When it comes to choosing an email marketing and automation platform, Klaviyo and Constant Contact are two popular options used by millions of small business owners. Selecting the right software is critical for effectively communicating with customers, driving sales, and growing your business.
In this Klaviyo vs Constant Contact comparison article, we evaluate the two email marketing platforms across several key criteria to help you determine which solution best fits your needs.
We will analyze and contrast features and capabilities in areas including market popularity, ease of use, customization, e-commerce, SEO, integrations, analytics, performance, customer support, pricing, reviews, and overall reputation. Let’s get started!
1. Understanding the Basics
Klaviyo was founded in 2012 by Andrew Bialecki and Ed Hallen. Although a younger company, Klaviyo has quickly gained popularity with over 90,000 customers and established itself as a leader in sophisticated email marketing and automation. Relevant Facebook groups include the Klaviyo Users Group with over 33K members.
Constant Contact was founded in 1998 by Randy Parker and Richard Yaeger. After over 25 years in business, Constant Contact has become one of the most widely used small business marketing platforms with over 600,000 customers. Relevant Facebook groups include the Constant Contact Users Group and the Constant Contact Small Business Community.
2. Features and Functionality
Automation
Klaviyo
Klaviyo shines when it comes to advanced email and SMS automation. Its intuitive drag-and-drop workflow builder makes creating multi-step campaigns straightforward, allowing you to target specific user segments and customize triggering events.
For example, you can set up a post-purchase series welcoming new customers, win-back sequences for inactive email subscribers, or loyalty programs that reward repeat purchases. Dynamic templates, custom metrics and flows optimized for mobile ensure your messages drive results.
Klaviyo also enables easy automation of personalized product recommendations via email. Powerful filtering and predictive modeling features help serve each subscriber content they will find interesting.
Constant Contact
Constant Contact has a user-friendly automation tool for building email workflows without coding. You can create a basic welcome series for new contacts or automate promotional announcements around holidays.
However, these templates tend to be simpler with less customization compared to Klaviyo. Workflows have limited conditional branching logic and don’t allow SMS messaging. Some users report slow loading times when building complex automation with the drag-and-drop editor in Constant Contact.
E-commerce marketers may also find product recommendations lack robust categories and browse abandonment capabilities of other platforms. This makes individual-level targeting less sophisticated.
Winner: Klaviyo
The Klaviyo Constant Contact comparison shows that Klaviyo wins for superior automation functionality. Between tailored onboarding flows, cart abandonment sequences, and dynamic content for different user segments, Klaviyo simply has more advanced features with greater customization in a user-friendly interface. Klaviyo is hard to beat when it comes to running automated email campaigns.
Email Templates
Klaviyo
Klaviyo offers professionally designed templates for welcome emails, promotions, cart abandonment, and more. You can customize colors, fonts, and layouts with an easy drag-and-drop editor requiring no coding knowledge. Dynamic content blocks also let you quickly personalize messages.
Additionally, Klaviyo provides A/B testing capabilities to experiment with different subject lines, content variations, and designs. See what resonates best with your audience and leverage those insights.
The platform ensures templates are mobile-optimized, passing essential spam tests and rendering perfectly across devices. Overall, exceptional aesthetics and customization.
Constant Contact
Constant Contact has 100+ free templates spanning categories like promotions, newsletters, events, and surveys. While professionally made, customizing requires working within code.
For beginners, this may limit the ability to tailor to your brand identity without developer help adding logos, changing layouts, etc. Additionally, A/B testing is not supported natively to optimize messaging.
On the plus side, Constant Contact templates meet industry standards for mobile responsiveness and inbox delivery. But less intuitive editing and personalization compared to Klaviyo.
Winner: Klaviyo
When it comes to email template design and customization, Klaviyo is the winner. The drag-and-drop editor empowers anyone to create on-brand, beautiful emails without touching code. Superior testing and personalization capabilities also enable continuously optimized subscriber experiences. For those without design expertise looking to reinforce their brand, Klaviyo excels.
Segmentation
Klaviyo
Klaviyo allows you to send relevant messages by providing advanced behavioral segmentation tools. You can group users based on metrics like past purchases, abandoned cart activity, clicked links, page views, and more. Leverage this data to target highly personalized campaigns.
For example, set up an automation welcoming back lapsed customers with their favorite product recommendations. Or serve VIP members exclusive content and promotions. Dynamic lists automatically update as people meet defined criteria for precision targeting.
Granular segmentation paired with customizable user scores gives deep insight into audience value. Klaviyo helps you deliver tailored messages that drive results.
Constant Contact
Constant Contact lets you create basic groups for broad segments like all contacts, new contacts this month, or contacts in a certain location so you can send targeted and personalized emails. Uploading CSV files also allows the import of existing customer segments.
However, capabilities primarily focus on explicit data like demographics. There is limited segmentation based on individuals’ site behavioral signals and activity. This reduces the precision of personalization for end users.
Without dynamically updating, defined user segments also have less continuity over long periods. Manual list maintenance would be required vs Klaviyo’s automated approach.
Winner: Klaviyo
With the ability to build segments leveraging rich behavioral signals from website interactions, browsing, purchases, and more, Klaviyo’s segmentation platform is extremely powerful for use cases from lifecycle marketing to re-engagement. Constant Contact trails significantly here by concentrating mainly on generalized static segments vs individualized targeting.
Analytics
Klaviyo
Klaviyo enables deep analytics across your email and SMS campaigns. You can track opens, clicks, dwell times, bounce rates, and unsubscribes to optimize deliverability. The email marketing software has integration with Google Analytics which shows site traffic driven by messaging to understand the onsite conversions of your email campaigns.
The platform provides visualization of metrics over customizable reporting dashboards. Review performance against KPIs for programs like email automation workflows or integrated paid ads. Analyze trends across every send-to-surface insight on high-converting segments. Klaviyo also offers A/B testing capabilities to experiment and refine future messaging.
For e-commerce, view directed revenue and ROI broken down by product, order size, and more. Create shareable reports to demonstrate campaign impact.
Constant Contact
Constant Contact provides basic aggregate reporting on open rates, forwards/shares, link clicks, and unsubscribers per campaign. You can access these metrics through the web interface or via email recaps.
There is limited ability to dig deeper into cross-campaign trends or segment-level performance beyond some exports. The platform does not centralize analytics across channels like SMS or integrate with web analytics providers for clearer attribution. Optimization features like A/B testing are also lacking compared to Klaviyo.
For stores, e-commerce data requires connecting a separate Business Class plan. This costs more, complicating analysis.
Winner: Klaviyo
With multi-channel data, intelligent segmenting, customizable reporting, in-depth metrics, and superior testing capabilities, Klaviyo clearly outpaces Constant Contact for actionable email and SMS analytics. The integrations, visualizations, and customization available make insight discovery much more intuitive for savvy marketers.
Unique Features
Klaviyo
One of Klaviyo’s biggest differentiators is its unified customer data platform which ties together online and offline data for complete profiles. Native integrations automatically pull in key information from your tools stack – email, web, mobile, POS, and more.
This 360-degree view fuels precise targeting and custom modeling not possible otherwise. You can build lookalike audiences to expand reach or predict trends with machine learning.
Other advanced capabilities like Klaviyo’s open API take personalization even further. Connect custom workflows or feed proprietary data models to Klaviyo for next-level segmentation. These features make high-level customization accessible.
Constant Contact
Constant Contact focuses primarily on core email marketing campaign functionality rather than a holistic data warehouse approach. You can connect integrations like accounting or event software but without robust analytics.
Unique features instead focus on ease of use – professionally designed templates, simple editor interfaces, campaign wizards, and convenient tracking of results. The focus is crafting nice-looking emails for small businesses rather than advanced infrastructure.
For those wanting basic email capabilities complemented by e-commerce store-building tools, Constant Contact delivers. But it does not match Klaviyo’s analytics depths.
Winner: Klaviyo
With an unprecedented unified dataset fueling precision targeting, lookalike modeling, machine learning applications, and deep customization via API connections, Klaviyo is unmatched when it comes to unique, high-value capabilities. The CDP approach provides sophisticated infrastructure not possible with Constant Contact’s more peripheral integrations. For customization and future-proofing, Klaviyo wins.
3. Ease of Use
Klaviyo
Klaviyo prioritizes an intuitive, modern interface to minimize complexity. The dashboard uses clean, color-coded visualizations for understanding account activity at a glance.
For first-time users, in-line tutorials introduce email editor functions and platform navigation. Setting basic sequences or importing contacts takes just minutes with guided flows.
Advanced features do show learning curves. Crafting multi-branch automation or custom metrics requires studying documentation. However, Klaviyo Community forums provide peer insights into solving niche issues.
Overall, excellent usability minimizes initial hurdles to start while supporting customer growth over time via robust educational resources.
Constant Contact
Constant Contact employs simplistic menus with campaign wizards, hideable side panels, and toggle settings minimizing distractions. Email editing and contact import processes use clear step-by-step walkthroughs suited for complete beginners.
Some report frustration with older legacy infrastructure though. Navigation can feel clumsy toggling between different dashboards to access functionality. The lack of intuitive connections between data points hampers visibility.
Changing advanced account settings also often requires contacting customer support which slows progress for more experienced users. Documentation of self-serve education is more limited compared to Klaviyo’s open Knowledge Base.
Winner: Tie
Both Klaviyo and Constant Contact minimize barriers to getting started quickly thanks to guided onboarding and intuitive initial workflows. Klaviyo provides more advanced educational resources supporting sophisticated capabilities over time. But Constant Contact’s primary functions remain simple to operate for novices. For ease of use, the two platforms effectively tie.
4. Email Deliverability
Klaviyo
Klaviyo utilizes proprietary methods for keeping emails out of spam folders. This includes innovative techniques like granular IP warming and strategic domain authentication. Open and click rates consistently reach industry-leading benchmarks.
The platform also enables deep analytics into bounced and flagged messages so marketers can optimize copy and send for improved inbox placement over time. Overall deliverability infrastructure is exceptionally reliable.
Constant Contact
Constant Contact maintains established email authentication frameworks like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to protect sender reputation, supported by dedicated deliverability experts monitoring inbox rates.
Basic pre-send tests also check messages against spam triggers before deploying. However, troubleshooting tools around flagged emails fall behind Klaviyo’s granular tracking. This hampers optimization.
While foundationally sound thanks to longstanding experience, addressable soft and hard bounce insight is lacking by comparison. More limited choices around tuning and advanced personalization also constrain effectiveness.
Winner: Klaviyo
With fine-tuned inbox placement infrastructure leveraging next-level IP methodology, real-time adjustability, and precision bounce analysis, Klaviyo takes the lead for superior email deliverability. Constant Contact hits essential standards but lacks diagnostic capabilities and customization in an increasingly competitive landscape.
5. Customer Support and Community
Klaviyo
Klaviyo provides 24/7 live chat, email ticketing, and phone support so help is always available immediately. Many issues can be self-served by leveraging the vast community Knowledge Base explaining platform capabilities and troubleshooting guides.
Active user forums also exist via Klaviyo Community to exchange insights with peers. Direct access to Klaviyo product experts and developers is enabled for technical troubleshooting or sharing feature requests.
Overall, exceptional customer service through diverse channels – cutting-edge resources scaling self-reliance supplemented by on-demand assistance.
Constant Contact
Constant Contact offers 24/7 phone, chat, and email support but interacts reactively. Wait times for live assistance can exceed 30 minutes for basic issues better served through self-help articles.
While an extensive Help Center with articles exists, searchability is mixed and topics lack Klaviyo’s depths. Direct access to internal teams is non-existent. This hampers growth potential.
Some users also report frustration with Crosselate forum usability to engage wider community support and best practice sharing.
Winner: Klaviyo
Thanks to multi-channel assistance available immediately, a best-in-class public Knowledge Base with robust functionality explanations, engaged forums for sharing ideas between users, and internal access to experts for technical issues, Klaviyo clearly leads for nurturing customer and community growth via support.
6. Integrations
Klaviyo
Klaviyo offers 300+ native integrations with leading tools across categories – email, SMS, chat, CRM, e-commerce, mobile, advertising, and more. Real-time, bi-directional sync enables powerful consolidated data flows fueling segmentation and personalization.
For example, integrate your POS to track offline sales behaviors. Or connect web analytics for stitching together online/offline profiles. You can also build custom solutions leveraging Klaviyo’s open API at an enterprise scale.
The unified data approach drives cross-channel engagement not possible otherwise. Klaviyo sits at the infrastructure’s core.
Constant Contact
Constant Contact delivers lightweight connections with 30+ common software platforms – primarily email, accounting, CMS, CRM, and social media marketing-focused. You can activate important building blocks.
But they lack Klaviyo’s native sophistication around ingesting granular data from broader categories like brick-and-mortar or mobile activity. Customization requires costly professional services assistance creating bespoke solutions billable by hour. Support for real-time data flows is also inconsistent depending on the partner.
This hampers leveraging Constant Contact as an infrastructure hub powering a centralized engagement stack. Its best strength remains core email.
Winner: Klaviyo
With native compatibility touching every customer experience corner via 300+ integrated technologies sharing real-time, API-enabled data flows, Klaviyo’s infrastructure serves as the ultimate middleware “command center” for managing consolidated insights and cross-channel engagement. Constant Contact partnerships mostly operate in silos without this interconnectivity.
7. Pricing
Klaviyo
Klaviyo offers a free forever plan and 2 paid plans:
- Free – Up to 500 monthly email sends, basic features
- Email – $45/month for up to 1,500 contacts and 15K email sends
- Email and SMS Marketing – $60/month to add advanced features like behavioral messaging
Klaviyo also charges based on emails sent once you exceed account thresholds. Overall pricing is competitive for the robust feature set but can get expensive at high volumes when sending emails for website or ecommerce store.
Constant Contact
Constant Contact’s pricing model is just as simple. The free trial lets you send to 500 contacts. The Lite email plan is $12/month for up to 500 contacts with additional features like the marketing CRM, event management tools, and social marketing features.
The Standard plan is $35/month and comes with 3 users, pre-built automation, and contact segmentation features.
For $80/month, you get the Premium plan, which includes unlimited users, custom automation, custom segmentations, revenue reporting, and Google Ads Manager.
Winner: Klaviyo
Klaviyo wins for pricing thanks to an unmatched free tier with 500 included emails, transparent scaling from small businesses up through enterprise, and tremendous value derived from revenue growth attributed to targeted messaging. Constant Contact requires pricier plans for core functionality that may not demonstrate ROI.
8. Reviews and Reputation
Klaviyo
Klaviyo earns overwhelmingly positive feedback, including an “Excellent” 4.7/5 average user rating on G2 driven by praise for powerful email personalization features, excellent segmentation and automation, and top-notch support.
Users highlight Klaviyo as a category leader enabling advanced customization that grows with businesses. Some do cite the learning curve for new users as being steep and an interface that seems dense at first. But most agree that ROI outweighs any initial platform complexity.
Constant Contact
Constant Contact garners very good reviews as well with a 4.1/5 average user rating on G2. Users largely complement simplicity in getting started along with good templates and ease of use for basic email marketing needs.
However, some users feel that the basic toolset lacks more advanced functionality like dynamic content or extensive analytics. And that core platform has not evolved much over time compared to competitors.
Winner: Klaviyo
Based on in-depth reviewer feedback highlighting unmatched advanced personalization capabilities and segmentation fueling proven ROI gains at scale, Klaviyo edges out Constant Contact for a best-in-class reputation. Constant Contact wins on simplicity for email novices but shows limitations maturing over time.
9. FAQ’s
Klaviyo FAQs
- What type of data and metrics can I track in Klaviyo?
Klaviyo offers robust analytics tracking email opens, clicks, bounce rates, unsubscribes, site traffic, attributed revenue, purchase history, abandoned carts, and more. Integrations provide expanded tracking. - Does Klaviyo have email templates?
Yes, Klaviyo provides professionally designed, customizable email templates across categories like welcome series, promotions, announcements, newsletters, and more. - Is there a limit for contacts and emails on Klaviyo’s free plan?
The free Klaviyo plan allows unlimited contacts and up to 500 email sends per month. Paid plans scale sends and advanced features. - What types of automation can I set up in Klaviyo?
Automation in Klaviyo includes welcome sequences, workflows based on actions or inaction, customized product recommendations, and post-purchase follow-ups. - Is Klaviyo GDPR compliant?
Yes, Klaviyo helps support GDPR compliance by offering privacy tools like data exports, deletion, and consent tracking.
Constant Contact FAQs
- What analytics are included with Constant Contact?
Constant Contact provides basic email campaign reporting on opens, clicks, forwards, and unsubscribes but lacks more advanced attribution. - Does Constant Contact have free templates?
Yes, Constant Contact offers 100+ free professionally designed email templates users can customize. - Is Constant Contact better for beginners or advanced users?
Constant Contact is generally seen as better for email marketing beginners based on its simple interface and workflows, compared to more advanced platforms. - What types of Constant Contact integrations exist?
Constant Contact offers lightweight integrations with platforms like accounting, CMS, CRM, and social media tools but lags other providers. - Does Constant Contact enable building CRM profiles?
No – Constant Contact does not compile integrated cross-channel customer data profiles like some other marketing platforms.
Final Thoughts
Choose Klaviyo if…
You want a powerful advanced email marketing platform with sophisticated automation features that will enhance your email marketing efforts and scale with your business. Klaviyo shines when it comes to deep customer analytics, highly customizable email flows, and segments, an intuitive UI that minimizes complexity despite advanced abilities, and driving proven conversion value through targeted messaging.
The focus is providing robust personalization infrastructure to maximize ROI. Klaviyo works exceptionally well for e-commerce brands or anyone wanting to level up beyond basic email.
If you’d like more options than just these two, I’ve compiled a list of the best Klaviyo alternatives if you find that this email marketing platform isn’t for you.
Choose Constant Contact if…
You want a straightforward email marketing solution specializing in beautiful templates, simplified campaign creation flows, and streamlined performance metrics. Constant Contact makes it fast and affordable for small business owners to create professional-looking newsletters, announcements, and promotions without advanced capabilities they may not leverage or complexities to manage as a solopreneur.
If you just need great basic email outreach powered by available expert guidance, Constant Contact delivers.
Alternatively, it could prove useful to read up on some Constant Contact alternatives.