Mailchimp uses "clean" and two similar words for three different things. A cleaned contact is one Mailchimp removed automatically after it bounced, a suppressed contact is one you told Mailchimp never to email, and an unsubscribed contact opted out. Cleaning a Mailchimp list well means validating addresses before they reach Mailchimp, so fewer of them bounce and get cleaned for you.
This guide explains each status, then walks through validating a list before import, tagging existing contacts with CampaignKit, and setting up a suppression list.
invalid or risky.invalid tag. Review risky contacts instead of deleting them automatically.| Status | How a contact gets it | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Cleaned | Automatically, when the address hard bounces or soft bounces repeatedly | Mailchimp treats the address as invalid. Cleaned contacts don't count toward your audience limit, and you can't edit them: add the corrected address as a new contact. |
| Unsubscribed | The contact opts out, or you mark them as unsubscribed | Unsubscribed contacts count toward your monthly contact limit if your account was created after 2019-05-15. |
| Suppressed | You import addresses into an audience marked as unsubscribed, so Mailchimp won't email them | A suppression list applies to one audience, not your whole account. |
Cleaned is not the same as unsubscribed. Mailchimp sets it on its own when mail to an address fails, while unsubscribed reflects a choice by the contact or by you. To understand why an address bounced, see what the bounce reasons mean. For bounce thresholds, billing and whether you can get a cleaned contact back, see what "cleaned" means in Mailchimp.
Sources: Mailchimp's About Cleaned Contacts and Import Suppression Lists, checked 2026-09-24.
Every address that hard bounces in Mailchimp becomes a cleaned contact. Checking a new list before you upload it catches many of those addresses first. For the general, tool-independent steps, see how to clean your email list before any send.
Validation can't confirm every mailbox. Some mail servers don't reveal whether a mailbox exists, and catch-all domains accept mail for any address, so those results get a lower score rather than a clear yes or no.
New CampaignKit accounts get 200 free validations. After that, pricing is pay as you go from $6 for 2,500 emails, and credits don't expire.
The same validate-before-you-import approach works with other email platforms too, for example cleaning a Klaviyo list with a CSV export and a suppression file.
For contacts already in Mailchimp, you don't need to export anything. CampaignKit connects over OAuth using the Mailchimp Marketing API, validates the contacts in bulk, and works with more than one Mailchimp account at the same time.
The Mailchimp integration docs show each of these screens.
CampaignKit writes its results to Mailchimp as tags only. It never removes contacts or changes their data.
invalid: the address will bounce. Remove these contacts before you send.risky: a role-based address, a spam trap or a disposable address. Use with caution.valid (occasionally): the mailbox couldn't be confirmed, so the score is lower, but the address isn't known to be bad.invalid tag.For the risky tag, create a segment and use it cautiously, or exclude it from high-volume campaigns. The tag covers several different reasons, so review these contacts rather than deleting them all automatically.
Before you choose between unsubscribing and deleting, check the billing note in the next section: unsubscribed contacts can still count toward your contact limit.
A suppression list is a list of addresses you shouldn't email. It's broader than an unsubscribe list: it can also include hard bounces, spam complaints and addresses you add by hand (Mailchimp, checked 2026-09-24).
In Mailchimp, a suppression list works like this (Import Suppression Lists, checked 2026-09-24):
CampaignKit doesn't build or import the suppression list for you. After validation has tagged your contacts, the import is a step you do in Mailchimp, following its guide for the current screens.
Once your list is validated, Mailchimp handles new bounces. Addresses that hard bounce are removed from the audience automatically and marked as cleaned. Addresses that soft bounce repeatedly end up cleaned too.
Mailchimp is clear about what not to do. It doesn't recommend third-party list-cleaning services, and it says Mailchimp itself should never be used as a list-cleaning service. Don't send to a doubtful list to find out which addresses bounce. For inactive contacts, Mailchimp recommends removing them or reconfirming your audience (About List Cleaning Services, checked 2026-09-24).
Validation doesn't replace that advice. It tells you which addresses are likely to bounce or are risky before you send. It doesn't tell you whether a contact still wants your email.
After the bulk validation finishes, check the results before you unsubscribe or remove anyone:
invalid tag and note how many contacts have it.risky.If something looks off:
valid. Their mailbox couldn't be confirmed. They aren't known to be invalid.Connect CampaignKit to Mailchimp and run a bulk validation on your audience. Your contacts stay as they are, and the results show up as tags you can filter by.
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