Switching from Mailchimp, list first
There's no compatibility API to lean on here — Mailchimp migrations are a data move, not a code move. The good news: the data move is the easy part, and this page is honest about the part that isn't.
Facts verified 2026-08-29 — corrections: hello@emailfast.dev
The move, in order
- Export from Mailchimp. Audience → contacts as CSV (fields included), and — separately — your unsubscribed and cleaned addresses.
- Import the unsubscribes first, as suppressions. This is the step everyone skips and regrets: bring the do-not-send list over before the contact list, so nothing you send here can reach someone who already opted out there.
- Import the contact CSV. The email column is required; name and external_id map to their fields; every other column becomes a contact attribute, validated against any typed fields you've declared. Each address passes a hygiene screen — syntax garbage and throwaway domains never make it in.
- Re-point signup. Hosted forms with confirmed opt-in replace your embedded Mailchimp form: hosted signup forms with double opt-in through our own delivery path, so every subscriber carries verifiable proof of consent.
- Rebuild what doesn't port — templates and automations, honestly covered below.
A hosted Mailchimp importer — templates, contacts, and suppression lists pulled over the Mailchimp API instead of CSV — is planned. CSV and the dashboard do the whole move today, and everything runs dry first: sandbox keys (ef_sandbox_…) that run the real pipeline dry: real validation, real rendering, real events, a hosted capture inbox — and no email leaves.
How long it actually takes
| What you're moving | The work | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Unsubscribes and cleaned addresses | CSV export → suppression import, before anything else | Under an hour |
| The audience itself | CSV export → screened CSV import, fields mapped by header | An afternoon, including checking the skip report |
| Signup forms | Hosted double-opt-in forms, embedded or linked | An afternoon |
| Templates | Paste the HTML you use today; an API importer is planned | A day for a working set |
| Automations and journeys | Rebuilt on our canvas — they do not port | Days — the honest bulk of a Mailchimp move |
What Mailchimp publishes at your volume
The models differ, so read the axis: Mailchimp bills monthly for stored contacts whether you email them or not, with sends as an allowance on top. Email Fast bills sending and never bills contacts.
| Contacts | Price / month | Published as |
|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | $45 | 501-1,500 |
| 5,000 | $100 | 2,501-5,000 |
| 10,000 | $135 | 5,001-10,000 |
| 25,000 | $310 | 20,001-25,000 |
| 50,000 | $450 | 40,001-50,000 |
| 100,000 | $800 | 75,001-100,000 |
Detail: Regular (non-promo) monthly prices recorded from the page's 'Then, starts at $X/month' figures; the headline price is a 'Save 15% on 10,000+ contacts for first 12 months' intro promo (e.g. 10k shows $114.75 promo / $135 regular). Contact bands: 1k falls in the 501-1,500 band, 5k in 2,501-5,000, etc. Send allowance: Standard = 12x contact count/month (e.g. 120,000 sends at 10k contacts). Overages apply if contact or send limit exceeded. Essentials is cheaper (10x sends) but was not priced at 100k on the page; Premium starts at $350/mo. Free plan: up to 250 contacts, 500 sends/mo. USD selected; multi-currency page.
Not published / not verified: Essentials price at 100k contacts (not shown at that band); exact overage rates.
Figures verified 2026-08-29 on the Mailchimp (Intuit) pricing page, promo and intro discounts excluded — method and corrections via the claims methodology.
Price your own list and cadence together — 10,000 contacts, 40,000 sends/month or 50,000 contacts, 200,000 sends/month.
Where Email Fast stands
| Plan | Price / month | Emails included | Overage per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 2,500 | — |
| Starter | $9.90 | 20,000 | $0.90 |
| Creator | $39 | 100,000 | $0.65 |
| Growth | $79 | 300,000 | $0.55 |
| Scale | $249 | 1,500,000 | $0.35 |
Our stake, declared: we make Email Fast, and these are the launch prices already published on our pricing page — during early access they may be refined before general availability, and self-serve checkout opens at GA. Contacts and subscribers are never billed, at any list size.
Where Mailchimp wins
From our own pricing survey, their side stated plainly — Huge template library and brand recognition, an all-in-one marketing ecosystem (landing pages, ads, CRM-lite, automations), and the largest integration marketplace in small-business email.
Honest additions: familiarity is worth real money — everyone on your team has used Mailchimp, and nobody needs training on it. If your operation leans on their template ecosystem and integration marketplace daily, that gravity is the best reason to stay. The full comparison: Mailchimp vs Email Fast.
Next
- Newsletters, archive, RSS, and forms — what the publishing kit includes
- Also looking at beehiiv or Substack?
- Suspended by your current platform? Read that first.
- Apply for early access — migration help is part of onboarding
Mailchimp is a trademark of its owner; Email Fast is not affiliated with or endorsed by them. Mailchimp facts were verified on their public pages on the dates shown — corrections: hello@emailfast.dev.
Questions, answered plainly
Do my Mailchimp automations come across?
No — and any platform that tells you otherwise is describing a rebuild with a friendlier word. Journeys are re-created on our automation canvas. Budget real time for it, and treat the move as a chance to prune the flows nobody remembers building.
Will my unsubscribes be honored after the move?
Yes, if you import them — so do that first. Export unsubscribed and cleaned addresses from Mailchimp and import them here as suppressions before any contact import or first send. Suppression checks run at admission on every send, and a marketing unsubscribe never blocks a transactional message.
What happens to my merge fields and tags?
CSV columns beyond email, name, and external_id import as contact attributes, and columns matching your declared typed fields are validated on the way in. Tags become fields or segments you re-declare here — the data lands, the taxonomy is yours to rebuild.
Why does the import ask where my list came from?
Because list provenance is the whole game in deliverability. Imports are screened for hygiene (syntax garbage and throwaway domains never enter the list), and we ask you to attest the list is opt-in. A purchased list fails that conversation — we'd rather decline than burn the shared reputation every sender here depends on.