How to transfer emails from one account to another

Moving mail between two accounts is really two jobs that most guides lump together. One is copying the mail you already have. The other is getting new mail to show up in the second account. They use different tools, and picking the wrong one is how people end up forwarding for months while their old mail stays put.

How do you transfer emails from one account to another?

To transfer emails from one account to another, export the old mailbox as a file (MBOX, EML or PST) and import it into the new account, or add both accounts to a desktop app like Outlook or Apple Mail and copy the folders across. Forwarding only moves new mail that arrives after you turn it on.

Which method fits your situation?

Most people moving to a new address need the first row and the third row together. Our guide on switching email providers puts them in order with the logins and contacts.

Method 1: Export a file and import it

This is the cleanest way to move a whole mailbox, and it works between almost any two providers. The old provider gives you a file, the new one reads it.

The three formats you will meet:

• MBOX. One file holding a whole folder of messages. Google Takeout produces it for Gmail, and Mail on a Mac makes .mbox packages when you export.
• EML. One file per message, the format many mail apps use when you save a single email.
• PST. Outlook's data file. Desktop Outlook on Windows exports to it, including for Outlook.com accounts.

How to get the file from the big four:

1. Gmail: Google Takeout with only Mail selected. Google says the export can take "from a few minutes to a few days," per its download your data page. Full steps are in our Gmail switching guide.
2. Outlook.com: Microsoft's export page says you need a desktop version of Outlook, and that the .pst includes "a copy of your email, contacts, and calendar." Our Outlook export guide covers each version.
3. iCloud Mail: Export Mailbox in Mail on a Mac, which saves .mbox packages. Other routes are in our iCloud export guide.
4. Yahoo Mail: Yahoo has no download button. You sync the account into a desktop app using Yahoo's export server, export.imap.mail.yahoo.com on port 993, per Yahoo's help page, then export from the app. Our Yahoo download guide has the details.

Then open the new account's import setting and give it the file. Check what it accepts first. An importer that takes the .zip as it arrives saves you from unpacking a large archive by hand.

Importing a PST into another Outlook account

If both accounts live in Outlook, Microsoft lists "you want to move Outlook items from one email account to another email account" as one of the reasons for its .pst import. Export the old account to a .pst, then:

New Outlook for Windows

1. Select Settings, Data files, then Import.
2. Under Outlook Data File (.pst), select Get started, then Select file, and open the .pst.
3. Under Folders to import from, pick the folder. Leave Include subfolders checked to bring everything under it.
4. Choose how to handle duplicates, then select Next.
5. Under Choose a destination folder, pick the other account from the Account list. Select New folder if you want the transferred mail kept apart.
6. Select Import.

Classic Outlook

1. Select File, Open & Export, then Import/Export.
2. Choose Import from another program or file, then Outlook Data File (.pst).
3. Browse to the file, choose how to handle duplicates, and continue.
4. Pick the destination mailbox, or select Import items into the current folder after clicking the folder you want.
5. Select Finish. When the progress box disappears, the import is done.

The separate destination folder is worth the extra click. If something goes wrong, you can delete one folder and start over without untangling it from mail that was already there.

Method 2: Copy between accounts in Apple Mail

Mail on a Mac can hold both accounts and move folders between them. Apple's import and export page gives the pieces:

1. Add both accounts to Mail.
2. In the old account, select one or more mailboxes and choose Mailbox, then Export Mailbox. Mail saves them as .mbox packages.
3. Choose File, then Import Mailboxes, select Apple Mail, and pick the exported folder. If the .mbox came from somewhere else, such as Google Takeout, select Files in mbox format instead.
4. The messages appear in a new mailbox called Import in the sidebar. Apple's page says you "can drag folders and messages from the Import mailbox to new or existing mailboxes." Drag them into a mailbox in the new account.
5. Wait for the new account to finish syncing, then delete the Import mailbox.

Doing it through an export first gives you a backup file on disk before anything moves, which is a better place to be than halfway through a drag when the connection drops.

Method 3: Forward new mail to the other account

Forwarding sends a copy of each new message to the second account as it arrives. It does nothing for the mail you already have, so it's the companion to methods 1 and 2, not a replacement.

• Gmail: Settings, Forwarding and POP/IMAP, add the address, click the verification link, then turn it on. Google forwards "all new messages to the account, except for spam," per its forwarding page. Our Gmail forwarding guide has the full walkthrough.
• Outlook.com and new Outlook: Settings, Mail, Forwarding, toggle Enable forwarding, enter the address, and select Save. Tick Keep a copy of forwarded messages to leave one in the old inbox, per Microsoft's forwarding page.
• Yahoo Mail: Yahoo's forwarding page says to "upgrade to Yahoo Mail Plus to use the email forwarding feature," and that it isn't available everywhere.

Keep a copy in the old inbox while you are still moving. It tells you who is still writing to the old address.

Method 4: Gmail's tools for pulling mail in (changed in 2026)

For years the standard advice was Gmail's Check mail from other accounts setting, which fetches mail from another account over POP. Google is removing it. Its help page on the change says that "after the first quarter of 2026, this feature no longer supports new users," and that existing users can keep using it until January 2027. Mail already fetched stays in Gmail.

If you set it up before the cutoff, Google's setup page still describes it: the other account needs POP access, Gmail imports messages but "not any folders or labels," and you can add up to 5 addresses. On a computer you can no longer add an Outlook account at all. Google says to use the Gmail app for that.

What Google still offers on the web is Import mail and contacts, a one-time copy:

1. In Gmail on a computer, open Settings, then See all settings.
2. Open the Accounts and import tab.
3. Click Import mail and contacts and follow the steps.
4. Click Start import.

Google notes that after an import, Gmail forwards messages sent to your other account for 30 days. After that, set up forwarding in the old account, which is exactly what Google's change page recommends.

Moving between two Gmail accounts? The same options apply: Takeout from the first account and import the file elsewhere, Import mail and contacts in the second account, or forwarding for new mail.

How to check the transfer worked

Don't trust a progress bar. Before you delete anything from the old account:

1. Compare counts. Note how many messages the biggest folders hold in the old account, then look at the same folders in the new one. If the numbers are far apart, a folder probably didn't come across.
2. Search for three messages. One very old, one recent, one with an attachment. Open the attachment.
3. Check the dates. Imported mail should show the original sent date, not the import date. If everything shows today, the importer didn't read the dates.
4. Check sent mail. Sent is the folder people forget to include in an export.

If you are syncing through a desktop app, also check that it downloaded whole messages. Yahoo's help page warns that some apps only download a preview until a message is opened, and that answering no to "keep mail on the server" deletes the mail from your Yahoo account as it downloads.

Frequently asked questions

Can I transfer emails from one account to another for free? Yes. Every route here uses the providers' own tools: Takeout, Outlook's export and import, Apple Mail, forwarding, and Gmail's importer. For Outlook.com, Microsoft says classic Outlook for Windows can export in Reduced Functionality Mode without a subscription. The exception is forwarding from Yahoo, which Yahoo ties to Mail Plus.

Does forwarding transfer my old emails? No. Forwarding only sends messages that arrive after you turn it on. Use an export and import, or a desktop app, for the old ones.

Will the old account still have the emails after I transfer them? Yes. Exporting, importing and copying make a copy. Nothing leaves the old account unless you delete it, or answer no to "keep mail on the server" in a POP setup.

How do I transfer contacts too? Export them separately, usually as a CSV or vCard file. In Google Contacts, select the contacts, click More actions, then Export, per Google's contacts export page. Outlook.com's .pst export already includes contacts.

Does Gmail still let me fetch mail from another account? Not for new setups. Google stopped offering Check mail from other accounts to new users after the first quarter of 2026, and existing users keep it until January 2027. A one-time import is still available.

Transferring into Secria Mail

If the account you are moving into is Secria Mail, open Settings, Import & export, and the Bring mail in tab. It accepts MBOX, EML, PST and .zip export files, with guided imports for Gmail (drop the Takeout .zip in as it arrives), Outlook, Thunderbird and Apple Mail. Mail is read and encrypted in your browser before upload, keeps its original dates, and import is included on every plan, including free. Once it's in, your mailbox is protected with ML-KEM-1024 and X25519 post-quantum encryption.

You can create a free account with just a name, the address you want and a password, then come back to method 1 with your export file in hand.