How to export your contacts from a digital business card (free, in CSV)
Most digital business card apps make sharing free, then charge to export the contacts you capture. Here's how export works — and how to keep yours free.
Digital business cards solved a real problem: you share your details with a tap, and the other person needs no app to receive them. But many popular apps quietly put the friction back somewhere else — at export. Sharing is free; getting the contacts you capture back out, in a file you own, often is not.
This guide covers how contact export actually works, the format you want, and how to make sure the people you meet never end up locked inside someone else's app.
What "exporting contacts" actually means
When someone scans your card or fills in your contact form, the app saves that lead for you. Exporting means downloading that list as a file — usually a CSV (comma-separated values), which opens in Excel, Google Sheets, or Apple Numbers and imports straight into a CRM or your phone's address book.
CSV matters because it's portable. A list trapped inside one app's dashboard is only useful while you keep paying for that app. A CSV is yours forever, anywhere.
Why most apps paywall it
Captured contacts are the most valuable thing a card app holds, so they're an obvious upsell. Blinq puts CSV export on its paid Premium tier; others meter it, charge per lead, or bundle it into a pricier plan. The result is the same — the data you generated at an event is held until you upgrade.
We think that's backwards. Your contacts are yours, so on Vyne CSV export is free on every plan, including the free one, with no caps and no per-lead fees. The mechanics are in Contacts & export.
How to export your contacts, step by step
- Open your contacts list in the app's dashboard.
- Find the Export or Download CSV button, usually near the top of the list.
- Save the file, then open it in any spreadsheet or import it into your CRM or phone.
If you're moving off another tool, export your list there first — you may have to upgrade temporarily to unlock it — then import the CSV into your new card. Nothing gets left behind.
What to look for in a card app
- Free, unlimited CSV export — not gated behind a paid tier or a contact cap.
- No contact "enrichment" — apps that enrich often scrape and spam your leads. Skip those.
- A real free plan — so you can capture and export before you ever pay.
- Fair, transparent pricing — you shouldn't pay extra just to download your own data.
The short version
A digital business card is only as good as your ability to keep the contacts it captures. Confirm export is free and in CSV before you commit. If you're comparing options, Vyne keeps export free forever and costs about half of Blinq — see the pricing, or read why we built the Blinq alternative that doesn't paywall your contacts.
Rolling cards out across a company? Read digital business cards for teams. New to the format? Start with do digital business cards work without an app?