Quick answer: Constant Contact is one of the oldest, most recognizable email tools, with genuinely excellent deliverability and strong event and nonprofit features — but it’s priced per contact and it climbs steeply: plans start at $12/mo for just 500 contacts and cross $200/mo by 10,000 contacts (EmailTooltester). Bluey Email bills by emails sent with unlimited contacts, so emailing 10,000 contacts once a month is about $14 (Spark). EmailTooltester’s reviewers are blunt: Constant Contact’s prices are “incredibly high compared to what they offer.” Full disclosure: Bluey is my own product — reviewed on the same yardstick, and I’ll say plainly where Constant Contact wins.
Constant Contact has been around since 1995 and it shows — in the good ways (deliverability, support, event tools) and the dated ones (per-contact pricing, thin automation). Here’s the honest comparison against Bluey’s send-based model.
The 30-second verdict
- Choose Constant Contact if you run events, are a nonprofit or local business that values hand-holding support and top-tier deliverability, and your list is small.
- Choose Bluey if you want predictable send-based pricing that doesn’t balloon with list size, plus unlimited automation, a built-in CRM, and landing pages on every plan.
Pricing: per contact vs per send
Constant Contact bills by the size of your contact list. Its three plans — Lite from $12/mo, Standard from $35/mo, and Premium from $80/mo — are all quoted at just 500 contacts, and the price rises sharply from there, reaching roughly $425/mo at 25,000 contacts (EmailTooltester). By 10,000 contacts you’re already north of $200/mo on the Standard plan.
Bluey bills by send, with unlimited contacts on Grow and above: Free (500/500), Spark from $7/mo (~$14 at 10,000 sends), Grow $30/mo (unlimited contacts, ~50,000 sends; scaling to $84 at 250k and $180 at 1M sends), Business $300/mo. The practical gap at 10,000 contacts emailed once a month: roughly $200+ on Constant Contact versus ~$14 on Bluey — because Constant Contact charges for every stored contact while Bluey charges only when you actually send.
Where Constant Contact genuinely wins (said honestly)
- Deliverability — Constant Contact consistently performs well in EmailTooltester’s deliverability tests, offering some of the highest rates among their reviewed tools. That’s a real, measurable strength.
- Event marketing — built-in event registration and management is better than most email tools, Bluey included.
- Support and onboarding — phone support and a large help network make it friendly for less technical teams.
- Brand trust and longevity — a 25+ year track record reassures risk-averse buyers, and it’s a common pick for nonprofits and local businesses.
If deliverability, events, and hand-holding matter more than price or automation depth, Constant Contact is a defensible keep. See the best email marketing software of 2026 for the wider field.
Where Bluey wins
- Cost that doesn’t punish list growth — storing contacts is free; you pay for sends. A large list emailed selectively is dramatically cheaper.
- Unlimited automation on every plan — no stepping up to Premium for real workflows.
- Built-in CRM + landing pages included, plus marketing and transactional email on one bill.
- Modern, AI-assisted editor without the legacy-tool feel.
Feature comparison at a glance
| Feature | Bluey Email | Constant Contact |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Per send (unlimited contacts) | Per contact |
| Cost at 10k contacts (monthly send) | ~$14 | $200+ |
| Free plan | Yes (500/500) | No (trial only) |
| Automation | Unlimited, all plans | Basic; advanced only higher up |
| Built-in CRM | Yes | Limited |
| Event management | No | Yes (a standout) |
| Deliverability | Strong | Among the highest tested |
What reviewers actually say
EmailTooltester’s Charlotte Evans and Roberta Phillips (review updated October 2025) don’t mince words: “Constant Contact is marketed towards small-to-medium businesses, but their prices aren’t the most affordable, especially when you consider that their features just aren’t that advanced.” On automation specifically, they write: “They offer basic automations, but we’re really missing the more sophisticated and flexible workflows offered by other providers here” (EmailTooltester). Their bottom line on cost is even sharper — the prices are “incredibly high compared to what they offer.” That combination — premium price, standard features — is exactly the gap Bluey closes. If Constant Contact’s price is your sticking point, the wider set of options lives in Mailchimp alternatives.
How to choose
- Do you run events? Constant Contact’s event tools are a genuine edge.
- Is deliverability your top priority? Constant Contact tests exceptionally well — though Bluey is strong too.
- Is your list large or growing? Per-contact pricing punishes that; send-based pricing doesn’t.
- Do you need real automation? That’s gated and basic on Constant Contact, unlimited on Bluey.
Frequently asked questions
Is Bluey cheaper than Constant Contact? For almost any list beyond a few hundred contacts, yes — often by a wide margin. Emailing 10,000 contacts is ~$14 on Bluey versus $200+ on Constant Contact, because Constant Contact bills stored contacts and Bluey bills sends.
Does Constant Contact have a free plan? No — it offers a trial (historically up to 60 days) rather than a permanent free tier. Bluey has a permanent free plan (500 contacts/500 sends).
Is Constant Contact good for deliverability? Yes — independent testing rates its deliverability among the highest of reviewed tools. That’s one of its strongest, most legitimate selling points.
Can I switch from Constant Contact to Bluey? Yes — export contacts and rebuild core automations. The main gains are cost predictability and unlimited automation; the main thing you’d give up is Constant Contact’s event tooling.
The verdict
Constant Contact earns its keep on deliverability, event marketing, and support — if those fit your needs and your list is small, it’s a reasonable choice. But if you want the same reliability without per-contact pricing that crosses $200/mo at 10k, plus unlimited automation and a built-in CRM, Bluey Email is the more modern, more economical package. New to the basics? Start with the complete email marketing guide; comparing the whole field? See Best Email Marketing Software in 2026 and Bluey vs Mailchimp.
— Shivam