Businesses migrate from Keap to ActiveCampaign when they want comparable CRM and automation capability at a lower price point. Keap (formerly Infusionsoft) is a powerful but expensive and complex platform. ActiveCampaign covers most of the same ground: automation, CRM, email, and sales pipeline management, at a more accessible price and with a cleaner interface.
This guide covers everything you need to migrate from Keap to ActiveCampaign without losing subscribers or breaking your automations. Estimated time: 4-8 hours.
What transfers and what does not
| Item | Transfers? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Contacts | Yes | Export from Keap, import via CSV to ActiveCampaign |
| Custom fields | Partial | Create matching custom fields in ActiveCampaign before importing |
| Tags | Yes | Tags export from Keap and can be imported as ActiveCampaign tags |
| Campaign history | No | Historical data stays in Keap |
| Automation sequences | No | Must be rebuilt in ActiveCampaign |
| Pipeline and deals | Partial | Export deals, recreate pipeline stages, then import |
| Email templates | No | Must be rebuilt in ActiveCampaign |
| Invoices and payments | No | Keap's payment features do not transfer to ActiveCampaign |
Keep your Keap account active throughout the migration. Do not cancel it until ActiveCampaign is fully set up and tested. Cancelling early means losing access to your historical data and any active automations still running.
Step-by-step migration guide
Create your ActiveCampaign account and complete domain authentication. Map out your Keap custom fields and create equivalent custom fields in ActiveCampaign before importing contacts.
In Keap, export your full contact database as a CSV. Include all custom fields, tags, and contact scores. Export your opt-out contacts separately.
Import your CSV into ActiveCampaign. Map each Keap field to the corresponding ActiveCampaign field. Import tags with your contacts. Import opted-out contacts with their marketing status set to unsubscribed.
In ActiveCampaign, create deal pipeline stages to match your Keap pipeline. Export your Keap deals and import them into ActiveCampaign, associating each deal with the correct contact.
Document all your active Keap campaigns and automations before rebuilding. ActiveCampaign's automation builder is capable of replicating everything Keap does for marketing and sales automation. Start with your highest-volume sequences.
Rebuild your main email templates in ActiveCampaign. Keap and ActiveCampaign use different email editors, so templates cannot be transferred directly.
Create ActiveCampaign forms and replace Keap web forms on your website. Test each form to confirm contacts are created and automations trigger correctly.
Run end-to-end tests before cancelling. Submit forms, send test emails, and walk through your key automation paths. Once confirmed working, cancel Keap on your renewal date.
The bottom line
Migrating from Keap to ActiveCampaign requires real rebuild work because there is no direct export path for automations or templates. Budget a full day for the migration. The result is a platform that handles the same core use cases at a significantly lower cost and with a cleaner interface.
Not sure ActiveCampaign is the right destination? Take the Marketing Automation Buyer's Guide quiz for a personalized recommendation.