Constant Contact VS Mailchimp

Constant Contact and Mailchimp help you send emails, but they charge fees that eat into your fundraising budget. Zeffy gives you email tools plus donation forms, event ticketing, and donor management — all with zero fees so every dollar stays with your mission.

Zeffy is trusted by 100,000+ nonprofits

Mailchimp

Constant Contact VS Mailchimp

Constant Contact VS Mailchimp: What nonprofits should know before choosing.

Email Marketing Features

Easy Email Campaign Builder (Drag & Drop)

Ready-to-Use Newsletter Templates

Contact List Management

Email Personalization (First Name, etc.)

Email Automation (One-off & Follow-ups)

A/B Testing

Advanced Segmentation

Email Open & Click Tracking (Analytics)

Drip Campaigns

Mobile-Optimized Emails

Sign-Up Forms for Email Collection

Pricing

N/A.

Monthly fees plus overage charges

N/A.

Monthly fees plus email limits

Processing fees

2.9% + $0.30.

per transaction + 2.9% additional Constant Contact fee

2%.

Free plan transaction fee + Stripe processing fees

Platform fees

N/A.

No separate platform fees - subscription-based pricing. Plans include varying features: Lite (1 user, 10x contacts email sends), Standard (3 users, 12x contacts email sends), Premium (Unlimited users, 24x contacts email sends). Discounts available: 15% off for 12-month prepayment, 30% off for nonprofits.

N/A.

No separate platform fees - platform access is included in monthly plan fees

Monthly fees

$12/month.

Starting at $12/month for Lite plan

$0/month.

Free plan includes 500 contacts and 1,000 emails/month

Value for money

4.1.

4.1 out of 5 user rating

4.4.

4.4 out of 5 user rating

Features

4.1/5.

Strong email marketing, but requires separate tools for donations and fundraising.

4/5.

Good email platform, but you'll need multiple integrations for nonprofits' core needs.

Donations

No donation processing available - Constant Contact focuses on email marketing, not fundraising

Mailchimp doesn't process donations directly. You'd need to integrate with separate donation platforms and manually sync donor data for email follow-ups.

Ticketing

Event promotion through emails, but no ticket sales or event management functionality

Mailchimp doesn't handle event ticketing. You'd need separate ticketing platforms and manual data syncing to follow up with attendees via email.

Peer-to-Peer Fundraising

No peer-to-peer fundraising capabilities - you'd need to use another tool for supporter campaigns

Mailchimp doesn't support peer-to-peer fundraising. You'd need separate P2P platforms and manual processes to track and communicate with fundraisers.

Auctions

Constant Contact doesn't offer auction tools - you'll need a separate platform for fundraising auctions

Mailchimp doesn't support auction functionality. You'd need separate auction software and manual processes to follow up with bidders via email.

Raffles

No raffle or contest management features - Constant Contact is designed for email campaigns only

Mailchimp doesn't support raffle functionality. You'd need separate raffle software and manual processes to manage ticket sales and winner communications.

Online store

Basic e-commerce features available through integrations, but not built for nonprofit needs

Mailchimp offers basic e-commerce features through integrations, but lacks nonprofit-specific tools like tax receipts or donor management for product sales.

Memberships

Limited membership tools - basic contact segmentation and tagging, but no dedicated membership management features

Mailchimp doesn't offer built-in membership management. You'd need to integrate with third-party tools and manage member data separately.

Donor Management/CRM

Basic contact management with segmentation - lacks nonprofit-specific donor tracking and relationship tools

Basic contact management only. No donor-specific features like donation tracking, giving history, or donor segmentation for nonprofits.

Emails & Newsletter

Strong email marketing with templates, automation, and A/B testing - designed for promotional campaigns

Strong email marketing features with templates and automation. However, you'll pay based on subscriber count, which can get expensive as your list grows.

Payment Processing

No built-in payment processing - requires third-party integrations like PayPal or Stripe with additional fees

Payment methods

Email marketing only — no payment processing

Credit Card Payments

Not supported - Constant Contact is designed for email marketing, not for receiving payments

Not supported - Mailchimp is designed for email marketing, not for receiving payments

Apple Pay & Google Pay

Not supported - Constant Contact is designed for email marketing, not for receiving payments

Not supported - Mailchimp is designed for email marketing, not for receiving payments

ACH / Bank Transfers

Not supported - Constant Contact is designed for email marketing, not for receiving payments

Not supported - Mailchimp is designed for email marketing, not for receiving payments

Tap to Pay App

Not supported - Constant Contact is designed for email marketing, not for receiving payments

Not supported - Mailchimp is designed for email marketing, not for receiving payments

Customer Support

4.1/5.

4.0/5.

Unlimited Support

Constant Contact offers email and phone support but with limitations based on plan

Mailchimp limits support based on plan tier, with premium support for higher plans

Phone Support / Office Hours

Constant Contact provides phone support during standard business hours

Mailchimp offers phone support during business hours for Standard and Premium plans

Webinars

Constant Contact offers regular training webinars and educational sessions

Mailchimp offers regular training webinars and educational sessions for users

Help Center

Constant Contact has a comprehensive help center with guides and tutorials

Mailchimp has an extensive help center with guides, tutorials, and FAQs

Constant Contact provides live chat support during business hours

Mailchimp provides live chat support during business hours for paid plans

Nonprofit-Focused Support Team

Support built for small businesses, not nonprofits — phone and chat help during business hours only

Support access depends on plan tier — phone help and priority support for paid subscribers only

Zeffy is 100% free, always.

Calculate savings

How is Zeffy free?

Why Zeffy over Constant Contact and Mailchimp?

Why choose Zeffy over Constant Contact and Mailchimp if you're a nonprofit

💯

Keep 100% of your donations

Constant Contact and Mailchimp charge monthly fees plus email limits. Zeffy charges zero fees, so every dollar raised goes directly to your mission.

🧰

Get all your fundraising tools in one place

Constant Contact and Mailchimp only handle emails. Zeffy includes donation forms, event ticketing, donor management, and automated receipts.

⚡

Start fundraising in minutes, not months

Constant Contact and Mailchimp require complex integrations for fundraising. Zeffy works right out of the box with no setup fees or learning curve.

Frequently asked questions

Why choose Zeffy over Constant Contact or Mailchimp for nonprofit communications?

Zeffy offers complete fundraising tools plus email marketing at zero cost. While Constant Contact and Mailchimp charge monthly fees just for emails, Zeffy includes donation processing, event ticketing, and newsletters all in one platform with no fees.

Can Constant Contact and Mailchimp handle donations like Zeffy does?

No, both platforms require separate donation tools and complex integrations. Zeffy processes donations directly in your emails and newsletters, automatically sending tax receipts and tracking donor relationships without extra software or fees.

How does Zeffy's pricing compare to email marketing platforms?

Constant Contact and Mailchimp charge monthly fees that increase with your contact list size. Zeffy is completely free for nonprofits, with donors having the option to leave a voluntary contribution to support our platform.

How does Zeffy handle email marketing differently than Constant Contact or Mailchimp?

Zeffy combines email marketing with donation processing in every message you send. While Constant Contact and Mailchimp only send emails, Zeffy lets donors give directly from newsletters and automatically sends tax receipts.

What happens when my email list grows with Constant Contact and Mailchimp versus Zeffy?

Both platforms charge more as your list grows, with overage fees and monthly limits. Zeffy never charges for email marketing regardless of list size, with donors having the option to leave a voluntary contribution.

Looking for a better option?

Zeffy was built for nonprofits like yours

focus on what matters

Built for small teams with big missions.

Zeffy is the fundraising platform that cuts out the fees, clears up your tech mess, and puts your cause first — so your team, even if you're a small team wearing many hats or a one-person show, can focus on what really matters.

Start your nonprofit

ZERO-FEE

Keep 100% of every dollar.

No platform fees. No processing fees. No catch. We know it sounds too good to be true, but it's not. Every penny goes straight to your mission, while competitors take 2-3% off every donation.

Start your nonprofit

ALL-IN-ONE PLatform

Ditch the tech mess.

Stop bouncing between MailChimp, Eventbrite, and all those spreadsheets. Now you can handle donations, ticket sales, memberships, raffles, and all your donor info in one spot.

Start your nonprofit

plug-and-play

Get going, fast.

Built for teams like yours — whether you're volunteer-led or have limited staff. Set up donation forms, sell tickets, and launch campaigns without needing a tech wizard. It's super easy, and you'll be up and running in minutes.

Start your nonprofit

mobile-first

Fundraise from every device, anywhere.

From QR codes on flyers to Tap-to-Pay on a phone, Zeffy makes it easy to accept donations on the go. Mobile-optimized and offline-ready, so no donor slips through the cracks.

Start your nonprofit

No turnover

Never lose a donor to volunteer transition.

Centralize supporter relationships, automate thank-you messages, and preserve institutional knowledge when board members rotate out.

Start your nonprofit

100% free forever.

100,000+ nonprofits trust Zeffy — and keep their fees at $0.

For 7+ years, Zeffy has supported nonprofits with free, user-friendly fundraising tools.

As a startup nonprofit with only two members, and no funding (yet) we’d need something with low (or no) fees. Zeffy was a dream come true.

Masey, Loose Ends.

Read the full story

“We were incurring a ton of fees for our past fundraising platform and Zeffy has helped us receive so much more of our donations.”

Zeffy has been invaluable in helping me track our donors, sales, events, and revenue in one spot. The coolest thing about Zeffy is it really is free!

Everything about Zeffy suits us starting with (of course, NO fees) but also the ease of use and customer experience as well as their client support!!

Zeffy is very easy to use and ensures that every dollar quickly gets into our account.. A huge help to our work!

Zeffy is very simple, allows for a lot of customization and seamlessly integrates into our website. The fact that all of this is free is still wild to me.

We couldn't believe there was a free payment platform for our Girl Scout group. Zeffy took ZERO fees from us, which is huge when you run on very small amounts of money.

We were ready to sell tickets in less than 30 minutes. The reporting capabilities were better than some other paid-for sites.

Since using Zeffy, our conversion rate of donations has skyrocketed. It's an easy platform to use. Plus customer support has always been responsive and helpful!