constant Contact Pricing
Constant Contact’s pricing.If you are new to email marketing it does have one of the simpler and easier plans to comprehend. Here’s how it breaks down:
Lite At $12 a month for up to 500 subscribers, this plan offers simple email templates, marketing automation and social media integration. It’s ideal for new bloggers who want to start building an email list and need to experiment with the effectiveness of email marketing.
Standard: This plan costs from $45 a month for up to 500 subscribers and includes all of the Email features as well as advanced options such as email A/B testing, surveys, event management and coupons.
This plan is perfect for the growing business that requires more advanced features and access in order to manage various aspects of their marketing campaigns.
Premium: This plan costs $80 a month will various premium features.
My Pricing Verdict: If you’re limiting the amount of money you spend with a CRM, Mailchimp’s Free plan will likely be more acceptable to bootstrapped startups or small businesses and has plenty of room for growth.
For those looking for a robust feature set without the burden of a steep learning curve, Email Plus by Constant Contact is targeted at businesses who have outgrown old tools and are ready to take their marketing to the next level.
Mailchimp Vs Constant Contact: UI and Usability
When you’re a lone ranger like I am, the interface is important. You want something that’s intuitive, easy to navigate and doesn’t take long to get the hang of. You don’t have time for a platform that’s needlessly complicated.
Mailchimp’s User Interface
Mailchimp has a generally clean and contemporary look that is well-regarded by many. The service provides a neatly structured dashboard where you can get to everything from campaigns, audience insights and automation tools.
The drag-and-drop editor is easy enough for novices to get the hang of, but it also provides advanced users plenty of options. But as easy to use as Mailchimp is overall, we found it can be a little intimidating for beginners given all the advanced features and more complex automations or segmentation you may eventually want to explore.
Constant Contact’s User Interface
Easy to use, simplest of all The place where Constant Contact excels is its ease-of-use. The interface is designed to be as simple and easy to use possible. Once you enter the platform, your greeted with an easy dashboard that helps you set up your email campaigns.
It’s so easy to use with its drag and drop editor, you’ll never get lost — no one will give you 10,000 design options! You can make your emails look professional in minutes, which is perfect if you want to get up-and-running in no time without a big learning curve.
My Take on Ease of Use: If you’re new to email marketing or looking for something that’s simple to set up, Constant Contact has the edge. Its ease of use and simplicity makes it a great choice for novices or those who want an interface that’s easy to use.
Mailchimp Vs Constant Contact: Email Templates and Customization
The appearance of your emails is also very important when it comes to encouraging subscribers to open them. Both have a lot of themes available, but what about customizing?
Mailchimp’s Templates
Mailchimp provides an extensive directory of email templates based on industry, occasion and intent. Whether it’s a newsletter, promotional email or a transactional email, Mailchimp takes care of everything.
You can easily make changes to these templates with the platform’s drag-and-drop editor, although you also have the option to edit the HTML code for more control over design. If you have technical skills, Mailchimp’s customization capabilities are pretty robust.
Constant Contact’s Templates
Constant Contact also has a good selection of email templates, with a modern look and feel and options for different types of businesses. But it’s not as rich in options as Mailchimp. It’s also pretty easy to personalize, though you don’t have as much freedom towards doing so.
For instance, you have the ability to change colors, typefaces and images, but the layout and structure as a whole is slightly more constraining than Mailchimp’s.
My Verdict on Templates and Customization: If you are looking for a high level of flexibility and endless customization possibilities, Mailchimp is the winner here. But if you want ease of use and a faster setup option, Constant Contact is one step ahead — especially for those who don’t want to be overwhelmed by excessive detail.
Mailchimp Vs Constant Contact: Automation Features
When you’re a solo entrepreneur or small business owner, your time is everything. That’s where automation comes in. Mailchimp vs Constant Contact: The comparison between their automation tools Both platforms have automation components, but how do they stack up to each other?
Mailchimp’s Automation
Mailchimp excels in automation. If you’re looking to build a basic welcome email sequence, nurture leads with a series of drip campaigns or craft complicated workflows based on user behaviour, then Mailchimp provides what you need. The site lets you build automated email sequences for various customer pathways. It also plugs into e-commerce platforms where you can send personalized product recommendations, track purchase history and automate abandoned cart emails. Mailchimp’s automations are far-reaching, and deliver impressive options for the more-than-the-basics demands of a marketer.
Constant Contact’s Automation
As for automation, Constant Contact does include some basic automations like welcome emails, birthday and automated “connect” follow-ups. But it doesn’t have as great depth or flexibility as Mailchimp. It is ideal for users who have basic needs, but if you are looking for more advanced automation workflows or detailed customer segments it somewhat lacks.
My Automation Verdict: If automation is what you care about, then Mailchimp takes the prize. It provides more advanced workflows and personalization, key for businesses looking to scale up on email marketing.
Mailchimp Vs Constant Contact: Customer Support
I cannot emphasize enough how significant good customer support is, especially when you’re inside of a one-person business. Let’s see how support is handled with both sides.
Mailchimp’s Support
Mailchimp provides 24/7 support via email, as well as chat for the higher-tier plans and with a strong, easily searchable knowledge base including video tutorials, guides and community forums. The support is good overall, but free plan users tend to moan about slow replies. You can expect the support to be more and more responsive if you have a higher plan.
Constant Contact’s Support
Constant Contact is known for its customer service. They provide their users with live chat and call support, along with email support for all package. The service also gives users access to a vast support library, online learning resources and webinars. It is also a significant positive if you are in need of reliable support – many users say Constant Contact’s support team is very helpful and fast to respond.
My Customer Support Verdict: Constant Contact provides outstanding customer support and offers several ways to get in touch with a real person for all users, so for people who need help in hurry, it’s the superior choice.
Mailchimp Vs Constant Contact: Analytics and Reporting
Both feature robust analytics to help you monitor the success of your email campaigns. But which of them actually garner you the insights to enhance your strategy?
Mailchimp’s Analytics
Mailchimp offers detailed reports that include statistics, such as read and click rates – as well as bounces and trackable social media results. If you’re an e-commerce owner, you can also monitor which products were sold, how much revenue was generated and customer buying behavior. The advanced reporting tools are great for anyone who is invested in a deeper look at their campaign performance, and Mailchimp also provides A/B testing to help you hone your strategies.
Constant Contact’s Analytics
Email analytics: Constant Contact gives you a little bit and not much else in terms of email reporting. You will receive metrics such as open rates, click-through rates and bounce rates, but it does not provide the level of detail that Mailchimp does. It also doesn’t have advanced features such as A/B testing and multivariate testing, so you’re a little restricted in the way that you optimize your campaigns.
My Verdict on Analytics: Mailchimp offers a hell of lot more intuitive and informative analytics – this is important for companies that run full-time email marketing campaigns.
Final Decision: Mailchimp Vs Constant Contact
Overall, Mailchimp and Constant Contact both provide strong email marketing solutions but what’s best for you will ultimately depend on your unique needs and business goals.
•Select Mailchimp if you are looking for a fully equipped marketing database with advanced automation and analytics and many options of customization. It’s ideal for scaling businesses or marketers who require more flexibility in their advertising campaigns.
• If ease of use is a priority and you want stellar customer support, go with Constant Contact. It’s great for small businesses or anyone just starting out with email marketing and who wants something easy to use that will yield results.
All that to say, it’s what you find works best for you at the end of the day. Take your time, experiment with both (Mailchimp even has a free plan), and decide which one caters closer to your email marketing needs.
Click here to read my content on Email Marketing for Lawyers.
FAQs
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What is the main difference between Mailchimp and Constant Contact?
The main distinction is that Mailchimp provides more advanced functionality— automation, segmentation and analytics — which means that it’s better suited to growing businesses and marketers. Constant Contact is the opposite, offering simplicity above all, with a user-friendly interface and strong customer support for small businesses and beginners.
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Is Mailchimp really free to use?
Yes, Mailchimp has a free plan and it lets you add up to 500 subscribers and send out 500 emails each month. It’s a good choice for beginners, but the free plan is limited with fewer advanced features and branding on the emails. Additional customization and functions are available for paid plans.
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Which platform is better for beginners, Mailchimp or Constant Contact?
Constant Contact is better for newbies thanks to its straightforward, intuitive interface and beginner-friendly simplicity. It has a drag-and-drop editor, it’s easy to use for beginners, and its customer support is the best. Mailchimp, too, is beginner friendly — but can get that much more complex when doing things like making a chain of advanced features.
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Does Mailchimp have better automation than Constant Contact?
Yes, Mailchimp does have more sophisticated automation than Constant Contact. Mailchimp lets you develop dynamic workflows, such as triggered emails, segmenting-based automations and product recommendations for e-commerce. Constant Contact provides very basic automation features such as welcome emails but it doesn’t have the power or flexibility that Mailchimp does.
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How much does Mailchimp cost compared to Constant Contact?
This service offers a free plan for e-mail beginners, and its paid plans begin at $13 monthly. If you want additional functionality, the premium plan costs $350 a month. Thereafter, Constant Contact’s paid plans begin at $12 monthly for the Email plan and $45 per month for the Email Plus plan. Where Mailchimp is more flexible in its free plan options, Constant Contact presents a good value by sticking to the basics of what you need.
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Which platform has better email templates, Mailchimp or Constant Contact?
Mailchimp has more templates and is more customizable. It has templates tailored to various industries and uses, so design lovers have much more flexibility. There is a good range of templates in there as well, but personalisation options are more limited than what you get with Mailchimp’s superior editing options.
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Which is better for customer support, Mailchimp or Constant Contact?
As for Constant Contact, the exceptional customer service is what sets it apart — you can receive live chat, phone support, and email support whether you are on this basic plan or not. It’s famous for its responsive and supportive staff. Mailchimp does have 24/7 email support and live chat available with higher-tier plans, though it has received criticism about slow response times particularly for users on the free plan.
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Does Constant Contact have good reporting features like Mailchimp?
Level of reporting is basic, providing open rates, click-through rates, bounces. But it does miss out some advanced reporting features like A/B testing, and detailed segmentation analysis in Mailchimp. For deeper insights and fact-based decisions, Mailchimp is equipped with more advanced analytics and reporting options.
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Can I integrate Mailchimp or Constant Contact with my e-commerce store?
While each platform has e-commerce integrations, Mailchimp’s are more plentiful. You’re able to connect Mailchimp with platforms such as Shopify, WooCommerce and BigCommerce so you can automate your emails based on customer actions and orders. Constant Contact also integrates with e-commerce platforms, although the selection is smaller than Mailchimp.
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Which email marketing platform is more affordable for small businesses, Mailchimp or Constant Contact?
It’s typically cheaper than Mailchimp for small businesses, in part because it provides a free plan with a decent feature set. If you’re just setting out and have fewer than 500 subscribers, you can start for free. Constant Contact is overall more user-friendly, but the basic Email plan comes in at a minimum monthly investment of $12 on a month-by-month basis.