How to Back Up Your Mailchimp Account Data

What the account export is

Mailchimp describes the account export as a way to create a backup of your account and store account information outside of Mailchimp, such as audiences, templates, marketing emails, and SMS data. You can also re-import your exported data, with the exception of email and SMS reports. That exception matters. The export preserves reports for reference, but it does not restore them as working reports if you re-import.

What you can export

The official export page lists the data types available. Check only the types you need, or check them all for a full backup.

Emails: a CSV of all regular emails on the Campaigns page, including a campaigns_content folder with HTML and TXT files.

Audiences: folders with separate files for cleaned contacts, subscribed contacts, transactional contacts (non-subscribed contacts), and unsubscribed contacts.

Reports: folders for different reporting data, which can include an aggregate_activity folder with data like opens, clicks, and unsubscribes, a geo_data folder, and a granular_activity folder with open and click data for individual contacts.

Templates: a folder with HTML files for all your email templates.

Gallery: a folder with all the images and content stored in the My files section of the content studio.

SMS data: a folder with the source, acquisition time, consent details, subscription status, program name, and phone number of your SMS contacts.

Events: a CSV of custom events passed into Mailchimp through the API, including timestamps, event name, and the email address of the contact who created the event.

Appointments: a CSV file of appointments booked in Mailchimp, each including a subject, start date and time, end date and time, and a description.

Ecommerce: folders with separate files for products and orders linked to sent emails.

What is not available

The same page lists four exclusions. Deleted audiences are not available, because audience deletion is permanent and Mailchimp does not host deleted audience data. Billing receipts are not included; current and past billing statements must be saved from the billing history page in account settings. Third party information is not included, because Mailchimp can only include information about contacts stored in Mailchimp. Website, landing page, and ad content is not available, including the content of social ads, remarketing ads, landing pages, and your website.

Before you close, pause, or combine anything, read that exclusion list against your own account. If a landing page or an ad is the only copy of some wording, the account export will not save it. Save that content separately, in its own tool, before you change it.

Run the export

Follow the official sequence. The steps below are the steps on the export page, in the order Mailchimp gives them.

1. Click your profile icon, then click Account.
2. Click the Settings drop-down and choose Manage my data.
3. Check the box next to each type of data you want to export.
4. Use the date drop-down and choose a time frame for your export.
5. Click Export Data. Allow up to 24 hours for the export if you have a lot of data.

Mailchimp will bundle all of your requested data into a single ZIP file, which you can download from the Manage my data page. Mailchimp will also send an email to the email address on file for your account when the download is ready. When you receive the email, click the link to go to the Export My Data page, and then click Download My Account Data. The ZIP file itself is only available in your account. It is not included in the email.

Two limits apply. You are allowed one account export per 24 hour period, and the export can take some time if you have a large amount of data. Do not start an export the hour before a deadline and expect the file to be waiting.

The backup workflow, in order

Run the export in this order when the backup is meant to protect you before a permanent change.

First, run the account export with every data type checked and the full time frame selected. This is the broadest copy, and it takes the longest, so start it first.

Second, while the account export is processing, note anything the export will not cover: deleted audiences, billing receipts, and any website, landing page, or ad content that exists only in Mailchimp. Save those separately.

Third, when the ZIP is ready, download it from the Manage my data page and open it. Check that the folders you expected are present: audiences, reports, templates, gallery, and emails.

Fourth, if you need a separate audience file for another tool, use the audience export covered in the export an audience to CSV guide. For the full set of destinations, see the Mailchimp exports by destination directory.

How often to back up

The official pages opened do not suggest a backup cadence. They state only the limit: one account export per 24 hour period. Run a full export before any permanent action, such as deleting or combining an audience, and otherwise as often as your sending volume makes the loss of a day of data painful. Keep the downloaded ZIP outside Mailchimp, with access limited to the people who need it, because it contains contact and report data.

The API alternative

The Mailchimp API documents an account export endpoint. Creating an export requires include_stages, and accepts an optional since_timestamp in ISO 8601 format. When the export is finished, the response includes a download_url, valid for 90 days after completion. The API route still produces an export file to download and check.

Open flags

No suggested backup frequency is stated in the official pages opened. The exact date range options in the date drop-down were not listed in the text opened, so this guide does not name them. Plan and permission limits for the account export are not stated beyond the one export per 24 hour period.

Source

• Mailchimp Help, Export and Back Up Account Data
• Mailchimp Help, Combine Audiences
• Mailchimp Marketing API, Create Account Export

Facts verified 2026-10-31. Open flags are listed in the section above.

This page explains how the process works and what the official rules say. It is general information, not legal advice. For a dispute about your specific situation, talk to your state motor vehicle agency or court.