How to migrate from Mailchimp
Last updated · 3 min read
Moving off Mailchimp is more than a CSV export. Unsubscribes and consent records matter most. Here is what to look out for.
What to take with you
- every contact with its status: subscribed, unsubscribed, cleaned, pending
- custom fields such as first name or customer ID
- tags and groups
- signup and opt-in time and IP where available
- unsubscribed and cleaned addresses as a suppression list
- optionally, past campaigns for a web archive
The suppression list is the part people forget most often. If you import unsubscribed addresses as active contacts, you will email people who said no.
Option 1: export a file
In Mailchimp, open your audience, go to All contacts and choose Export Audience. You get a ZIP with separate files for subscribed, unsubscribed and cleaned contacts. The files include columns with signup and opt-in time and IP where Mailchimp recorded them.
Upload these files to your new provider. Make sure unsubscribed and cleaned addresses go into the suppression list, not into your active contacts.
Option 2: migrate through the API
The Mailchimp Marketing API returns contacts with fields, tags and timestamps once you grant access by signing in to Mailchimp (OAuth). That saves file juggling and keeps status and consent together.
In Sendmora, Mailchimp is one of the first one click migrations: connect Mailchimp, pick the audience, click Move. You get a report with imported, suppressed and invalid addresses. See what comes along and roughly how long it takes in the migration check.
Before your first send
- Verify your sending domain with the new provider (DKIM, SPF, DMARC).
- Replace the signup form on your website and turn off the old one.
- Keep the new consent wording close to the old one so it matches existing consent.
- Send the first issue in batches. Mailbox providers watch new senders closely.
- Cancel Mailchimp only after the first issue was delivered cleanly.
Contacts without proof
Older lists sometimes lack opt-in timestamps, for example contacts imported years ago. Flag those contacts. An email asking whether they want to keep reading is a clean way to get fresh confirmation.
Archive and automations
Past campaigns can be read through the API and brought into a web archive at your new provider. Automations such as welcome sequences do not transfer automatically. Before you switch, write down which automations run, what they send and when, so you can rebuild them calmly.
Groups and tags are separate concepts in Mailchimp. When you move, map both to tags or lists at the new provider and use the moment to tidy up the ones you no longer need. A smaller, clearer set of tags makes later segmentation easier.
Why people switch
Common reasons are pricing by contact count, where inactive readers still cost money, and the wish to keep data in the EU. Compare what your newsletter costs under different models in the newsletter cost calculator, which uses prices from each provider's own pricing page.
Mailchimp is a trademark of its owner. We use the name only to describe the migration. Menu names may change, Mailchimp's help pages are authoritative.