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MailerLite to Mailchimp migration: export, unsubscribes and cost

Last verified 3 Nov 2026 against official pricing pages · published 5 Nov 2026

Prices change often. Each price was checked on the platform's official pricing page on the date shown; plans, promos and taxes vary. Confirm on the official site before you buy. Not financial advice.

There is no direct MailerLite importer in Mailchimp, so the move is a CSV export from MailerLite and an import into one Mailchimp audience. Export your unsubscribes and bounces separately and import them as Unsubscribed. Automations, forms and templates you rebuild. On cost, 5,000 subscribers with automations run $49/mo on MailerLite and $75/mo on Mailchimp, and on Mailchimp the unsubscribes you import are billed too.

Prices from MailerLite and Mailchimp (checked 2026-11-03), monthly billing. Steps from MailerLite's and Mailchimp's help centers (checked 2026-11-05). Neither company has an affiliate deal with us.

What it costs on each

Subscribers	MailerLite	Mailchimp	Mailchimp vs MailerLite	Mailchimp Standard
500	$12 (Comfort)	$13 (Essentials)	+$1	$20
1,000	$19 (Comfort)	$26.50 (Essentials)	+$7.50	$45
2,500	$33 (Comfort)	$45 (Essentials)	+$12	$60
5,000	$49 (Comfort)	$75 (Essentials)	+$26	$100
10,000	$89 (Comfort)	$110 (Essentials)	+$21	$135
25,000	$179 (Comfort)	$270 (Essentials)	+$91	$310

Cheapest plan on each platform with automations that covers the list, one send a month, monthly billing. The last column is Mailchimp Standard, the lowest Mailchimp plan that takes custom HTML templates.

Watch the count. MailerLite bills unique Active subscribers; unsubscribed and bounced contacts don't count, but anyone Active at any point in the billing cycle does, even if deleted later (MailerLite help). Mailchimp bills subscribed, unsubscribed and non-subscribed contacts; cleaned and archived contacts don't count (Mailchimp help). So 5,000 active subscribers plus 1,000 imported unsubscribes are billed as 6,000 contacts on Mailchimp, $110/mo instead of $75/mo. More in every Mailchimp tier.

How often you send

Mailchimp includes 10× contacts in sends a month on Essentials, 12× on Standard and 15× on Premium; MailerLite's paid tiers have their own monthly email limits, and going over one auto-upgrades your MailerLite plan until renewal (MailerLite help). Same 5,000 subscribers, different schedules:

You send	Emails /month	MailerLite	Mailchimp
Monthly	5,000	$49 (Comfort)	$75 (Essentials)
Weekly	20,000	$49 (Comfort)	$75 (Essentials)
Twice a week	40,000	$49 (Comfort)	$75 (Essentials)
3 times a week	60,000	$69 (Power)	$100 (Standard)
Daily	150,000	$69 (Power)	$180 (Essentials)

Each platform's cheapest plan with automations whose send limit covers the volume; we price the tier or plan that covers the volume rather than overage. Method: send limits.

Calculate your exact MailerLite → Mailchimp switching cost → · Mailchimp vs MailerLite compared · every MailerLite tier

Before you start

Check you're an admin. Only MailerLite account administrators can export subscribers (MailerLite help).
Plan one audience. Mailchimp audiences are independent, so it can't detect duplicates, bounces or unsubscribes across them; it suggests one primary audience with groups instead (Mailchimp help). Turn MailerLite groups into Mailchimp tags or groups.
Keep consent in mind. Subscribed contacts you import into Mailchimp skip its sign-up process, so Mailchimp asks you to confirm you have permission to email them. Don't import MailerLite's unconfirmed subscribers as subscribed.
Mind the Free plan. Mailchimp Free covers 250 contacts and 500 sends a month with a daily limit of 250 (Mailchimp help), far fewer sends than MailerLite Free's 2,500 (MailerLite help).

Step 1: export from MailerLite

Open Subscribers and pick Active in the status dropdown.
Click Set columns and turn on every field you want to keep, including Groups so each row carries its group names. The export only includes columns visible in the overview.
Use the dropdown next to the Subscriber column to select all subscribers in the list (not just the current page), then Actions → Export CSV or CSV for Excel (MailerLite: How to export subscribers).
Repeat for Unsubscribed, Bounced and spam complaints. These become your suppression file.

Step 2: import into Mailchimp

Create one audience, then Audience → Add contacts → Import contacts → Upload a file.
Add a tag per old MailerLite group, match each column to a Mailchimp field (unmatched columns aren't imported), and set the status to Subscribed (Mailchimp help).
Check custom field types before you send.

CSV tips from Mailchimp's format guidelines: European spreadsheet programs that separate with semicolons need commas instead; one email address per contact; text fields are cut at 255 bytes; dates import best as YYYY-MM-DD.

Don't skip: the unsubscribes

Import the Unsubscribed, Bounced and spam-complaint export into the same audience with the email marketing status set to Unsubscribed. Mailchimp calls this a suppression list; it applies to one audience only and can't change contacts already in that audience, so do it before or alongside the main import (Mailchimp help). Mailchimp also skips bounced and unsubscribed addresses already stored in the audience on later imports.

Cost trade-off: these contacts count toward your Mailchimp limit, while on MailerLite they were free. Archived contacts don't count and can't be emailed, and someone who unsubscribed before you archived them can't be re-imported as subscribed (Mailchimp: Archive contacts). Under the GDPR, archiving isn't a substitute for deleting when an EU contact asks to be removed.

What moves and what doesn't

Moves: subscribers and the fields you export, group names (as a column you turn into tags), and unsubscribes (as an Unsubscribed import).
Rebuild: automations, sign-up forms, landing pages or websites, and segments. MailerLite's help doesn't document a template HTML export, so recreate templates in Mailchimp or use Mailchimp's Import a Custom HTML Template if you have the code, on Standard or higher (Mailchimp help).
Doesn't move: campaign reports. Export subscriber activity from a sent campaign's report (Subscriber activity tab → Actions → Export) in MailerLite if you want to keep it (MailerLite help).

Closing MailerLite

Switch forms and automations to Mailchimp first, so new sign-ups don't land in MailerLite.
Cancel: Account settings → Plan and billing → Cancel subscription. You keep the plan until it expires and aren't charged for the next month. A downgrade likewise starts at the next billing cycle (MailerLite help).
Or drop to Free: keep active subscribers under 250; the Free plan allows two users, so extra users are removed. Download past invoices from Plan and billing → Invoices first.

Sources

MailerLite help: How to export subscribers, Plan and billing (checked 2026-11-05)
Mailchimp help: Import contacts, Import suppression lists, Format guidelines for your import file, About your contacts, Archive or unarchive contacts, Import a custom HTML template (checked 2026-11-04)
MailerLite pricing and Mailchimp pricing (checked 2026-11-03)

See MailerLite plans See Mailchimp plans

Tip: before you import, leave out unsubscribed and bounced contacts. Most platforms bill by list size, so a cleaner list can keep you on a lower tier. How to clean your list before switching

FAQ

Can Mailchimp import contacts directly from MailerLite?

Not with a dedicated tool: Mailchimp publishes migration guides for some platforms, but we found none for MailerLite. The route is a CSV export from MailerLite's Subscribers page, then Mailchimp's Import contacts → Upload a file into one audience.

How do I export subscribers from MailerLite?

Go to Subscribers, pick the status in the Active subscribers dropdown (active, unconfirmed, unsubscribed, bounced or spam complaints), select all subscribers in the list, use Set columns to add the fields you want (choose Groups to keep group names), then Actions → Export as CSV or CSV for Excel. Only columns visible in the overview are exported, and only account administrators can export.

Do MailerLite unsubscribes transfer to Mailchimp?

Only if you move them. Export the Unsubscribed, Bounced and spam-complaint views separately in MailerLite and import that file into your Mailchimp audience with the email marketing status set to Unsubscribed, which Mailchimp calls a suppression list. Do it before your first send.

Do unsubscribed contacts count toward my Mailchimp bill?

Yes, and MailerLite works the other way. MailerLite bills unique Active subscribers; unsubscribed and bounced contacts don't count. Mailchimp counts subscribed, unsubscribed and non-subscribed contacts; only cleaned and archived contacts are free. So 5,000 active subscribers plus 1,000 imported unsubscribes are billed on Mailchimp as 6,000 contacts: $110/mo instead of $75/mo.

Is Mailchimp cheaper than MailerLite?

At 5,000 subscribers with automations, Mailchimp costs $75/mo (Essentials) and MailerLite $49/mo (Comfort), monthly billing, so more on Mailchimp. At 1,000 it is $26.50 vs $19, and at 10,000 $110 vs $89. Both free plans cover 250 contacts, but MailerLite Free allows 2,500 emails a month and Mailchimp Free 500.

How do I cancel MailerLite after switching?

Account settings → Plan and billing → Cancel subscription. You keep the plan until it expires and aren't charged for the next month. To drop to Free instead, keep active subscribers under 250; the Free plan allows two users, so extra users are removed.

Comparisons: Mailchimp vs MailerLite · Cheapest for 500, 1,000, 2,500, 5,000, 10,000, 25,000 subscribers

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