Sources checked Sep 21, 2026 – Sep 22, 2026
How to move your newsletter off Substack
Export your posts and subscriber list from Substack, set up the new platform, and import. The part that needs a decision is paid subscribers. Substack’s Disconnect Stripe option refunds and cancels every paid subscription, so choose how paid readers will move before you touch it. beehiiv documents a way to copy Stripe subscriptions across; Kit and MailerLite ask paid readers to subscribe again.
GET YOUR DATA OUT
What Substack lets you export
- 01Posts, subscribers, and statistics in one ZIP
In Substack, open Settings → Exports and choose Create new export. Substack emails you when the ZIP file is ready to download. beehiiv uses this file to import paywalled posts.
- 02The subscriber list as a CSV
On the Subscribers page, scroll to All subscribers, open the three-dot menu, and choose Export. Pick all columns or visible columns only; the visible columns include the date someone subscribed and their plan type. Substack says it cannot export subscribers’ names.
- 03Paid subscribers as their own file
Kit asks for a separate CSV of paid subscribers so you can tag them on import. Filter the Subscribers page to paid readers and export again. beehiiv also suggests a separate export of iOS subscribers, because those subscriptions are billed through Apple, not Stripe.
What each platform can import from Substack
These routes come from each platform’s import instructions, checked September 21, 2026. Confirm the steps in your account before cancelling billing.
Scroll sideways to see all columns →
| What you are moving | Kit | beehiiv | MailerLite |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free subscribers | Import the Substack CSV under Subscribers → Add Subscribers → Import a CSV. | Import the Substack CSV under Settings → Subscribers Import, then map its columns to beehiiv fields. | Import the CSV under Subscribers → Add subscribers, choose a group, and match the columns. |
| Paid subscribers’ billing | Kit says there is no convenient way to move paid subscriptions with payment details. Its workaround: cancel them in Substack and ask readers to subscribe again. | Copy Stripe customers from your Substack-connected Stripe account to your beehiiv-connected one, then map Substack tiers to beehiiv tiers. beehiiv says imported subscribers keep their current price. | MailerLite recommends a re-subscription campaign for paid subscribers. Paid newsletters use your Stripe products on the Comfort or Power plan. |
| Free posts | No importer is described. Recreate posts as Broadcasts, publish them to the web, and change their dates to the originals. | Settings → Content Import → Substack, using your publication URL. | The import help covers subscribers only. Keep your Substack export as an archive and republish the posts you need. |
| Paywalled posts | Recreate them as Broadcasts and turn on “Only display for paying subscribers”. | Upload the Substack export ZIP in the same import. Connect Stripe and create a paid tier first, or paywalled content imports fully visible. | Not covered by the import help. Decide how paid readers will get past posts before you move. |
PAID SUBSCRIPTIONS AND STRIPE
Choose one of two routes for paid readers.
- 01Keep billing running (beehiiv’s documented route)
Connect Stripe through beehiiv and create paid tiers that mirror your Substack tiers. Copy your customers from the Substack-connected Stripe account to the beehiiv-connected one, give beehiiv a restricted API key from the Substack-connected account, and map each Substack price to a beehiiv tier. Then pause or cancel billing in Substack straight away: beehiiv warns that otherwise readers are charged twice. It suggests Settings → Payments → Pause subscription billing → Pause indefinitely. If you cancel through Substack Support instead, confirm that no refunds will be issued. beehiiv’s paid subscriptions need a Scale plan, not the free Launch plan.
- 02End Substack billing and ask readers to subscribe again (Kit and MailerLite)
Set up payments and a recurring subscription product on the new platform first: Kit uses a Subscription product; MailerLite sells paid newsletters through Stripe products on Comfort or Power, and recurring payments there are card-only. Tell paid readers the date and the new link in advance. Kit suggests cancelling their Substack subscriptions and asking them to re-subscribe; MailerLite suggests a personal re-subscription campaign to paid readers.
- 03Know what Disconnect Stripe does
Under Settings → Danger Zone, Disconnect Stripe refunds and emails every paid subscriber, cancels all paid subscriptions, and revokes Substack’s access to your Stripe account. Substack calculates the Stripe balance you need to refund time readers paid for but will not receive. Check that amount before choosing a date, and ask Substack Support for a human specialist if you need help disconnecting as part of a move.
- 04Handle readers who are not billed through your Stripe account
beehiiv notes that complimentary, gifted, and iOS subscriptions are not in Stripe, so they do not move with the Stripe transfer. It suggests giving them complimentary access for the time they have left, using the expiration date in the Substack export. iOS subscribers have to cancel in the App Store themselves.
Set up the new platform, sending domain, and any paid tier or subscription product. Download the full Substack export and the subscriber CSVs.
Import subscribers and posts, send a test to yourself, and write the message paid readers will receive about the change.
Pause, cancel, or disconnect billing only once the new paid route works. Keep the export files and the Substack account until the first few sends go out.
PLAN THE MOVE
Check the cost, then work through the checklist.
See whether a flat-fee platform would cost less than Substack’s percentage fee in the Substack cost guide, then use the migration checklist for forms, domains, and suppression lists. For beehiiv’s Scale prices, see beehiiv pricing. The vendor links below are direct and are not affiliate links.