Which of the three has the least painful pricing as a newsletter grows?

All three use contact-based pricing, so all climb with list size. Constant Contact and Campaign Monitor are often more predictable at smaller sizes, while Mailchimp tends to spike fastest because it raises both plan tier and contact band as you scale.

Do these platforms charge for unsubscribed contacts?

Some contact-based plans count addresses you cannot email, like recently unsubscribed or uncleaned contacts, until you remove them. Always check each platform's definition of a billable contact before estimating cost.

Why does Mailchimp get expensive faster than the others?

Mailchimp moves two pricing dimensions at once. As your contacts grow you often cross into a higher contact band and are also pushed toward higher plan tiers to unlock automation and remove send limits.

Are Constant Contact and Campaign Monitor good for newsletters?

They are capable email senders with clean editors, but neither is built around newsletters as a standalone product. You will not find native subscription pages, paid memberships, or a publishing website included.

Should I switch platforms based on price alone?

Price the option at your real list size with the features you will actually use, not the headline rate. For a newsletter-first business, also weigh built-in monetization and publishing tools, not just send cost.

Mailchimp vs Constant Contact vs Campaign Monitor Pricing

For a newsletter-first business, all three of these tools charge by contact count, which means your bill climbs steadily as your list grows whether or not those contacts open anything. Constant Contact and Campaign Monitor tend to be the most predictable at the small end, while Mailchimp's costs spike fastest once you cross into mid-size lists and want automation or higher send volumes. None of the three were built specifically for newsletters, so you pay for a broad marketing feature set you may not use. If your single product is the newsletter, a subscriber-first platform like beehiiv prices around that one job instead.

How contact-based pricing punishes growing newsletters

Mailchimp, Constant Contact, and Campaign Monitor all price primarily on how many contacts sit in your account. That model fits a retail brand sending occasional promotions, but it works against a newsletter. Your value comes from growing the list, and every name you add raises the price even if that subscriber rarely reads. Worse, the tiers are stepped, so crossing a threshold by a single contact can bump you into the next bracket. A newsletter that grows from 9,500 to 10,500 subscribers may see a disproportionate jump. You end up managing your list size to manage cost, which is the opposite of what a growth-focused publisher wants to do.

Mailchimp pricing tiers: where costs spike as your list grows

Mailchimp is the most widely used of the three and has a generous-looking entry point, including a free tier with limited contacts and sends. The pain shows up as you scale. Its plans are split across Essentials, Standard, and Premium, and each unlocks more automation, segmentation, and send capacity. As your contact count rises, you are often pushed up a plan tier and into a higher contact band at the same time, so two cost dimensions move together. Features many newsletter operators consider basic, like richer automation and removing send limits, sit behind those upgrades. Mailchimp's strength is its template library and integrations, but for a single newsletter the price curve gets steep.

Constant Contact and Campaign Monitor: pricing structure compared

Constant Contact also bills by contact count and is known for strong support and event and survey tooling, which appeals to small businesses and nonprofits more than pure publishers. Its pricing rises smoothly with list size but can carry add-on costs for advanced features. Campaign Monitor leans toward design-focused, branded campaigns and charges per contact as well, with tiers that gate sends and automation. Both are competent email senders with clean editors. Neither is built around the newsletter as a standalone product, so you will not find native subscription pages, paid memberships, or a publishing website included. You are buying email marketing software and using it for a newsletter.

Hidden costs: unsubscribed contacts, duplicates, and feature gates

The headline price is rarely the full price. Some contact-based plans count addresses you cannot even email, such as recently unsubscribed or cleaned contacts, until you manually purge them. Duplicates across audiences or lists can also inflate your count if you are not careful about how contacts are organized. On top of that, features a newsletter genuinely needs, like advanced automation, higher send rates, or removing platform branding, often sit behind a higher tier rather than your contact band. Read each plan for what counts as a billable contact and which capabilities are gated. Two platforms with similar per-contact prices can differ a lot once you add the features you actually use.

How newsletter-first platforms like beehiiv price differently

beehiiv is built specifically for newsletters, so the platform is organized around creating, growing, and monetizing a single publication rather than running broad marketing campaigns. It includes website building, analytics, an ad network, and paid subscriptions in one place, which means tools a newsletter business would otherwise buy separately are part of the platform. The practical difference for cost planning is that you are paying for newsletter outcomes, not assembling a marketing suite and using a slice of it. If your business is the newsletter, that alignment usually means fewer feature gates around things like publishing and monetization, and a clearer path from growing your list to earning from it.

Total cost scenarios at 5k, 25k, and 100k subscribers

Run your own numbers, because all three competitors publish current rates that change. At 5,000 subscribers, Constant Contact and Campaign Monitor are often the most predictable, and Mailchimp's free or low tiers can work if you accept send limits and branding. At 25,000, Mailchimp typically requires a paid plan with both a higher tier and a larger contact band, and the other two scale up steadily as well. At 100,000, contact-based pricing across all three becomes a meaningful monthly line item, and the gap between platforms widens based on which automation and send features you need. Price each at your real list size with the features you will actually use, then compare against a newsletter-first platform before committing.

Bottom line

If your business is the newsletter, all three contact-based tools will charge you more simply for growing your list. Constant Contact and Campaign Monitor are more predictable at small sizes, while Mailchimp's curve steepens fastest as you scale and add features. Price each at your actual list size with the features you need. Then compare against a newsletter-first platform like beehiiv, which prices around publishing and monetizing one newsletter rather than running a broad marketing suite.

Frequently asked questions

Which of the three has the least painful pricing as a newsletter grows?: All three use contact-based pricing, so all climb with list size. Constant Contact and Campaign Monitor are often more predictable at smaller sizes, while Mailchimp tends to spike fastest because it raises both plan tier and contact band as you scale.
Do these platforms charge for unsubscribed contacts?: Some contact-based plans count addresses you cannot email, like recently unsubscribed or uncleaned contacts, until you remove them. Always check each platform's definition of a billable contact before estimating cost.
Why does Mailchimp get expensive faster than the others?: Mailchimp moves two pricing dimensions at once. As your contacts grow you often cross into a higher contact band and are also pushed toward higher plan tiers to unlock automation and remove send limits.
How is beehiiv's pricing approach different?: beehiiv is built around the newsletter as the product and includes website building, analytics, an ad network, and paid subscriptions in one platform, so you pay for newsletter outcomes rather than assembling a broad marketing suite.
Are Constant Contact and Campaign Monitor good for newsletters?: They are capable email senders with clean editors, but neither is built around newsletters as a standalone product. You will not find native subscription pages, paid memberships, or a publishing website included.
Should I switch platforms based on price alone?: Price the option at your real list size with the features you will actually use, not the headline rate. For a newsletter-first business, also weigh built-in monetization and publishing tools, not just send cost.