Constant Contact has the second largest market share after Mailchimp making it the second most used email marketing tool. But, Constant Contact's market share dropped from 8.69% to 5.08% from 2020 to 2022, respectively.
Also, the search volume plummeted in 2014 and has never reached the same level. So, what does it mean?
Based on these numbers, we decided to share a Constant Contact review based on our experience with the tool and its customer feedback.
Table of Contents
What is Constant Contact?
Constant Contact is an email marketing and CRM platform established in 1995, and over the years, they have become one of the most used tools in email marketing. The tool is catered mostly to small businesses and helps them grow their audience, manage their email campaigns, build landing pages, and promote events.
What are Constant Contact's core features?
Constant Contact stands out among its competitors due to its wide range of features not limited to email marketing. Let's have a look at some of its core features:
1. Drag-and-drop email builder
The drag-and-drop editor is easy to use. Pre-made content blocks for headings, layouts, images, and footers make it easy to create engaging emails in a few clicks.
Here are what is available in this feature:
Pre-made blocks for headings, layout, CTAs, footers, coupons, etc.
Multiple ways to add images:
Upload from device
Import from Facebook
In-built stock image option
Customize the entire design from color scheme to font color, types, and sizes.
Preview, test, and check for error options to avoid post-send errors.
- The 'Check for Errors' option is helpful as it outlines the errors in your email (check the screenshot below), such as long subject lines, missing or broken links, small button sizes for mobile devices, and more. It's helpful as you can avoid email mistakes after you hit send.
2. Email automation
The email automation isn't Constant Contact's flair, as the UI looks confusing and outdated compared to other automation tools.
Note: The navigation bar has no clear option to create an automation. You need to go to campaigns > create > select automation to avail of this feature.
This window will pop up, and here, you have to select which kind of automation you want to build. We selected the trigger 'open your email.'
What a bit odd we found that once you select the trigger in the above step, you cannot add multiple triggers in the automation journey. You can only add one of these conditions: wait for specific days or send an email immediately. This limits personalized and targeted email automation.
3. Event creation and promotion
One of the distinguishing features is event creation and management.
The tool helps you create and promote your events. You must add your event details, such as venue, date, time, guest names, etc. Once you have added the information, you must select how to collect the registrations: you can build a landing page and registration form.
You can watch this demo video to create and promote an event in Constant Contact.
4. Reporting and analytics dashboard
The reporting dashboard gives you extensive insights into your campaign's performance and growth trends based on previous campaigns.
Here's all information you get:
Growth trend report based on previous email campaigns' performance
Collect insights into your email campaign and e-commerce store in a single dashboard.
Personalized tips based on the campaign's performance to improve it further.
You can filter by click rate and click-to-open rate to better analyze your campaign's performance.
Email campaign overview with tabular representation and growth trends:
Subscriber's growth and behavioral report:
Constant Contact pricing details
Constant Contact has two pricing levels: one for email marketing services and the other for lead generation and CRM.
Here's the pricing breakdown of email marketing services offered by Constant Contact:
| Number of Contacts | Core Plan | Plus Plan |
|---|---|---|
| 500 | $9.99/mo. | $45/mo. |
| 2500 | $35/mo. | $70/mo. |
| 5000 | $9.99/mo. | $95/mo. |
| 10,000 | $80/mo. | $125/mo. |
| 15,000 | $105/mo. | $180/mo. |
| 25,000 | $155/mo. | $270/mo. |
| 35,000 | $210/mo. | $350/mo. |
| 50,000 | $300/mo. | $410/mo. |
| 50,000+ | Talk to the sales team | Talk to the sales team |
If you're a non-profit and opt for their annual plan, you get a 30% discount.
Get a detailed analysis of Constant Contact's email marketing pricing.
For lead generation and CRM services, Constant Contact offers three plans.
| Number of Contacts | Essential | Advanced | Ultimate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 500 | $199/month | $599/month | $899/month |
| 10,000 | $399/month | $799/month | $1249/month |
| 25,000 | $549/month | $1149/month | $1749/month |
| 50,000 | $699/month | $1499/month | $2299/month |
| 75,000 | $849/month | $1799/month | $2799/month |
| 1,00,000 | $1049/month | $1999/month | $3099/month |
Get a complete analysis of Constant Contacts' lead generation and CRM pricing plans.
Constant Contact's key strengths and weaknesses
Based on Constant Contact's customer review, we have highlighted the pros and cons of the tool:
Strengths/Pros
- User-friendly interface: The UI of the entire tool is easy to navigate as it has a top-fold navigation. From drag-and-drop editor to analytics dashboard, even a beginner can understand it.
The dashboard is extremely easy to navigate. The layout is clean. The block builder for campaigns is simple drag-and-drop, and there's plenty of memory to store photos and PDFs. The data is easy to understand (opens, CTR, etc.). - David M., Director of Communications and PR
Extensive integrations: Constant Contact offers 500+ integration and add-ons with almost all the tools, whether lead generation or signup tools.
Niche features: Constant Contact offers niche features such as creating a logo, selling products, and scheduling social media posts. It also helps you run events and sell tickets with additional fees.
High deliverability rate: Constant Contact has performed spectacularly with Emailtool Tester's email deliverability test. It maintained an average deliverability rate of 90.4, per the required standards.
Weaknesses/Cons
Huge pricing compared to features offered: The pricing is a bit higher, considering the features aren't that advanced. For instance, MailerLite charges $247/month for its advanced plan for 50k subscribers, while Constant Contact charges $410/month.
Difficult to cancel your subscription: It's a long and tiring process to cancel your subscription as you have to call their support team to do that.
It's very difficult to cancel the account, you can not delete your data online, also they will argue with you to cancel. No refunds are given if you are unhappy with the products.
- Lack of smooth collaboration: The tool cannot handle multiple people working as it starts to lag or may make the entire process slow and time-consuming.
My team has difficulty using it when there's more than one person online trying to assemble emails. When more than one of us is logged in, regardless of whether we're working on the same email, the account often freezes and doesn't save progress. In our experience, you can only work collaboratively on one email.
Is Constant Contact the right tool for you?
Now, the biggest question. Should you use Constant Contact as your email service provider? We've jotted down key pointers to help you decide:
When it's recommended
You run or manage events: Constant Contact stands out among other ESPs as the only tool offering event marketing services. You can create registration forms, sell tickets, and manage your event KPIs.
If you're a complete beginner: As a beginner, you might have a small email list which means this tool can be affordable.
If you want to run SMS marketing campaigns too: Constant Contact has the feature to run SMS campaigns. But, SMS is only available in the US for core and paid plans. SMS can be added to your account after purchase.
When it's not
You want to use advanced automation: The automation sequences aren't very useful and come with limited segmentation and trigger options. So, if you rely heavily on email automation, consider other ESPs.
You have a huge email list but a low budget: One key drawback of Constant Contact is that the more your subscribers increase, the steep prices increase steeply, making it a costly tool.
Constant Contact alternatives
Check out these Constant Contact alternatives that are much more affordable and might be the right choice.
Mailmodo
Mailmodo is one of the emerging and best email marketing platforms that help you create and send interactive AMP emails, build automated journeys, and create trigger campaigns. Apart from this, the tool is much cheaper than Constant Contact and is also known for its excellent customer support, one of the major issues Constant Contact users face.
Constant Contact vs. Mailmodo: Which one should you use?
| Criterion | Mailmodo | Constant Contact |
|---|---|---|
| No-code email builder | For both AMP and HTML emails with 200+ pre-made templates to start with | Only HTML emails and more than 250 pre-made templates |
| AMP email support | ✅ | ❌ |
| Transactional emails | Available on all plans | Only on paid plans |
| Dedicated support | Email, chat & phone support 24/7 | Email and chat support |
| Custom template import | Available on all plans | Only on paid plans |
| Email automation | ✅ | ✅ |
| Dynamic email & personalization | ✅ | ❌ |
| List Management | ✅ | ✅ |
| Reports and Analysis | ✅ | ✅ |
| Subject line A/B testing | ✅ | ✅ |
| Number of integrations | 20+ integrations | 300+ integraions |
| Pricing | For 40,000 contacts: - Lite: $199/mo - Pro: $249/mo - Max: $419/mo |
For 40,000 contacts: - C- ore: $240/mo |
When should you choose Mailmodo over Constant Contact?
There are various reasons for choosing Mailmodo over Constant Contact:
- When you have a huge email list but a low budget
Mailmodo is a much more affordable tool than Constant Contact. With the Silver plan, you can send emails to 40,000 contacts for only $99/month, while the cost for the same number of contacts is over $240+/month on their essential plan.
- Excellent 24/7 customer support matters to you.
Our customers have praised us for our reliable and excellent customer support. The CS team can readily resolve customers' queries and lead them in the right direction, even if you're on the free plan.
- If you want to send interactive AMP emails
AMP emails are the future of email marketing as they allow you to reduce friction and let your recipient take action inside the email. Mailmodo is the only ESP that helps you create and send responsive and engaging AMP emails with its no-code email template builder. So, if you want to use both AMP and HTML email, go for Mailmodo.
Other Constant Contact alternatives
Check out these Constant Contact alternatives that are much more affordable and might be the right choice.
| MailerLite | Mailchimp | Active Campaign |
|---|---|---|
| MailerLite vs. Constant Contact | Mailchimp vs. Constant Contact | Active Campaign vs. Constant Contact |
Mailchimp
Mailchimp is the closest alternative with its top-notch brand experience and cost-to-performance ratio. It offers a lifetime free plan for up to 500 subscribers giving you access to almost all Mailchimps features. To help you out, here's a complete review of Mailchimp.
MailerLite
MailerLite wins over Constant Contact regarding top-notch customer service, advanced automation, and list management features. Read our MailerLite's unbiased review to make a wise decision.
Active Campaign
The Active Campaign takes over Constant Contact with its powerful automation and segmentation feature. Besides, the tool is much more affordable than Constant Contact.
Constant Contact's rating overview
| Feature | Ratings | Comments\ |
|---|---|---|
| Ease of use | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Mailerlite's UI is very intuitive, and as a beginner, it's easy to navigate. But, one drawback is it's quite dull and doesn't run fast and smoothly. |
| Email template editor | ⭐⭐⭐ | The drag-and-drop editor is fast and offers a variety of customization options. But it's still far from what other tools offer at this pricing. |
| Personalization | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Personalization is still at a basic level (add personalized greeting), as you cannot add if/then/else logic. |
| Signup forms | ⭐⭐ | The form builder is also basic and has few customizations. |
| Pre-made templates | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Constant Contact has a massive library of 200+ pre-made templates with different use cases, industries, and varying designs. |
| Email automation | ⭐⭐ | Even though it offers various triggers to automate email series, the UI can be clunky and frustrating. They also offer integration with Shopify and Woocommerce to trigger emails based on eCommerce activities. One key drawback is you cannot combine conditions with action compared to other tools. Additionally, the automation option isn't visible in the navigation bar. You have to go to campaigns > create > select email automation. |
| Authentications | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | SPM, DKIM, and DMARC |
| Email deliverability | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | In Emailtool Tester's email deliverability test, Constant Contact maintained an average deliverability rate of 90.4, reflecting that most emails will land in the user's inbox. |
| Own domain | ❌ | |
| Spam and design testing | ⭐⭐⭐ | There is no option to spam testing, but you can preview your email and send a test. There is also an option called 'check for error,' which identifies possible errors and gives suggestions to resolve them. |
| Bounce management | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | If your emails soft bounce, the email addresses will temporarily be on hold for 15 days and then resent. If the email still bounces, it will be added to a suspended category. There is also a filter recommended for removal where you can find all suspended emails and remove them if you want. |
| Blocklist | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Import/export is available, although it's not as straightforward as possible – you must first enable advanced email permissions under Account Settings. |
| Reporting and analytics | ⭐⭐⭐ | The analytics dashboard is quite helpful. You get an overview of all important email metrics and a heatmap to check link click status. An interesting report you get is a trend based on your email open and click rate that can be quite helpful in modifying your future campaigns. |
| A/B testing | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Constant Contact offers you the subject line A/B testing, and based on the result, it sends a winner email to the rest of the subscribers in your chosen segment. |
| Interactive elements | ❌ | |
| Integrations | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Constant Contact has over 400 integrations with almost all CRM, analytics, and other marketing and sales tools and apps. |
| Landing page builder | ⭐ | There is no landing page builder feature separately in the tool. But you can build one using its signup form builder, which is not helpful. |
| Languages | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | The site and tool are available only in English. But, non-editable texts and links email footer, privacy policy, and buttons on web signup forms) can be changed to any of these 11 languages Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Castilian Spanish, Latin American Spanish, and Swedish. |
| Customer support | ⭐⭐⭐ | The support is available via call and live chat. You also get access to their knowledge base and community which can be useful. But, based on its customer reviews, the support wasn't readily available. Note if you want to cancel your subscription, you can't do that without a call which can be tedious and annoying. |
| Overall ratings | 3.7/5 (Email tool tester) 4.0/5 (G2) 4.3/5 (Capterra) |
The tool is useful for basic features and limited functionality. The pricing offered is way more for the features they offer. |
The Verdict
In a nutshell, Constant Contact is a bit expensive for the features it offers. The current email marketing landscape offers the same and advanced features at a similar or much lower price than Constant Contact. This reflects the tool doesn't offer value for what it's charging.
One key feature that every email marketer looks at in any ESP is the quality of email automation, where Constant Contact fails spectacularly. The triggers are next to nil, and the UI is also confusing. Besides, the landing page builder isn't helpful as it's part of the signup form builder, and customizations are limited.
The tool wins in terms of deliverability and integrations, and they're also improving with their automation tool. But, based on our analysis, it's hard to recommend it as the right email marketing tool in the market.
FAQs
Which is better: Constant Contact or MailChimp?
Both tools have their stand-out features, and while deciding which ESP to choose, think about the benefits you want from using that tool.
Per our research, Mailchimp is a better choice if you want access to advanced features at less cost (their free plan is generous in terms of features), want an advanced reporting suite, and an unmatchable brand experience.
Constant Contact wins over Mailchimp regarding ease of use, excellent customer support, and top-level email deliverability.
What is Constant Contact best for?
Constant Contact can be a good starting point if you are a beginner or a small business with a low budget and a small email list size.
Can you automate emails in Constant Contact?
Yes, you can automate your emails in Constant Contact but at a very basic level compared to other ESPs. Even though you can create automation for various offers triggers to automate email series, the UI isn't that intuitive and easy to navigate. One key drawback is you cannot combine conditions with action compared to other tools.
Is Constant Contact legit?
Yes, Constant Contact is a legit email marketing software. It complies with all email regulations (such as GDPR) and securely stores all your and your customer's data.
Constant Contact deliverability - is it any good?
Constant Contac's email deliverability rate is as per the required standard. In Emailtool Tester's email deliverability test, Constant Contact maintained an average deliverability rate of 90.4, reflecting that most emails will land in the user's inbox.
