Constant Contact Review (2026)
Built for brick-and-mortar small business. Founded 1995. Our verdict for restaurants, salons, local services running events — scored across ease of use, features, value and support.
Affiliate disclosure: Critingo is reader-supported. If you sign up through links on this page we may earn a commission — it costs you nothing extra and never changes our verdicts. We verify pricing and terms regularly, but they change often: always confirm on the vendor's site before buying.
Our score
Four factors, weighted equally. We adjust scores when vendors ship major changes.
| Constant Contact — our score: 4/5 | |
|---|---|
| Ease of use | |
| Features | |
| Value for money | |
| Support | |
Pricing
Always confirm on the vendor's site — this changes often and we flag stale data.
| Model | trial-only |
| Free plan | No — 60-day free trial instead |
| Paid from | Paid typically from around $12/mo for small lists |
| Free trial | 60 days |
| Official pricing | https://www.constantcontact.com/pricing |
Pros & cons
- Longest free trial in the category (60 days)
- Event management and RSVP tools built in
- Strong local-business template library
- Live support widely available
- No permanent free plan
- Gets expensive relative to feature depth
- Automation is basic for the price
Best for
- Restaurants, salons, local services running events
- Teams that want guided onboarding
Feature checklist
| automation | ✓ Yes |
| signup forms | ✓ Yes |
| landing pages | ✓ Yes |
| paid subscriptions | ✗ No |
| ecommerce | ✓ Yes |
| analytics | ✓ Yes |
| api | ✓ Yes |
Lab notes
Automated check · 2026-10-31Findings from our test bench's automated checks of Constant Contact's public pages — facts and discrepancies only, no opinions. Human experiences live in the founder & user notes above.
| ✗ Pricing page reachable | HTTP 403 in 205ms |
| ✗ Homepage reachable | HTTP 403 in 104ms |
Method: Automated HTTP checks of public marketing pages (no account usage). Vendors don't see these before publication. If something here looks wrong, the vendor's own page (linked above) is the source of truth.
Compare Constant Contact with alternatives
Same category, different trade-offs.
MailerLite
The best value all-rounder
AWeber
The veteran that's still competitive
Constant Contact: FAQ
Is Constant Contact free?
No permanent free plan — Constant Contact offers a free trial instead (No — 60-day free trial instead). Check their pricing page for current terms.
How much does Constant Contact cost?
Paid typically from around $12/mo for small lists. Pricing usually scales with list size — see Constant Contact's official pricing page for today's numbers, as vendors change them several times a year.
Is Constant Contact worth it in 2026?
For restaurants, salons, local services running events, yes — that's who it's built for. Our score: 4/5, based on ease of use, features, value and support. Read the breakdown below to see if your priorities match.
What are the best Constant Contact alternatives?
MailerLite, AWeber, EmailOctopus — see our full alternatives guide for the details.
Our verdict
Constant Contact scores 4/5 and is our pick for restaurants, salons, local services running events. Its standout strengths: longest free trial in the category (60 days) and event management and rsvp tools built in. The main trade-offs: no permanent free plan.
How we score: four factors rated 1–5, averaged, based on the vendor's public pricing pages, documentation, changelog and user reports. An automated check visits the pricing page daily (see the test bench notes above); when a vendor changes materially, this page gets updated — check the "last updated" date above.How we review.