How to switch to EmailOctopus from Kit

Switching from Kit to EmailOctopus is more straightforward than you might expect. This guide covers everything you need to make the move – from exporting your subscribers and recreating your automations to sending your first campaign on a new platform. For most people, the whole process takes under an hour, so let’s get into it.

If you've been reassessing things since Kit's September 2025 price increase (which roughly doubled the cost of the Creator plan for many users!), you're not alone. Lots of creators found themselves paying significantly more for a feature set that hadn't changed much. If sending email campaigns, growing your list, and running automations covers most of what you do, EmailOctopus gives you all of that at a much friendlier price point.

Before you start: what's different between Kit and EmailOctopus

Kit and EmailOctopus have a lot in common – tags, segments, automations, forms, and landing pages all exist on both platforms. But there are some important differences worth knowing before you start, so nothing catches you off guard.

Terminology is very similar for the most part. The main one to flag: Kit calls one-off emails broadcasts, while in EmailOctopus these are campaigns. Kit also separates sequences (a fixed series of emails that go out on a schedule) from visual automations (branching, logic-driven workflows). In EmailOctopus, both of these live under automations – you can build linear sequences with emails and time delays, and more complex automations that route subscribers through conditions and perform actions based on them.

Tags work identically across both platforms – a label applied to subscribers to group and categorise them. Segments work the same, too – they’re dynamic, rule-based filters.

Features Kit has that EmailOctopus doesn't

EmailOctopus is focused on email marketing, so a few things Kit offers aren't part of what we do. This includes the Creator Network (Kit's built-in recommendation system for growing your list by recommending other newsletters), paid newsletter subscriptions/monetizing your newsletter, digital product selling, Sponsor Network access, the Kit referral system, AI-powered subscriber insights, and Kit MCP (which connects AI tools directly to your subscriber data). If any of those features are central to how you work, it's worth finding alternatives before making the move – our integrations page is a good start.

One thing worth knowing about Kit's free plan

Kit's free Newsletter plan supports up to 10,000 subscribers, which sounds generous – but it comes with some meaningful restrictions: Kit branding on your emails and landing pages, no automation, and a requirement to include Creator Network recommendations in your campaigns – this means you have to recommend other users’ newsletter in your own emails. If those restrictions are part of why you're looking elsewhere, EmailOctopus's free plan covers up to 2,500 contacts and 10,000 emails per month with none of those requirements (other than our own footer branding, which is removed on paid plans).

Step 1: Set up your EmailOctopus account

Sign up for a free EmailOctopus account if you haven't already – it takes a couple of minutes. You can create an account using an email address and password, or sign up via Google. Once you add your website, we'll automatically pull in your branding so you can get straight into building your first email.

Domain verification

You can skip this step if you don't own a domain. Read why it's worth verifying it in this article.

Before importing any contacts, verify your sending domain. It tells inbox providers like Gmail and Outlook that your emails are legitimate, and it's one of the most effective things you can do for deliverability right from the start. Here's how to verify your domain in EmailOctopus.

You may have already done this in Kit – the process is similar in EmailOctopus, but you'll need to add the DNS records again for the new platform.

Two-factor authentication (2FA)

Remember that if you sign up via Google, 2FA will be handled on Google’s side.

While you're setting up your account, enable two-factor authentication to keep it secure. Follow this guide to set it up.

Step 2: Clean your list before migrating

Optional, but truly worth it before you make the move.

If your Kit subscriber list includes people who haven't opened an email in six months or more, now is a good time to decide what to do with them. Inbox providers treat engagement as a trust signal – a list with many inactive contacts can negatively affect your deliverability on any platform, not just Kit.

In Kit, you can use the segmentation options to find contacts who are ‘cold’ or haven't engaged recently.

1. Open your Kit dashboard and head to the Subscribers tab from the sidebar.
2. Hit the Segment option and then Create segment.

3. Choose the Cold Subscribers filter option. Kit automatically defines cold subscribers as those who haven't opened or clicked any emails in the last 90 days (or newer subscribers who have been on your list for at least 30 days without engagement). Save your segment.

4. You can now view, export, or manage this specific group of inactive contacts directly from that segment view.
5. You can also view the cold contacts in your list directly, without creating a segment for them.

You can run a re-engagement broadcast in Kit before you export, or simply exclude cold subscribers from your export and start fresh in EmailOctopus with your most engaged audience.

Step 3: Export your Kit data

Subscribers

Kit exports subscriber data as a CSV file. Tags and custom fields are automatically included in the export, making the migration clean and simple – your tag structure comes across intact without any extra steps.

You'll need a couple of exports: one for your confirmed (active) subscribers, and one each for any unsubscribed, cancelled, bounced, or complained contacts. Export those separately – more on why in the next step.

To export your confirmed (active and subscribed) contacts:

1. Go to the Subscribers tab in your Kit dashboard.
2. Click the Status button and choose Confirmed to filter to your active list.

3. Click the checkbox at the top of the list to select all subscribers on the current page, then click Select all to grab your entire list.

4. Click the three dots (⋮) and select Export.

5. Kit will send a download link to your account email address when the file is ready – download and save it. You can also access the file Notifications.

Note: The exported CSV includes email address, first name, all custom field values, tags (comma-separated), and a confirmed-at timestamp. Everything you need comes in one file, so no need to format or edit it.

To export unsubscribed, bounced, and complained contacts:

Repeat the process above, but change the status filter to Unsubscribed, then Unconfirmed, Bounced, Complained, Blocked, and Cold (if you haven’t removed those contacts when cleaning your list), downloading a separate CSV for each. You'll import all of these as unsubscribed contacts in the next step.

Email sequences and visual automations

Kit sequences and visual automations can't be exported as files – you'll recreate them in EmailOctopus's automation builder. Before you do, it's worth documenting each sequence: the trigger, the number of emails, the time delays between them, and any conditions or branching logic. Having that written down or screenshotted will make rebuilding them much faster – read on for more details.

Engagement data

If you have any reports you don’t want to lose, we’d recommend exporting them as well – this data might be useful when segmenting your audience in EmailOctopus for future sends.

Step 4: Import your unsubscribed contacts first

Before importing your active list, bring across your unsubscribed, unconfirmed, bounced, complained, blocked and cold contacts and mark them all as unsubscribed during import.

Doing this first means EmailOctopus already knows not to email those addresses, even if they appear in a future import. It's a simple step that protects you from accidentally contacting people who've opted out or whose addresses are invalid, and it helps keep your sender reputation clean from day one.

1. Go to the Contacts tab in EmailOctopus and choose Add contacts from the dropdown.

2. Upload your file of unsubscribed, cleaned, bounced, archived and complained contacts.
3. Mark them as Unsubscribed and click Next.

4. Map the fields and finish the import.

This guide on bulk unsubscribing contacts is a useful reference.

Step 5: Import your active subscribers

With your suppression list in place, you're ready to bring your main list across. Our full guide on importing contacts has step-by-step instructions.

1. Go to the Contacts tab and choose Add contacts from the dropdown.
2. Upload your file of active subscribers and choose the Subscribed status.
3. Map the fields from your Kit export – first name, last name, and any other fields you collected. EmailOctopus will also read comma-separated tags from your ‘Tags’ column in the file and apply them to each contact automatically. New tags will be created if you haven’t done that yet before the import.
4. Finalise the import.

Once done, your contacts will appear in EmailOctopus with their tags and custom field data intact, making it super easy to organise your audience.

Recreating your Kit segments

Kit's segments are dynamic filters based on tags, subscriber behaviour, and custom field data. You can set up the same thing in EmailOctopus – segments can filter by tags, engagement, custom fields, subscription date, and more. Head to the Contacts page and click Create segment to get started – you can also ask Otto, our AI assistant, to create one for you. This article on segmentation covers everything available.

Step 6: Recreate your sequences and automations

Kit separates email sequences (a fixed series of emails on a schedule) from visual automations (branching workflows triggered by subscriber behaviour). In EmailOctopus, both live under automations and are available for both free and paid users.

For your sequences, the rebuild is straightforward: create a new automation, set the trigger (usually when someone subscribes or a tag is applied), and add your emails with the same delays between them. This article on automation triggers and actions covers what's available.

For visual automations, it's worth reviewing your Kit workflows before you start and identifying which branches and conditions you actually need. EmailOctopus supports conditional steps within automations, so most logic-based flows can be replicated – though the visual branching editor Kit uses on paid plans works a little differently to how we've built it.

A couple of things worth knowing:

• Kit tags applied mid-automation (as an action step) have an equivalent in EmailOctopus – you can add and remove tags as actions within an automation flow.
• Kit's form-based triggers (subscribing via a specific form) can be replicated in EmailOctopus by tagging contacts on sign-up and triggering the automation from that tag – check out this article on tracking sign-up sources for more information.
• All product-related triggers or actions in Kit’s automations aren't something we support natively, since we don’t offer CRM features. You might want to get familiar with Zapier if you’d like to trigger sales flows like this.

Step 7: Recreate your email templates

Kit's email templates can't be exported as files, so you'll recreate your emails in EmailOctopus's editor. If you have custom HTML templates, you can copy the code and paste it directly into EmailOctopus's code editor.

Kit's email editor is relatively minimal by design – plain text and simple layouts. EmailOctopus's drag-and-drop editor works similarly, with a library of clean, professional templates to choose from. If you've kept your Kit emails simple, the transition should feel natural.

If you did use custom HTML in Kit, paste it into EmailOctopus's code editor and make sure to replace any Kit-specific merge tags with the EmailOctopus equivalents – for example, swap out {{ unsubscribe_url }} for {{UnsubscribeURL}}. Our customisation cheatsheet covers all the merge tags available – make sure the required footer merge tags are in place, too.

Step 8: Update your forms and landing pages

If you have Kit forms or landing pages embedded on your website or linked from your social profiles, replace them with EmailOctopus equivalents so new subscribers land in the right place.

Go to the Grow tab in EmailOctopus to create a new landing page or sign-up form, then update the embed code or link on your site. This guide walks through adding form code to your website.

While we don't offer dedicated analytics for forms and landing pages, you can track your subscriber growth over time in the graph on your account dashboard. We also offer a couple of additional options if you'd like to dig a little deeper into the data. Adding a Meta Pixel can help track conversion data, and Google Analytics allows you to view more traffic details. You can also use hidden fields or tags in forms, then segment your contacts by source to see which one is most successful.

If you used Kit's API for custom integrations, check our API documentation and integrations page for how to connect things to EmailOctopus instead.

Step 9: Send your first campaign

Everything's in place – time to send!

It's worth starting with your most engaged subscribers rather than sending to your full list straight away. If you still have access to your Kit account, you could create a segment of your most active contacts there, then export it. From there, import that file into your EmailOctopus list, and add tags to those contacts during import so you can keep them segmented going forward.

This can make a huge difference in the long run – when you move to a new sending platform, inbox providers may take a little time to get familiar with your new setup. Beginning with contacts who regularly open your emails and gradually expanding over the first few weeks gives you the strongest start.

To create your first campaign, go to the Campaigns tab and follow this guide – and here’s how to send your campaign to tagged contacts.

Phew, you're all set – welcome to EmailOctopus! 🐙

Keeping your sender reputation healthy after the switch

A platform change is a good time to build habits that'll pay off in the long term. A few things worth focusing on once you're up and running:

1. Send on a consistent schedule. Regular sending, so weekly, fortnightly, monthly, builds trust with inbox providers and keeps your audience engaged.
2. Warm up your domain if you're sending to a large list. This is particularly important when starting fresh on a new platform. More on how to do this here.
3. Keep your list clean. EmailOctopus handles all bounces automatically, but regularly suppressing contacts who haven't opened or clicked in 90 days or more helps protect your sender reputation over time. Keep this list-cleaning article in your bookmarks!
4. Keep an eye on your metrics. Open rates, click rates, bounces, and spam complaints are your early warning system. The Reports tab in EmailOctopus gives you a clear view of how each campaign performs.
5. Only send to people who've opted in. Sending to contacts who haven't given permission is one of the quickest ways to damage your reputation – and it can take a long time to recover from.

For more tips, this article on maintaining your sender reputation is worth a read.

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

Will my subscribers know I've switched from Kit?

Your subscribers receive emails from your own domain or sender address, not directly from Kit or EmailOctopus. So as long as your domain is verified, the switch should be barely noticeable to them.

One thing they might notice, though: if you're on our free Starter plan, there's a required EmailOctopus link in the footer that replaces the one from Kit.

Another: we don't require you to include other people's newsletter recommendations in your emails, the way Kit does. So subscribers might notice those disappearing from your campaigns going forward.

Do my tags come across?

Yes – Kit includes tags as a comma-separated column in the subscriber CSV export. When you import into EmailOctopus, those tags are applied to each contact, as long as you map your Tags column properly during import.

Will I lose my custom field data?

No! Kit includes custom field values in the export CSV. You'll map those fields to the corresponding fields in EmailOctopus during import, or create new ones if they don't already exist.

What happens to my Kit sequences?

Sequences can't be exported – you'll rebuild them as automations in EmailOctopus. They're straightforward to recreate if you've noted the triggers, email content, and delays for each one, since we offer similar triggers and steps.

Does EmailOctopus have a Creator Network equivalent?

No, we don’t. If cross-promotion with other newsletters is important to your list growth strategy, you'll need to handle that through other channels (partnerships, social media, or tools like SparkLoop).

Can I sell digital products or paid subscriptions through EmailOctopus?

EmailOctopus is focused on email marketing and doesn't have built-in commerce or paid subscription tools. If you sell products or paid newsletters through Kit, you'll need a separate tool for that – services like Gumroad, Payhip, or Stripe work well alongside EmailOctopus. Have a look at our integrations page for more details.

How does the pricing compare?

Kit offers three plans, including a free plan, but it comes with many limitations. Kit's Creator plan starts at $39/month for up to 1,000 subscribers, and their Pro plan starts at $79/month, with the same 1,000 subscriber limit – both paid plans scale up as your list grows.

EmailOctopus's paid plans start at a fraction of that for the same list sizes – you can see a full breakdown using our pricing page and savings calculator. EmailOctopus also has a free plan for up to 2,500 contacts and 10,000 emails per month with no required newsletter recommendations or automation limitations.

How long does the migration take?

For most people, under an hour. The export and import process is quick, and rebuilding a few sequences takes most of the time.

If you need a hand at any point during your migration, our support team is happy to help – shoot us an email or use our live chat. You'll also find detailed guides for every step in our Knowledge Base.

Happy emailing!