Brevo is a popular Mailchimp alternative for businesses that want lower costs, a pricing model based on email volume rather than contact count, or SMS alongside email in the same platform. Brevo's free plan includes unlimited contacts with up to 300 emails per day, which is unusually generous. The migration is straightforward.
This guide covers everything you need to migrate from Mailchimp to Brevo without losing subscribers or breaking your automations. Estimated time: 2-4 hours.
What transfers and what does not
| Item | Transfers? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Contacts and email addresses | Yes | Via CSV export/import |
| Contact attributes | Partial | Standard fields map directly; custom fields need manual mapping |
| Lists and segments | Partial | Export as attributes, remap as Brevo lists on import |
| Unsubscribe history | Yes | Import as blacklisted contacts |
| Email templates | No | Must be rebuilt in Brevo |
| Automation workflows | No | Must be rebuilt from scratch |
| Campaign history | No | Historical data stays in Mailchimp |
Keep your Mailchimp account active throughout the migration. Do not cancel it until Brevo 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
Sign up at Brevo. The free plan covers unlimited contacts with 300 emails per day, which is enough to complete your migration and test everything. Keep Mailchimp active until Brevo is fully operational.
Add your domain in Brevo under Senders and IPs, and complete the DKIM and DMARC setup. This is required before sending to your imported contacts.
In Mailchimp, go to Audience, select your list, and export as a CSV. Include all merge fields and groups. Export your unsubscribed and cleaned contacts separately.
In Brevo, go to Contacts, Import Contacts, and upload your CSV. Map each column to the correct Brevo attribute. Create any custom attributes you need before importing. Import unsubscribed contacts into your Brevo blacklist to maintain compliance.
Brevo has a drag-and-drop editor with a template library. Rebuild your main email designs. Use Brevo's mobile preview to check rendering before using templates in campaigns.
Document all your active Mailchimp automations. In Brevo, go to Automations and rebuild each workflow. Brevo's automation builder supports multi-step sequences, behavioral triggers, and multi-channel flows including SMS.
Create signup forms in Brevo and replace your Mailchimp embed codes. Test each form to verify that new contacts are added correctly and trigger the right automation.
Run a full test: send a test campaign, trigger automations, submit a test form. Once everything works correctly, cancel your Mailchimp account.
The bottom line
Migrating from Mailchimp to Brevo is one of the simpler email migrations. Contacts import cleanly, the automation builder is capable, and Brevo's free plan means there is no cost pressure during the transition. Plan for two to four hours to complete the migration and testing.
Not sure Brevo is the right destination? Take the Marketing Automation Buyer's Guide quiz for a personalized recommendation.