Mailchimp → beehiiv

Plan mapping at the entry paid tier

The lowest non-free, non-custom tier on each side. Use this for the "if I'm on $X with Mailchimp, what's the equivalent on beehiiv?" gut check.

Step-by-step migration

1. 01

   Export your list from Mailchimp

   Pull a fresh CSV of every active subscriber. Capture the fields you actually use downstream: email is required, name is standard, signup date and tier (free/paid) are useful when Mailchimp provides them.

2. 02

   Provision beehiiv

   Sign up, set sender identity, and verify your sending domain (DKIM, SPF, DMARC). Do this before importing the list; sending from an unverified domain is the single fastest way to land in spam at the moment of cutover.

3. 03

   Import the list and map fields

   Upload the CSV. Map email + name + any custom fields. Decide whether to import as one list or split into segments/tags. Mailchimp-style organization rarely maps 1:1, so plan the split before the upload, not after.

4. 04

   Rebuild automations and templates

   beehiiv's automation builder is structurally similar but won't import Mailchimp's flows directly. Rebuild only what you actively use; the move is a chance to delete the unused ones rather than lift-and-shift dead infrastructure.

5. 05

   Send a test broadcast

   Pick a small segment and send a real broadcast (not just a preview). Verify deliverability, link clicks, and unsubscribe flow. If anything's off, you find it before the announcement, not after.

6. 06

   Announce the move and cut over

   Send your last broadcast from Mailchimp announcing the new sender domain and what to expect. Cut over DNS and sending from beehiiv on the same day, not staggered. A dual-send week creates more confusion than it prevents.

Mailchimp-to-beehiiv specific gotchas

Universal steps cover most of the work. These are the failure modes unique to this exact pair.

• #1

  Mailchimp audiences map to beehiiv as a single publication. If you have multiple Mailchimp audiences (different brands, lists, or product lines), decide before importing whether they consolidate into one beehiiv publication with tags or whether you spin up separate beehiiv publications. Each beehiiv publication has its own subdomain and design.

• #2

  Mailchimp merge fields (FNAME, LNAME, custom fields) need to be re-mapped to beehiiv custom fields. Export the Mailchimp field list first; re-create the load-bearing 3 to 5 fields in beehiiv before the import. The other 80 percent of merge fields are usually contact-info you don't actually use in subject lines or content.

• #3

  Mailchimp's customer-journey automations don't import. Rebuild only the flows you actively use. beehiiv's automation builder is simpler and newsletter-shaped (welcome series, segment-based broadcasts) rather than the deeply branched commerce flows Mailchimp supports.

• #4

  Mailchimp double opt-in is on by default; beehiiv's signup is single opt-in by default. If you operate in a jurisdiction where double opt-in is required (Germany / GDPR-strict EU countries), enable it in beehiiv before the migration; otherwise compliance gaps appear silently.

• #5

  Active Mailchimp paid subscriptions (if you've wired Stripe through Mailchimp's e-commerce integration) won't transfer as live subscriptions. Subscribers re-subscribe via beehiiv's native paid-subscription Stripe connection. Communicate the cutover with a clear deadline and an explicit ask.

• #6

  Sender domain DNS: Mailchimp issues mc.us<region>.list-manage.com patterns; beehiiv issues its own DKIM and SPF records. Add beehiiv's records alongside Mailchimp's, verify beehiiv authentication, warm beehiiv's sender for 7 to 14 days before flipping the from-address. Don't hard-cut a production sender.

Compare on price across the category

This guide is Mailchimp to beehiiv specifically. To see both side by side with every other email marketing tool we track on a single price-only table, see the email marketing pricing comparison . Useful before committing to the migration, in case a third option fits the cost-and-feature combination better than either side of this guide.

Common questions

Is beehiiv cheaper than Mailchimp?

Both start at the same headline price (Free). The reason to migrate is the pricing model and feature scope, not the entry-tier number.

Will I lose subscribers in the move?

Email lists transfer as raw addresses; subscriber relationships transfer with you because the addresses haven't changed. What you can lose: re-engagement (some readers won't notice the new sender domain immediately), paid subscriptions if Mailchimp handles billing differently from beehiiv (the gotchas above call out the specific cases), and any "engagement" or warmth signals that Mailchimp's deliverability inferred from your sending history. Plan a clear announcement and a deliverability warm-up week.

How long does the migration take?

For a list under 10,000 subscribers, a clean migration is one focused week: domain setup and verification, list import, automation rebuild, test broadcast, announcement, cutover. Larger lists or complex automations can stretch to 2 or 3 weeks. The constraint is rarely the import itself; it's the deliverability warm-up and the time to rebuild flows you actually depend on.

Are Mailchimp and beehiiv direct competitors?

Yes. Both are primarily email marketing tools, which is why this is a defensible head-to-head migration rather than a cross-category consolidation.

Where can I see Mailchimp vs beehiiv side-by-side?

The /compare/beehiiv-vs-mailchimp page on TierGauge shows side-by-side plans, headline pricing, included features, and limit comparison at the entry paid tier. This migration guide is the long-form decision narrative; the compare page is the data-only dashboard.