How Do You Export a Mailchimp Audience to CSV?

The export in one table

What the file contains, and what it does not

The export contains your audience fields, except the language field, plus marketing permissions for GDPR-enabled audiences, and contact data Mailchimp collects: MEMBER_RATING, OPTIN_TIME, OPTIN_IP, CONFIRM_TIME, CONFIRM_IP, LATITUDE, LONGITUDE, GMTOFF and DSTOFF, TIMEZONE, CC, REGION, LAST_CHANGED, LEID, EUID, NOTES, and TAGS. SMS contacts, if present, get a separate SMS folder with source, acquisition time, revocation time, subscription status, program name, and phone number.

Two things about the file surprise people. First, there is no single Status column. Status lives in the file names: each contact lands in the CSV for its status, subscribed, unsubscribed, non-subscribed, or cleaned. If you open one CSV and wonder where the rest of your contacts went, open the other files in the ZIP. Second, the export deliberately excludes email engagement data. It does not include email signup source, opens and clicks, purchase history, language, predicted demographics, favorite email client, social profile data, or a complete record of contact profile updates. Contact exports do not include email report data. Download that through a separate email report export.

Archived contacts, deleted audiences, and one contact

Archived contacts are exported separately from active contacts. Archiving removes contacts from the contact table into a separate archived contacts table without losing data, and archived contacts do not count toward the billing tier. To export them, go to More options, then Archived contacts, on the Contacts page, and export all archived contacts from there. An export of a single contact type, archived contacts for example, contains only one CSV file, so one file is the expected result, not an incomplete export.

Deleted audiences are a different story. Audience deletion is permanent, and Mailchimp does not host deleted audience data. Export before you delete, because there is no export after.

A single contact export is a separate tool, not a smaller audience export. Open the contact profile, then Actions, then Export, and Mailchimp emails a download link when it is ready. A contact in multiple audiences must be exported from each audience individually, because each contact export includes data attached to a specific audience.

The process, step by step

1. Click Audience. If you have more than one audience, click the Audience drop-down and choose the one you want. Exports are per audience.
2. Click Export audience. In the Export all contacts pop-up, click Export CSV.
3. Wait for the email. The export runs asynchronously. A message says the export is in progress and to expect an email when it is complete.
4. Download from Export history if you miss the email. Go to Audience, then the Audience drop-down, then More options, then Export history, and click Download next to the export.
5. Unarchive the ZIP and open each status CSV separately. Subscribed, unsubscribed, non-subscribed, and cleaned contacts each get their own file. The file name carries the status.
6. Download within 30 days. Contact exports and their CSVs are available in your account for 30 days only. After that, export again.

What to do with the CSV next

CSV is the native export. Everything else is a post-export workflow. To open the CSV in Excel, see How to Export Mailchimp Contacts to Excel. To open it in Google Sheets, see How to Export Mailchimp Contacts to Google Sheets. To export only part of the audience, see How to Export a Mailchimp Segment or Tag. If the export looks wrong, see How to Fix a Mailchimp Export With Missing Contacts. For every Mailchimp export method side by side, see the Mailchimp Export Methods by Destination directory.

En español, the campaign-report export is covered in Cómo exportar una campaña de Mailchimp. This guide covers the audience export, which is distinct from the campaign export. Campaign reports, automation reports, and destination exports are covered in the directory above. The older guide to moving an email list out of Mailchimp covers migrating a list to a new provider, not the audience export process itself.

Source

Path, ZIP structure, contents, exclusions, history route, 30-day availability, permission gate, archived handling, and deleted-audience rule on this page come from Mailchimp help: View or export contacts, Archive or unarchive contacts, Export or back up data, and Export contacts. Facts verified 2026-10-25.

This page explains how the process works and what the official help says. It is general information, not advice about your specific account or data.