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Nonprofits · head to head

Constant Contact vs SmartSimple Cloud

Constant Contact logo

Constant Contact

Nonprofits

Email marketing and event management

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
SmartSimple Cloud logo

SmartSimple Cloud

Nonprofits

Configurable grants, research and case management platform for large funders

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Constant Contact has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • 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); SmartSimple Cloud almost everything useful is configured rather than switched on, so first-year cost is dominated by professional services and a live system is typically months rather than weeks away.
  • They diverge on capability: Constant Contact covers Email marketing, SmartSimple Cloud covers Configurable object model.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Constant Contact and SmartSimple Cloud actually diverge.

Attributes where Constant Contact and SmartSimple Cloud differ
AttributeConstant ContactSmartSimple Cloud
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Mobile-responsiveWeb
Founded1995Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Nonprofits).

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 SmartSimple Cloud

  • Configurable object model
  • Workflow and approval engine
  • Peer review
  • Budget and payments
  • Grantee portal
  • Report writer
  • Research administration

What people use each for

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

Constant Contact

  • Business operationsnot SmartSimple Cloud
  • Productivitynot SmartSimple Cloud
  • Automationnot SmartSimple Cloud

SmartSimple Cloud

  • A national research council running peer-reviewed funding calls with panel conflict rules and multi-year milestone paymentsnot Constant Contact
  • A private foundation whose grant process differs enough between programmes that packaged software would need four separate instancesnot Constant Contact
  • A government department that must show a full audit trail of every decision and payment against public fundsnot Constant Contact
  • A health charity running grants and beneficiary case management in one system with shared contact recordsnot 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)

SmartSimple Cloud

  • Almost everything useful is configured rather than switched on, so first-year cost is dominated by professional services and a live system is typically months rather than weeks away.
  • Because each deployment is bespoke, upgrades and new platform features often need configuration work before they apply to your instance, which slows the benefit of paying an annual subscription.
  • Organisations that lose their internal configurator become dependent on the vendor or a partner for even routine form changes, which turns small requests into billable work.
  • The user interface is dense and utilitarian; occasional users such as grant reviewers and applicants need instructions, which increases support load during a funding round.
  • It is priced and scoped for large funders, so a small foundation running one annual round will pay for flexibility it never uses and would be served faster by a packaged tool.

Pricing, plan by plan

Constant Contact

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

SmartSimple Cloud

On request
  • SmartSimple Cloud$undefined/year
    • Configurable grants, review and case management
    • Grantee and reviewer portals
    • Annual subscription plus separate implementation engagement

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 SmartSimple Cloud if

  • You need configurable object model.
  • You also want workflow and approval engine.
SmartSimple Cloud review

Questions people ask

Is Constant Contact or SmartSimple Cloud better?
Neither clearly leads. Constant Contact starts at Free and SmartSimple Cloud at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Constant Contact or SmartSimple Cloud?
Constant Contact has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Constant Contact and On request for SmartSimple Cloud.
Does Constant Contact or SmartSimple Cloud run on more platforms?
Constant Contact runs on Web, Mobile-responsive. SmartSimple Cloud runs on Web.
Can I use Constant Contact for free?
Yes. Constant Contact has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. SmartSimple Cloud starts at On request.
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 SmartSimple Cloud is typically brought in for.
What can Constant Contact do that SmartSimple Cloud cannot?
Constant Contact covers Email marketing, Event management, Contact management, Automation. SmartSimple Cloud covers Configurable object model, Workflow and approval engine, Peer review, Budget and payments.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

SmartSimple Cloud: How long does implementation take?

Plan in months, not weeks. Complex multi-programme funders routinely run six to twelve month implementations, and that work is billed separately from the subscription.

SmartSimple Cloud: Is pricing published?

No. It is quoted by modules, user counts and configuration scope. Ask specifically what future configuration changes cost, because that is the recurring surprise.

SmartSimple Cloud: Can it handle multi-currency, multi-year grants?

Yes. Tranche payments conditional on milestone reports and multi-currency awards are among the reasons large international funders choose it.

SmartSimple Cloud: Do we need our own administrator?

Practically, yes. Organisations without an internal configurator end up paying the vendor for routine form and workflow changes.

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