How to Migrate from HubSpot to ActiveCampaign

Step 1: Export property definitions, contacts, and companies from HubSpot

In HubSpot, go to Settings → Properties and export the property definitions for contacts and companies. This gives you a clean list of every custom field you’ve built, which you’ll need before deciding what becomes an ActiveCampaign custom field versus a tag.

Export contacts from Contacts → Import & Export → Export, including all custom properties, lifecycle stage, and lead source. Do the same for companies if you use them for segmentation or reporting.

Keep the exports in separate files. ActiveCampaign’s data model is simpler than HubSpot’s object-based structure, so you’ll be deciding field by field what survives the move rather than trying to import everything as-is.

Step 2: Export deals and map your pipeline

Export deals from the Deals object, including stage, amount, close date, and associated contact or company records. This is the data most at risk of breaking associations if imported in the wrong order later.

In ActiveCampaign, go to Deals → Pipelines and build a pipeline with stages matching your HubSpot stages as closely as possible. Don’t try to replicate every HubSpot stage exactly — consolidate stages that rarely get used on their own.

Decide which deal-level custom properties actually matter. ActiveCampaign’s deal fields are simpler than HubSpot’s, so this is the point to drop properties that were tracked but never actually used in a report or workflow.

Step 3: Create matching fields and tags in ActiveCampaign

Using your property export, create the equivalent custom fields in ActiveCampaign under Contacts → Manage Fields. Fields you’ll use for personalisation or automation conditions should become custom fields; simpler categorical properties often work better as tags.

HubSpot lifecycle stages and lead status are common candidates for tags in ActiveCampaign, since ActiveCampaign doesn’t have a direct lifecycle-stage equivalent.

Build this mapping as a simple spreadsheet — HubSpot property name, ActiveCampaign equivalent, field type — so the import step is mechanical rather than something you’re figuring out live.

Step 4: Import contacts, companies, then deals in that order

Import contacts via Contacts → Add Contacts → Import, mapping each column to the fields and tags you set up in the previous step. Confirm the email column is mapped correctly, since it’s the key ActiveCampaign uses to prevent duplicates.

Import companies next if you use them, following the same field-mapping approach.

Import deals last, making sure the contact email on each deal row matches an already-imported contact exactly — this is what lets ActiveCampaign associate the deal with the right record instead of creating an orphaned one.

Step 5: Rebuild HubSpot workflows as ActiveCampaign automations

Nothing automated transfers. Using your workflow screenshots, prioritise rebuilding what actually drives results — typically lead nurture, deal-stage-triggered emails, and internal notifications — rather than every workflow that’s ever existed in the account.

In ActiveCampaign, Automations → Create an Automation gives you triggers on tag addition, form submission, deal stage change, and date-based fields. Map each HubSpot trigger to the closest ActiveCampaign equivalent and verify branching conditions behave the same way.

Rebuild any HubSpot email templates used inside workflows in ActiveCampaign’s editor rather than pasting HTML across, since HubSpot’s modules don’t translate directly.

Test every automation end to end with a test contact before turning it on, particularly deal-stage-triggered ones, since a misconfigured trigger can fire on every existing deal at once.

Step 6: Update forms, integrations, and the website

Work through every form, embedded chat widget, and third-party integration currently connected to HubSpot. Website forms, ad platform lead syncs, e-commerce integrations, and Zapier or Make scenarios all need repointing to ActiveCampaign.

If your website runs on HubSpot’s CMS, this migration doesn’t cover that — moving the site itself to a separate platform is a distinct project you should plan before cancelling HubSpot, since ActiveCampaign has no CMS equivalent.

Replace embedded HubSpot forms with ActiveCampaign forms and test a live submission end to end, confirming the resulting contact gets the right tags and enters the right automation.

Step 7: Run both platforms in parallel, then cancel HubSpot

Don’t cancel HubSpot the day you finish the import. Run both systems side by side for two weeks, checking that new leads, form submissions, and deal updates are landing correctly in ActiveCampaign.

Compare deal totals and contact counts between the two platforms periodically during this window — a mismatch usually points to a form or integration still pointed at HubSpot.

Once you’ve confirmed a full sales cycle’s worth of activity has flowed correctly through ActiveCampaign, export a final backup of your HubSpot data before cancelling the account.