How to Migrate from Mailchimp to Flodesk
Design-focused creators and small business owners switch to Flodesk for its beautiful email templates and flat-rate pricing. Mailchimp's pricing scales with subscriber count, which becomes expensive as lists grow. Flodesk charges one price regardless of list size, making it predictable and affordable for growing businesses. The email design editor is considered one of the most visually appealing in the industry, which matters for brands where aesthetics are part of their identity.
What Transfers?
Method: CSV export/import
Export Mailchimp audience CSV, import into Flodesk. Flodesk accepts email and name fields.
Flodesk has its own design-first template library. Templates must be rebuilt but Flodesk's templates are highly polished.
Flodesk has basic automation (workflows). Recreate welcome sequences and simple drip campaigns.
Build new forms and landing pages in Flodesk. Replace Mailchimp embed codes.
Historical analytics stay in Mailchimp.
Method: CSV import to segments
Mailchimp tags can be imported as Flodesk segments by splitting your CSV by tag before importing.
Step-by-Step Migration Guide
- 1
Export contacts from Mailchimp
Export your Mailchimp audience as CSV. Include email addresses, names, and any tags or groups you want to preserve.
- 2
Create segments in Flodesk
Before importing, create segments in Flodesk that correspond to your Mailchimp tags or groups. This helps organize subscribers from the start.
- 3
Import subscribers into Flodesk
Go to Audience in Flodesk and import your CSV. Assign imported subscribers to the appropriate segments. Flodesk deduplicates automatically.
- 4
Design your email templates
Choose from Flodesk's template gallery and customize with your brand colors, fonts, and images. Flodesk's design editor is visual and layout-focused.
- 5
Set up workflows
Create welcome sequences and any automated email series using Flodesk's workflow builder. Flodesk workflows support time delays, segment conditions, and email sequences.
- 6
Build forms and landing pages
Create opt-in forms and landing pages in Flodesk. Replace Mailchimp form embed codes on your website with Flodesk embeds.
- 7
Send a test email and launch
Send a test email to verify your template looks good. Then send your first campaign to imported subscribers.
Watch Out For
Flodesk has no free plan. It's a flat $38/month regardless of subscriber count, which is great for large lists but may be expensive for very small ones.
Flodesk's automation capabilities are basic compared to Mailchimp. No conditional branching, A/B testing in workflows, or advanced triggers. If you use complex Mailchimp automations, this is a significant downgrade.
Flodesk does not support custom HTML emails. If you need to code custom templates, Flodesk is not the right platform.
Ready to switch to Flodesk?
Start with Flodesk's free plan and import your contacts.
What You Get with Flodesk
Pros
- +Beautiful, design-focused email templates
- +Flat-rate pricing regardless of list size
- +Unlimited subscribers on all plans
- +Simple and intuitive interface
- +Built-in checkout and digital product sales
Cons
- −No A/B testing
- −No API access
- −Very limited integrations
- −No SMS marketing
- −Basic automation compared to competitors