List Management supports two types of contact lists: dynamic lists and static lists. Both live in your Directory and can be used to send email and SMS campaigns. The difference is how each list's membership changes over time.
Who Has Access
- Enterprise and Grow customers with List Management
- Owner or Administrator role required to create lists.
The Difference at a Glance
| Dynamic List | Static List | |
|---|---|---|
| How membership is set | By saved filter rules (for example, Department = Marketing AND Country = Canada) | By the specific contacts you add via CSV upload. |
| When membership changes | Automatically, whenever Directory data changes and contacts start or stop matching the filters | N/A |
| Effect of an integration sync | New hires who match the rules are added; contacts who no longer match are removed | New hires are not added. |
| Best for | Ongoing audiences that should stay current | Fixed, hand-picked, or point-in-time audiences |
When to Use a Dynamic List
Choose a dynamic list when the audience is defined by who someone is in your HR data, and you always want the latest people included.
- Department or location newsletters: "All Engineering" or "Toronto Office" should automatically include new hires and drop people who move teams.
- Role-based announcements: "All People Managers" should update as promotions happen.
- Recurring sends: Weekly or monthly campaigns where you never want to rebuild the audience manually.
When to Use a Static List
Choose a static list when the audience is a specific group of people that doesn't map neatly to a field in your data, or when you need the audience to stay exactly as it was.
- Event attendees or registrants: People who signed up for a town hall, training, or webinar.
- Project or committee groups: A cross-functional working group, ERG members, or a pilot group.
- Point-in-time snapshots: Everyone who received a survey, so follow-up reminders go to the same people even if your HR data changes.
- Audiences without a filterable field: Groups you would previously have handled by adding a custom column to a CSV just to filter on it.
Quick Decision Guide
- Should new people join this list automatically? Use a dynamic list.
- Do I need the list to stay the same until I change it? Use a static list.
- Can I describe the audience with filter rules? If yes, a dynamic list is usually easier to maintain. If no, use a static list.
Can I Convert One Type to the Other?
You can't change a list's type after it's created. To switch, create a new list of the type you need and update any Team assignments.
How to Tell Which Type a List Is
Click Directory at the top of your dashboard, then click Lists. A column with the list Type will tell you whether a list is Dynamic or Static.
Naming Tip
Include the list type in your list name so senders know what to expect. For example:
Employees Engineering NA-EN - StaticContactMonkey_Employees_TownHall-Attendees_Global_Static_2026-11-04
See Naming Conventions for Emails, Templates, and Contact Lists for the full framework.