by Esma Calis · Last updated: 2026-06-03

Switching from FluentCRM to Mailsoftly: The Complete Migration Guide

Switching from FluentCRM to Mailsoftly means exporting your contacts, segments, templates, and automation logic out of WordPress and rebuilding them inside a hosted platform that sends email for you. With Mailsoftly’s free hands-on migration, most teams move in a few hours with no downtime and no lost subscribers.

FluentCRM is a capable WordPress plugin, but it leaves sending, deliverability, and infrastructure on your shoulders. As your list grows, that DIY burden becomes the bottleneck. This guide walks through what carries over, the exact migration steps, and how the two platforms compare on price and support.

Comparing options? See our full roundup of the best email marketing services for the complete picture.

Quick context: Mailsoftly offers transparent pricing, free hands-on migration, and human support. 500 contacts and 2,000 emails per month, no credit card.
Start free with Mailsoftly →

Why do teams leave FluentCRM?

Teams usually leave FluentCRM for three reasons: the true cost climbs once you add a reliable sending service, the WordPress-bound setup gets complex to maintain, and support is community-paced rather than hands-on. None of these are dealbreakers at a small scale, but they compound as your list grows.

Cost at scale. FluentCRM’s license fee is only part of the picture. Because it is a self-hosted plugin, it does not send email on its own. You also pay for a separate sending provider (Amazon SES, SendGrid, Postmark, or similar) and you carry the cost of your own hosting headroom when large sends spike server load. Two or three bills replace what should be one.

Complexity. Configuring SMTP, warming a sending domain, managing bounce handling, and keeping the plugin, PHP, and your theme compatible is real ongoing work. Usability research from the Nielsen Norman Group shows that good usability reduces the time and effort users spend on routine tasks, which is exactly the overhead a hosted tool removes.

Support gaps. When a campaign stalls in the queue or deliverability dips, you are often debugging alone through forums and documentation. For a marketer who just wants the newsletter to go out, that is the moment a switch starts to look appealing.

Read enough? Try Mailsoftly free with 500 contacts and 2,000 emails per month, no credit card.Start free with Mailsoftly →

What can you bring with you from FluentCRM?

Almost everything that matters moves with you: your contacts and their custom fields, your tags and segments, your email templates, and the logic behind your automations. The data is yours, and FluentCRM stores it in your own WordPress database, so exporting it is straightforward.

The one thing that does not transfer is sending history tied to FluentCRM’s own queue, and that is fine. Your engagement data lives in your reporting, and your subscriber relationships live in the contact records you carry over.

How do you migrate from FluentCRM to Mailsoftly?

Migration is four steps: export your contacts from FluentCRM, import them into Mailsoftly, verify deliverability with a small test, then rebuild your automations. If you would rather not do it yourself, Mailsoftly’s team runs the whole process for you at no cost.

Step 1: Export contacts from FluentCRM

In your WordPress admin, open FluentCRM, go to Contacts, and use the export option to download a CSV. Include your tags and custom fields as columns. Choose to export subscribed contacts so you carry over only people who have opted in, which protects your sender reputation from the first send.

Step 2: Import contacts into Mailsoftly

In Mailsoftly, create your groups first, then upload the CSV and map each column to the matching field. Map your FluentCRM tags to Mailsoftly groups so segmentation survives the move. Run the import, review the summary, and confirm your total count matches what you exported.

Step 3: Verify deliverability before the first big send

Authenticate your sending domain with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, then send a test campaign to a few internal addresses across different providers. Deliverability depends on authentication, list hygiene, and engagement, so it is worth understanding how inbox placement and pre-send email testing actually work before you scale up volume.

Step 4: Rebuild your automations

List your active FluentCRM automations and their triggers, then recreate them in Mailsoftly one at a time. Start with the welcome sequence, since it touches every new subscriber, then move to re-engagement and post-purchase flows. Test each one with a sample contact before you turn it on for the full list.

FluentCRM vs Mailsoftly: how do they compare?

The core difference is the model. FluentCRM is a self-hosted WordPress plugin that you license and run, then pair with a separate sending service. Mailsoftly is a hosted platform that includes sending, deliverability, and support in one transparent price. All figures below are accurate as of 2026-04-15.

On ease of use, Mailsoftly wins for non-technical marketers because there is no SMTP to configure and nothing to maintain. FluentCRM wins for teams that want their data inside WordPress and have the engineering time to run it. You can review every Mailsoftly tier in detail on the Mailsoftly pricing page, with no hidden sending fees layered on top.

What should you do in your first week after switching?

In your first week, focus on confirming the move worked rather than launching everything at once. Verify your data, warm up your sending, and watch your early metrics. A calm first week protects the deliverability you will rely on for months.

• Confirm counts and fields. Spot-check that contact totals, tags, and custom fields imported correctly.
• Warm up gradually. Send to your most engaged subscribers first, then widen to the full list over a few days.
• Send one real campaign. A newsletter or update tells you opens, clicks, and inbox placement are healthy.
• Turn automations on in order. Activate the welcome flow first, then layer in the rest once it behaves.
• Watch bounces and complaints. Clean any addresses that fail so your reputation stays strong.

By the end of week one you should have a verified list, a healthy first send, and your welcome automation running. From there, you are simply doing email marketing again, minus the infrastructure work.

For the broader landscape, see our full comparison of best email marketing services covering every major platform.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does migrating from FluentCRM take?

Most migrations finish in a few hours. The export and import take minutes for typical lists, and rebuilding automations is the longest part. When Mailsoftly runs the migration for you, your team’s time investment is mostly reviewing and approving the result.

Will I lose my contacts or automations?

No. Your contacts, custom fields, tags, and segments all carry over through the CSV export, and your automations are rebuilt so the logic matches. The only thing left behind is FluentCRM’s internal sending queue, which is replaced by Mailsoftly’s hosted delivery.

Is there a cost to switch?

No. The migration itself is free, including the hands-on setup by Mailsoftly’s team. You can run everything on the free plan, which covers 500 contacts and 2,000 emails per month, and only upgrade once you have confirmed the move is working.

Do I still need a separate SMTP service after switching?

No. Mailsoftly sends your email for you, so there is no SMTP, no SES or SendGrid bill, and no queue to manage. You authenticate your sending domain once with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, and the platform handles delivery from there.

Start your free FluentCRM migration. We do the heavy lifting.Start free with Mailsoftly →
500 contacts, 2,000 emails per month. Free hands-on migration. No credit card.

Esma Calis

Email Marketing Specialist at Mailsoftly

Esma is an Email Marketing Specialist at Mailsoftly who focuses on design best practices, newsletter strategy, and helping brands build stronger relationships with their subscribers through compelling email content.