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Nonprofits · head to head

Constant Contact vs Dolibarr

Constant Contact logo

Constant Contact

Nonprofits

Email marketing and event management

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Dolibarr logo

Dolibarr

ERP

Modular open source ERP and CRM for very small businesses, installable on shared hosting

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Constant Contact core plan started at $9.99 per month and Plus plan at $45 per month, both scaling by contact list size rather than a flat rate (Internet Archive capture, 2022); Dolibarr the core is deliberately shallow, so a serious requirement such as advanced manufacturing, EDI or a specific payment gateway usually means buying a DoliStore module from a third-party author, and the quality and maintenance of those modules varies widely.
  • They diverge on capability: Constant Contact covers Email marketing, Dolibarr covers Module toggles.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Constant Contact and Dolibarr actually diverge.

Attributes where Constant Contact and Dolibarr differ
AttributeConstant ContactDolibarr
Pricing modelsubscriptionOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsWeb, Mobile-responsiveWeb, Self-hosted, Docker, Windows, macOS, Linux, Android
CategoryNonprofitsERP
Founded1995Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Constant Contact

  • Email marketing
  • Event management
  • Contact management
  • Automation
  • Analytics
  • Salesforce
  • Zapier
  • Google Analytics

Only in Dolibarr

  • Module toggles
  • Third-party management
  • Quotes to invoices
  • Stock and warehouses
  • Double-entry accounting
  • Projects and time
  • Point of sale
  • DoliStore

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Constant Contact

  • Business operationsnot Dolibarr
  • Productivitynot Dolibarr
  • Automationnot Dolibarr

Dolibarr

  • A two-person consultancy wants quotes, invoices and basic accounting self-hosted on an existing five euro a month shared hosting account with no server administration.not Constant Contact
  • A French or Spanish small business needs VAT handling and accounting exports that match local practice out of the box rather than after configuration.not Constant Contact
  • An association or nonprofit needs membership, subscription and donation tracking alongside ordinary invoicing without paying per member.not Constant Contact
  • A small distributor wants stock, purchase orders and sales orders in one system and is willing to buy a DoliStore module rather than commission bespoke development.not Constant Contact

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Constant Contact

  • Core plan started at $9.99 per month and Plus plan at $45 per month, both scaling by contact list size rather than a flat rate (Internet Archive capture, 2022)

Dolibarr

  • The core is deliberately shallow, so a serious requirement such as advanced manufacturing, EDI or a specific payment gateway usually means buying a DoliStore module from a third-party author, and the quality and maintenance of those modules varies widely.
  • Accounting was designed around French practice, and the chart of accounts, VAT model and fiscal exports need real work to satisfy accountants in the United States, the UK or Australia.
  • The interface is functional rather than designed and shows its age against Odoo, which makes internal adoption harder when staff are comparing it to consumer-grade software.
  • Upgrades between major versions can break paid third-party modules, because module authors update on their own schedules and there is no guarantee your combination will work on version 24 the day it ships.
  • Support is community forums unless you buy a partner contract, and the documentation is a wiki of uneven quality with substantial parts written in French, so English-only teams hit dead ends.

Pricing, plan by plan

Constant Contact

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Basic email marketing
    • Contacts up to 100
  • Plus$45/month
    • Advanced features
    • Event management
    • Automation

Dolibarr

Free
  • Self-hostedFree
    • Full GPL source, all core modules
    • Unlimited users
    • You provide PHP and MySQL hosting
  • Partner cloud hosting$14/month
    • Managed hosting from DoliCloud or a certified partner
    • Backups, updates and support included
    • Typically 10 to 30 euros per user per month

Which should you pick?

Choose Constant Contact if

  • You need email marketing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Mobile-responsive.
  • You also want event management.
Constant Contact review

Choose Dolibarr if

  • You need module toggles.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Self-hosted, Docker, Windows, macOS, Linux, Android.
  • You also want third-party management.
Dolibarr review

Questions people ask

Is Constant Contact or Dolibarr better?
Neither clearly leads. Constant Contact starts at Free and Dolibarr at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Constant Contact or Dolibarr?
Constant Contact starts at Free and Dolibarr at Free.
Does Constant Contact or Dolibarr run on more platforms?
Constant Contact runs on Web, Mobile-responsive. Dolibarr runs on Web, Self-hosted, Docker, Windows, macOS, Linux, Android.
Can I use Constant Contact for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Constant Contact best used for?
Constant Contact is most often used for business operations, productivity, automation. Of those, business operations and productivity are not what Dolibarr is typically brought in for.
What can Constant Contact do that Dolibarr cannot?
Constant Contact covers Email marketing, Event management, Contact management, Automation. Dolibarr covers Module toggles, Third-party management, Quotes to invoices, Stock and warehouses.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Dolibarr: Is Dolibarr genuinely free?

Yes. The full application is GPL with no user limit and no paid edition of the core. You pay only for hosting, optional DoliStore modules and optional partner support.

Dolibarr: Can it run on shared hosting?

Yes, that is its main practical advantage. It needs only PHP and MySQL or MariaDB, so an ordinary cPanel account is enough.

Dolibarr: How does it compare to Odoo?

Odoo is deeper and better presented but its useful modules are in the paid Enterprise edition and it needs a proper deployment. Dolibarr is thinner but free end to end and far easier to host.

Dolibarr: Does it handle UK or US accounting?

Not comfortably out of the box. The accounting module reflects French conventions and needs configuration and often a local module to satisfy an accountant elsewhere.

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