How do I export my Buttondown subscribers?

Start in the Subscribers tab of your Buttondown dashboard. To export everyone, leave the selection empty. To export part of the list, select those subscribers first. Click Export in the top right corner. When the export finishes you receive the CSV. If it takes unusually long, Buttondown emails it to you.

Will verification find the inactive subscribers on my Buttondown list?

No. Verification tells you whether an address can receive mail, not whether the person reads it. Someone who has not opened in a year can have a perfectly valid mailbox. Handle disengaged people with an engagement segment and a re-permission or sunset email, and use verification for addresses that are invalid or at risk of bouncing.

What does a risky result mean?

A risky address could not be confirmed as a real mailbox, usually because the domain accepts all mail (catch-all) or the provider will not say. An unconfirmed address is never reported as valid. Keep risky addresses out of your first send and mail them later, most engaged first.

Is there a free way to try this on my Buttondown list?

Yes. Sign in with Google and the first 100 addresses are checked free, with results to download and no card. After that, verification is $29.99 a month on the Pro plan.

Clean your Buttondown subscriber list

Export your Buttondown subscribers as a CSV, verify every address, then import the valid file back and keep the risky one out of your first send. Verification finds addresses that cannot receive mail. It cannot tell who has stopped reading, and an address it cannot confirm is called risky, never valid.

Export steps, bounce rules and prices read from Buttondown's own pages on 23 Oct 2026.

1. Export your Buttondown subscribers

Start in the Subscribers tab of your Buttondown dashboard.
To export everyone, leave the selection empty. To export part of the list, select those subscribers first.
Click Export in the top right corner.
When the export finishes you receive the CSV. If it takes unusually long, Buttondown emails it to you.

Source: Buttondown docs: subscriber data exports.

2. What Buttondown already does with bounces

Buttondown marks a subscriber undeliverable once it has proof the address does not exist, such as a provider suppression notice or a hard bounce, and only after enough problems to be confident the address is dead. (Buttondown docs: undeliverability reasons)
Buttondown says imports from an outside source go through a manual approval review, and that it runs an automatic process for people who appear to have abandoned their address. (Buttondown: how we keep deliverability high)
Its pricing page says you are billed for active subscribers, not all contacts, and that the first 100 subscribers cost nothing. (Buttondown pricing)

Inactive is not invalid. A subscriber who has not opened for a year usually has a working mailbox, so verification keeps them. Deal with them separately: segment by last engagement, send a re-permission email, and remove the ones who do not answer. Verification is for the addresses that would bounce.

3. What verification can and cannot tell you

It can tell you

The address is malformed or the domain has no mail servers.
The mailbox does not exist, where the provider answers the check.
The domain is disposable, which is common for junk signups.
The domain accepts all mail, so the address cannot be confirmed.

It cannot tell you

Whether the person reads your issues.
Whether they agreed to hear from you.
Whether the address is a spam trap.
Whether a risky address is real. Providers that hide mailbox status and catch-all domains stay unconfirmed.

Unconfirmed always means risky, never valid. You get three files back, valid, risky and invalid, with your original Buttondown columns kept.

4. Import the clean file back

Import the valid file as your active list. Keep the original columns so tags, names and signup dates survive.
Do not re-import the invalid file. Addresses the platform already suppressed stay suppressed, and re-adding dead ones only brings the bounces back.
Hold the risky file out of the first send. Mail it later, to the most engaged people first, and watch the bounce rate on that send.
Buttondown reviews imports manually, so a verified file with a clear note on where the addresses came from is easier to approve.

Buttondown bounce rate limits

Buttondown has an internal threshold for bounced and spam-marked emails and says it will contact you if you pass it. The number is not published. Source: Buttondown: how we keep deliverability high, read 23 Oct 2026. Other platforms' published lines are in bounce rate limits by platform.

How much is a dirty Buttondown list costing you?

Enter your own numbers. The share of dead addresses is your estimate (your last bounce rate is a floor, since only some dead addresses have bounced yet). Nothing is sent anywhere.

Subscribers on your list

Addresses you think are dead

Invalid or abandoned, your best estimate.

Your Buttondown bill

per month

From your invoice.

Your reported open rate (optional)

Fill in the list size and the share of dead addresses to see the result.

Buttondown bills for active subscribers and its public page does not list a base price per size, so enter your current monthly bill. Buttondown pricing, read 23 Oct 2026. Prices change; check the page before you decide.

Check a Buttondown address, then your list

Type any address. It gets the same check the paid plans run: syntax, the domain’s mail servers and, where the provider allows it, a live mailbox check. Nothing is sent to the address.

Email address

Five checks a minute, no account needed. Nothing is sent to the address — we ask its mail server whether the mailbox exists, then disconnect.

Have a list? Sign in with Google and the first 100 addresses are checked free, with results to download. No card.

By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.

Common questions

How do I export my Buttondown subscribers?: Start in the Subscribers tab of your Buttondown dashboard. To export everyone, leave the selection empty. To export part of the list, select those subscribers first. Click Export in the top right corner. When the export finishes you receive the CSV. If it takes unusually long, Buttondown emails it to you.
What bounce rate does Buttondown allow?: Buttondown has an internal threshold for bounced and spam-marked emails and says it will contact you if you pass it. The number is not published. Source: Buttondown: how we keep deliverability high, read 23 Oct 2026.
Will verification find the inactive subscribers on my Buttondown list?: No. Verification tells you whether an address can receive mail, not whether the person reads it. Someone who has not opened in a year can have a perfectly valid mailbox. Handle disengaged people with an engagement segment and a re-permission or sunset email, and use verification for addresses that are invalid or at risk of bouncing.
What does a risky result mean?: A risky address could not be confirmed as a real mailbox, usually because the domain accepts all mail (catch-all) or the provider will not say. An unconfirmed address is never reported as valid. Keep risky addresses out of your first send and mail them later, most engaged first.
Is there a free way to try this on my Buttondown list?: Yes. Sign in with Google and the first 100 addresses are checked free, with results to download and no card. After that, verification is $29.99 a month on the Pro plan.