Overview
AWeber and Constant Contact are both veterans of email marketing. Constant Contact since 1995, AWeber since 1998. Both serve small businesses but with different feature focuses.
Similar Age, Different Strengths
Both platforms have 25+ years of experience. AWeber has focused on email marketing fundamentals with strong A/B testing. Constant Contact expanded into event marketing and social tools.
Event Marketing
Constant Contact's standout feature is event management. Registration pages, ticketing, and automated follow-ups are built in. AWeber has no event features. For organizations running events regularly, this is a significant differentiator.
A/B Testing
AWeber excels at A/B testing with content variations, send times, and comprehensive split testing. Constant Contact only tests subject lines. For marketers who rely on optimization, AWeber is more capable.
Support Options
Constant Contact offers phone support alongside chat and email. AWeber offers chat and email only. For businesses that value being able to call for help, Constant Contact delivers better support.
Free Plans
AWeber offers a free plan for 500 subscribers. Constant Contact only offers a 60-day trial. For ongoing free access, AWeber provides more flexibility.
For SaaS Companies
Neither platform is built for SaaS. Both lack native Stripe integration and behavioral event tracking. For SaaS companies, consider Sequenzy which offers purpose-built SaaS features at a lower price.
Making the Choice
Choose AWeber for better A/B testing and automation capabilities. Choose Constant Contact for event marketing and phone support. For SaaS, consider Sequenzy.
Two Legacy Platforms at a Crossroads
Both AWeber and Constant Contact are email marketing veterans that established the category. However, both face increasing competition from modern platforms that offer more automation, better pricing, and more innovative features. The question for long-time users is whether loyalty to a familiar platform outweighs the benefits of switching to something newer.
Neither platform has kept pace with the automation capabilities of ActiveCampaign, the e-commerce depth of Klaviyo, or the simplicity of newer tools like MailerLite. Both feel like they are serving an existing customer base rather than innovating to attract new users. If you are evaluating email platforms for the first time, consider whether these legacy options truly serve your needs or whether a more modern alternative would be a better investment.
Event Marketing as a Differentiator
Constant Contact's event management feature is genuinely unique in the email marketing space. The ability to create event registration pages, manage tickets, collect payments, and send automated pre-event and post-event email sequences from within your email platform saves significant time and eliminates the need for separate tools like Eventbrite.
For nonprofits, community organizations, educational institutions, and businesses that regularly host events, this feature alone can justify choosing Constant Contact. AWeber has no comparable functionality, and adding a third-party event tool introduces complexity and cost that Constant Contact's built-in solution avoids.
Support Quality Matters for Small Businesses
Constant Contact's phone support is a meaningful advantage for less technical users. Small business owners who are not comfortable troubleshooting software issues themselves value the ability to call and speak with a real person. AWeber's chat and email support are adequate but lack the immediacy and personal touch of phone support.
This difference matters most during setup, when troubleshooting deliverability issues, or when navigating complex situations like list imports and domain verification. For tech-savvy users, support channel differences are less relevant. For non-technical small business owners, phone support can be the difference between success and frustration with the platform.