MailerLite vs Constant Contact: Features, Pricing and Verdict

MailerLite starts free at 250 subscribers. Constant Contact starts at $12 a month with no free plan. We compare pricing, limits, and features to pick a winner.

By Galactic News Editorial · Published 2026-11-11T07:27:48+00:00 · Updated 2026-11-11T07:27:48+00:00

MailerLite vs Constant Contact: Features, Pricing and Verdict

MailerLite and Constant Contact both sell email marketing to small businesses. They price it in very different ways. MailerLite starts free and charges by subscriber count. Constant Contact has no free plan and charges by contact count. This comparison uses both companies' published pricing, checked in November 2026. It covers plans, send limits, features, and the final verdict.

MailerLite vs Constant Contact at a glance

The core difference is simple. MailerLite is cheaper at small list sizes and stays free the longest. Constant Contact costs more from the first dollar but adds phone support and event tools. The table below uses each company's published prices.

MailerLite pricing in detail

MailerLite sells four plans: Free, Comfort, Power, and Enterprise. The Free plan costs nothing and covers up to 250 active subscribers. It includes 2,500 emails a month, two user seats, and three automations with up to five steps each. It also includes one website, one landing page, three signup forms, and all three email editors. The MailerLite logo stays on free emails and pages.

Comfort starts at $12 a month for up to 500 subscribers. At 1,000 subscribers it costs $19 a month. At 2,500 it costs $33. At 5,000 it costs $49. At 10,000 it costs $89. Annual billing takes 10 percent off each price. Comfort allows 50 automations, 10 websites and landing pages, 10 signup forms, and three seats. Monthly sends are capped at 10 times the top of your subscriber tier. A list in the 1,000-subscriber tier can send 10,000 emails a month.

Power starts at $25 a month for up to 500 subscribers. At 1,000 subscribers it costs $39 a month. At 2,500 it costs $49. At 5,000 it costs $69. At 10,000 it costs $129. Power removes the caps. It allows unlimited monthly emails, unlimited automations, unlimited websites and landing pages, and unlimited seats. It also adds 24/7 live chat support and multiple automation triggers. Enterprise covers lists above 200,000 subscribers with custom pricing.

MailerLite renamed its paid plans on June 16, 2026. Growing Business became Comfort. Advanced became Power. The same update cut the free plan from 500 subscribers to 250 and from 12,000 monthly emails to 2,500. Older reviews that quote the old limits are out of date.

Constant Contact pricing in detail

Constant Contact sells three self-serve plans: Lite, Standard, and Premium. Each starts at a price for up to 500 contacts. Lite costs $12 a month. Standard costs $35 a month. Premium costs $80 a month. There is no free plan. A free trial is available, and one recent check reports it is capped at 100 total sends. Prices rise through a published ladder as contacts grow. At 2,500 contacts, Lite costs $50 a month, Standard $75, and Premium $150. At 10,000 contacts, the same plans cost $120, $160, and $275 a month.

Each plan meters sending as a multiple of your contact count. Lite allows 10 times your contacts per month. Standard allows 12 times. Premium allows 24 times. Emails above the allowance cost $0.002 each. Automated emails, such as welcome messages, do not count against the allowance. Prepaying six months takes 10 percent off. Prepaying twelve months takes 15 percent off. Nonprofits can save up to 30 percent on a twelve-month prepay.

Lite is the basic tier. It includes one user, 1 GB of storage, drag-and-drop templates, and one automation template. It has no segmentation and no A/B testing. Standard adds three users, 10 GB of storage, segmentation, subject-line A/B testing, scheduling, and automation workflows. Premium adds unlimited users, 25 GB of storage, advanced automation, custom segments, SEO and advertising tools, and 500 SMS messages a month. A separate Multi-Account option serves teams and franchises that need five or more accounts.

Features: automation, segmentation, and extras

Both tools cover the basics. Both offer drag-and-drop editors, templates, signup forms, and reporting. The gap opens at automation and segmentation. MailerLite gives every plan the same feature set and charges only for list size and sending volume. Its visual automation builder is available on the free plan, with three automations. Comfort raises that to 50 automations with up to 100 steps each. Power removes the limit entirely.

Constant Contact gates features by plan. Lite allows only a single-step automation and one template. Real segmentation and A/B testing start at Standard. Advanced automation and custom segments start at Premium. That structure matters for buyers. A small list on Lite cannot test subject lines or segment contacts without paying $35 a month.

Constant Contact has strengths MailerLite does not match. It includes event management tools and social posting in its plans. Premium adds SEO recommendations and advertising tools. Its support includes phone help, which many small businesses value. MailerLite answers with a lower price, unlimited segments on every plan, and a website builder with a blog section included on the free plan. It also lets free users sell one digital product or booking.

Who should choose which tool

Choose MailerLite if your list is small and your budget is tight. The free plan covers a new newsletter through its first 250 subscribers. Comfort stays cheaper than Constant Contact's Standard at every list size in the published tables. A 1,000-subscriber list costs $19 a month on Comfort and $55 on Standard. The gap is $36 a month, or $432 a year.

Choose Constant Contact if you run events or need phone support. Nonprofits should also look closely. The nonprofit discount of up to 30 percent narrows the price gap. A 1,000-contact nonprofit on Standard would pay about $38.50 a month with the full discount, against $19 for MailerLite Comfort. The extra cost buys event tools, social posting, and live phone help.

Either tool can grow with a business. MailerLite's Power plan stays cheaper than Constant Contact's Premium at the same list sizes. At 10,000 subscribers, Power costs $129 a month and Premium costs $275. The deciding factor is rarely price alone. It is whether you need Constant Contact's event and social tools, or MailerLite's lower cost and wider automation on cheaper plans.

Bottom line

MailerLite wins on price and free-plan value. Constant Contact wins on event tools, social posting, and phone support. For most small newsletters and creators, MailerLite Comfort is the better buy. For event-driven small businesses and nonprofits that use the discounts, Constant Contact Standard is worth the premium. Check both pricing pages before you buy. Prices change, and the numbers above come from checks in November 2026.