Create and use lists

Learn how to create a list of records based on property values and other characteristics. You can create lists of contacts, companies, tickets, deals, custom objects, orders, and carts. This article includes instructions for creating and editing lists from the lists tool. To set up your list criteria and add records to existing lists, learn how to determine your list criteria or manually add records to static lists.

Other HubSpot tools rely on lists to make changes to a specific group of contacts. Some uses of lists in HubSpot include:

• Sending a marketing email to a list of contacts.
• Creating a list of bounced contacts.
• Enrolling a list in a workflow.
• Using List membership filters in other lists and custom reports.
• Creating ads audiences with contact and company lists.
• Sending customer satisfaction surveys to contacts with a static list.

Please note: the maximum number of lists you can create depends on your subscription. Learn more about subscription options and limitations in the Product & Services catalog.

Types of lists

There are two types of lists in your HubSpot account: active lists and static lists.

Active lists

Active lists automatically update their members based on its criteria. Records will join the list when they meet the criteria and leave the list when they no longer meet the criteria.

Examples of when active lists should be used include:

• sending unique marketing emails based on each contact's behavior and properties. If you send out a regular newsletter, an active list automatically manages the continually changing list of subscribers.
• placing outbound calls to contacts based on behavior and property values.
• grouping your contacts by lifecycle stage to continually identify behavior and properties for contacts in each stage.
• segmenting records based on properties that change frequently over time, such as HubSpot score.

Static lists

Static lists include records who meet a set criteria at the point when the list is saved. Static lists do not update automatically, so new records who meet the criteria will not be added to the list. Records can be manually added and removed from static lists.

Examples of when static lists should be used include:

• manually adding records to a workflow.
• sending one-time email blasts, email campaigns that you don't run often, and for a list of contacts that doesn't change (e.g., event attendees, staff lists for an internal newsletter, or lists from a trade show). 
• manually grouping records that may not have a shared list criteria.
• segmenting to bulk delete records from your account.

Create a list

Users with Write permissions for lists can create lists.

• In your HubSpot account, navigate to CRM > Lists.
• In the upper right, click Create list.
• In the left panel, select Contact-based to create a list of contacts, Company-based to create a list of companies, or Deal-based to create a list of deals.
• In the right panel, enter the list's details:
  • List name: the internal name of the list (required).
  • Description: a description of what the list contains.
  • What kind of list are you creating: select whether you want an Active list or a Static list. You can also view the number of lists you've used on this page. 
  • Custom properties: if you've created any custom list properties for organization, you can set them in this section. To add custom list properties to the create form, click Customize the 'Create list' form. Learn more about customizing create record forms.
• In the upper right, click Next.
• In the left panel, set the criteria for the contacts or companies you want to segment. Learn the list criteria available to you and how they work. You can select up to 250 filters per list, including up to 60 associated object filters.
  • Select Add filter.
  • Scroll or type to search, then select a filter category.
  • Within the category, scroll or type to search, then select the property or activity to filter by.
  • Select an option for the property or activity, then set your criteria based on the field type:
    • Dropdown select or checkbox: click the dropdown menu and select the checkboxes to the left of the values.
    • Text: click the Add options field and type to enter a text value. If you’re adding multiple options, separate each value with a semicolon (e.g. Boston; Chicago; New York).

Please note: for most text criteria in list filters, the use of a wildcard (*) is not supported. The only case when a wildcard (*) will work is if using the Page views criteria Contact has (not) visited URL that matches regular expression.

• • • Numerical: click the Add values field and type to enter a number value. If you’re adding multiple options, separate each value with a semicolon (e.g. 10; 25; 30). This applies to Number, Score, and Calculation properties. 
    • Date picker: click the datecalendar field, then in the calendar, select a date. 

Please note: date picker properties default to the HubSpot account timezone. 

• For associated object filters, by default, the list includes records when any associated records meet the criteria. To filter based on a primary company association or a association label instead, click the Any associated [object] dropdown menu in the left panel, then:

• • • Select Any [object] to filter based on all associated records of that object type (e.g., the list would include a contact when any of their associated companies meet the criteria).
    • If you're creating a contact-based list, select Primary [object] to filter based on only the primary associated company (e.g., the list would include a contact only if the primary associated company meets the criteria).
    • In the With label section (Professional and Enterprise only), select a label to filter based on only associations that use the selected label (e.g., the list would include a contact only if they have an associated company with that label and that company meets the criteria).

• • To add additional filters within the same category or group, click Add filter. Additional filters within the same filter category or group follow AND logic. A record must meet the all criteria within the group in order to be included in the list.

• • To finish editing a filter group, click the X at the top right of the editor.
  • To add another filter group, click + Add filter group. Between filter groups, OR logic applies. A record must meet the criteria of at least one of the filter groups in order to be included in the list.

• • To remove a piece of criteria from an existing filter group, hover over the property, activity, or value, and click the delete Delete icon. If you're deleting a category that includes multiple filters, in the pop-up box, click Delete branch to confirm.

• • To clone or delete a filter group, on the top right of the group, click the Actions dropdown menu, then select Clone or Delete.
  • To test if an existing record meets the filters, in the left panel, click Test. In the dropdown menu, select a record to test.
• In the upper right, click Save list.

This list will begin processing once you've entered or selected valid criteria. The set of records that appear is a preview of the records that will be added to your list. When the list is saved and fully processed, the exact count of records will be visible under the list's name in the upper left. Once the list has finished processing, you can continue editing your list.

View and edit a list

Once you've created a list, you can edit its details and complete actions, such as cloning, deleting, or using the list in other HubSpot tools. To edit lists, users must have Write permissions for lists.

• In your HubSpot account, navigate to CRM > Lists.
• In the table, click the list you want to view or edit. To view or edit lists that are not currently used by other HubSpot tools, click the Unused lists tab.
• To search for a specific record in your list, use the search bar in the upper right.
• To edit the list's name, click the edit pencil icon next to the current name, then enter a new name. Press enter or click away from the text editor to save your changes. 
• To edit the filters of an active list, in the left panel, click Edit filters, then adjust your filters and criteria, To save your changes, in the top right, click Save changes. 
• In the table, click the headers to sort the records based on their property values. You can also filter contacts by the Added to list date column, which tracks when records were added to the list. 
• To manage the list's notifications, click the Settings tab, then navigate to Notifications in the left sidebar. 
• To manage an active list's exclusions, click the Settings tab, then navigate to Exclusions in the left sidebar. 
• To convert an active list to a static list, click the Settings tab, then navigate to Auto-convert to static in the left sidebar.
• To view more information about the list, including the list ID values, in the upper right, click Details. In the right panel, view the list's name and type, the date it was created and last updated, the change in number of contacts over the last seven days, the user that created the list, the List ID, the ILS list ID, and the HubSpot tools or assets currently using the list.
  • List ID: this ID is used to reference the list in integrations or when using the Lists API.
  • ILD list ID: this is used when using the Exports API.
• To perform more actions with your list, click the Actions dropdown menu, then select an option:

• • Edit columns: select the properties to display for each record in the table.
    • To apply the column configuration to only the selected list, click Save.
    • To apply the column configuration to all your lists of that object, select the Apply to all [contact/company] lists checkbox, then click Save.
  • Export list: download a copy of the list.
  • Assign to team (Enterprise only): assign the list to a team.
  • Clone: clone the list.
  • Convert to static list: convert an active list to a static list. 

• • Delete list: delete the list. You can only delete lists that aren't actively being used elsewhere in HubSpot. Records in the list will not be deleted. If you delete a static list, the list will be permanently deleted. If you delete an active list, the list can be restored within 90 days from the Recently deleted tab.
  • Move to folder: select a list folder to move the list to.

• • Random sample: create a random sample of contacts from a list.
  • Split list (Marketing Hub Enterprise only): create a random split list.
  • Resync list with Salesforce (Professional and Enterprise only): trigger a resync of the list with Salesforce if you're using the Salesforce integration for contacts.
  • Use this list to limit Salesforce Sync (Professional and Enterprise only): specify the list as an inclusion list for contacts that will sync to Salesforce, if you're using the Salesforce integration. Learn more about Salesforce inclusion lists for contacts.

• To use the list in other HubSpot tools, click the Use in dropdown menu, then select an option:

• • Campaigns (Marketing Hub Professional and Enterprise only): associate contact-based static lists with a campaign. Each list can be associated with multiple campaigns.
  • Contacts/Companies/Deals view: view the list's records on the object home page.

• • Custom report builder (Professional and Enterprise only): build a custom report based on your list.

• • Customer journey analytics (Marketing Hub and Sales Hub Enterprise only): create a journey report based on your list.
  • Datasets (Operations Hub Enterprise only): create a dataset based on your list.
  • Workflows (Professional and Enterprise only): create a workflow using the list's membership as an enrollment trigger.

Delete a list

If you have reached your account's list limit, you may want to delete a list without deleting its records. If you would like to delete the records in a list, learn how to bulk delete records. Only users with Write permissions for lists can delete lists.

Please note: if you delete a list, the list can be restored within 90 days from the Recently deleted tab.

• In your HubSpot account, navigate to CRM > Lists.
• To view only lists that haven't been used or updated in the last two months, click the Unused lists tab. You can also continue with your deletion in the Lists library tab.
• To delete a single list, hover over a list and click the More dropdown menu, then select Delete list. 

• To bulk delete lists, select the checkboxes next to the lists you want to delete and click Delete at the top of the table.

• In the dialog box, click Delete.

Learn more about why you may be unable to delete a list.

Restore a deleted list

You can restore a deleted list within 90 days after it has been deleted. If you haven't restored the list within 90 days, the list will be permanently deleted. Lists will be restored with the same ID. 

• In your HubSpot account, navigate to CRM > Lists.
• Click the Recently deleted tab.
• Hover over the list you want to restore and click Restore.

• In the dialog box, click Restore to confirm.

Clone a list

If you already have a list in HubSpot that you want to edit or duplicate, you can do this by cloning your list and making the necessary changes to the newly created list.

• In your HubSpot account, navigate to CRM > Lists.
• Hover over your list, then click the More dropdown menu and select Clone.

• In the popup, change the list's name if needed. 
• Select one of the following options:
  • Clone as an active list: creates a new active list with the same filters.
  • Clone as a static list: creates a new static list with the same filters.
  • Close as a static list (membership only): removes the filters and clones only the list membership. 

• Click Clone list. 
• Make any changes to your list criteria as needed, then click Save list in the upper right.

View a list's activity log

View a list's activity log to track any changes that occur to a list. Actions include:

• When a list was created, edited, deleted, or restored.
• When a list was uses in another tool such as a workflow.
• When a list notification was triggered.
• When a list was converted from active to static.

To view the activity log:

• In your HubSpot account, navigate to CRM > Lists.
• Click the name of a list.
• Click the Activity tab. 
• To filter for a specific event, click the Event dropdown menu and select the event type.
• To filter for an older version of a list, click the Version dropdown menu.
• To filter for a specific user who modified the list, click the Modified by dropdown menu and select the user.