Why export before anything else
Platforms rarely make a goodbye easy after the billing date. Download links expire, plans downgrade, and once an account closes you cannot get the opt-in dates or tags back. Export while everything still works, keep the original files untouched, and do all cleanup on a copy. Do not count on the vendor's backups: Kit keeps daily backups for 15 days for its own recovery, describes them as system snapshots that may miss items such as a deleted tag, and still recommends backing up your own list. [3]
This guide covers the documented exports for Kit and beehiiv in detail, and the subscriber statuses and consent fields worth preserving whichever platform you leave. The same checklist applies to MailerLite, Moosend and others; follow each platform's own export screen for the clicks.
Exporting from Kit
In Kit, open Subscribers, filter if needed, select subscribers, then use the three-dot menu and Export. [1] The header checkbox selects only the current page; click Select all to include every subscriber in the account. [1] To export only active subscribers, filter Status to Confirmed; for a migration, export all statuses so you keep the unsubscribes. [1]
Kit's export includes first name, email address, created date and time, status, tags, location (city, state, country), attribution data and custom fields. [1][2] The download link goes to the account's login email, and to the account owner when a team member requests it. [1][2] Export links expire after five days. [1]
If the email does not arrive, Kit says your mail provider may be bouncing it and Kit's server retries, which delays delivery; contact Kit support if it never arrives because a suppression may need removing. [2]
Exporting from beehiiv
In beehiiv, go to Settings, choose the publication if you have several, then Export Data. [4] Under Export Subscribers, Export All Basic Subscribers is the quick version and Export All Subscribers is the full version. [4] Both include email, status and tier; the full export adds custom fields and statistics. [4]
The request shows as Processing under Historical Exports, and you download it from the email or the Download link there. [4] Download links are valid for 24 hours, so download straight away. [4] Export All Posts covers published, archived and draft posts. [4] Dashboard export is listed for all plans; exporting subscriber data through the API needs a paid plan. [4]
| Kit | beehiiv | |
|---|---|---|
| Where | Subscribers, select, three-dot menu, Export [1] | Settings, Export Data [4] |
| Core columns | Name, email, created date, status [1] | Email, status, tier [4] |
| Tags | Included [1] | Not stated in the export article [4] |
| Custom fields | Included [1] | Full export only [4] |
| Extra data | Location, attribution [1] | Statistics (Full export) [4] |
| Link lifetime | Five days [1] | 24 hours [4] |
| Content export | Not in subscriber export | Separate post export [4] |
Statuses and consent: what the new platform needs
The most important columns are not names or tags. They are status and consent. A subscriber who unsubscribed must stay unsubscribed after the move. MailerLite's API, for example, accepts active, unsubscribed, unconfirmed, bounced and junk statuses on import, and says subscribers with an unsubscribed, bounced or junk status cannot be reactivated through its update call because of abuse-prevention measures; they can only be reactivated through the app, a form or a landing page. [6] Keep those rows, and import them with their status rather than deleting them.
Keep the evidence of consent: signup date, signup source or form, and opt-in date and IP where the old platform recorded them. MailerLite's API has fields for subscribed_at, opted_in_at, optin_ip and unsubscribed_at, in yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss format. [6] beehiiv asks you to confirm that everyone you import knowingly consented and opted in. [5] If you cannot show where a contact came from, you may not be able to make that statement honestly.
| Column to keep | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| The identifier every platform requires | |
| Status | Prevents mailing unsubscribed or bounced contacts [6] |
| Created or subscribed date | Proof of when they joined; drives date-based segments |
| Opt-in date and IP, if recorded | Consent evidence [6] |
| Signup source, form or attribution | Shows how consent was collected [1] |
| Tags or groups | Rebuilds segments and automations |
| Custom fields | Personalization and segmentation |
Watch for automations when you import
The export is half the job. On the import side, Kit warns that importing subscribers with tags or forms may activate Visual Automations or Rules that use them as triggers, and that subscribers added to an active Email Sequence start receiving it. [7] Pause those first. In beehiiv, subscribers are enrolled only in automations that are live, and the pre-built welcome email stays a draft until you publish it. [5] Our custom field mapping guide covers matching columns between platforms.
Checklist to finish before you cancel
- Export all subscribers, every status, with all fields; download within the link window (24 hours in beehiiv, five days in Kit). [1][4]
- Export any per-segment or per-tag lists you rely on, in case tag export is incomplete.
- Export or save content: beehiiv posts via Export All Posts; screenshots or copies of every sequence and template elsewhere. [4]
- Save the original files read-only in a private folder; they hold personal data.
- Make a working copy and record row counts by status, so you can confirm the import matched.
- Import unsubscribed and bounced contacts as suppressed, never as active. [6]
- Pause automations and sequences in the new platform before importing. [7]
- Switch signup forms, then run a final export of anyone who joined during the move.
- Keep the old account until the first two sends from the new platform look right.
Questions before you decide
Should I export unsubscribed and bounced contacts?
Yes, as a do-not-send list. Importing them into the new platform with an unsubscribed or bounced status keeps you from emailing people who opted out. MailerLite's API, for example, accepts unsubscribed, bounced and junk statuses, and says that once a subscriber has one of those statuses you cannot reactivate them through the API update call because of abuse-prevention measures.
Does Kit keep a backup I can ask for later?
Kit says it keeps daily backups for 15 days for its own recovery, describes them as system snapshots that may not include things like a deleted tag, and still recommends backing up your own list.
Do exports include my email content and open history?
Content, no. Kit's export lists subscriber fields such as status, tags and custom fields, not email content. beehiiv's Full subscriber export adds statistics, and post content comes from a separate Export All Posts option. Save copies of templates and sequences yourself before you cancel.
Sources & verification
Product details and prices can change. Check the linked provider before buying.
- Kit Help: How to export subscribers in Kit Accessed 29 Oct 2026
- Kit Help: Troubleshooting CSV export errors Accessed 29 Oct 2026
- Kit Help: Kit data backups Accessed 29 Oct 2026
- beehiiv Support: Exporting post content or subscriber data from beehiiv Accessed 29 Oct 2026
- beehiiv Support: How to import free subscribers and map custom fields or tags Accessed 29 Oct 2026
- MailerLite API documentation: Subscribers Accessed 29 Oct 2026
- Kit Help: How to import a subscriber list Accessed 29 Oct 2026
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