How to Migrate from Beehiiv (or Medium) to Substack: A Step-by-Step Guide
Writers are moving to Substack for discovery. One newsletter owner announced moving from Beehiiv to Substack because “growth stalled” and Notes offered “a better shot at reaching new readers.” Others are leaving Medium. As one writer asked, “Does anyone write on medium anymore or has everyone moved to substack?”
If you’re making the move, the mechanics are simple. The details decide whether your archive looks professional and whether your subscribers stay. This guide covers both. (Coming from WordPress? See our WordPress to Substack migration guide.)
Before You Start: Decide What Moves
- Subscribers. Your email list is the asset. Always move it.
- Archive posts. Optional, but it gives new visitors something to read and keeps old links useful.
- Paid subscribers. If you charge, this needs the most care (see below).
- Domain. If you used a custom domain, plan to point it at Substack. See our custom domain guide.
Step 1: Export Your Subscribers
- Beehiiv: Open Settings, then Export Data. Beehiiv’s help article (updated October 2026) puts that page on General Info, not on the subscribers table. Under Export Subscribers, choose Export All Subscribers for the full CSV, or Export All Basic Subscribers for email, status, and tier. Beehiiv emails a download link, and the file also appears under Historical Exports. Substack’s Beehiiv guide asks for the full export. If the button labels differ, stay on Export Data.
- Medium: Do not use Settings → Download your information. That archive is your stories and account data as HTML, not a mailing list. On the web, open Stats → Audience → View subscriber list and export from there (Audience stats). Medium says that file includes emails you imported and emails of people who subscribed before April 2025. If everyone subscribed after that change, the export is empty. Those readers need a fresh subscribe link on Substack.
Step 2: Import Subscribers into Substack
Substack’s mailing-list article (updated August 2026) says: from the dashboard, open Subscribers → Add subscribers → Add subscribers by upload, then upload a CSV, XLSX, or ODS of email addresses and confirm those people opted in. Substack’s Beehiiv guide also describes Settings → Import email addresses → Import emails. Subscribers added that way show up as free.
Substack may hold an import for review. A very large list can trigger a verification review, and lists that do not look opted-in can be flagged for Standards & Enforcement. That wait is about list quality, not about how old the addresses are. Before uploading, remove addresses that have bounced or haven’t opened in a long time. See our email deliverability tips.
Step 3: Comp Paid Subscribers. Billing Does Not Move With Them
Substack documents a Stripe transfer for paid members coming from Ghost. It does not document that transfer for Beehiiv or Medium. Both platforms use Stripe, but the published Beehiiv and general migration steps are different: connect Stripe under Substack Settings → Payments, import the paid readers with the free list, then comp them so they keep access.
On the Subscribers page, select those readers and choose Comp. The documented lengths run from 7 days to forever. Match the time left on the current term, and keep renewal dates from your export so annual readers are comped for the right stretch. When the comp ends, Substack asks them for payment details on Substack.
Leave billing on the old platform until those comps are in place, then stop the old charges so nobody is billed twice. Read How do I move from Beehiiv to Substack? and How do I move from my current platform to Substack? before you announce anything.
Step 4: Bring Over Your Archive
Beehiiv and Medium are both on Substack’s post importer. In publication Settings → Import/Export → Import posts, paste the site URL. For a Medium profile, Substack’s example is a URL like https://medium.com/@your. For Beehiiv, Substack’s guide also has you upload a posts CSV: on Beehiiv, Settings → Export Data → Export All Posts.
Beehiiv’s export includes free posts and previews of paid posts, not the full paid text. Paste premium posts in by hand and set the audience to paid subscribers, or open them to free readers long enough to import, then paywall the archive on Substack.
An RSS feed or a posts file is the fallback for platforms Substack does not list, and some RSS feeds only include recent posts. Start with the URL importer for Beehiiv and Medium.
Expect some cleanup either way:
- Tables usually break, because Substack has no table block.
- Embeds and custom HTML blocks from Beehiiv may not survive.
- Images should be re-checked to make sure they still load.
If you have your posts as Markdown, or can export them to Markdown, you can paste each one into DownStack and copy Substack-ready rich text. Tables become hosted images automatically. That’s often faster than repairing an imported post by hand, especially for data-heavy archives.
Step 5: Tell Your Readers
Send one last email from the old platform, then a welcome email from Substack:
- Explain why you’re moving in one or two sentences.
- Tell them there’s nothing they need to do (if that’s true).
- Ask them to add your new sending address to their contacts or move the first email to their primary inbox.
Step 6: Turn On Substack’s Growth Features
Discovery is the reason most people move, so use it:
- Set up recommendations with writers in your niche.
- Start posting on Notes. See our Substack Notes strategy guide.
- Write a strong About page and welcome email.
Migration Checklist
| Task | Notes |
|---|---|
| Export subscribers | Beehiiv: Settings → Export Data. Medium: Audience subscriber export, which can omit people who subscribed after April 2025 |
| Clean the list | Drop bounces and long-inactive addresses |
| Import into Substack | Add subscribers by upload, or Settings → Import emails for a Beehiiv move. Allow time if Substack reviews the list |
| Paid subscribers | Comp them on Substack. This is not a Stripe billing transfer from Beehiiv or Medium |
| Import or re-create archive | Settings → Import/Export → Import posts. Rebuild Beehiiv paid posts that arrived as previews |
| Point custom domain | Optional |
| Send farewell and welcome emails | Ask readers to whitelist you |
Key Takeaways
- Your subscriber list is the asset. On Beehiiv, export it from Settings → Export Data. Medium’s email export is partial.
- Comp paid readers on Substack. Billing from Beehiiv or Medium does not transfer with the list.
- Import posts from Settings → Import/Export. Beehiiv’s export leaves out the full text of paid posts, and tables and embeds still need a pass. Markdown plus a converter speeds the cleanup.
- Use Substack’s discovery features (recommendations and Notes), since that’s why you moved.
Still deciding? Compare platforms in Substack vs Ghost vs Beehiiv and Substack vs Medium.