How do I export my Ghost members?

As the site owner or an administrator, go to Settings, then Advanced, then Import/Export. Open the Export tab and click All data. Select Members, described by Ghost as all members with their labels and subscription status (CSV). Click Export. On Ghost(Pro) a download link is emailed to you and stays valid for 7 days; self-hosted sites download the zip in the browser. The members CSV comes inside the zip from the All data export. Unzip it before uploading.

Will verification find the inactive members on my Ghost 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 Ghost 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 Ghost subscriber list

Export your Ghost members 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 Ghost's own pages on 23 Oct 2026.

1. Export your Ghost members

As the site owner or an administrator, go to Settings, then Advanced, then Import/Export.
Open the Export tab and click All data.
Select Members, described by Ghost as all members with their labels and subscription status (CSV).
Click Export. On Ghost(Pro) a download link is emailed to you and stays valid for 7 days; self-hosted sites download the zip in the browser.

The members CSV comes inside the zip from the All data export. Unzip it before uploading.

Source: Ghost help: exporting content and data.

2. What Ghost already does with bounces

Ghost sends bulk email through Mailgun. Mailgun's bounce list stores permanent failures such as a nonexistent mailbox, and Mailgun says to leave a nonexistent mailbox on the suppression list rather than remove it. (Mailgun help: suppressions)
Ghost members can be switched off for email after a bounce or complaint, so a member who looks active on the site may be silently excluded from sends. Check the member's email status before assuming the list is healthy. (A self-hosted Ghost owner's write-up of disabled member emails)

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 Ghost 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.
Follow Ghost's import-members guide (ghost.org/help/import-members) for the CSV format, and import the valid file only.

Ghost bounce rate limits

Ghost does not publish its own number, and Mailgun, which delivers the mail, says it has thresholds without publishing them. Source: Mailgun help: why has my domain been disabled, read 23 Oct 2026. Other platforms' published lines are in bounce rate limits by platform.

How much is a dirty Ghost 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.

Members on your list

Addresses you think are dead

Invalid or abandoned, your best estimate.

Your Ghost 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.

Ghost(Pro) prices by member limit (its pricing page lists Starter and Publisher at 1,000 members and Business at 10,000, billed yearly). Self-hosted Ghost has no per-member fee, so enter 0 if that is you. Ghost pricing, read 23 Oct 2026. Prices change; check the page before you decide.

Check a Ghost 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 Ghost members?: As the site owner or an administrator, go to Settings, then Advanced, then Import/Export. Open the Export tab and click All data. Select Members, described by Ghost as all members with their labels and subscription status (CSV). Click Export. On Ghost(Pro) a download link is emailed to you and stays valid for 7 days; self-hosted sites download the zip in the browser. The members CSV comes inside the zip from the All data export. Unzip it before uploading.
What bounce rate does Ghost allow?: Ghost does not publish its own number, and Mailgun, which delivers the mail, says it has thresholds without publishing them. Source: Mailgun help: why has my domain been disabled, read 23 Oct 2026.
Will verification find the inactive members on my Ghost 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 Ghost 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.