Leaving Mailchimp — moving your list to another tool and closing the account
Mailchimp’s export gives you subscribed, unsubscribed and cleaned addresses as separate files with their consent data. The biggest risk in a migration is unsubscribed contacts ending up as subscribers in the new tool. Here is the order to do the move in, what you get out of Mailchimp and how six other tools take in the list. Everything is read from the providers’ own help pages.
When you move from Mailchimp to another tool, there are three points where the list can break: unsubscribed contacts, tags and automations. This page sets out the order in which to do the move and how six other tools take in a Mailchimp list. Everything is read from the providers’ own help pages.
The short answer
- Export the audience and back up the account while the account is still on a paid plan.
- Import the list into the new tool so that unsubscribed contacts arrive as unsubscribed and subscribers as subscribers.
- Rebuild forms and automations and point the sign-up form on your website at the new tool.
- Only then downgrade or delete the Mailchimp account. Deletion cannot be undone.
If you are still choosing the new tool, the Mailchimp alternatives comparison shows how much switching saves, and the Mailchimp pricing page shows the current plans and the free plan limit.
What you get out of Mailchimp
According to Mailchimp’s export help page, an audience export is a ZIP file with a separate CSV file for each status: subscribed, unsubscribed, non-subscribed and cleaned addresses. Archived contacts are exported separately, and a finished export stays in the account for 30 days.
| Included | Not included |
|---|---|
| Audience fields (except language), tags and notes | Open and click data |
| Consent data: sign-up time and IP, confirmation time and IP | Purchase history |
| In GDPR-enabled audiences, marketing permissions in their own columns | Sign-up source and contact language |
| In the account backup: campaigns as HTML and text files, templates as HTML, and reports | Deleted audiences, invoices, websites and landing pages |
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Sources: Mailchimp’s export help page and backup help page, read on 25 September 2026.
Keep the consent data even if the new tool does not import it. It is the evidence of when and how each subscriber gave consent, and the burden of proof is on the sender. More on proving consent in our guide to email marketing and GDPR.
What you will have to rebuild
Mailchimp’s backup help page does not mention automations, customer journeys or forms in either of its lists, neither in what can be exported nor in what cannot. According to the help page, an automation can only be replicated within the same account. In practice, then, automations and forms are rebuilt from scratch in the new tool, unless the destination tool’s migration service does it for you. Check the templates too: according to Mailchimp’s help page, a template imported as HTML can no longer use drag-and-drop blocks.
Unsubscribed contacts: the biggest risk in a migration
If unsubscribed contacts are imported into the new tool as subscribers, your first campaign goes to people who have refused marketing, which means marketing without consent. Mailchimp’s own help page advises importing each file with the correct status, so that an unsubscribed contact is not accidentally made a subscriber or the other way round.
That is why the export’s separate files matter. Import the subscribed file as subscribers and the unsubscribed file as unsubscribed or to the blocklist. According to Mailchimp, cleaned addresses cannot be sent to, so do not import them as subscribers.
How six tools take in a Mailchimp list
| Tool | Import from Mailchimp | Unsubscribed | Tags | Review or declaration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MailerLite | Direct import | Can be included | Become groups | Consent required |
| Brevo | Integration | Integration marks all as subscribed; by CSV to the blocklist | Not moved | Declaration; only consents from the last 2 years |
| ActiveCampaign | Migration service | Statuses move; by CSV as unsubscribed | Moved | Asks where addresses came from |
| GetResponse | CSV (no direct import in the help pages) | To the suppression list | Help page does not say | Import is reviewed |
| EmailOctopus | CSV | Imported as unsubscribed | Imported | First campaign is reviewed |
| Systeme.io | CSV | Help pages contradict each other | Tag on import | Explicit consent only; proof may be requested |
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Read from each tool’s own help pages on 25 September 2026. “Help page does not say” means the information was not found in the help pages, not that the feature is missing.
Brevo: the integration is quick, but unsubscribed contacts need separate handling
According to Brevo’s help page, the Mailchimp integration automatically subscribes the contacts it moves to Brevo’s campaigns, and a status change in Mailchimp is not reflected in Brevo. Mailchimp itself blocks previously unsubscribed, permanently deleted and invalid contacts from syncing, and the integration only moves contacts who have given consent within the last two years. Tags do not move, because according to the help page Brevo has no tags. The safest approach is to also import the unsubscribed file as a CSV and add it to the blocklist.
MailerLite: direct import turns tags into groups
According to MailerLite’s migration guide, the import connects to Mailchimp by logging in or with an API key, and unsubscribed and unconfirmed contacts can be selected separately. MailerLite creates a group from each Mailchimp list and tag, but only simple, field-based segments can be recreated. The guide advises rebuilding forms, templates and automations by hand.
ActiveCampaign: the migration service moves the most
According to ActiveCampaign’s help page, its migration service is available to customers switching from Mailchimp, and it moves contacts with their subscribed and unsubscribed statuses, tags and custom fields, forms, automations and campaigns. The page itself warns that what can be migrated, and the limits, may vary. When you create a new list, ActiveCampaign asks how the addresses were obtained, and campaigns go through an approval process.
GetResponse, EmailOctopus and Systeme.io: CSV import
For these three, the list is imported as the CSV files from the Mailchimp export. According to GetResponse’s help page, all imports are single opt-in, permission must be obtained before importing and the imported list is reviewed, and unsubscribed contacts go to the suppression list. EmailOctopus advises importing unsubscribed contacts as unsubscribed, and according to EmailOctopus they do not count towards the subscriber limit. Systeme.io only accepts contacts who have given explicit consent and may ask for proof. Its two help pages describe importing unsubscribed contacts differently, so check their status after the import.
Delete, downgrade or pause the Mailchimp account
According to Mailchimp’s help page, a deleted account cannot be restored, and the company deletes all data related to audiences, campaign archives and reports. Any outstanding balance must be paid before deletion. That is why the order matters: export first, check the new tool, and only then delete.
- Downgrade to free if you want to keep the account just in case. According to the help page, a downgrade to free is possible only once in the lifetime of the account, and it takes effect at the start of the next billing period. If the account does not fit within the free plan’s limits, sending is paused.
- Pause for 3 or 6 months if you are not sure. A pause keeps your data, and you can do it at most twice in 12 months.
- Delete once the new tool has sent its first campaigns and you have saved the export and backup for yourself.
You will not get money back mid-period. According to Mailchimp’s refund policy, the company does not issue refunds unless a system error caused the problem or the account was closed without cause.
The migration step by step
- Export the audience and the backup and save them on your own computer. The export only stays in Mailchimp for 30 days.
- Authenticate your domain in the new tool before the first send.
- Import subscribed and unsubscribed contacts separately with the correct statuses, and after the import check the status of a few unsubscribed addresses.
- Build forms and automations and point the sign-up form on your website at the new tool.
- Send your first campaign and watch bounces and complaints.
- Downgrade, pause or delete the Mailchimp account only after this.
The new tool’s prices at three list sizes are in the comparison of email marketing software.