Constant Contact and MailerLite both target small businesses with email marketing, but they take fundamentally different approaches to the same audience. Constant Contact has spent 30 years building feature breadth: event registration, SMS marketing, surveys, social tools, nonprofit pricing, and phone support on every plan. MailerLite has spent the past decade building feature depth at significantly lower price points with a notably cleaner modern user interface, free plan up to 1,000 subscribers, and an aggressive expansion into adjacent products like the built-in website builder and digital product sales.
The decision between the two comes down to whether you need SMB-specific features that MailerLite does not offer (events, SMS, nonprofit discount, phone support) or whether you want the most affordable feature-rich modern email platform available with a generous free plan. At equivalent feature scope, MailerLite is consistently 40 to 60 percent cheaper than Constant Contact at most subscriber tiers, which adds up to meaningful annual savings for businesses where price matters.
I am Trevor Fenner, founder of Ecommerce Paradise, and this is the honest 2026 comparison between Constant Contact and MailerLite after evaluating both for different business types. For broader context on the email marketing category, see my Constant Contact pricing breakdown and the other comparisons in this cluster (vs Mailchimp, vs HubSpot, vs Brevo, vs Klaviyo, vs Flodesk, vs Kit).
This review contains affiliate links to both Constant Contact and MailerLite. If you sign up through my links, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. All opinions reflect my honest assessment of both platforms.
Constant Contact: Feature Breadth For Small Businesses And Nonprofits
Three decades of small business email and SMS marketing infrastructure with event registration, surveys, social tools, nonprofit 30% discount, and phone support on every paid plan. Starts at $12 per month on the Lite plan. The right choice for small businesses, nonprofits, and event-driven operations that need broad SMB features in one platform and value SMB-specific tools over the lowest possible price.
Quick Verdict
Choose Constant Contact if you need SMB-specific features that MailerLite does not offer, including event registration and ticketing, SMS marketing, integrated survey tools, social media tools, and phone support on every paid plan. Constant Contact also wins decisively for nonprofits qualifying for the 30 percent discount, which makes it dramatically cheaper than MailerLite for 501(c)(3) organizations.
Choose MailerLite if price matters and you want the most affordable feature-rich modern email platform available. MailerLite wins on pricing at every subscriber tier (40 to 60 percent cheaper than Constant Contact), free plan generosity (up to 1,000 subscribers and 12,000 monthly emails versus Constant Contact’s trial-only model), interface modernness, drag-and-drop website builder included, and AI writing assistant integration. MailerLite also wins for creators and small business owners who do not need events, SMS, or nonprofit discount but do need solid email marketing on a tight budget.
Both platforms have strong deliverability, comparable automation depth, and reliable infrastructure. This comparison is mostly about whether you need the SMB-specific features Constant Contact offers or whether you want significantly lower pricing with a cleaner modern interface.
Quick Pricing Comparison
| List Size | Constant Contact (Standard) | MailerLite (Growing Business) | Savings With MailerLite |
|---|---|---|---|
| 500 contacts | $35/month | ~$10/month | ~70% cheaper |
| 1,000 contacts | $45/month | Free (up to 1K) | MailerLite free here |
| 2,500 contacts | $65/month | ~$25/month | ~60% cheaper |
| 5,000 contacts | $110/month | ~$39/month | ~65% cheaper |
| 10,000 contacts | $155/month | ~$73/month | ~50% cheaper |
| 25,000 contacts | $275/month | ~$169/month | ~40% cheaper |
| 50,000 contacts | $370/month | ~$289/month | ~20% cheaper |
MailerLite is consistently cheaper than Constant Contact at every subscriber tier, with the savings gap widest at smaller list sizes (where MailerLite’s free plan or low entry pricing dominates) and narrowing at higher list sizes (where both platforms approach enterprise pricing). Over a year, a 5,000-subscriber business pays approximately $1,320 on Constant Contact Standard versus $468 on MailerLite Growing Business, an $852 annual difference.
According to EmailToolTester’s price comparison analysis, MailerLite consistently ranks among the most affordable feature-rich email platforms in the major small business category, and the pricing gap versus Constant Contact has actually widened in recent years as Constant Contact has held pricing steady while MailerLite has improved features without raising rates significantly.
Constant Contact Pricing Structure (2026)
Constant Contact uses three tiers with contact-based scaling within each tier.
Lite at $12 per month (500 contacts) includes basic email marketing with Constant Contact branding visible in your emails, one user account, and limited automation. The branding requirement makes it impractical for professional use.
Standard at $35 per month (500 contacts) removes branding, adds three user accounts, A/B testing, multi-step marketing automation, and contact segmentation. The practical starting plan for most small businesses. Scales to $110 per month at 5,000 contacts and $275 per month at 25,000 contacts.
Premium at $80 per month (500 contacts) adds unlimited users, dynamic content, advanced reporting, and 500 SMS credits per month.
Annual prepay gives a 15 percent discount. Nonprofit pricing is 30 percent off with 501(c)(3) proof. Phone support is included on every paid plan, which is rare in the category and a genuine differentiator versus MailerLite.
For the full Constant Contact pricing breakdown, see my Constant Contact pricing guide.
MailerLite Pricing Structure (2026)
MailerLite uses a generous free plan plus three paid tiers that scale with subscriber count.
Free plan up to 1,000 subscribers with 12,000 monthly emails, drag-and-drop editor, basic automation, signup forms, landing pages, email support during business hours, and access to the built-in website builder. This is one of the more generous free tiers in the major email marketing category. Note that the free plan applies MailerLite branding to your emails, similar to Constant Contact’s Lite plan branding.
Growing Business starts at approximately $10 per month for 500 subscribers with unlimited emails, removes MailerLite branding, adds auto-resend, dynamic content, custom HTML editor, advanced segmentation, and unlimited templates. Scales to approximately $25 per month at 2,500 subscribers, $39 per month at 5,000 subscribers, $73 per month at 10,000 subscribers, and $169 per month at 25,000 subscribers.
Advanced starts at approximately $20 per month for 500 subscribers and adds AI writing assistant, custom HTML newsletters, smart sending optimization, multiple triggers per automation, Facebook integration, and priority support. Scales similarly to Growing Business but with a higher per-tier rate.
Enterprise custom-priced for accounts above 100,000 subscribers with dedicated success manager, deliverability consulting, and custom service-level agreements.
Annual billing provides approximately 15 to 30 percent discount across paid tiers. No phone support on any plan (this is the most notable feature gap versus Constant Contact). No nonprofit discount equivalent to Constant Contact’s 30 percent off.
Always verify current pricing on MailerLite’s site before signing up, as subscription tier thresholds occasionally adjust.
Free Plan: MailerLite Wins Decisively
Constant Contact does not offer a free forever plan, only a 30-day free trial. To keep your account active beyond the trial, you must commit to a paid plan starting at $12 per month for the Lite plan with branding requirements.
MailerLite offers a free plan supporting up to 1,000 subscribers and 12,000 monthly emails. For a small business or creator just starting out, this means you can build your audience to 1,000 subscribers and run regular campaigns without paying anything. Once you outgrow the free plan limits, the Growing Business plan starts at approximately $10 per month, which is still cheaper than Constant Contact’s branded Lite plan.
For new businesses or small lists, this is the most significant practical difference between the two platforms. The free plan removes the financial friction of starting email marketing entirely, while Constant Contact requires commitment from day one.
Before you commit to either platform, make sure email marketing actually fits your stage and audience. Grab my free beginner guide → so you know which marketing channels deserve your time first.
Automation Depth: Both Strong, Subtle Differences
Both platforms have genuinely deep automation capabilities. This is not a comparison where one platform is clearly more advanced. The differences are subtle and calibrated to different priorities.
Constant Contact’s automation includes multi-step welcome series, behavioral triggers on opens and clicks, segmentation triggers, list-based triggers, anniversary and date-based triggers, and multi-path conditional branching. Strong for small business use cases like event follow-up, lead nurturing across multiple products, and re-engagement campaigns.
MailerLite’s automation uses a visual workflow builder where you create triggers, actions, conditions, and delays. The Advanced plan adds multiple triggers per workflow, which enables more sophisticated logic. The interface is cleaner and more intuitive than Constant Contact’s older automation editor, which makes ramp-up time significantly faster for new users. Tag-based segmentation, conditional logic, behavioral triggers, and date-based triggers are all supported.
Both platforms handle the standard small business automation workflows (welcome series, abandoned engagement, post-purchase follow-up, segmented broadcasts) well. The choice on automation alone is more about which interface fits your working style than about which platform has more capability.
Modern Interface And User Experience
This is one of the most significant qualitative differences between the two platforms.
MailerLite’s interface is significantly more modern than Constant Contact’s. The dashboard, campaign builder, automation editor, and template gallery all reflect contemporary SaaS design standards. The drag-and-drop editor is genuinely intuitive, the workflow visualization is clean, and the overall ramp-up time for new users is measurably faster than Constant Contact’s older interface.
Constant Contact’s interface has improved over the years with regular UI updates, but the underlying structure still reflects the platform’s age. New users coming from modern SaaS applications often find Constant Contact’s interface dated by comparison. This does not affect what the platform can do, only how pleasant the daily working experience is. According to Sender’s analysis of email platform usability, interface friction is one of the most common reasons small businesses switch email platforms, and platforms that have rebuilt their editors in the past few years tend to retain users longer than platforms running on older codebases.
For solo operators or small teams who spend significant time in their email platform, MailerLite’s UX advantage compounds into meaningful productivity gains over months and years of use. For businesses where a designated marketing team or assistant handles email work, the UX difference matters less because the operator is not directly interacting with the platform daily.
Unique Features Each Platform Has
Constant Contact Exclusives
Event registration and ticketing built into the platform. Constant Contact lets you sell tickets, manage registrations, track attendance, and follow up with attendees through the same platform you run your email marketing. MailerLite does not offer this. For service businesses, coaches, nonprofits, or any business with frequent events, this consolidates tools meaningfully.
SMS marketing on Premium plan with 500 SMS credits per month included and additional credit purchases available. Cross-channel campaigns combining email and SMS in the same automation workflow. MailerLite does not offer SMS marketing at all.
Nonprofit pricing at 30 percent off on all plans with proof of 501(c)(3) status. MailerLite has no equivalent nonprofit discount, which makes Constant Contact dramatically cheaper for qualifying nonprofits despite the higher base pricing.
Survey tools for structured feedback collection from subscribers, embeddable in emails or hosted as standalone pages. MailerLite’s form tools cover signup forms well but the survey-specific feature set is less developed.
Phone support on every paid plan. This is rare in the email marketing category and a genuine differentiator. MailerLite offers email support across all paid plans and priority support on Advanced, but no phone support on any tier.
Social media tools for cross-posting email content to social channels. MailerLite treats social as a separate concern.
MailerLite Exclusives
Drag-and-drop website builder included with paid plans. For small businesses needing a basic website alongside email marketing, this removes the need for a separate WordPress or Wix subscription. Constant Contact has basic landing pages but no full website builder.
Sell digital products directly through MailerLite with payment processing through Stripe, paid newsletters, and digital download delivery. Constant Contact does not have a built-in digital product checkout, requiring separate tools like Gumroad or ThriveCart for digital sales.
AI writing assistant on the Advanced plan helps generate subject lines, email copy, and content variations. Constant Contact has added some AI features but MailerLite’s integration is more developed.
Auto-resend campaigns automatically re-send broadcasts to subscribers who did not open the first send, with a different subject line. This is a small but meaningful conversion lever that Constant Contact does not have at the same level of automation.
Newsletter referral program for encouraging existing subscribers to bring in new subscribers through reward-based mechanics. Constant Contact does not have an integrated newsletter referral system.
Significantly lower pricing at every subscriber tier, which is itself a meaningful differentiator for cost-conscious businesses.
Deliverability And Infrastructure
Both platforms have strong deliverability infrastructure. Constant Contact has 30 years of investment and ISP relationships. MailerLite has spent the past decade building deliverability infrastructure specifically tuned for small business email and creator content.
According to EmailVendorSelection’s deliverability benchmarking, both platforms achieve inbox placement rates above the industry average for opted-in subscriber lists. MailerLite’s inbox placement has improved significantly in recent years and is now genuinely competitive with the larger established players. Constant Contact’s deliverability is strong across the wider range of email types small businesses send including promotional, transactional, event, and survey emails.
For mission-critical deliverability (transactional emails, time-sensitive promotions, financial communications), both platforms are sufficient. The choice on deliverability alone is not a meaningful differentiator.
Support And Customer Service
Constant Contact includes phone support on every paid plan, live chat during business hours, and a comprehensive knowledge base. 30 years of customer service investment is reflected in response times and the ability to escalate complex issues. For business owners who need to call someone when something breaks, Constant Contact is the safer choice.
MailerLite provides email support on all plans (including free) and priority support on the Advanced plan, plus a comprehensive knowledge base. Response times on email support are generally good, and the support team has a reputation for being genuinely helpful with technical issues. The community on social media and forums is active. No phone support on any tier.
For solo operators and small teams comfortable with asynchronous text-based support, MailerLite is fine. For traditional small business owners who prefer the option to pick up the phone, Constant Contact’s phone support is a genuine value-add.
Who Should Choose Constant Contact
Small businesses with multi-channel marketing needs. If you use email plus SMS plus events plus surveys plus social, Constant Contact consolidates these in one platform.
Nonprofits qualifying for the 30 percent discount. Once the nonprofit pricing is applied, Constant Contact is often cheaper than MailerLite for nonprofits despite the higher base pricing.
Event-driven businesses running workshops, conferences, fundraisers, networking events, or educational programs. The built-in event registration is genuinely useful and removes the need for a separate Eventbrite.
Businesses needing SMS marketing integrated with email in the same automation workflows.
Businesses where phone support matters. If you need to call someone when something breaks during a campaign, Constant Contact is the safer choice.
Service businesses, B2B small businesses, and professional service firms where the feature breadth Constant Contact offers (surveys, events, social, SMS, email) all contribute to the operation, even if individually each feature is replaceable with a standalone tool.
MailerLite: Modern Email Marketing At The Lowest Practical Cost
Free up to 1,000 subscribers with 12,000 monthly emails included. Paid plans start at approximately $10 per month for unlimited emails. Drag-and-drop website builder, digital product sales, AI writing assistant, auto-resend campaigns, and newsletter referrals included on the right tiers. The most modern interface in the small business email marketing category at consistently 40 to 60 percent lower price than Constant Contact.
Who Should Choose MailerLite
Small businesses on a tight marketing budget where the 40 to 60 percent pricing difference versus Constant Contact translates to meaningful annual savings. For a 5,000-subscriber business, the annual savings are over $800.
Solopreneurs and creators starting from zero who want a free plan up to 1,000 subscribers with no time-limited trial. MailerLite’s free plan is one of the most generous in the category for businesses just starting out.
Operators who value modern UX and spend significant time in their email platform. MailerLite’s interface is measurably more pleasant to use than Constant Contact’s older design, which compounds into productivity gains over years of use.
Small businesses needing a basic website alongside email marketing. The built-in drag-and-drop website builder removes the need for a separate WordPress or Wix subscription for businesses with simple website requirements.
Creators selling digital products who want email marketing plus checkout in the same platform without the operational complexity of separate tools like Gumroad or ThriveCart.
Operators who do not need SMB-specific features like events, SMS, surveys, or social tools and would rather get strong core email marketing at a significantly lower price.
For Ecommerce Operators Specifically
Neither Constant Contact nor MailerLite is the right primary email platform for an ecommerce store running on Shopify, WooCommerce, or BigCommerce. Both platforms can technically integrate with ecommerce platforms, but neither is purpose-built for the ecommerce automation flows (abandoned cart, browse abandonment, post-purchase sequences, win-back campaigns, product recommendation flows) that drive most of the revenue email marketing generates for online stores.
For ecommerce operators, my primary recommendation remains Omnisend. Omnisend is purpose-built for Shopify and other ecommerce platforms, includes pre-built revenue flows that typically generate 25 to 35 percent of total store revenue, and integrates SMS, email, push notifications, and segmentation in a single ecommerce-native platform. The Shopify integration is deeper than the bolt-on integrations Constant Contact and MailerLite provide.
The honest hierarchy: if you run an ecommerce store, use Omnisend. If you run a traditional small business with SMB-specific needs (events, SMS, nonprofit, phone support), use Constant Contact. If you want the most modern affordable email marketing platform without those SMB-specific needs, use MailerLite. Match the platform to the business model.
For the broader context on running an ecommerce business that leverages email properly, see my complete guide to high-ticket dropshipping and high-ticket niches list.
What To Pair With Either Platform
Whichever email platform you choose, here is the broader stack I run alongside on most of my own businesses.
For your ecommerce platform if you sell physical products, Shopify is the foundation. For your theme, Turbo by Pixel Union is what I use on most of my own stores for the speed and conversion advantages.
For website hosting on the content side of your operation, WPX Hosting delivers managed WordPress hosting with 30-second support response on every plan. If you choose MailerLite and use its built-in website builder for landing pages but still want a full WordPress content site, WPX is the strongest hosting pairing.
For bookkeeping, FreshBooks works for most small businesses in their first few years and integrates cleanly with Stripe for revenue tracking from MailerLite digital sales or any other payment processor you use.
For business phone, Phone.com delivers business VoIP starting at $11.99 monthly with SOC 2 compliance. If you choose MailerLite (no platform phone support), having a dedicated business phone setup matters more for handling customer-facing calls.
For LLC formation, Northwest Registered Agent is my primary recommendation for US-based founders at roughly $539 over 5 years with genuine privacy protection. Operating as a registered LLC matters for legitimate email marketing practice, since the business name on your CAN-SPAM compliance footer should be a real legal entity.
For broader business infrastructure, the complete guide to finding suppliers covers the operational side for ecommerce operators, and the complete business formation checklist covers the legal foundation that supports compliant email marketing practice.
The Bottom Line
Constant Contact and MailerLite both target small businesses, but they win different fights. Constant Contact wins on feature breadth (events, SMS, nonprofit, phone support) and traditional small business credibility. MailerLite wins on price (40 to 60 percent cheaper), modern interface, and generous free plan up to 1,000 subscribers.
Choose Constant Contact if you need SMB-specific features that MailerLite does not offer, if you qualify for the nonprofit 30 percent discount, if you run an event-driven business, or if phone support matters for your operational style.
Choose MailerLite if you want the most affordable feature-rich email marketing platform, if you are starting from zero subscribers and want a real free plan up to 1,000, if modern UX matters for your daily workflow, or if you need a basic website builder or digital product sales included with your email tool.
Choose Omnisend if you run an ecommerce store on Shopify, WooCommerce, or BigCommerce. Neither Constant Contact nor MailerLite is the optimal choice for a physical product ecommerce operation focused on revenue maximization per subscriber.
If you want me to build the whole Shopify operation for you on a proven niche with the right email infrastructure pre-configured, my done-for-you store build service handles it end-to-end. If you want one-on-one help working through your specific platform choice and email strategy, private coaching is the most direct path.
Try Constant Contact Free For 30 Days
Full access to all Standard plan features for 30 days with no credit card required. Test the event registration, automation, segmentation, A/B testing, and survey tools against your specific small business needs. If Constant Contact fits, you keep the platform you tested. If MailerLite is the better fit for your situation, you can switch over without losing anything.
FAQ
Is MailerLite really cheaper than Constant Contact?
Yes, significantly. At 5,000 subscribers, Constant Contact Standard costs $110 per month versus MailerLite Growing Business at approximately $39 per month, a 65 percent difference. At 25,000 subscribers, Constant Contact costs $275 per month versus MailerLite at approximately $169 per month, a 40 percent difference. Over a year, a 5,000-subscriber business saves over $800 by choosing MailerLite. The pricing gap is widest at smaller list sizes and narrows at higher subscriber counts.
Does MailerLite have a free plan?
Yes, up to 1,000 subscribers and 12,000 monthly emails. The free plan includes drag-and-drop editor, basic automation, landing pages, signup forms, and website builder access. MailerLite branding is applied to emails on the free plan. Constant Contact does not offer a free forever plan, only a 30-day free trial of paid features.
Does MailerLite offer SMS marketing or event registration like Constant Contact?
No. MailerLite is email-first and does not offer SMS marketing or event registration tools. If SMS is a meaningful channel for your business, Constant Contact Premium includes 500 SMS credits per month and integrates SMS into the same automation workflows as email. For event-driven businesses needing built-in event registration, ticketing, and attendance management, Constant Contact is the only choice between these two platforms.
Which platform is better for nonprofits?
Constant Contact wins for nonprofits. The 30 percent nonprofit discount applies to all paid plans with proof of 501(c)(3) status, which often makes Constant Contact cheaper than MailerLite for qualifying nonprofits despite the higher base pricing. For a 5,000-subscriber nonprofit, Constant Contact Standard with nonprofit pricing is approximately $77 per month versus MailerLite Growing Business at approximately $39 per month. Nonprofit pricing narrows but does not eliminate the gap, though Constant Contact’s event registration is often more valuable for nonprofit operations than the absolute lowest price.
Does MailerLite have phone support?
No. MailerLite offers email support on all paid plans and priority email support on the Advanced plan, but no phone support on any tier. Constant Contact includes phone support on every paid plan, which is rare in the email marketing category and a genuine differentiator. For business owners who need to call someone when something breaks during a launch, Constant Contact is the safer choice.
Can I sell digital products through Constant Contact like MailerLite?
Not natively. Constant Contact does not include a built-in checkout for digital products. You would need to pair it with Gumroad, ThriveCart, SamCart, or a similar tool. MailerLite has built-in digital product sales with Stripe payment processing, which is one of the strongest reasons digital product creators choose MailerLite over Constant Contact.
Which platform should I choose if I am running an ecommerce store?
Neither, if you run a physical product ecommerce store on Shopify, WooCommerce, or BigCommerce. Both Constant Contact and MailerLite are general-purpose small business email platforms rather than ecommerce-specialized tools. For ecommerce-specific automation flows (abandoned cart, browse abandonment, post-purchase, win-back), use Omnisend instead. For the broader strategic context on which marketing channels deserve your time, see my Ecommerce Paradise training.
Want a fully-built high-ticket dropshipping store with the right email infrastructure pre-configured (Omnisend integrated, automation flows installed, subscriber capture in place)? Skip months of setup. See the turnkey store build service →
Related Articles
If you found this useful, these guides go deeper on related topics:
- Constant Contact Pricing 2026: Complete Breakdown
- Constant Contact vs Mailchimp 2026
- Constant Contact vs HubSpot 2026
- Constant Contact vs Brevo 2026
- Constant Contact vs Klaviyo 2026
- Constant Contact vs Flodesk 2026
- Constant Contact vs Kit 2026
- Omnisend: My Preferred Email Platform For Ecommerce
- Complete Guide To High-Ticket Dropshipping
- High-Ticket Niches List 2026
- Complete Guide To Finding Suppliers
- Complete Business Formation Checklist
Trevor Fenner is an ecommerce entrepreneur and the founder of Ecommerce Paradise, a platform focused on helping entrepreneurs build and scale profitable high-ticket ecommerce and dropshipping businesses. With over a decade of hands-on experience, Trevor specializes in high-ticket dropshipping strategy, niche and product selection, supplier recruiting and onboarding, Google & Bing Shopping ads, ecommerce SEO, and systems-driven automation and scaling. Through Ecommerce Paradise, he provides free education via in-depth guides like How to Start High-Ticket Dropshipping, advanced training through the High-Ticket Dropshipping Masterclass, and fully done-for-you turnkey ecommerce services for entrepreneurs who want a faster, more hands-off path to growth. Trevor is known for emphasizing sustainable, real-world ecommerce models over hype-driven tactics, helping store owners build scalable, sellable, and location-independent brands.
