Constant Contact — A long-established SMB platform that charges twice — once for list size and again for the features every competitor now includes as standard.
Short answer: Constant Contact prices three tiers by contact count: at 500 contacts, Lite is $12 a month, Standard $35 and Premium $80, billed monthly. Price scales with list size — at 5,000 contacts, Standard is $110 and Premium $200. Prepaying twelve months saves up to 15%, bringing Lite to $10.20, Standard to $29.75 and Premium to $68, with nonprofits saving up to 30%.
On this page
Verdict at a glance
Overall rating: 3.0/5 ★★★☆☆
Standout: Breadth and familiarity. Alongside email it bundles social marketing, landing pages, SEO tools and an Ad Manager, and its interface is genuinely approachable for non-technical users.
Watch out: You pay twice. A/B testing and segmentation require Standard, dynamic content and advanced segmentation require Premium — and both tiers also cost more as your list grows.
Constant Contact has been doing this longer than almost anyone and it shows in the right places: an approachable interface, good onboarding, and a bundle that reaches beyond email into social marketing, landing pages, SEO tools and ad management. For a small business owner who wants one familiar place to handle marketing and does not intend to become an expert, that breadth has real value, and the nonprofit discount of up to 30% on prepayment is generous. The pricing model is where it struggles against 2026 competition. Cost scales on two axes simultaneously: which tier you buy and how many contacts you hold. Lite at $12 for 500 contacts covers basic email, a welcome automation, social marketing and landing pages. A/B testing, segmentation and prebuilt automations require Standard. Dynamic content, custom automation paths, advanced segmentation, SEO tools and the Ad Manager require Premium. And both tiers escalate with list size — at 5,000 contacts Standard is $110 a month and Premium $200. Set that against Drip, which includes revenue attribution and cart recovery at $39, or EmailOctopus at a reported $20 for a comparable list with no feature gating at all, and the value case is difficult. Familiar and broad, but structurally expensive.
Quick facts
| Attribute | Detail |
|---|---|
| Ideal team | Small businesses wanting email plus social, landing pages and ads |
| Learning curve | Low — the most approachable interface in this comparison |
| Setup time | Under an hour |
| Free trial | Trial available; no free-forever plan |
| Free tier | No |
| Feature gating | ⚠️ Yes — capability split across three tiers |
| Annual saving | Up to 15% on twelve-month prepayment |
| Nonprofit | Up to 30% off with prepayment |
Overview
Constant Contact is one of the oldest names in email marketing and has evolved into a broader small-business marketing suite. Alongside campaign email it includes social marketing, landing pages, and — on higher tiers — SEO tooling and a dedicated Ad Manager. For a small business that wants a single familiar place to run its marketing rather than assembling four specialist tools, that bundle is the argument, and the interface remains among the most approachable available for people who do not work in marketing full time.
Pricing runs three tiers, each scaling with contact count. At 500 contacts, Lite is $12 a month, Standard $35 and Premium $80, billed monthly. Lite covers basic email marketing, a welcome automation, social marketing and landing pages. Standard adds A/B testing, segmentation, prebuilt automations and drill-down reporting. Premium adds dynamic content, custom automation paths, advanced segmentation, SEO tools and the Ad Manager. Prepaying twelve months saves up to 15%, reducing those figures to $10.20, $29.75 and $68 respectively, and nonprofits can save up to 30% on prepayment.
The structural problem is that cost rises on two axes at once. As your list grows, so does the price of whichever tier you are on: at 5,000 contacts Standard reaches $110 a month and Premium $200. So a business that grows its list and also needs segmentation ends up paying substantially more than the entry figures suggest, and the capabilities being paid for — A/B testing, segmentation, automation — are ones that Drip includes at $39 regardless of tier and EmailOctopus includes at every level for a reported $20 at a comparable list size. Constant Contact’s breadth beyond email is genuine, but a business that only needs email marketing is paying a considerable premium for a bundle it may not use.
Key features
- Email campaign builder — approachable for non-technical users
- Social marketing — included from the Lite tier
- Landing pages — included from Lite
- Welcome automation — basic automation on Lite
- A/B testing — ⚠️ requires Standard
- Segmentation and prebuilt automations — ⚠️ requires Standard
- Drill-down reporting — Standard tier
- Dynamic content and custom automation paths — ⚠️ requires Premium
- SEO tools and Ad Manager — Premium tier
- Nonprofit discount — up to 30% off with prepayment
Pricing (as of 2026-09-15)
Model: three feature tiers, each scaling with contact count; up to 15% off annual prepayment · Free tier: no — trial only · Entry paid: $12/mo (Lite, 500 contacts)
| Plan | Price | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Lite | $12/mo at 500 contacts · $10.20 prepaid annually | Basic email marketing · welcome automation · social marketing · landing pages · ⚠️ no A/B testing or segmentation |
| Standard | $35/mo at 500 contacts · $29.75 prepaid · ⚠️ $110/mo at 5,000 contacts | Everything in Lite plus A/B testing, segmentation, prebuilt automations and drill-down reporting |
| Premium | $80/mo at 500 contacts · $68 prepaid · ⚠️ $200/mo at 5,000 contacts | Everything in Standard plus dynamic content, custom automation paths, advanced segmentation, SEO tools and a dedicated Ad Manager |
| Nonprofit | Up to 30% off with prepayment | Applied to the standard tier pricing above |
⚠️ Cost scales on two axes simultaneously — which tier you buy and how many contacts you hold. At 500 contacts Standard is $35 and Premium $80; at 5,000 contacts those become $110 and $200. Model both your list growth and your feature needs together, since either one alone understates the bill.
⚠️ Features that competitors include as standard are tiered here. A/B testing and segmentation require Standard; dynamic content and advanced segmentation require Premium. Drip includes revenue attribution and cart recovery at $39 regardless of tier, and EmailOctopus includes its full feature set at every level.
Prepaying twelve months saves up to 15%, bringing Lite to $10.20, Standard to $29.75 and Premium to $68 at 500 contacts. Nonprofits save up to 30% on prepayment, which is among the more generous nonprofit terms in the category.
Ratings breakdown
| Criterion | Score | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Ease Of Use | 4.5/5 | The most approachable interface here for non-technical users |
| Features | 3.5/5 | Broad bundle beyond email, but core capability is tier-gated |
| Value | 2.0/5 | ⚠️ $110 at 5,000 contacts for features competitors include as standard |
| Support | 4.0/5 | Long-established support operation with good onboarding |
Pros
- Approachable interface suited to non-technical small business owners
- Bundles social marketing, landing pages, SEO tools and an Ad Manager
- Long-established support operation with strong onboarding
- Lite at $12 is a genuinely low entry point for basic email
- Up to 15% saving on twelve-month prepayment
- Up to 30% nonprofit discount with prepayment
- Drill-down reporting from the Standard tier
- Single platform for businesses that want marketing beyond email
Cons
- ⚠️ Cost scales on both tier and contact count simultaneously
- ⚠️ $110/mo Standard at 5,000 contacts, well above competitors
- ⚠️ A/B testing and segmentation require the Standard tier
- Dynamic content and advanced segmentation require Premium at $200 at 5,000 contacts
- No free-forever plan, unlike EmailOctopus and Loops
- Ecommerce automation depth trails Drip and Omnisend substantially
- Paying for a bundle that email-only businesses will not use
Who it’s for
- Small businesses wanting email, social, landing pages and ads in one place
- Non-technical owners who value an approachable, familiar interface
- Nonprofits, given the up-to-30% prepayment discount
- Teams with small lists where the tier pricing remains modest
Who it’s not for
- Cost-focused senders — EmailOctopus is a fraction of the price
- Ecommerce stores — Drip includes far deeper automation at $39
- Anyone with a growing list, where two-axis pricing compounds
- Teams who only need email and will not use the wider bundle
Best use cases
- Running email, social posts and landing pages from one small-business tool
- Sending a simple newsletter with a welcome automation on Lite
- A/B testing subject lines, from the Standard tier
- Managing paid ads alongside email through Premium’s Ad Manager
- Taking the nonprofit discount for a charity’s supporter communications
Integrations
Constant Contact connects to the common CRM, ecommerce and productivity tools plus Zapier, and its wider bundle means fewer integrations are needed in the first place — social posting and landing pages are native rather than connected. The trade-off is depth: its ecommerce integrations do not reach the level of order-and-catalogue awareness that Drip’s native connections provide, which is what makes revenue attribution and product recommendations work.
How it compares
| Constant Contact | EmailOctopus | Drip | Loops | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entry paid | $12/mo (500 contacts, Lite) | $10/mo (500 subscribers) | $39/mo (2,500 contacts) | $49/mo (5,000 contacts) |
| At ~5,000 contacts | ⚠️ $110/mo Standard | Reported ~$20/mo | ~$89/mo | $49/mo |
| All features at every tier | ⚠️ No — three feature tiers | ⭐ Yes | ⭐ Yes | ⭐ Yes |
| A/B testing at entry | ⚠️ No — Standard required | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Free tier | No | 2,500 subscribers | No — 14-day trial | 1,000 contacts |
| Beyond email | ⭐ Social, SEO, ads | No | Ecommerce only | No |
| Best fit | Traditional SMB marketing | Cheapest full-feature | Ecommerce automation | Simple SaaS email |
Resend, EmailOctopus and Loops free-tier figures are vendor-published and verified 2026-09-15. Drip, Constant Contact and some EmailOctopus and Loops paid tiers are from published third-party reporting where the vendors’ own pages could not be verified directly.
Alternatives
EmailOctopus is dramatically cheaper at comparable list sizes and includes every feature at every tier. Drip is the better choice for any ecommerce business, with revenue attribution and cart recovery included from $39. Loops offers one plan with all features for SaaS teams. Resend handles transactional email that Constant Contact does not address.
Recent changes
Constant Contact continues to run three tiers priced by contact count. At 500 contacts, Lite is $12 a month, Standard $35 and Premium $80 billed monthly, with prices scaling as list size grows — at 5,000 contacts Standard reaches $110 a month and Premium $200. Lite includes basic email marketing, a welcome automation, social marketing and landing pages. Standard adds A/B testing, segmentation, prebuilt automations and drill-down reporting. Premium adds dynamic content, custom automation paths, advanced segmentation, SEO tools and a dedicated Ad Manager. Prepaying for twelve months saves up to 15%, bringing Lite to $10.20 a month, Standard to $29.75 and Premium to $68 at 500 contacts, while qualifying nonprofits can save up to 30% on prepayment. There is no free-forever plan.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Constant Contact cost?
At 500 contacts, Lite is $12 a month, Standard $35 and Premium $80 billed monthly. Prices scale with list size — at 5,000 contacts Standard is $110 and Premium $200. Twelve-month prepayment saves up to 15%, bringing the 500-contact figures to $10.20, $29.75 and $68. Nonprofits save up to 30% on prepayment.
What is the catch with Constant Contact’s pricing?
It scales on two axes at once. You pay more for a higher tier and more again as your list grows, and the features being gated — A/B testing and segmentation on Standard, dynamic content and advanced segmentation on Premium — are ones competitors include as standard. At 5,000 contacts, Standard’s $110 buys capability that EmailOctopus provides for a reported $20.
Which Constant Contact plan do I actually need?
If you want A/B testing or segmentation — which most senders do — Standard is your floor, not Lite. Dynamic content, custom automation paths, SEO tools and the Ad Manager require Premium. Work out your feature requirements and your expected list size together, then price that combination, because either variable alone will understate the bill significantly.
Does Constant Contact have a free plan?
No, only a trial. If a free-forever tier matters, EmailOctopus offers 2,500 free subscribers with 10,000 monthly emails and Loops offers 1,000 free contacts with all features. Both let you build a list before paying anything, which Constant Contact does not.
Constant Contact or Drip?
Drip for any ecommerce business — it includes revenue attribution, cart abandonment and product recommendations at $39 regardless of tier, where Constant Contact’s comparable depth sits on Premium at $200 for a 5,000-contact list. Constant Contact if you want social marketing, landing pages and ad management bundled alongside email in one familiar interface.
Is Constant Contact good for nonprofits?
The pricing is, comparatively. Nonprofits can save up to 30% on prepayment, which is among the more generous terms in this category and materially narrows the gap against cheaper competitors. The bundled social marketing and landing pages also suit organisations without a marketing function. The feature gating still applies, so price the tier you need rather than the entry one.
What does Constant Contact include beyond email?
Social marketing and landing pages from the Lite tier, plus SEO tools and a dedicated Ad Manager on Premium. That breadth is its genuine differentiator — no other platform in this comparison bundles ad management and SEO. Whether it justifies the premium depends entirely on whether you will use those tools, since a business sending email only pays for them regardless.
Sources
- Constant Contact — official marketing pricing plans
- Omnisend — Constant Contact pricing: plans, costs and fees 2026
- EmailToolTester — Constant Contact pricing: learn how much it’ll really cost you
- EmailOctopus — official pricing page
- Sender — Drip pricing: plans, hidden fees and real costs 2026
Compiled from public sources; last verified 2026-09-15. Pricing is subject to change — verify with the vendor. Ratings reflect editorial opinion based on documented capabilities, published pricing, and aggregated user reviews. DigiJaws does not accept payment for review placement or rating.
Constant Contact Review (3/5): Pricing & Verdict (2026). DigiJaws, 2026. https://digijaws.com/reviews/constant-contact-review/