How to transfer Proton Mail to Gmail: mail and contacts

There is no button in Gmail that pulls in a Proton Mail account. The move still works, it just goes through your computer: export your mail as files, copy them into Gmail with a desktop email client, set up forwarding for new mail, and import your contacts. Plan an afternoon for a mailbox of a few years.

How do you transfer Proton Mail to Gmail?

Export your mailbox with Proton's free Mail Export Tool, which saves every message as an EML file. Add your Gmail account to Thunderbird, then import the EML files into a Gmail folder with the ImportExportTools NG add-on; Thunderbird uploads them to Gmail. On a paid Proton plan you can instead connect both accounts through Proton Mail Bridge and copy folders across.

Then export your Proton contacts as a .vcf file and import it in Google Contacts.

Why Gmail's import buttons do not work here

Gmail has two built-in ways to bring in mail from elsewhere, and neither fits Proton.

Import mail and contacts. Google's page on adding another email account describes this option on the Accounts and import tab. It signs in to your old account and copies the mail over. It cannot upload files from your computer, and Google's help pages describe no way to upload EML files to Gmail. Proton, for its part, explains on its why you need Bridge page that its stored mail is encrypted in a way normal IMAP cannot read, so "you can't configure your client to connect directly with Proton Mail."

Check mail from other accounts. This one fetched mail over POP. Google's notice on Gmailify and POP changes says the feature "no longer supports new users" after the first quarter of 2026, and existing users can keep it until January 2027. Google now points people to automatic forwarding from the old provider instead, which is covered below.

So the route that works is files on your computer plus an email client that talks to Gmail.

Pick your route

Proton says the Export Tool "is available for everyone," while Bridge "is available to anyone with a paid Proton Mail plan," per its import and export guide. Forwarding is also on paid plans only.

Before you start: check Gmail's space

A free Google Account has up to 15 GB of storage, shared between Gmail, Drive and Photos. Compare that with the storage your Proton account shows in its settings. If the mailbox is bigger than the space left, either free up room in Google first or move only the folders you need.

Step 1: export your Proton mail as EML files

Our full walkthrough of the Proton Mail Export Tool covers every prompt. The short version, from Proton's page:

1. Download the Export Tool for Windows 10, macOS (10.15 on Intel, 11.0 on Apple Silicon) or Ubuntu 20.04 LTS, and extract the archive.
2. Double-click proton-mail-export-cli. On Linux, run ./proton-mail-export-cli from a terminal in that folder.
3. Type your Proton username and password at the prompts, plus your two-factor code if you use one.
4. Type B for backup, then yes to save into the default folder, or no to type a different path.
5. Wait for Export finished.

Proton says this "can take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours on larger inboxes," and the tool cannot pause and resume. Keep the computer awake and plugged in. You end up with one EML file per message plus JSON metadata files. Only the EML files go to Gmail.

Step 2: add Gmail to Thunderbird

Thunderbird is free, runs on Windows, macOS and Linux, and is the client Proton's own guides use for this kind of import.

1. Install Thunderbird and open its account setup.
2. Enter your Gmail address and follow the sign-in. Google's page on adding Gmail to another email client says to look for the option to "Sign in with Google." Since January 2025, IMAP is always turned on in Gmail, so there is nothing to switch on first.
3. Wait for the folder list to load. Google says that when you add Gmail to a client, "your messages and labels are synced with the email client." That sync is what carries your imported mail up to Gmail.

Step 3: import the EML files into a Gmail folder

Proton's MBOX and EML guide describes two ways to bring EML files into a Thunderbird folder. Use them on a folder inside your Gmail account.

For a few messages: open the export folder on your computer next to Thunderbird, select the EML files and drag them onto a folder in your Gmail account.

For a whole mailbox:

1. In Thunderbird, open Menu, then Add-ons and Themes, and install ImportExportTools NG.
2. Create a folder in your Gmail account, for example "Proton archive". In Gmail it appears as a label.
3. Right-click that folder and choose ImportExportTools NG, then Import EML Messages, then All EML Messages From A Directory And Subdirectories.
4. Select the folder the Export Tool created.
5. Watch the progress in the bottom left corner and leave Thunderbird open until it finishes.

Proton's guide adds two tips for big imports that apply here too. Raise Thunderbird's timeout: Settings, General, Config Editor, search for mailnews.tcptimeout and set it to a large number such as 1000. And work in batches, "such as 100 to 500 per batch," with fewer per batch if your messages are large. Over IMAP, messages usually upload one at a time, so a large mailbox takes a while.

The paid-plan route: Bridge plus Thunderbird

With a paid Proton plan, you can skip the files and copy straight from one account to the other.

1. Install Proton Mail Bridge, sign in, and use its setup wizard to add your Proton account to Thunderbird. Bridge also offers setup for Outlook and Apple Mail.
2. Add your Gmail account to Thunderbird as in step 2.
3. Wait for the Proton account to finish syncing. Proton says the progress bar disappears when it is done.
4. Open a Proton folder, select all with Ctrl+A (Cmd+A on a Mac), right-click and choose Copy To, then pick a folder in your Gmail account.
5. Repeat for each folder you want, in the batch sizes above. Keep Thunderbird and Bridge running until the copy completes.

This route keeps your folders easy to follow, because you copy them one by one into matching Gmail labels.

Step 4: forward new Proton mail to Gmail

Old mail is half the job. Mail sent to your Proton address after the move needs somewhere to go. Proton's forwarding page says forwarding is available with Proton Mail Plus, Proton Unlimited and all other paid Proton Mail plans.

1. Sign in to Proton and open Settings, then All settings.
2. Choose Forward and auto-reply and click Add forwarding rule.
3. Enter your Gmail address in Forward to. If you have several Proton addresses, pick one under Forward from.
4. Click Next, then Send confirmation email.
5. In Gmail, open Proton's message and click Accept forwarding.

Proton notes that you can pause or delete the rule later from the same screen.

On a free Proton plan, update your address on the accounts that matter and send your contacts a short note. Our guide to switching email providers has a checklist for that.

Step 5: move your contacts

Contacts are not in the mail export. From Proton's Contacts help page:

1. Open Contacts in Proton on the web.
2. Tick the box that selects all contacts.
3. Click … and choose Export selection as .VCF. Proton decrypts them in your browser and saves one .vcf file.

Then, from Google's contacts import page:

1. Go to Google Contacts on your computer.
2. On the left, click Import, then Select file.
3. Choose the .vcf file and click Import.

Google says that if a detail seems missing after the import, check the notes section of that contact.

Check the result before you close anything

Open Gmail on the web and search the new label for three messages: your oldest, a recent one and one with an attachment. Compare the count in the label with the number of EML files you imported. Spot-check a few contacts. Only when it all looks right should you think about canceling your Proton subscription or deleting the account, and keep the EML export folder on an external drive either way.

Frequently asked questions

Can Gmail import Proton Mail directly? No. Gmail's "Import mail and contacts" signs in to your old account, and Proton says email clients cannot connect directly to Proton Mail without Bridge. You move the mail through your computer instead.

Can I upload EML files to Gmail? Google's help pages describe no EML upload. Put the files into a Gmail folder through an email client such as Thunderbird, which syncs them up over IMAP.

Do I need a paid Proton plan to move to Gmail? Not for your old mail or contacts. The Export Tool and contact export are available to everyone. Bridge and automatic forwarding need a paid plan.

Can I use Gmail's "Check mail from other accounts" for Proton? No. It needs POP, and Google says it stopped supporting new users after the first quarter of 2026. Existing users can use it until January 2027.

Will my Proton folders come across? With the Bridge route, yes, as far as you copy them: each Proton folder goes into a Gmail folder of your choosing, which shows as a label. With the Export Tool route, create a Gmail folder for the import and sort messages afterwards with Gmail's search and labels.

Keeping your mail encrypted instead

If you are leaving Proton but would rather your mail stays encrypted, Secria Mail has a guided Import from Proton under Settings, then Import & export, then Bring mail in, where you drop in the same EML files from Proton's Export Tool. Mail is read and encrypted in your browser before upload, original dates are kept, and import works on every plan, free included. Contacts come in from the same .vcf file. The Proton Mail alternative page has the comparison, and signing up asks for a name, an address and a password.

Whichever inbox you land in, keep the export folder until you have checked every label you care about.