Mailchimp vs Constant Contact (2026)

Verdict

Pick Mailchimp if a US shop wants the tool a part-time marketer already knows, a Free plan under 250 contacts, and a path toward Square or Shopify later. Pick Constant Contact if the person who hits send wants a human on the phone and the email is really an event or a Saturday promo. Do not pick either because a postcard said the first month is cheap. Do not pick either as a CRM. HubSpot is that fork, and it is a different mistake.

This is a local-business comparison for restaurants, retailers, studios, and contractors with hundreds or a few thousand contacts. It is not a Klaviyo bake-off and it is not a generative AI writer ranking. Subject-line assistants inside these products are not the job. Those catalogs stay on Aiacent. The short list lives on best email tools for local businesses. How to choose email software is the process if you have not decided the job yet.

What we can price as of September 22, 2026

Mailchimp’s public marketing page confirms Free for under 250 contacts, with send caps (a 500-per-month or 250-per-day style limit shows up on the comparison grid). Essentials, Standard, and Premium are contact-tiered. The page hides many dollar figures until you pick a band. Standard is the plan that unlocks the automation most shops use. Nonprofit discounts are listed. Confirm mailchimp.com/pricing/marketing/.

Constant Contact’s email plans are contact-tiered on constantcontact.com/pricing. The marketing page has been bot-gated when we tried to freeze a grid. We will not invent a “$12 for 500 contacts” number from a 2024 roundup. Open the calculator in a browser, export the list size you will have in December, and budget the renewal — not the trial.

• Under 250 contacts and you will send yourself: Mailchimp Free is a real product. Do not upgrade for sport.
• A holiday list that jumps a tier: both vendors bill the jump. Screenshot the next band before November.
• SMS: an add-on with credits that expire. Keep it out of the email decision.
• A “we’ll help you send it” motion: that is Constant Contact’s actual product. Price the support, not a $3 delta you cannot see.

The job

Local email is a permissioned list, a template that looks like the shop, a from-address on a domain you authenticate, and a person who will press send. Mailchimp still wins the “everyone has seen this editor” test, and its integrations are why a boutique already on Square or Shopify drifts there. Constant Contact still wins the “my manager will call support” test. Event promotion and email sit together in a way that matches studios and restaurants.

Deliverability is on you in both products: a real domain, a clean list, and a reason people signed up. Neither tool repairs a purchased list. Neither tool is your privacy policy. If you are emailing customers who paid you, say so. If you are emailing a chamber spreadsheet, stop.

Who should pick which

• Gift shop, café, or studio under 250 contacts: Mailchimp Free. Revisit when the cap or the send limit binds.
• Owner who will not learn a new editor and wants a phone number: Constant Contact. Confirm the contact band in the calculator.
• Designer or marketer already inside Mailchimp: do not switch for a postcard price.
• You already log jobs in HubSpot: send from HubSpot. A second list is the mess. See the email ranking.
• Ecommerce lifecycle, flows, and a Shopify Plus catalog: this page is the wrong aisle. Do not drag a local ESP into that job, and do not drag an AI copy desk into this one.

The third path

Brevo’s Free plan — up to 300 emails a day after sending approval, on the FAQ we read — is the on-ramp if Mailchimp’s 250-contact box is the wrong shape and you do not need Constant Contact’s phone motion. Transactional and marketing email can share a vendor. Account approval is a real step; do not promise a Friday blast the night you sign up. Confirm brevo.com/pricing/.

HubSpot’s free CRM sends “we’re open Saturday” to a few hundred contacts if the shop already lives there. Marketing Hub Professional is how a flyer becomes an onboarding invoice. Leave it until someone on staff owns campaigns. How to choose email software for a local business walks that fork without a scoreboard.