Constant Contact Pricing 2024 – Why It’s Not for Everyone

When it comes to choosing an email marketing service, affordability matters – and Constant Contact isn’t the cheapest email marketing service out there. But after carefully testing and evaluating its two pricing plans, I’ve concluded that it’s a worthy investment for some. And if you take a look at our Constant Contact coupons, we’ll help make it a slightly smaller investment.

That said, Constant Contact isn’t right for everyone. If you’re not careful, you could end up paying way more than necessary for features you don’t actually need – especially if you have a large contact list.

If you’re located in the US, Constant Contact gives you a 60-day free trial with no credit card required. Everywhere else in the world, you can get a free month if you provide payment details upfront. But either way, there’s no forever-free plan, so you’ll want to understand the pricing structure before you invest your time in trying out this platform. Keep reading to find out if it’s right for you!

Constant Contact Features & Pricing Overview

Choose Between Two Solid – But Expensive – Pricing Plans

Constant Contact offers two pricing plans, both based on the number of contacts. It only counts active subscribers toward this total, which means unsubscribers won’t make your plan more expensive. The main differences between the two plans involve advanced email marketing and automation features, which I’ll describe below.

While there’s no free plan, you can get a generous 60-day free trial (if you’re located in the US), which is double the length of trials with other email marketing services like GetResponse. The only restriction is that you’re limited to 100 contacts during the trial, so while it’s great for testing out features and getting used to the platform, you’ll probably want to add more subscribers fairly quickly.

There’s also a money-back guarantee that applies to your first paid month, which basically means you can test out the service for three months without fully committing (again, only in the US).

Keep in mind that outside of the US, there’s no free trial offer. However, you can get your first month for free, as long as you’re okay with providing payment information in advance. You can always cancel before you’re charged for the first month if you decide that you don’t want to pay.

I go into both the money-back guarantee and cancellation process in detail below in the Refund Policy section.

Constant Contact Core Plan

This is the basic version of Constant Contact, suitable for those who are just starting out in the world of email marketing. It includes basic features like customizable templates, tracking and reporting, and automated welcome series. Unlike some other services’ starter plans, it also includes built-in A/B testing – but only for subject lines.

Monthly prices start at $12.00 for 500 subscribers or less. For each subsequent pricing tier, the cost increases quite a bit. Overall, even the cheaper plan is a fairly expensive option. There’s a 10% discount if you pay for the first 6 months upfront, or a 15% discount if you pay for the first 12 months upfront.

Constant Contact pricing for nonprofits is especially noteworthy, as those discounts increase to 20% and 30%, respectively, for qualifying organizations. And unlike many other companies, it offers this deal to organizations all over the world – not just in the US. All you have to do is provide a document issued by your country’s government to prove that you’re a nonprofit.

I would only recommend the Core plan for business owners with small contact lists who just want basic capabilities, as it’s missing some valuable features like advanced automated email series and surveys. However, even the basic version is on the pricier side, so in most cases I would suggest upgrading to Plus anyway.

Constant Contact Core Plan Pricing

Remember that list sizes of over 50,000 contacts are automatically upgraded to the Plus plan. If you have more than 50,000 subscribers and want to stick to the Core plan, you’ll need to get in touch with Constant Contact for a custom quote.

Constant Contact Plus Plan

The Plus plan includes all the features of the Core plan, plus some important additions: advanced e-commerce marketing, automated email series, coupons, event RSVPs, and several other useful features. It also includes automated resending, which we analyzed in detail in our Constant Contact review. People often ask me about Constant Contact survey pricing – I’m happy to report that you don’t have to pay extra. Surveys are included in the Plus plan (but not with the Core plan).

For small business owners who want full automation and advanced capabilities, there’s no question about it: go with Plus.

If you’re working with a team, Plus offers unlimited users, rather than the five included with the Core plan. There are no major differences when it comes to e-commerce, websites, or customer support. One interesting feature is the free new customer consultation, included with the purchase of an Plus plan, where Constant Contact will walk you through the product.

Nonprofits will also appreciate the online donations feature, which allows people to donate through a secure, mobile-responsive page.

That said, the price difference between the two plans is considerable, so make sure you’re really serious about Constant Contact before committing to Plus. The same discounts described above also apply here, including the option to try either 60 days or one month for free (depending on your location) and the money-back guarantee.

Constant Contact Plus Plan Pricing

Constant Contact Pricing Plans Comparison Table

Note: All plans have a monthly send limit of 24 times your total number of contacts. If your plan includes 500 subscribers, that’d be 500×24 = 12,000 monthly sends

Website Builder Plan

I already mentioned that both Constant Contact pricing plans include website building, but you can also access this feature as a standalone, even if you don’t need email marketing.

The Website Builder plan costs $10 per month and includes free hosting, unlimited storage, website analytics, e-commerce capabilities, and various marketing features.

This plan comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you’ve got time to test it out and see if it’s worth the money.

That said, there are plenty of other specialist website-building tools out there – such as Wix, that offer more in-depth customization options – and may be more appropriate. If you prefer the Wix platform, it comes with its own email marketing plan too: Wix Ascend.

That said, I wouldn’t recommend subscribing to this plan on its own. You might as well pay a bit more to get the full suite of email marketing features unless you have extremely specific website goals and love Constant Contact’s platform.

Constant Contact Cancellation & Refund Policy

If You Want to Cancel, Prepare to Be Put on Hold

Canceling Constant Contact isn’t as easy as it could be. It took me a while to figure out how to do it: you have to go to the My Account page, then click Edit next to Payment Plan. This takes you to a page where you can easily upgrade your plan online – but not cancel.

Scroll down to the bottom of the page and read the fine print: in order to cancel, you have to contact the Billing Team by phone.

I did exactly that, and it was easy enough, but pretty time-consuming. Since I’m located outside the US, I called the international number and was immediately put on hold. The first time I tried, the wait time was up to 20 minutes.

I called back later and waited less than five minutes, then spoke to two people who put me on hold a few more times. They asked me why I was leaving and offered a generous discount before finally canceling my account. I received a confirmation email immediately afterward.

Cancellation Details to Keep in Mind

If you’re outside of the US, you can get your first month for free by entering your payment info upfront – but remember that you’ll be automatically charged for the second month unless you cancel before your next billing date. And to make things even more confusing, your payment method may be charged up to five days before the billing date on your account page.

In other words, you have to decide within about three weeks if you want to continue with a paid plan or not. If you do decide to cancel your account, you’ll still have access up until your next scheduled billing date.

If you think you might want to reactivate your account in the future, you can temporarily suspend it instead. To maintain access to your reports and images, create emails, and keep sign-up forms active, you will pay a small monthly fee. Additionally, you will retain access to all your contacts and lists, enabling you to export them for use with a different platform if needed. However, please note that during the suspension period, you won’t have the capability to send any emails or receive survey results or event registrations.

That said, if you’re in the US you don’t need to worry about canceling during your 60-day free trial, since you won’t be required to provide payment details in advance.

Constant Contact Refund Policy

In addition to the 60-day free trial or free first month, Constant Contact has a money-back guarantee that applies to the 30 days after your first payment (no matter where in the world you’re located).

Let’s say you’re outside the US and decide to sign up for a free month, and are automatically charged for the second month – but then you change your mind. You can cancel any time before the second month ends for a full refund, meaning that you can get the first two months for free.

This money-back guarantee also applies to customers in the US. If you finish your 60-day free trial and then decide to start paying, you can cancel within the first 30 days of your paid plan and receive a full refund. In other words, you can get three full months for free with a little extra effort.

In either case, you’ll have to call the billing team on the phone to get your refund – and again, expect to be put on hold for a while.

Alternatives to Constant Contact

Constant Contact is a solid tool. Still, it’s pretty expensive considering the lack of certain useful features – like advanced A/B testing and automation – that other top email marketing services offer. In fact, some alternatives include extra capabilities at lower prices, which makes it hard to justify spending more on a Constant Contact plan.

Here are some of the top Constant Contact competitors:

• GetResponse’s Basic Plan: This is the perfect tool for bigger businesses, or small businesses hoping to scale up. It offers several advanced features like built-in send-time optimization and four types of A/B testing, starting at just $0 per month for up to 1,000 contacts. In other words, GetResponse has several extra perks that Constant Contact doesn’t offer – and at lower prices.

• ActiveCampaign’s Lite Plan: If you’re looking for an all-around email marketing tool with amazing automation capabilities, ActiveCampaign is a solid choice. Its Lite plan starts at $29.00 per month and offers more advanced features than Constant Contact, including over 100 premade automations and complex customization options. You have 14 days to try it out for free without providing any payment information upfront.

• Sendinblue’s Free Plan: This service offers a strong no-cost plan, ideal for those with an extremely tight budget. It also provides unlimited contacts, making it a superior option to Constant Contact if you have an extensive subscriber list. However, there is a cap on the number of emails you can send. But, as long as you stay below 300 per day, the no-cost plan is tough to top.

Constant Contact Competitor Comparison Table

Constant Contact Is Pricey, but It Might Be Worth It for You

There’s no question that Constant Contact has a lot to offer, but it’s a considerable investment. Several other services offer similar – or better – features for lower prices, or even for free.

However, if you want a service that combines email marketing with website building, e-commerce, event management, and more, it might be worth your money. It’s also a good choice for nonprofits, as it offers some of the best discounts on the market.

If you think Constant Contact is right for you, I recommend choosing the Plus plan. Even the Core plan isn’t the most budget-friendly choice, so it’s definitely worth it to invest a bit more and gain access to advanced automation, e-commerce marketing, surveys, and the rest of the features available.

If price is a significant concern for you, I would suggest a cheaper service like ActiveCampaign instead.

FAQ

How much is Constant Contact monthly?

Constant Contact pricing starts at $12.00 per month for the Core plan and $35.00 per month for the Plus plan, with prices increasing depending on the number of contacts. There’s also a Website Building plan which you can sign up to for free.

Does Constant Contact have a free plan?

No. However, you can try out the first 60 days for free (if you’re in the US) or get the first month for free (if you’re anywhere else) and then cancel if you decide it’s not the right tool for you. If you’re looking for a free option, I would suggest looking at Sendinblue’s generous free plan, which offers you up to 300 email sends a day and unlimited contacts.

Is Mailchimp better than Constant Contact?

IMailchimp does a few things slightly better than Constant Contact. It has a free-forever plan you can take advantage of to test the platform at your own pace, and its paid options are also considerably cheaper than Constant Contact’s. Mailchimp also features a better A/B testing tool and a more robust landing page builder. I’d also recommend checking out our list of the best email marketing services in 2024 if you’re looking for alternatives like Mailchimp.

What are the different Constant Contact pricing tiers?

The two pricing tiers are Core and Plus. Prices are based on the number of subscribers on your list, starting at 0 to 500. There are 12 different pricing levels listed for each plan, going all the way up to 50,000 contacts.