How to export your data from Pendo
Pendo splits exports into two tracks: ad-hoc Visitor/Account Reports that any subscription member can download as CSV from the app, and bulk Data Sync exports (accounts, visitors, and raw events) delivered as Avro files to your own cloud storage once a Data Sync destination is configured.
✓ Verified against Pendo's official documentation, October 2026
Step by step
- 1For visitor-level data: go to People > Visitors, open the Visitor Reports tab, build or open a report (add the columns/metrics you need), then click the CSV button to download it.
- 2For account-level data: go to People > Accounts, open the Account Reports tab, build or open a report, then click the CSV button to download it.
- 3To get a full bulk export instead of ad-hoc reports, first set up a Data Sync destination (Google Cloud Storage, Amazon S3, or Microsoft Azure Storage) under Settings > Data Sync.
- 4Go to Settings > Data Sync and select + Create export.
- 5Choose 'Accounts and visitors' as the data type, pick a data level (Accounts or Visitors), and choose an export type: One-time (full snapshot) or Ongoing metadata updates (daily delta of changes in the last 24 hours).
- 6Select Next: Export Summary, review it, then select Create export.
- 7Pendo also supports a separate Data Sync export type for raw event data, configured per application, delivered to the same storage destination.
- 8Collect the delivered files from your storage bucket's datasync folder (subfoldered by accounts/visitors) and read them using the accompanying manifest/schema files.
What the export includes
- ✓Visitor/Account Report CSVs: the Visitor IDs or Account IDs plus whatever metadata, usage, and engagement columns you added to that specific report
- ✓Data Sync account exports: account metadata as accounts.avro, including flattened agent fields, custom metadata, and integration data (e.g. Salesforce, HubSpot)
- ✓Data Sync visitor exports: visitor metadata as visitors.avro with the same structure
- ✓Data Sync also exports raw event data as a separate export type, independent from accounts/visitors
- ✓Every Data Sync export includes a billofmaterials.json (contents of that export) and an exportmanifest.json (rolling 30-day record of exports)
What it doesn't include
- ✗There is no single 'export everything' button — Report CSVs only contain the columns you explicitly added to that report
- ✗Reports export the current query result only, not a full historical audit log
- ✗Data Sync exports are not CSV/JSON out of the box — they're Avro files meant for a data warehouse/ETL pipeline, so you need tooling to read them
- ✗Data Sync requires a cloud storage destination to already be configured; without it, only a one-day trial 'Test export' (event data only) is available
Before you start
- ⚠Visitor and Account Report CSV exports contain only the Visitor IDs/Account IDs and column values you added — build broad reports first if you want close to a full data dump.
- ⚠Large account or visitor populations get split across multiple Avro files, e.g. accounts-000.avro, accounts-001.avro, and so on.
- ⚠Data Sync account/visitor exports come in two modes: a one-time full snapshot, or an ongoing export that only sends records updated in the last 24 hours — you need the one-time export for a complete backup.
- ⚠Setting up Data Sync requires prerequisite cloud storage configuration (GCS, S3 with user keys or IAM roles, or Azure) before you can create any export.
- ⚠Subscribing to weekly report emails only sends a summary (first 10 rows, first 3 columns) — it is not a substitute for the full CSV download.
- ⚠Raw product-usage events are a separate Data Sync export type from accounts/visitors, so a full migration typically needs both export flows run separately.
Where to take your data
Free and cheaper tools that can take a Pendo export. See all Pendo alternatives →
PostHog
Convert the exported accounts.avro/visitors.avro files to CSV or JSON, then bulk-load visitors as PostHog persons and accounts as PostHog groups via its API; replay historical events into PostHog using its batch event-capture endpoint.
Mixpanel
Map visitor/account metadata fields to Mixpanel user profile properties and upload with Mixpanel's Engage/profile import API; convert exported event data to Mixpanel's event JSON schema and bulk-load it with Mixpanel's Import API.
Amplitude
Map visitor/account fields to Amplitude user properties and upload via Amplitude's Identify/batch upload API; convert exported event Avro files to Amplitude's event JSON format for bulk import.
Exporting from Pendo: common questions
Can I export all my Pendo data in one click?+
No. Pendo separates data into CSV Reports (for Visitors/Accounts you define yourself) and Data Sync bulk exports (accounts, visitors, and events as Avro files to your own cloud storage). There's no single combined export button.
What file formats does Pendo use for exports?+
Visitor and Account Report downloads are CSV. Data Sync exports (accounts, visitors, events) are delivered as Avro files, along with JSON manifest/schema files describing them.
Do I need a specific plan to export data from Pendo?+
CSV report downloads from the Visitors/Accounts pages are available to anyone in the subscription with no plan restriction noted in the docs. Bulk Data Sync exports require Data Sync to be configured with a cloud storage destination; if it's not part of your subscription, only a one-day trial Test export (events only) is available.
Can I export raw product usage events, not just visitor/account lists?+
Yes — Data Sync supports event exports as a separate export type from account and visitor metadata exports, delivered to the same cloud storage destination you configure for Data Sync.
How do I read the Data Sync export files?+
Each export folder contains Avro data files (e.g., accounts.avro, visitors.avro), a metadataschema.avro describing field types, a billofmaterials.json listing that export's contents, and a rolling exportmanifest.json — you'll need an Avro reader or ETL tool to load them.
Will a CSV report give me a full backup of my Pendo account/visitor data?+
Only if you build the report to include every column you care about first — the CSV only contains the IDs and columns you explicitly added to that report, not every field Pendo stores.
Sources
This guide was written from Pendo's own documentation and checked against it in October 2026. If a step has changed, the official page wins.