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2026-11-02 04:52 Tool comparisons

Constant Contact vs MailerLite (2027): Pricing, Free Plan, Automations and Landing Pages for a Small Startup List

Constant Contact vs MailerLite: Which Email Marketing Tool Fits a Small Startup List in 2027?

When your list is a few hundred people, the choice between Constant Contact and MailerLite comes down to four things: what you pay for your contact count, whether there is a free plan, how many automations you get, and whether you can build signup and landing pages without a website. We checked both pricing pages (default view), the trial terms and the automation, landing page and AI feature pages on constantcontact.com and mailerlite.com in November 2026, so this comparison shows what a startup actually gets in 2027. If you run an online store and need email plus SMS automation, compare Klaviyo vs Constant Contact as well.
Quick answer: choose MailerLite if you are pre-launch or bootstrapped: it is free up to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month, and on its default yearly view the Comfort plan costs $10.80 a month for 500 subscribers with 50 automations. Choose Constant Contact if you want live phone and chat help on every plan, social posting, events and SMS (US only) in the same account, and you are fine paying from day one: plans start at $10.20 a month billed annually (Lite), but custom automations need Premium, which starts at $68 a month billed annually.
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Constant Contact vs MailerLite at a Glance

Constant ContactMailerLite
What it isEmail, social, SMS and event marketing for small businessesEmail marketing with automations, websites, landing pages and digital products
Free planNo, paid plans onlyYes: 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails a month, 2 seats, 3 active automations
Paid plans (yearly billing)Lite from $10.20, Standard from $29.75, Premium from $68 a month; price set by contacts and sendsComfort $10.80 and Power $22.50 a month for 500 subscribers; Enterprise custom from 200,000
Monthly billingLite from $12, Standard from $35, Premium from $80 a monthComfort $12 and Power $25 a month for 500 subscribers
Free trial30 days, no credit card; 30-day money-back guarantee on new plans14 days of paid features, no credit card
Email sends10x contacts (Lite), 12x (Standard), 24x (Premium); $2 per 1,000 extra sends2,500 (Free), 10x your subscriber tier (Comfort), unlimited with fair use (Power)
Automation1 template (Lite), 3 templates (Standard), unlimited and custom paths (Premium)3 active automations with 5 steps (Free), 50 (Comfort), unlimited (Power); up to 3 triggers on Power
Landing pagesLanding page builder with forms, surveys and link-in-bio templates1 website and 1 landing page (Free), 10 (Comfort), unlimited (Power)
SupportLive phone and chat on every plan; priority team on PremiumKnowledge base (Free), email (Comfort), live chat and email (Power); no phone
Sources: constantcontact.com/pricing (default view: Annual, starting prices) and mailerlite.com/pricing (default view: 500 subscribers, billed yearly, USD), checked 2 November 2026.

Constant Contact: Paid All-in-One Marketing With Live Support

Constant Contact sells itself as a digital marketing platform for small businesses: email, social media posting, SMS, events, surveys, landing pages and ads in one account, with live phone and chat support on every plan and more than 300 integrations, including Google, Microsoft, Canva, Zapier, Shopify and Eventbrite. Its AI Assistant drafts emails, texts and social posts from a prompt, edits contacts from a chat, and turns each email into social posts.
Automations: the Constant Contact automation tools cover scheduled emails and texts, automatic resends to non-openers, behaviour-based tags (clicks, purchases, event attendance) and pre-built flows for abandoned carts, upsells and win-back offers. Custom automation paths with your own triggers and branches are a Premium feature; Lite includes one automation template and Standard three, plus an AI campaign builder.
Landing pages: the landing page builder has templates for link in bio, events, portfolios and product launches, forms and surveys to collect names and emails, AI writing, a desktop and mobile preview, and reports on visits, clicks and traffic sources.
On the Constant Contact pricing page (default view: annual billing, starting prices, November 2026):
  • Lite: from $10.20 a month billed annually ($12 monthly): 1 user, email sends up to 10x your contacts, 1 automation template, 1 custom segment, basic reporting, social posting.
  • Standard: from $29.75 a month billed annually ($35 monthly): 3 users, 12x sends, 3 automation templates, AI campaign builder, resend to non-openers, scheduling, subject line A/B testing, 10 segments, open and click reporting.
  • Premium: from $68 a month billed annually ($80 monthly): unlimited users, 24x sends, unlimited and custom automations, ecommerce templates, unlimited segments, dynamic content, Google Ads Manager, SEO recommendations, revenue reporting, 500 SMS a month and a priority support team.
  • Multi-Account: for teams that need 5 or more accounts; talk to sales.
  • Extras: extra sends cost $2 per 1,000; SMS is for US customers only and costs from $10 a month for up to 500 messages on Lite and Standard; inbox preview is a $10 monthly add-on.
Price and contact count: Constant Contact says every price is based on your number of contacts and email sends, and the default view only shows starting prices, so check the tier for your own list size before you buy. There is no free plan. The free trial needs no credit card, and Constant Contact's email marketing page calls it a 30-day trial; according to Constant Contact's own community support answers, a trial account can send 100 emails in total. New paid plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee, and nonprofits can save up to 30% when they prepay for 12 months.
Best for: local businesses and founders who want someone to call, plan social posts, events and SMS next to email, and do not mind paying from the first month.
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MailerLite: Free Plan and More Automations for Less

MailerLite is built for creators, founders and small businesses: email campaigns with drag-and-drop, HTML and simple editors, automations, signup forms and pop-ups, landing pages, a website builder with a blog, digital products, bookings and paid newsletters. It promises 24/7 support, though on the Free plan that means the knowledge base, on Comfort email support and on Power live chat as well.
Automations: the MailerLite automation builder starts workflows from groups, forms, link clicks, dates such as birthdays and anniversaries, purchases and abandoned carts. You can combine conditions, delays and A/B tests with up to 3 variations, and on Power you can give one automation up to 3 triggers. Free allows 3 active automations with 5 steps, Comfort 50 with 100 steps, and Power unlimited automations with up to 100 steps.
Landing pages and sites: Free includes 1 website and 1 landing page and can use the AI landing page builder once; Comfort allows 10 sites and landing pages, Power unlimited. That is enough for a waitlist page before you have a website.
On the MailerLite pricing page (default view: Marketing tab, 500 subscribers, billed yearly, USD, November 2026):
  • Free: $0 for up to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month, 2 user seats, 3 active automations, 1 website, 1 landing page and 3 forms. Above 250 active subscribers, sending is locked until you upgrade or remove subscribers.
  • Comfort: $10.80 a month ($129.60 billed yearly; $12 without the yearly discount) with 5,000 emails a month, 50 automations, 10 forms, 10 sites, 3 seats and email support.
  • Power: $22.50 a month ($270.00 billed yearly; $25 without the discount) with unlimited emails (fair use), automations, forms, sites and seats, multiple automation triggers, and live chat and email support.
  • Enterprise: custom pricing from 200,000 subscribers.
  • Trial and discounts: a 14-day trial of paid features without a credit card (your data stays if you do not upgrade), and 30% off paid plans for approved nonprofits. MailerLite stores data in the EU.
Best for: founders who want to start a waitlist or newsletter today for free, run several automations on a small budget, and can live without phone support.
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What Changed Since the Old Version of This Comparison

  • MailerLite's free plan is smaller. The old article said it covered 1,000 subscribers and 12,000 emails a month; the current Free plan covers 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails.
  • Constant Contact plans are now Lite, Standard and Premium, priced by contacts and sends, with a free trial that needs no credit card and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
  • Support facts updated: Constant Contact offers live phone and chat on every plan; MailerLite has no phone support and adds live chat on Power.
  • Removed: statistics and claims we could not source, and links to third-party review sites.

Constant Contact or MailerLite: Which Should Your Startup Choose?

  • You are pre-launch and building a waitlist: MailerLite Free. A landing page, a form and a welcome automation cost nothing until you pass 250 subscribers.
  • You send a newsletter plus a few automated flows: MailerLite Comfort gives you 50 automations for $10.80 a month at 500 subscribers; on Constant Contact the same custom flows need Premium.
  • You want a human on the phone: Constant Contact, which includes live phone and chat support and 1:1 onboarding on every plan.
  • You run events, social posts and SMS in the US: Constant Contact keeps them in the same account as email. See also our guide to SMS marketing for startups.
  • You sell digital products, bookings or paid newsletters: MailerLite has these built in.
  • You want to compare more tools first: read our lists of free Mailchimp alternatives and open-source Mailchimp alternatives, or Autopilot (now Ortto) vs MailerLite if you need multi-channel journeys.
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How Founders Use Email Marketing on a Small List

For an early-stage startup, email is the cheapest channel you own, and both tools charge by list size, so a clean, engaged list keeps the bill low. Start with one signup page and a short welcome series, then follow our guides to build a waitlist of 1,000 customers and to land your first 10 paying customers. Before you pay for traffic, read why AI landing pages fail, and keep sales conversations next to your list with one of the CRM tools for startups.
Email rarely works alone. Connect your forms, shop and CRM with one of the open-source Zapier alternatives, and schedule the social posts that send people to your signup page with the free Hootsuite alternatives or after comparing Hootsuite vs CoSchedule. Plan what you spend on tools with the marketing budget calculator, find places to list your startup in the F/MS Marketing Directories, turn your best emails into search traffic with the F/MS AI SEO Tool, and validate your startup idea with the first people who sign up.

FAQ About Constant Contact vs MailerLite

Which is better for a startup: Constant Contact or MailerLite?

For most early-stage startups, MailerLite: it has a free plan up to 250 subscribers and more automations on its cheaper plans. Constant Contact is the better fit if you want live phone support, social posting, events and US SMS in one paid account.

Is Constant Contact free?

No. Constant Contact is a paid platform without a free plan. It offers a free trial that needs no credit card (its email marketing page calls it a 30-day trial), and new paid plans have a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Is MailerLite free?

Yes. The Free plan covers up to 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails a month, 2 seats, 3 active automations with 5 steps, 1 website, 1 landing page and 3 forms. Above 250 active subscribers, sending is locked until you upgrade.

How much does Constant Contact cost in 2027?

When we checked in November 2026, the default pricing view showed starting prices of $10.20 (Lite), $29.75 (Standard) and $68 (Premium) a month billed annually, or $12, $35 and $80 paid monthly. Your exact price depends on your number of contacts and email sends.

How much does MailerLite cost in 2027?

When we checked in November 2026, the default view (500 subscribers, billed yearly) showed Comfort at $10.80 a month and Power at $22.50 a month. Prices rise with your subscriber count, and Enterprise is custom from 200,000 subscribers.

Which one has better automations for a small budget?

MailerLite. Its Free plan runs 3 automations and Comfort 50, with conditions, delays and A/B tests. On Constant Contact, Lite has one automation template and Standard three; custom automation paths need Premium.

Can I build landing pages with both tools?

Yes. Constant Contact has a landing page builder with forms, surveys and link-in-bio templates. MailerLite includes 1 website and 1 landing page on Free, 10 on Comfort and unlimited on Power.

Which one offers phone support?

Constant Contact offers live phone and chat support on every plan, with a priority team on Premium. MailerLite has no phone support: Free gets the knowledge base, Comfort email support, and Power live chat and email.

Where can I submit a guest post about my startup?

You can publish a guest post in one of the Fe/male Switch startup blogs, which rank in Google and in AI tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity. Get a quality backlink.

Can I use AI to write SEO articles that bring subscribers?

Yes. The F/MS AI SEO Tool turns a keyword into an article built to rank on Google and to be cited by AI assistants, so more readers reach your signup form.

About the Author

Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.