Mailchimp to Kit Migration: What Transfers and What Doesn’t

Kit has a built-in Mailchimp importer that moves your subscribers, merge fields, tags, audiences, groups and segments automatically – Mailchimp lists and interest groups are converted into Kit tags (a “Newsletter” list with a “Tech” interest becomes the tag “Newsletter:Tech”). What does not transfer: automations, email sequences, email templates, automation enrollment history, open and click data, and form submission history. These must be rebuilt manually. Kit merges duplicate email addresses automatically. Kit also offers a free migration service where their team does the move for you. Verified July 2026 by PassiveKit.

Moving an email list sounds like a data problem. It is not – the subscribers are the easy part. What catches people out is everything built around the list: the welcome sequence, the tag-triggered automations, the templates. This page covers exactly what Kit’s Mailchimp importer carries across, what you will be rebuilding by hand, and the order to do it in so you do not accidentally email your entire list on day one.

What transfers automatically

Item	Detail
Subscribers	All contacts, with duplicates merged automatically
Merge fields	Mapped automatically to Kit custom fields – no manual matching
Lists and audiences	Converted into Kit tags
Interest groups	Converted into nested tags, e.g. “Newsletter:Tech”
Segments	Converted into tags
Subscriber status	Subscribed and unsubscribed states carry across

What does NOT transfer

Item	What you do instead
Automations / customer journeys	Rebuild in Kit’s visual automation builder
Email sequences	Rebuild manually – copy the content across by hand
Email templates	Rebuild – Kit’s editor works differently by design
Automation enrollment history	Cannot be imported. Subscribers start fresh in new automations
Open and click data	Cannot be imported. Your engagement history stays in Mailchimp
Form submission history	Cannot be imported
Sequence step history	Cannot be imported – relevant if people were mid-sequence

The honest framing: your audience moves in minutes, your machinery does not move at all. Budget a day for rebuilding automations if you have more than two or three.

The mistake that emails your whole list

Critical: Kit automation rules that trigger on tags will fire during the import. If you build your welcome automation before importing, every single imported subscriber gets enrolled and receives it. Disable or delay any tag-triggered automation before you start the import, and switch it on afterwards.

This is the single most expensive mistake in a Mailchimp migration and almost nobody warns about it. It is also the reason the order below matters more than the speed.

The order to do it in

#	Step	Why this order
1	Create your Kit account	Free Newsletter plan works up to 10,000 subscribers
2	Import subscribers via the Mailchimp importer	Subscribers → Add Subscribers → Other provider → Mailchimp → API key
3	Check your tags landed correctly	Lists and interests should appear as tags
4	Rebuild automations – but leave them OFF	Building them live would enroll everyone
5	Rebuild sequences and forms	Copy content across manually
6	Send one test broadcast to yourself	Confirms deliverability before you touch the real list
7	Switch automations on	Only now, when nothing will fire retroactively
8	Keep Mailchimp open for 30 days	Your safety net if something is missing

The free migration service

Kit runs a white-glove migration service at no cost: their team takes access to your current platform, works out which forms and automations matter, and rebuilds the setup for you. If you have more than a handful of automations, this is worth using – it removes both the time cost and the risk of the mistake in section 3.

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