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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Constant Contact

    Score8 out of 10
    N/AConstant Contact is a full-featured email marketing solution with capabilities such as social media integration, drag-and-drop editing, and real-time reporting. It is a bulk email tool designed for SMB customers. Since 2019, Constant Contact also offers marketing automation features, a website and landing page builder, and other tools to support midsize businesses.

    $12

    per month

    VanillaSoft

    Score3.7 out of 10
    Small Businesses (1-50 employees)
    VanillaSoft is a lead optimization platform designed to assist fast-response sales teams in maximizing their conversion rates. By providing a structured and efficient approach to lead management, VanillaSoft aims to ensure that every potential customer receives the attention they deserve. This platform is beneficial for sales teams that operate in high-pressure environments where timely follow-ups can significantly impact sales outcomes. The primary audience for VanillaSoft…N/A
    Pricing
    Constant ContactVanillaSoft
    Editions & Modules
    Lite
    Starting at $12.00
    per month
    Standard
    Starting at $35.00
    per month
    Premium
    Starting at $80.00
    per month
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Constant ContactVanillaSoft
    Free Trial
    YesNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoYes
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional DetailsThe SMS Marketing tool can be added to any Standard or Premium Constant Contact account. SMS is only available in the US for Standard and Premium paid plans. SMS can be added when logged in to an account after purchase. Plans start at $10/month for up to 500 messages.VanillaSoft offers several add-ons to use in conjunction with our base platforms including: Auto Dialing Call Recording VoIP SmartCaller ID SMS
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Constant ContactVanillaSoft
    Considered Both Products
    Constant Contact
    No answer on this topic
    VanillaSoft
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    85%
    Would buy again
    61 Answers
    100%
    Would buy again
    82 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    94%
    Delivers good value for the price
    61 Answers
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    65 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    85%
    Happy with the feature set
    61 Answers
    99%
    Happy with the feature set
    81 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    91%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    42 Answers
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    55 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    90%
    Implementation went as expected
    46 Answers
    96%
    Implementation went as expected
    55 Answers
    Features
    Constant ContactVanillaSoft
    Email & Online Marketing
    Comparison of Email & Online Marketing features of Constant Contact and VanillaSoft
    Feature
    Constant Contact
    9.0
    120 Ratings
    11% above category average
    VanillaSoft
    -
    Ratings
    WYSIWYG email editor9.7102 Ratings00 Ratings
    Dynamic content9.7104 Ratings00 Ratings
    Ability to test dynamic content8.582 Ratings00 Ratings
    Landing pages9.378 Ratings00 Ratings
    A/B testing8.473 Ratings00 Ratings
    Mobile optimization8.686 Ratings00 Ratings
    Email deliverability reporting9.9116 Ratings00 Ratings
    List management9.3118 Ratings00 Ratings
    Triggered drip sequences8.062 Ratings00 Ratings
    Reporting & Analytics
    Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Constant Contact and VanillaSoft
    Feature
    Constant Contact
    8.5
    117 Ratings
    11% above category average
    VanillaSoft
    -
    Ratings
    Dashboards8.488 Ratings00 Ratings
    Standard reports9.8115 Ratings00 Ratings
    Custom reports7.558 Ratings00 Ratings
    Pre-Send Testing
    Comparison of Pre-Send Testing features of Constant Contact and VanillaSoft
    Feature
    Constant Contact
    8.4
    69 Ratings
    3% above category average
    VanillaSoft
    -
    Ratings
    URL Validation8.231 Ratings00 Ratings
    Link Tracking7.934 Ratings00 Ratings
    Image Validation8.932 Ratings00 Ratings
    Inbox Display8.635 Ratings00 Ratings
    Email Accessibility Tools7.928 Ratings00 Ratings
    Spelling and Grammar Check9.856 Ratings00 Ratings
    Spam Testing6.026 Ratings00 Ratings
    Email Previews9.968 Ratings00 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Constant ContactVanillaSoft
    Small Businesses
    Mad Mimi
    Score10 out of 10
    HubSpot Sales Hub
    Score8.8 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Campaign Monitor by Marigold
    Score9 out of 10
    Mixmax
    Score9.8 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Emma by Marigold
    Score8.5 out of 10
    Groove (legacy product)
    Score7.7 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Constant ContactVanillaSoft
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.8
    (135 ratings)
    8.3
    (88 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    9.9
    (23 ratings)
    9.0
    (3 ratings)
    Usability
    10.0
    (12 ratings)
    9.0
    (3 ratings)
    Availability
    9.0
    (2 ratings)
    9.0
    (2 ratings)
    Performance
    10.0
    (2 ratings)
    9.0
    (2 ratings)
    Support Rating
    10.0
    (9 ratings)
    8.9
    (3 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (2 ratings)
    Online Training
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    10.0
    (5 ratings)
    9.0
    (3 ratings)
    Configurability
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    9.0
    (2 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (2 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (2 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Constant ContactVanillaSoft
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Constant Contact
    Constant Contact is an excellent tool for sending out flyers and newsletters. However, I feel the content's appearance is typically all the same. When I receive an email from Constant Contact, I can immediately identify it - the templates usually all look the same. When sending out communications with images, it is easy to use Constant Contact and link webpages. However, the email layout is always vertical and can get very lengthy. I prefer a more flip-book approach with options to flip the page.
    Incentivized
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    VanillaSoft
    VanillaSoft is well suited for any marketing operations or sales operations team looking for a tool to help them efficiently reach prospects and engage with them through a streamlined method. This can be a great way to manage that engagement, measure it, and keep track of various aspects of prospects.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Constant Contact
    • Market segmentation is great: my main segmentation is by region because that's how our sales team is divided.
    • Lists: making customized email lists is easy and intuitive; the custom fields allow some flexibility in case our fields don't exactly line up with Constant Contact's.
    • Campaigns: creating campaigns is quick and simple. I especially appreciate the 'resend to non-openers' option. I am constantly using this feature.
    • Subject line generator: I like using the recommended subject lines. I'm able to plug in their recommended ideas, or sometimes, this feature helps me generate my own ideas.
    Read full review
    VanillaSoft
    • Our employees love it - very user friendly, easy to grasp, very little down time to learn it. They feel very confident immediately.
    • Great technical support - I can get solutions to customer problems that make our company look more responsive to our clients. Our clients appreciate our solving their problems immediately.
    • Because of the real time analytics - we can address immediate issues with marketing campaigns to make our client's personnel look great to their superiors.
    • Because of all the functionality - we can provide a turnkey approach from a small company with big company capabilities.
    Incentivized
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    Cons
    Constant Contact
    • It would be nice if we had more customizable options for emails - like moving around pictures and text boxes, rather than a set spot for everything to go.
    • I would like it if multiple people could work on a document at one time. So if I'm in charge of graphics, I can get those updated while someone else is entering content, etc.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    VanillaSoft
    • It really needs an "undo" button. I can't tell you how many times I was typing notes etc and hit a wrong button and all was gone so I had to start over.
    • This may be the way we have it set up....we have term codes which are how the callers terminate a call they were on. They finish the call, then type notes in the notepad section of what happened, then they terminate the call. But there are times that I need to go onto a record and just leave a note but don't need to terminate it as anything. If there is a way to do that, it would make my life a lot easier.
    Incentivized
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    Likelihood to Renew
    Constant Contact
    There is no doubt that we are going to renew Constant Contact. We have not just invested a lot of time in learning and creating a great looking product but we have developed a strong database of information that allows us to track how we are doing for each newsletter. This supports our goals of creating products that residents desire and are excited to receive.
    Read full review
    VanillaSoft
    We have no reason not to renew. VanillaSoft has been the best CRM (for us) that we have ever used. The value is great, we love the system, and it's easy to get assistance from VanillaSoft team when needed. Our team is so used to the calling and admin functions there is no desire to change.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Constant Contact
    There is always room for improvement. I don't know how they test their systems, but they should invite not-so computer savvy people to test it. If I, as an expert have problems, they need to think like the technophobe. Since I've used Constant Contact in the past as part of my former employment, I have not viewed any of the tutorials and just jumped in to work on my client's newsletter. With that said, I found some areas easy and some a bit cumbersome
    Read full review
    VanillaSoft
    The entire system is set up so perfectly. It makes training callers much quicker, and admin tools are so easy to navigate when you get used to using it. Also, if there is ever something I cannot figure out, I can get support from VanillaSoft very quickly to resolve and get my task accomplished.
    Incentivized
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    Reliability and Availability
    Constant Contact
    No major problems in sending out the email campaigns and accessing the analytics
    Incentivized
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    VanillaSoft
    It is very rare that we have system issues. Maybe a handful of times over the years, we had to contact support about being unable to access. It was always a quick response from the VanillaSoft team, and they would clearly explain the issue and usually give time frame on fixing, or have it fixed immediately.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Performance
    Constant Contact
    The system seemed quite slow sometimes. Specifically, there was sometimes a delay in sends if it was during a high traffic period. There were time-outs when uploading new code for an email, and a lag in reporting analytics which was sometimes as long as 72 hours
    Read full review
    VanillaSoft
    I work on all aspects for VanillaSoft for our company. The pages overall do load very quickly. Reports are amazing, I can get quick report, customized reports, and anything I may need to present to client in very little time. It has made my job so much simpler. As far as I know, integration goes smoothly as well.
    Incentivized
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    Support Rating
    Constant Contact
    I think the overall support for Constant Contact has always been incredible; I have nothing negative to say. Our customer support representative was attentive, easy to understand, and very knowledgeable. I never felt like I wasn't a priority of his and my issues, while very small, were fixed in a very short time frame.
    Read full review
    VanillaSoft
    Response time was acceptable for the relatively few problems any of our users may have encountered. Fortunately, such occasions were rare.
    Incentivized
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    In-Person Training
    Constant Contact
    No answers on this topic
    VanillaSoft
    It was very helpful and informative. The learning of the tool is something anyone can do, as the setup is so well thought out.
    Incentivized
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    Online Training
    Constant Contact
    No answers on this topic
    VanillaSoft
    It was very thorough. VanillaSoft team did not rush us. They explained the various functions clearly and were open to any and all questions we had as we began to learn the system. Also, once training completed, if we encountered anything we could not figure out, the support team was fantastic in helping us out.
    Incentivized
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    Implementation Rating
    Constant Contact
    Implementation is very easy for someone who wants to send out the “batch and blast” type newsletters. If you want to use their templates with no customizations, the product works fine. However, the more customizations you get into involving link color, etc, that’s where things can get tricky for someone who may not be familiar with coding
    Read full review
    VanillaSoft
    Our implementation was very easy.
    Incentivized
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    Alternatives Considered
    Constant Contact
    Constant Contact is much more intuitive for people who are not tech-savvy. Also, while sendgrid offered more options in it's drag and drop interface, it displayed differently across different email clients, which made it very cumbersome to use. It also took much longer to upload contact lists and it was harder to manage existing contacts. Performance in sendgrid was much slower as well, and the Preview feature was quite buggy. Our team initially chose sendgrid because of the integration options that it's API offered, but we ultimately switched to Constant Contact because it was much easier to build campaigns and better suited our requirements.
    Read full review
    VanillaSoft
    VanillaSoft stacks up against Microsoft Power BI very well by allowing the data visualization in a more effective way, Power BI has positioned itself as one of the more robust and intuitive tools for business intelligence and data presentation. VanillaSoft and Microsoft Power BI are a great bundle for the report and analytics team.
    Incentivized
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    Scalability
    Constant Contact
    Very reliable in sending email campaigns and controlling the recipients so that no contact is sent the same email more than once, even if they are on a resent list
    Incentivized
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    VanillaSoft
    VanillaSoft has been great. The flexibility of the system is wonderful. The scalable software options are impressive as well. I would strongly support VanillaSoft's capabilities in this area. You really can do just about anything to get the setup and or integrations you may desire for your company needs.
    Incentivized
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    Return on Investment
    Constant Contact
    • I have had nothing but positive impacts from using Constant Contact.
    • The church is large, and there are many subgroups and axillary groups within the church. Setting up specific groups based on responsibility, interest, member goals, and service needs allows me to send information quickly, saving valuable time for other tasks.
    • Constant Contact allows leadership to stay personally engaged with the members I work with, without over-taxing my time. It feels so seamless.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    VanillaSoft
    • Ability to contact more clients each day.
    • The ability to save my correspondence and notes on each interaction allowing for the appearance to the customer that I am very engaged when we are speaking.
    • Increased sales from the calendar setting and saving my notes.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    Constant Contact Screenshots

    Screenshot of the AI Content Generator that can be used to create content for emails, social posts, or SMS.Screenshot of an example automation workflow. These help to ensure a business's marketing is always on.Screenshot of some of the available pre-built email templates, that can be edited with the included drag-and-drop email editor.Screenshot of the Social Posting tool, used to plan and post social media messaging across platforms.Screenshot of the SMS Marketing feature.Screenshot of some of Constant Contact's available integrations.

    VanillaSoft Screenshots

    Screenshot of the VanillaSoft Call Activity Dashboard, used to to monitor sales campaigns.Screenshot of where to build reports using the VanillaSoft Web Reports Wizard.Screenshot of where VanillaSoft offers the ability to arrange modules into four panels for access to almost everything in one screen.Screenshot of VanillaSoft's caller screens, which can be displayed in three panels.