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Email Marketing Tools · Tool Face-Off

Constant Contact vs ActiveCampaign

Quick answer

ActiveCampaign wins on automation depth and CRM chops; Constant Contact wins on simplicity and hand-holding. Choose accordingly.

Constant Contact
Email marketing with training wheels — in the best possible way.
3.6★
VS
Our pick
ActiveCampaign
The automation beast that also happens to do email.
4.1★
Starting Price
~$12/mo (500 contacts)
~$15/mo (1,000 contacts)
Free Plan
No (60-day trial only)
No (14-day trial only)
Automation Workflows
Basic (linear sequences)
Advanced (branching, conditional logic)
Built-in CRM
No
Yes (included in most plans)
Email Templates
200+ templates
125+ templates
Integrations
~300 integrations
900+ integrations
A/B Testing
Subject line only
Subject, content, send time, automation splits
SMS Marketing
Yes (add-on)
Yes (built-in on higher plans)
Contact Scoring
No
Yes
Phone Support
Yes (all plans)
Yes (higher plans only)
Landing Page Builder
Yes (basic)
Yes (more flexible)
Learning Curve
Low — beginners love it
Medium-High — expect a few hours of onboarding

Constant Contact

Pricing★★★½☆
Support★★★★½
Features★★★☆☆
Automation★★½☆☆
Ease of Use★★★★½
Integrations★★★½☆
Deliverability★★★★☆

ActiveCampaign

Pricing★★★½☆
Support★★★½☆
Features★★★★½
Automation★★★★★
Ease of Use★★★☆☆
Integrations★★★★½
Deliverability★★★★½

Worth knowing

Constant Contact was originally called 'Roving Software' — which sounds more like a dog-walking app than an email marketing giant.

If you want

You're a small business owner who just wants to send newsletters without a PhD

Constant Contact's UI is genuinely beginner-friendly and phone support is available on every plan.

→ Pick Constant Contact
If you want

You want powerful automation that reacts to user behavior in real time

ActiveCampaign's automation engine is best-in-class — it can do things Constant Contact can't even imagine.

→ Pick ActiveCampaign
If you want

You need a built-in CRM alongside your email marketing

ActiveCampaign includes a capable CRM out of the box; Constant Contact makes you look elsewhere.

→ Pick ActiveCampaign
If you want

You run a nonprofit or local event-heavy organization

Constant Contact has dedicated nonprofit discounts and solid event management tools built in.

→ Pick Constant Contact
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