How to export your data from ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign lets you export contact data to CSV files from the Contacts section — either all contacts, a single contact, a specific list, or an advanced search/segment. Exports run in the background and are downloaded from a dedicated Exports page.
✓ Verified against ActiveCampaign's official documentation, September 2026
Step by step
- 1Log in and click "Contacts" in the left menu.
- 2To export everything: on the Contacts Overview page, click the ellipsis (...) in the top right, then click "Export." To export one list instead: click "Contacts" > "Lists," open the list, and use the Status dropdown (Active, Unconfirmed, Unsubscribed, Bounced, or Any) before clicking "Export."
- 3In the "Export Options" modal, optionally name the export and select which fields to include. Avoid special characters like !, #, $ in the name — using them causes the file to download as a plain text document instead of a CSV.
- 4Click "Export." The export runs in the background; you can safely navigate away, log out, or close your browser.
- 5Click the link in the confirmation message, or go to "Contacts" > "Exports," to open the Exports page.
- 6Click "Download" under the Actions column for your export to get the CSV file. The download link is valid for 7 days.
- 7If the link has expired (status shows "Expired"), click "Retry" under Actions, then click "Export" again to regenerate it.
What the export includes
- ✓Email address, first name, last name, phone number
- ✓Date the contact record was created
- ✓Most recent IP address and browser/OS (user agent)
- ✓Organization and Account name/ID
- ✓Custom fields, lead scores, and deal scores
- ✓Tags (combined into a single column)
- ✓For list exports: list name, subscriber status, date subscribed, date unsubscribed
What it doesn't include
- ✗Contact notes — explicitly stated as not exportable via the standard CSV export (ActiveCampaign's docs point to the API or a tool like Zapier instead)
- ✗Automations, campaigns, deals/pipelines, and site-tracking event history are not part of this contact export and require separate exports or the API
- ✗Attachments/files on contact records
Before you start
- ⚠Using special characters (!, #, $, etc.) in the export name makes the file download as a .txt document instead of a valid CSV
- ⚠Download links expire after 7 days; expired exports must be regenerated using "Retry" on the Exports page
- ⚠The Exports page only shows exports you personally ran, not exports created by teammates
- ⚠Each export (all contacts, single contact, a list, or a segment/advanced search) is a separate run — there's no single 'export everything at once' bundle covering deals, campaigns, and automations together
Where to take your data
Free and cheaper tools that can take a ActiveCampaign export. See all ActiveCampaign alternatives →
MailerLite
Upload the ActiveCampaign CSV under Subscribers > Import subscribers, then map the Email, First name, Last name and custom field columns to MailerLite fields.
Brevo (Sendinblue)
Go to Contacts > Import contacts, upload the CSV, map columns (email, name, custom fields, tags) to Brevo attributes, and assign contacts to a list.
Loops
Use Loops' contact CSV import (Audience > Import) and map the Email column plus any custom fields carried over from the ActiveCampaign export.
Exporting from ActiveCampaign: common questions
Can I export all my ActiveCampaign contacts at once?+
Yes. From the Contacts Overview page, click the ellipsis (...) in the top right and choose "Export" to export every contact in the account to a CSV file.
How long do I have to download my export before the link expires?+
Download links stay valid for 7 days. After that, the export shows an "Expired" status on the Exports page and you need to click "Retry" to regenerate it.
Why did my export download as a text file instead of a CSV?+
This happens if the export name includes special characters like !, #, or $. Rename the export without special characters and run it again to get a proper CSV.
Can I export contact notes from ActiveCampaign?+
No. Contact notes cannot be included in a standard CSV export — ActiveCampaign's docs point to using the API or an automation tool like Zapier to pull note data instead.
Can I export just one list or segment instead of everything?+
Yes. Go to Contacts > Lists, open the specific list, set the Status filter, and click "Export." You can also export the results of an Advanced Search.
Where do I find exports I've already run?+
Click Contacts > Exports. This page lists every export you've personally created — for all contacts, a single contact, a list, a segment, or an advanced search — along with its status and a download action.
Sources
This guide was written from ActiveCampaign's own documentation and checked against it in September 2026. If a step has changed, the official page wins.
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