mailchimp vs. constant contact: which is best? [2026 review]

Mailchimp vs. Constant Contact: The Support Nightmare That's Bankrupting Small Businesses

You're probably here because someone told you Constant Contact is "easier" than Mailchimp, especially if you're not tech-savvy.

I used to think the same thing. The promise of phone support and a simpler interface sounds appealing when you're already overwhelmed by running a business. But I learned something costly about "easier": sometimes what seems simpler upfront creates bigger problems down the road.

The Philosophy That Determines Your Experience

Mailchimp built their platform around giving you powerful tools while keeping the interface manageable.

You get 24/7 email support, comprehensive automation capabilities, and detailed reporting that shows exactly how your emails perform across different providers. The free plan lets you test everything with up to 2,000 contacts. When you need advanced features like ecommerce tracking or complex workflows, they exist.

But there's a problem.

The pricing escalates quickly as your list grows. For 5,000 subscribers, you're paying $75 monthly. The interface can feel overwhelming when you're just trying to send a simple newsletter.

Constant Contact promises simplicity and personal support with phone assistance during business hours.

The interface feels less cluttered. You get 200 email templates versus Mailchimp's 100. Social media integration works smoothly. When you have questions, you can actually talk to a human being instead of waiting for email responses.

But there's a limitation.

That phone support comes at a premium. For the same 5,000 subscribers, you're paying $80 monthly. Worse, when you want to cancel, you can't do it online. You have to call them, and based on multiple user reports, they often don't call back when they promise to.

The Hidden Cost of "Easier" Support

When I ran the numbers, I was surprised by the long-term impact. Let's say you start with 1,000 subscribers and grow to 10,000 over two years. With Mailchimp, you'd pay approximately $110 monthly. With Constant Contact, the same list costs $120 monthly.

That adds up to $120 annually in extra costs. Over five years, you're looking at $600 in additional expenses for essentially the same email delivery capability.

What really caught me off guard was when Constant Contact removed their event management feature, forcing users to integrate with third-party tools like Eventbrite. If you were relying on that functionality, you suddenly face migration costs, learning new systems, and potential service interruptions.

Both platforms face identical delivery challenges. Mailchimp uses their email infrastructure, Constant Contact uses theirs, but neither can guarantee optimal inbox placement across all email providers simultaneously.

This is where Lemon Email becomes worth considering. At just €9 monthly (~$10 USD), Lemon sits on top of multiple email engines including both Mailchimp's and Constant Contact's infrastructure, plus Amazon SES, Mailgun, and others. It automatically routes your emails through whichever engine provides optimal delivery for each specific subscriber.

You get the delivery strengths of all these platforms without paying premium prices for phone support that may not even work when you need it.

The Choice That Protects Your Sanity

If you're comfortable paying extra for the promise of phone support, and you don't mind calling to cancel services, and you're okay with fewer automation options, Constant Contact's approach might work.

But if you want reliable email marketing that scales with your business, and you prefer platforms that don't hold you hostage when you want to leave, paying extra for "easier" support starts to feel like expensive hand-holding.

Something like Lemon Email won't give you Constant Contact's phone support or Mailchimp's comprehensive feature set. But at €9 monthly, it can work with both their email infrastructures plus multiple other engines, automatically choosing the best delivery path for each subscriber, without the premium pricing or cancellation headaches.

The real question is whether you're paying for email marketing results or email marketing comfort. Both have value, but only one actually grows your business without trapping you in expensive contracts.