After reading our comparison guide, you will fully comprehend the best email marketing bundles currently available. By learning about the many different features and elements of both systems through reading this, you will be able to judge for yourself which is superior.
To preserve its long-standing dominance in the email marketing industry, Mailchimp entered the e-commerce market, enabling businesses to launch online storefronts, and developed its platform into an integrated marketing hub.
Constant Contact provides technology for small businesses that make digital marketing simpler to use and more effective. Whether the goals are to increase revenue, attract new clients, or captivate an audience, Constant Contact wants to assist users in developing solid relationships and accomplishing their goals.
iContact was developed to simplify email marketing. Their straightforward tools let you grow your audience, make emails that stand out, add personalization, and automate communications.
Mailchimp vs Constant Contact vs iContact: Overview
Mailchimp:
In addition, to complete e-commerce improved automation, and occasionally even integrated client relationship management (CRM) solutions, Mailchimp, a longtime pioneer in the email marketing sector, is now expanding its product offering. The most recent version of Mailchimp offers alternatives for everything from site hosting to layout. Its wonderful that Mailchimp has maintained all of these new features within the constraints of its renowned app architecture. Still in use is a well-known and straightforward framework.
A web-based email marketing service called Mailchimp is used by millions of people all over the world. Users of the program can track client participation and disseminate newsletters through a wide range of social networks. Among other things, the software has features for creating tailored emails, organizing Facebook ad campaigns, automating follow-ups, and managing campaigns.
Mailchimp users can collect and review their email responses. The application offers a variety of modes for user participation and data presentations. Users of Mailchimp may design, share, and subscribe to email newsletters from any location. An interactive drag-and-drop interface allows users to create and distribute eye-catching email messages. Using built-in reports and analytics technologies, marketers may monitor consumer behavior or produce ad hoc reports.
Additionally, Mailchimp has a mobile app for iOS and Android devices. In order to recruit subscribers, receive campaign updates, and track social media activity, the program only serves as a shortcut to users email campaign domains.
Constant Contact:
This particular brand of email advertising software has functions that are easy to use and help you be more effective in your marketing. You can quickly create and modify email campaigns that are perfect for your business and target market using its simple drag-and-drop interface. Its autoresponder feature enables you to send personalized emails to the right recipients at the right time.
Simply add your contacts to Constant Contacts automatic lists, and the service will start delivering them pre-written messages on your behalf to keep them interested. You can keep an eye on who is reading, clicking, or posting your emails as well as social media posts in real time with the use of its email monitoring features.
iContact:
Never-ending sending support via phone, email, and chat. With the help of iContact Email Marketing, companies of all sizes and stages can succeed. No matter what kind of sender you are-a high-volume sender with 25k to 500K+ subscribers, a professional marketing firm or agency, or a small business just getting off the ground-iContact has the plan to meet your needs.
Each customer receives a successful manager who is committed to getting them up and running as soon as possible, unrestricted access to world-class technical support, and a 98% deliverability rating.
Pricing:
| Package | Constant Contact | Package | Mailchimp | Package | iContact |
| Core | Starting at $9.99Per Month | FREE This is a free plan with all the multi-channel tools needed to build a business and is based on 2000 contacts. The Free (Marketing Platform) plan includes the: 2000 ContactsCreative, AssistantForms and Landing Pages, Mailchimp Domain, Marketing CRM, Website Builder. | $0.00 Per Month | FREE Up to 500 contacts to 2,000 Send per month drug & Drop Email DesignerSingle Hosted Landing PageEmail Support | $0.00/per month |
| Plus | Starting at $45.00Per Month | Essentials The plan includes all features from the free plan and is ideal for email senders. The essentials (Marketing Platform) plan includes: 24/7 Email and Chat, Support500, Contacts, A/B Testing, Creative Assistant, Email and Landing Pages, TemplatesForms and Landing Pages, Mailchimp Domain, Marketing CRM, Website Builder. | $11.00 Per Month | Advanced Up to 1,500 ContactsUnlimited Sends per month unlimited Hosting Landing PagesUnlimited Landing Page CreationMultiple UsersUnlimited Welcome SeriesSmart SendingMarketing AutomationLive Chat and Email Support | $23.00/per month |
| CRM Platform by | $449.00Per Month | Standard The plan includes all features from the free and essential plans and is ideal for data-driven automation. The Standard (Marketing Platform) plan includes the: 24/7 Email and Chat Support,500 Contacts, A/B Testing, Behavioral Targeting, Creative Assistant, Custom TemplatesDynamic, ContentEmail, and Landing Pages, TemplatesForms and Landing Pages, Mailchimp Domain, Marketing CRM, Send Time, OptimizationWebsite Builder. | $17.00/per month | ||
| Premium The plan includes all features from the free, standard, and essential plans and is ideal for customized solutions for your business. The Premium (Marketing Platform) plan includes the: 10000 Contacts,24/7 Email and Chat Support, A/B Testing, Advanced SegmentationBehavioral Targeting, Comparative Reporting, Creative Assistant, Custom Templates, Dynamic Content, Email, and Landing Pages, TemplatesForms and Landing Pages, Mailchimp Domain, Marketing CRM, Phone and Priority, Support, Send Time, OptimizationWebsite Builder. | $299/per month |
Pros and Cons:
Mailchimp:
| Pros | Cons |
Overall, Mailchimp is a fantastic solution that never ceases to amaze me. I would strongly advise using them to automate your marketing. | You are limited allowed to use certain types of designs and formats, which might be aggravating if your company doesnt fit into those categories. |
Both our readership and email senders have praised our move to Mailchimp (particularly the improved mobile email format). | They have an extremely bizarre invoicing system that is set up to drain you of your money. |
| SWith MailChimp, the marketing team may iterate on the emails they prefer to utilize while working in-house with a designer. | The feature of merge tags is disliked by users. It almost always fails, looks awkward, and causes you to look foolish in front of your clients. |
Constant Contact:
| Pros | Cons |
UI that is simple and elegant. | Templates arent very flexible. |
Various third-party integrations are available. | Once you have thousands of contacts, the cost will rise. |
| Superior rate of email delivery | There is no multichannel automation. |
iContact:
| Pros | Cons |
| Users appreciated being able to communicate often with our followers and interested parties. | It was annoying that consumers couldnt insert movies into email campaigns. |
| IContact is excellent for businesses that must send out mass emails to their visitors and clients. It contains a range of useful features and is rather simple to learn. | iContact was more expensive because, unlike other email software that charged by the email and the number of recipients, it required a monthly subscription fee. |
| Users appreciate the feature that allows me to preview the newsletter on a PC and a smartphone, as well as the ability to arrange the publication date and time (with time zone verification). | Lack of communication, poor deliverability, and worse technology compared to rivals at the same pricing point |
Features:
| Constant Contact | iContact | Mailchimp |
| AB Testing, Auto-Responders, CAN-SPAM Compliance, Customer Surveys, Drip Campaigns, Dynamic Content, Event Triggered Actions, Image Library, Landing Pages/Web Forms, List Management, Mobile Optimized Emails, Reporting/Analytics, Subscriber Management, Template Management, WYSIWYG Editor. | AB Testing, Channel Management, Email Distribution, Email Monitoring, For Small Businesses, Lead Management, Multi-Campaign, Response Management, ROI Tracking, Marketing Automation, Event Triggered Actions, Campaign Management, Campaign Analytics, Email Management, Social Media Integration, Spam Blocker, Contact Management, Campaign Planning, Reporting/Analytics, Landing Pages/Web Forms, Click Tracking, Customer Segmentation, Email TemplatesReporting & Statistics | Automated Scheduling5.0, Mobile Access4.1, OTHER FEATURESEmail Tracking5.0, Simple MailTransfer Protocol (SMTP)5.0, Click Tracking4.8, Collaboration Tools4.8, Alerts/Notifications, API,Conversion Tracking, Drag & Drop, Email Marketing, Email Templates, Social Marketing, Survey Builder, Activity Dashboard, Campaign Analytics, Campaign Management, Email Management, Lead Nurturing, Third Party Integrations, Auto-Responders,Contact Database, Contact Management, Customer Segmentation, Data Import/Export, Engagement Tracking, Interaction Tracking, List Management, Marketing Automation, Reporting/Analytics, ROI Tracking, AB Testing, Campaign Segmentation, Customer Journey Mapping, Customizable Templates, Event Triggered Actions, Landing Pages/Web Forms, Lead Capture,Real-Time Editing,Real-Time Reporting, Reporting & Statistics, Template Management, Archiving & Retention, Multi-Channel Marketing, Search/Filter, Segmentation,Dynamic Content, Lead Management, Spam Blocker, Shared Inboxes, Workflow Management, Referral Tracking, Behavioral Targeting, Customer Profiles, Lead Segmentation, and Real-Time Analytics. |
Photos, Videos, and ScreenShots:
Constant Contact:
Mailchimp:
iContact:
Reliability and Support:
Constant Contact:
Do you want Constant Contact to manage your newsletters?
Should you host events:
Constant Contact stands out in this regard as one of the few email marketing systems that helps you to manage event invitations, registrations, and tickets. Remember that separate charges of 5.4% plus $0.80 for each sold ticket and each transaction are applicable to this feature.
Not recommended if: You need complex automation:
Surprisingly, although charging more, Constant Contact doesnt offer the most advanced automations. Other, far less expensive systems like MailerLite and Sendinblue nonetheless offer equal degrees of automation even though they dont support triggered campaigns, autoresponders, or abandoned cart campaigns (only for Shopify).
Deliverability: As you can see from our tests, Constant Contact performs admirably in this regard, reliably forming connections with the most well-liked email providers (AOL, Gmail, Yahoo, and Outlook).
Among the offered customer support alternatives are a knowledge base, live chat, phone help, and community-based support. The fact that the phone and chat help wasnt always available did, however, upset me a little. But when I was able to contact the chat assistance, I did find that they were helpful and understanding. Keep in mind that phoning is necessary, which is highly annoying, to cancel your membership.
iContact:
A welcome change of pace is given by iContacts help alternatives. It aggressively encourages you to contact their support or email marketing consultant by prominently showing their contact information in a large blue box on the dashboard, as opposed to always trying to compel you to handle difficulties on your own.
In the main menu, there is also a persistent help button that gathers all the options for assistance in one location, including
- Phone support
- live chat
- Email support
- a link to the assistance page
The primary drawback of iContact is that it only offers support from 8 am to 8 pm EST. The assistance portals division of the iContact training into a number of subjects is quite useful.
iContact provides a range of online assistance resources to assist potential clients in comprehending its email marketing service. You must register for an account in order to access the help area (not to worry because free versions are available too).
To understand how to use the application, you can log in and access searchable manuals and video tutorials.
Webinars
There isnt a public forum on iContact where you may post inquiries for the community or support team to address. To learn more about the course and email marketing in general, they have live webinars that you may join.
By filling out the websites Contact Us form or sending an email with your questions to support@icontact.com, you can get in touch with the businesss customer care professionals. Live chat and phone calls are other methods of getting in touch with customer service.
Services for Individual Advisory
These avenues of communication, however, are only accessible during regular business hours.
Solutions for Premier Accounts advice are available from iContact. If customers on lower-tier plans are interested in interacting with a strategic advisor to assist them with their email marketing, they can contact iContact and request a quote.
Cash-Back Promise
Despite having a 30-day trial, iContact does not give a money-back guarantee. Up to 400 emails to 100 recipients are supported by the trials full capability.
Mailchimp:
Customer service is an important factor to take into account before purchasing a new software. The support ratings for MailChimp, Constant Contact, and iContact are compared below.
Although MailChimp offers a wide range of customer service solutions, the selection is quite limited for the lower tiers. With the free plan, you are only permitted to use the platforms knowledge base. But you may actually find everything you need online, such as practical videos or step-by-step tutorials. Once you pay for a subscription, you have access to live chat and email support whenever you need it. If you want phone assistance, you must select the most expensive option.
Mailchimp provides email help around-the-clock and chats support (during business hours). For the first month, support is available to free users; after that, they are on their own. While occasionally sluggish, Mailchimps replies to our few inquiries have been mostly positive.
Constant Contact vs iContact Awards vs Mailchimp:
Constant Contact:
- 2012 and 2013 Stevie® Award Winner for Customer Service Department of the Year
- Boston Business Journal Award for Most Admired Public Technology Company
- DM Confidential Dealies Award for Best Email Service Provider
- Best in Biz Gold Award for SaveLocal in the Small or Medium Business Service of the Year category
- Gold Stevie® Award Winner in the Company of the Year - Computer Services category in the 2012 American Business Awards℠
- 2012 Deloitte Technology Fast 500™, a ranking of the 500 fastest-growing technology, media, telecommunications, life sciences, and clean technology companies in North America
- 2012 and 2013 BtoB Social Media Marketing Awards for Constant Contacts use of Facebook®, Twitter®, and Pinterest®
- 2012 Small Business Influencer Award
- Boston Business Journals Power 50 Award
- Silver Stevie® Award for Sales Department of the Year
- 2020, 2021, and 2022 Trustradius Top-Rated Awards
iContact:
- Leader Small Business WINTER 2021
- Momentum Leader SUMMER 2020
- Easiest To Do Business With Enterprise SUMMER 2020
Mailchimp:
- The 8th Annual Shorty Awards
- TrustRadius Top Rated 2022
- TrustRadius Best Feature Set Summer 2022
- TrustRadius Best Relationship Summer 2022
- TrustRadius Best Value for Price Summer 2022
- TrustRadius Best Relationship 2022
- TrustRadius Best Value for Price 2022
- TrustRadius Best Feature Set 2022
- TrustRadius Top Rated 2021
- TrustRadius Best Usability 2021
- TrustRadius Top Rated 2020
- TrustRadius Top Rated 2019
- TrustRadius Top Rated 2018
Technical Details:
Constant Contact:
| Platforms | Web |
| Operating Systems | Unspecified |
| Mobile Application | AndroidiPhoneiPad |
| Business Model | Cloud, SaaS, Web-Based |
| Supported Languages | Danish, German, English, French, Italian, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish |
| Offerings | Free Trial |
| Integrations | Shopify, Stripe, WooCommerce, Google Ads, WordPress, etc |
iContact:
| Platforms | Web |
| Operating Systems | Unspecified |
| Mobile Application | AndroidiPhoneiPad |
| Business Model | Cloud, SaaS, Web-Based |
| Supported Languages | Danish, German, English, French, Italian, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish |
| Offerings | Free Trial |
| Integrations | Shopify, Zapier, Facebook Lead Ads, Gmail, Unbounce, Salesforce, etc. |
Mailchimp:
| Platforms | Web, Phone |
| Operating Systems | Unspecified |
| Mobile Application | Apple iOS, Android |
| Business Model | SaaS |
| Supported Languages | Afrikaans, Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, German, Greek, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, Irish, Hebrew, Hindi, Croatian, Hungarian, Indonesian, Icelandic, Italian, Japanese, Central Khmer, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Malay, Dutch, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Serbian, Swahili, Swedish, Tamil, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese, Chinese (Simplified), Maltese |
| Offerings | Free TrialFree/Freemium Version |
| Integrations | Google Analytics, Ambassador Referral Marketing Platform (discontinued), Pipeliner CRM, ClinchPad, Provide Support Live Chat, Planyo Online Booking System, Deal Maker, LiveChat, Insightly, Mautic (open source), RealtyJuggler Real Estate Software, TrenDemon, Teamgate CRM, Yapsody, SoClever, TeamSupport, Boingnet, Survicate, Miva Merchant, Devart Excel Add-ins, FreshBooks, Freshdesk, Zyprr Inc, Skyvia, Scoro, Musqot Marketing Planner, Zoho Forms, LinkedIn Sales Navigator for Gmail, Aurea List Manager, 123FormBuilder, JRNI (formerly BookingBug) |
Who Is The Champion?
| Table | Constant Contact | iContact | Mailchimp |
| Ease of Use | 4.3 | 3.5 | 4.4 |
| Customer Service | 4.2 | 4.0 | 4.2 |
| Features | 4.1 | 3.0 | 4.4 |
| Value for Money | 4.0 | 3.0 | 4.4 |
| Overall | 4.3 | 4.0 | 4.5 |
According to the rating table, Mailchimp wins the competition here!
FAQs:
Constant Contact:
What should I do when contacts that I add to one list are removed from another list?
When you PUT or POST new information for a contact, including lists, the old information will be replaced. Include ALL lists that you want the contract to be on when you POST or PUT to add or update the contract. Take the above query as an illustration. A contact can be added to numerous lists using XML. You should be able to add contact list nodes to the XML or the contact object using your script (code) (if using an object-oriented API Wrapper).
What should I do if I receive a 401: Authentication error?
This indicates that there is a problem with the Constant Contact-provided login information (username, password, API key, and/or access token). You must ensure that the locations where your credentials are stored have the proper information, depending on the type of authentication you are using. When giving us your username, you should use apiKey%username for basic authentication.
How and when should you use client flow?
The client flow is meant to be handled in a single authorization request, after which the access token is directly returned to the client web browser or application through code executed on the client but hosted at a legitimate URL (for example, hosted Javascript, whose URL would then be the redirect URI), where the authentication information can be stored in the client (in a cookie, for example). When using client languages like javascript to call the Constant Contact APIs, it makes it simple to obtain an access token. Due to the fact that the authentication data are stored on the client, this option is most suitable for desktop applications.
iContact:
How do I create a mailing list in iContact?
Its advisable to use a variety of strategies to increase a contact list. A few of them include direct marketing, social networking, free content subscriptions, and more. There are various strategies; there isnt just one that works.
How do I start an email marketing campaign?
To start, youll need an email service provider you can trust. You can select from hundreds of different ways to connect with your priceless users thanks to iContacts broad feature set.
Is email marketing effective or required?
Email marketing is crucial. When the success of your business depends on sales and customer volume, it is not only practical but also essential. Email marketing is beneficial for many businesses, including those that only use email for correspondence and not for direct sales. Think of it as a new source of information.
Mailchimp:
Is Mailchimp free? What’s the catch here?
Its not a bad deal at all. You are allowed to mail up to 10,000 emails each month to 2,000 subscribers. The caveat is that you arent allowed to utilize all the capabilities (reporting and testing are restricted, for example), and your emails will have a little MailChimp advertisement. Once you reach the 2,000 subscription cap, it becomes rather expensive.
Can affiliate links be included in newsletters delivered using MailChimp?
In general, you are allowed to include links in the newsletters, but there is a list of sites that are prohibited. They wont allow you to send the email if it contains your affiliate link.
What is the purpose of Mailchimp?
An all-encompassing marketing tool called Mailchimp is utilized by people and businesses of all kinds. You can control everything, including e-commerce and email newsletters, and automation.
Conclusion:
Constant Contact, MailChimp, and iContact all provide a wide range of options for customizing email campaigns and improving open rates. Each of these technologies has benefits and drawbacks. But considering the aforementioned elements, Mailchimp seems to outperform Constant Contact. However, keep in mind that MailChimp performs better for marketers with less knowledge, and for everyone, we will suggest Mailchimp.
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