Migrating from Brevo

This guide walks you through migrating from Brevo to Sender, covering subscriber data, templates, automations, and domain setup.

Before You Start

• An active Sender account with a verified email address
• Admin or account-owner access to your Brevo account
• A plan for what to migrate: subscribers, templates, automations, forms, and sending domains
• Access to your domain provider's DNS settings for re-verifying domain authentication in Sender
• Exported copies of any Brevo campaign performance reports you want to keep for your records

Recommended migration order: Domains → Subscribers (including suppression lists) → Templates → Automations → Forms → Test → Deactivate Brevo.

Migration Checklist

Subscribers — In Brevo, export contacts from CRM → Contacts → More actions → Export as a CSV file. In Sender, import the file at Subscribers → Add subscribers → Import from a file.

Custom fields — Review your Brevo contact attributes under the export settings and note any custom attributes beyond standard fields. In Sender, create matching fields at Subscribers → Fields → Create new field before importing.

Tags and groups — Brevo organizes contacts into lists and segments. In Sender, the equivalent structure is Groups. Create matching groups at Subscribers → Groups → Create new group, then assign subscribers to the appropriate group during import.

Email templates — Brevo does not offer a direct HTML export for templates built in the Drag & Drop editor. Copy the HTML source from each template at Marketing → Templates → Email in Brevo. In Sender, paste the code into a new campaign or automation email using the Custom HTML email editor.

Automations — Brevo automations at Automations → Workflows cannot be exported. Document each workflow's triggers, conditions, delays, and email content, then recreate them in Sender at Automations → Create new workflow.

Signup forms — Brevo forms at Marketing → Forms cannot be transferred. Recreate them in Sender at Forms → Create a new form, choosing between Pop-up and Embedded form types.

Suppression lists (unsubscribes, bounces, complaints) — In Brevo, filter contacts by subscription status during export to isolate blocklisted and unsubscribed contacts. Import them into Sender with the correct unsubscribed or bounced status to protect your sender reputation.

Sending domain authentication — Brevo's DNS records (Brevo code, DKIM, DMARC) are specific to Brevo and will not authenticate your domain in Sender. Add and verify your domain in Sender at Account settings → Domains → Add domain, then add the new SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records Sender provides to your DNS.

Steps to Migrate Subscribers from Brevo to Sender

Step 1 — Export Your Contacts from Brevo

In Brevo, go to CRM → Contacts. To export all contacts, make sure no list or segment is loaded and no filters are applied. Select the checkbox in the CONTACT column, then click Select all contacts. Click More actions → Export. Under Attributes, select all standard and custom contact attributes you need. Expand the Subscriptions section and include subscription status. Choose comma (,) as the CSV field separator, then click Start export. Download the file from the bell icon notification.

Step 2 — Prepare and Import Subscribers into Sender

In Sender, go to Subscribers → Fields and verify that a matching field exists for each custom attribute in your exported file. Click Create new field to add any missing fields. Next, go to Subscribers → Groups and create groups that correspond to your Brevo lists. Then go to Subscribers → Add subscribers → Import from a file. Drag and drop your CSV file or click Import file to upload it. Sender accepts .csv, .txt, and .xlsx files up to 64 MB.

Step 3 — Map Fields and Assign Groups

After uploading, Sender displays a field-mapping screen. Match each column from your Brevo export to the corresponding Sender field (for example, map EMAIL to Email, FIRSTNAME to First name, LASTNAME to Last name). Assign the imported subscribers to the appropriate Group. Review the mapping summary, then confirm the import. After processing completes, go to Subscribers and verify that subscriber counts and field data match your Brevo export.

Step 4 — Import Your Suppression List

Return to Brevo and export a separate file for suppressed contacts. In CRM → Contacts, click Add filter → Email → Email campaigns subscriptions and select contacts who are blocklisted or unsubscribed. Export this filtered list as a CSV file. In Sender, import this file following the same upload process, ensuring these contacts retain their unsubscribed or bounced status. This prevents Sender from emailing contacts who have previously opted out.

Step 5 — Verify Domain Authentication in Sender

Go to Account settings → Domains → Add domain in Sender. Enter your sending domain and follow the on-screen instructions to add the required SPF, DKIM, and DMARC DNS records to your domain provider. Click Recheck DNS records to verify. All three Authentication checkmarks should appear as confirmed. Do not remove your Brevo DNS records until you have fully deactivated your Brevo account, as both sets of records can coexist.

What Cannot Be Migrated

Campaign performance history — Open rates, click rates, send counts, and other engagement data from Brevo campaigns cannot be transferred to Sender. Export and save historical reports from Brevo before deactivating your account. New performance tracking begins in Sender from your first send.

Automation analytics — Workflow statistics such as the number of contacts who entered, completed, or exited automations in Brevo are not transferable. Screenshot or export these reports from Brevo if you need them for reference.

Form submission history — Data about how many contacts subscribed through specific Brevo forms cannot be migrated. Only the form design and configuration need to be recreated in Sender.

Brevo-specific features — Features unique to Brevo such as the CRM deals pipeline, Conversations live chat, transactional SMS templates, or WhatsApp campaigns have no direct equivalent import path in Sender. Review your usage of these features and identify alternative solutions within Sender's feature set.

Drag & Drop template structure — Templates built in Brevo's Drag & Drop editor cannot be exported as editable design files. You can only extract the compiled HTML and paste it into Sender's Custom HTML email editor, which means future edits require working directly with HTML code or rebuilding the template using Sender's Drag and drop builder.

Post-Migration Verification

Subscriber count match — Compare the total number of active subscribers in Sender under Subscribers with the total you exported from Brevo. The counts should match. If there is a discrepancy, check for duplicates, formatting errors in the CSV file, or invalid email addresses that Sender may have rejected during import.

Custom field data integrity — Open several subscriber profiles in Sender by clicking on them under Subscribers. Verify that custom field values (phone numbers, birthdays, custom attributes) imported correctly and appear in the right fields.

Group assignments — Go to Subscribers → Groups and confirm that each group contains the expected number of subscribers. The Active, Unsubscribed, and Bounced columns should reflect the correct distribution.

Domain authentication status — Navigate to Account settings → Domains and confirm that your domain shows checkmarks under Ownership confirmed and Authentication. If any record is missing, re-add it through your DNS provider and click Recheck DNS records.

Test email delivery — Create a test campaign at Email campaigns → New campaign, send a test email from the Design step using Send test email, and verify it arrives in your inbox without spam folder placement. Check the email headers to confirm DKIM and SPF are passing.

Automation trigger test — If you recreated automations, trigger each one manually by adding a test subscriber to the relevant group or performing the triggering action. Verify in Automations that the workflow activates and the test email is sent.

Form rendering — If you recreated signup forms, preview each form from Forms and test the submission flow. Confirm that new subscribers appear in the correct group after submitting.

Migration Tips

Export everything before you start — Download all contacts, suppression lists, and campaign reports from Brevo before making any changes. Having complete backups ensures you can reference historical data after migration.

Recreate templates in the drag and drop builder when possible — Rather than pasting Brevo's compiled HTML into the Custom HTML email editor, consider rebuilding key templates in Sender's Drag and drop builder. This makes future editing easier and takes advantage of Sender's design features.

Migrate in phases — If you have a large subscriber base, consider importing contacts in batches organized by group. This makes it easier to verify data accuracy at each stage and troubleshoot any import issues.

Keep Brevo active during transition — Do not cancel your Brevo account until every aspect of your Sender setup has been tested and verified. Run both platforms in parallel during the transition period to avoid disruptions.

Clean your list during migration — Use the migration as an opportunity to remove outdated or unengaged contacts. Filter out subscribers who have not opened an email in 12 or more months before importing into Sender.

Common Issues

Import fails or skips rows → This typically happens when the CSV file contains formatting errors, unsupported characters, or columns that do not match Sender's expected format. Open the file in a spreadsheet application, verify that email addresses are in a single column with no extra spaces, save as UTF-8 encoded CSV, and re-upload.

Custom fields not mapping correctly → Field names in your Brevo export may not match Sender's default field names. During the mapping step, manually match each column header to the corresponding Sender field. Create any missing custom fields at Subscribers → Fields → Create new field before re-importing.

Domain authentication fails → DNS record propagation can take up to 48 hours. Verify that you copied the exact record values provided by Sender, including any trailing periods in CNAME records. Check for duplicate or conflicting records in your DNS provider. Return to Account settings → Domains and click Recheck DNS records after propagation.

Unsubscribed contacts showing as active → If suppressed contacts were imported without the correct status flag, they may appear as active subscribers. Re-import the suppression list and ensure the status column is correctly mapped to mark them as unsubscribed in Sender.

Emails landing in spam after migration → This usually indicates incomplete domain authentication or a new sending reputation with Sender's infrastructure. Confirm all DNS records are verified, start by sending to your most engaged subscribers first, and gradually increase volume over several days.

FAQs

How long does migration typically take?

This depends on the volume of data and the number of assets to recreate. Subscriber imports take minutes. Recreating templates, automations, and forms may take several hours to a few days depending on complexity. Plan ahead and test before deactivating Brevo.

Will I lose my email sending history?

Campaign performance data (open rates, click rates, send history) from Brevo cannot be transferred to Sender. Export and save your historical reports from Brevo before migrating. New performance data will begin tracking in Sender from your first send.

Should I import unsubscribed contacts?

Yes. Import your suppression list (unsubscribed and bounced contacts) into Sender with the correct status to avoid sending to contacts who have opted out. This protects your sender reputation and ensures compliance.

Do I need to re-verify my sending domain in Sender?

Yes. Even if your domain was verified in Brevo, you need to add it in Sender under Account settings → Domains and configure the SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records that Sender provides. Brevo's DNS records will not authenticate your domain in Sender.

Can I keep both platforms running during migration?

Yes. Keep Brevo active until you have fully tested your Sender setup — subscriber data, templates, automations, forms, and domain authentication. Only deactivate Brevo after verifying everything works in Sender.

Can Sender's support team help with migration?

Check Sender's support options for assisted migration services. Some plan tiers may include migration assistance. Contact Sender support with details about your source platform and the volume of data to discuss options.