Switch Guide: Moving from Mailchimp to Campaign Monitor
Mailchimp is an Atlanta-based company that's changed ownership (acquired by Intuit in 2021) and pricing structures multiple times, frustrating small business owners and agencies alike. Campaign Monitor, while originally Australian, has significant Canadian operations, CASL-compliant features built-in, and strong appeal for Canadian marketers who need clean list management without the Mailchimp complexity creep. For Canadian businesses collecting email addresses, CASL compliance isn't optional — and Campaign Monitor makes it easier to manage than Mailchimp's US-centric permission model.
What You'll Gain
- CASL-built-in compliance tools: Campaign Monitor's consent and unsubscribe management is built with Canadian anti-spam law in mind.
- Cleaner template builder: Campaign Monitor's drag-and-drop editor is widely praised for producing cleaner HTML than Mailchimp's builder.
- Better agency features: If you manage email for multiple clients, Campaign Monitor's multi-account structure is superior to Mailchimp's.
- Transparent pricing: No surprise price increases based on list size thresholds.
- Better deliverability reputation: Campaign Monitor has strong deliverability metrics, particularly for transactional email.
What You Might Miss
- Free tier: Mailchimp's free plan (up to 500 contacts) has no equivalent at Campaign Monitor. Expect to pay from day one.
- Landing pages: Mailchimp includes landing page builder; Campaign Monitor does not.
- Social media integration: Mailchimp has deeper social media ad integration (Facebook, Instagram retargeting).
- E-commerce features: Mailchimp's WooCommerce and Shopify integrations for abandoned cart emails are more mature.
Migration Checklist
- Export your Mailchimp lists — In Mailchimp, go to Audience → Manage Audience → Export Audience. Export all subscribers including custom fields, tags, and engagement data.
- Export your templates — Go to Templates → Export to download your email templates as HTML files.
- Document your automations — Screenshot or document every automation sequence. You'll rebuild these in Campaign Monitor.
- Set up Campaign Monitor account — Create your account, verify your sending domain, and configure authentication (SPF, DKIM).
- Import your subscriber list — Upload the CSV from Mailchimp. Campaign Monitor will map fields automatically for common fields.
- Re-import your templates — Upload your HTML templates or rebuild in Campaign Monitor's editor.
- Rebuild automations — Recreate your welcome series, drip sequences, and triggered emails.
- Send a test campaign — Run a small test send to your most engaged subscribers before full migration.
Data Export Tips from Mailchimp
Your exported CSV will include email address, first name, last name, subscription status, and any custom fields. Critically, export your tags and groups separately — these don't always export cleanly in the main audience export. Go to Audience → Segments and manually export each segment you care about. Also export your campaign reports for historical performance data, though this data won't import into Campaign Monitor.
Timeline Estimate
Most marketing teams complete this switch in 1–2 weeks. List import and domain verification can be done in a day. The longer work is rebuilding automations and templates. If you have complex multi-step automation sequences, budget 2–3 weeks for the full migration.