Move from MailerLite to MailNesto

Overview

Moving from MailerLite to MailNesto

MailerLite suits small teams who like a tidy editor and simple automations, and that is often the kind of team that moves to MailNesto once it needs more: store orders and revenue in rupees, predictions, a deals board, event tickets, or client workspaces for an agency. Everything is billed in ₹ with GST invoices and paid by UPI, card or netbanking.

Subscribers, their fields, group membership and every status (unsubscribed, bounced, spam complaint) can be exported from a single screen. MailerLite’s template help doesn’t describe an export, so designs move by copying HTML or rebuilding them. Automations, forms, landing pages and websites stay in MailerLite.

Step by step

Five steps to switch

1
Export from MailerLite
Subscribers > choose list in Active subscribers dropdown > select all via Subscriber column dropdown > (optional) Set columns > Actions > export as CSV or CSV for Excel (admins only).
2
Import into MailNesto
Contacts → Import: upload the CSV or Excel file (or paste it), map the columns, choose a list. Import only subscribed people, then paste unsubscribed, bounced and complained addresses into Audience → Suppression list so they never get email again.
3
Bring your designs
No template HTML export documented; templates can be duplicated within the account. Then import the .html or .zip in Templates, or start from one of ours.
4
Authenticate your domain
Add the SPF, DKIM and DMARC records MailNesto shows you, then send a test. New senders ramp up gradually to protect your reputation.
5
Rebuild automations
Start from a recipe (welcome, birthday, win-back, abandoned cart) or build your own journey with branches and goals. Note: Merge fields use {$name}-style tags. Automations, forms and landing pages do not carry over.

Before you cancel MailerLite

A short checklist

Keep MailerLite running until your first campaigns from MailNesto look right.

Export unsubscribed, bounced and complained contacts too — they must stay suppressed
Note when and how people subscribed (consent) and keep it in a field
Download reports you want to keep; engagement history doesn’t move between tools
Replace merge tags — MailNesto uses {{first_name}} with optional fallbacks {{first_name|there}}
Update signup forms on your website to MailNesto’s forms or the WordPress plugin
Send to your most engaged people first while the new sender warms up

In MailerLite

Exporting everything from MailerLite

Menu names change from time to time — the steps below follow MailerLite’s own help pages, linked at the bottom.

1
Choose a status. Go to Subscribers and use the Active subscribers drop-down to pick a status. Export active subscribers first, then repeat for unsubscribed, bounced and spam complaints. Unconfirmed subscribers get a file of their own.
2
Show every column you need. Click Set columns and tick each field you use, plus Groups so every subscriber’s group names appear in the file. Only visible columns (and a few defaults) are exported.
3
Select everyone and export. Use the arrow next to the Subscriber column to select everyone in the list, not just this page. Then Actions → export as CSV, or CSV for Excel. Only account administrators see this option.
4
Download campaign reports. Open a sent campaign’s report, click More at the top right and choose Download report for a CSV, or Print to save a PDF. The Subscriber activity tab exports openers, clickers, bounces and complaints for that campaign.
5
Note who is mid-automation. In Automations, click Overview on an automation and open the Activity tab. Export the queued subscribers (Export CSV) so you know who was part-way through when you switched.

Translation guide

MailerLite terms and merge tags in MailNesto

In MailerLite	In MailNesto	Notes
Groups	Tags or lists	Groups people choose on forms work best as lists shown in the preference centre; groups you assign work best as tags.
Segments	Segments
Fields	Custom fields
{$name}	{{first_name}}
{$last_name}	{{last_name}}
{$email}	{{email}}
{$name} with a default(…) value	{{first_name\|there}}
{$unsubscribe}	{{unsubscribe_url}}
{$preferences}	{{preferences_url}}
Custom field tags (Subscribers → Fields)	{{field_key}}	Create the field under Audience → Custom fields before you import.

Automations

Rebuilding your MailerLite automations

“Joins a group” welcome → Welcome series when someone joins the list, or a tag-triggered automation if the group became a tag.
Anniversary date automation → Birthday treat, or any date field with an email a set number of days before or after.
Click-based follow-up → Follow up on interest (someone clicks a pricing or product link) or Clicked but didn’t buy.
Lead-magnet sequence → Deliver a free download (tag “freebie”) or Free guide follow-up (tag “guide”).

Watch out for

Common mistakes when leaving MailerLite

If people typed their full name into the Name field, {{first_name}} will greet them with both names. Split the column into first and last name in the spreadsheet before importing.
Any MailerLite variable left in pasted HTML, such as {$name}, prints as plain text in MailNesto. Search the HTML for “{$” before importing a template.
Unconfirmed subscribers never confirmed their address, and an import adds people as subscribed. Leave them out and invite them again through a MailNesto form with double opt-in.
Group names arrive as one comma-separated column, which the import doesn’t turn into tags. Filter the spreadsheet by group and import each slice with the group name typed as its tag.
MailerLite sites and landing pages keep their own addresses. If they’re linked from an Instagram bio or a QR code on packaging, rebuild them as MailNesto landing pages and update those links before you close the account.

FAQ

Questions about moving from MailerLite

Can I bring my MailerLite templates?

Copy the HTML of any custom-code email into an .html file and import it under Templates, or import a .zip with its images. Drag-and-drop designs are easier to rebuild in the block builder.

How do I keep group-based sign-ups working?

Make each group people can choose into a list, then pick which lists appear as topics in the preference centre under Privacy & consent. Your sign-up form can add people to a list and tag them at the same time.

Is there something like MailerLite’s smart sending?

Send-time optimisation sends to each contact at their usual opening hour, and time-zone sending delivers at the same clock time wherever people live. Both learn from activity in MailNesto, so they get better after a few campaigns.

Do I need to change my DNS?

Yes. Add the SPF, DKIM and DMARC records MailNesto shows you. Keep a single SPF record per domain: the SPF builder under Sending → DNS tools merges several senders into one while both tools are running.

Where these facts come from (20 sources)

MailerLite is a trademark of its owner. This comparison is our own, made from public information on each vendor’s website (checked November 2026); we aren’t affiliated with them. Plans and prices change — check the vendor’s site before you decide, and tell us if something here is out of date and we’ll fix it.

How to move from MailerLite to MailNesto

Moving from MailerLite to MailNesto

Five steps to switch

Export from MailerLite

Import into MailNesto

Bring your designs

Authenticate your domain

Rebuild automations