Written by Jennifer Walsh. Reviewed for technical accuracy by Shubham Dixit, Independent Expert in Email Forensics and Data File Conversion.
Shubham is an independent external reviewer and not an employee of PCDOTS.
Quick answer. Gmail and Office 365 are both live IMAP accounts, so exporting Gmail emails to Office 365 is really a mailbox migration, mail moves account to account with no files in between. Microsoft’s own IMAP migration in the admin center does it free for admins, individuals can connect both accounts in Outlook, or a tool migrates in bulk.
On this page
Two live accounts, one bridge
Here is the thing that makes this easier than it looks. Gmail and Office 365 are both live cloud mailboxes, and both speak IMAP, the standard protocol email clients use to read a mailbox on a server. That means the mail can move straight from one account to the other, no files, no exports sitting on your disk in between. So exporting Gmail emails to Office 365 is really a migration, you point Office 365 at Gmail over IMAP and it pulls the mail across. There are two free ways to do that, one built for admins moving a whole team, one for a single person, and a tool for when you want it in bulk without the setup.
Both are live IMAP mailboxes, so the mail copies straight across.
“People reach for a converter here out of habit, but two live IMAP mailboxes do not need a file passed between them, the server-to-server copy is the clean way. Microsoft’s own IMAP migration handles a team, and for a single account you can literally add both to Outlook and drag the mail across. The one thing to sort out first is access, Gmail needs IMAP on and an app password because of two-step verification, and your Office 365 mailboxes need to exist before you start. A dedicated tool earns its place when you are moving many accounts and would rather skip the CSV and batch setup, or you want the mail as a PST as well. Whatever you use, do a small test batch and confirm it before the full run.” Shubham Dixit, Email Migration reviewer (draft, pending approval)
Get Gmail ready first
One short prep step saves a lot of grief, whichever route you pick. In Gmail, make sure IMAP is turned on under Settings, See all settings, Forwarding and POP/IMAP. If the account uses two-step verification, and it should, a normal password will not connect, so create an app password in your Google account security settings and use that. On the Microsoft side, the Office 365 mailboxes need to exist before you migrate, so set up the users and licenses first. With IMAP on and an app password in hand, any of the methods below will connect cleanly.
The free way for admins, IMAP migration
If you are moving a team and have Microsoft 365 admin access, Microsoft’s own migration is free and built in. In the Exchange admin center, go to Migration, then Add migration batch, choose Migrate to Exchange Online, and pick IMAP migration. You give it a CSV listing each user, their app password and the server imap.gmail.com, and it copies the mail across in a batch you can watch. One honest limit, IMAP migration moves email only, not calendars or contacts. If you need those too, choose the Google Workspace (Gmail) migration batch type instead, which connects through Google with OAuth and brings mail, calendar and contacts together.
Microsoft’s built-in IMAP migration pulls the mail from Gmail into 365.
The free way for one person, Outlook
Moving just your own account and have no admin center to poke at? Desktop Outlook does it for free. Add both accounts to Outlook, your Gmail as an IMAP account and your Office 365 account, so both appear in the folder list. Then select the messages or folders in Gmail and drag or copy them into the Office 365 mailbox. Outlook uploads them to 365 as you go. It is slower than the admin batch for big mailboxes, but it needs no CSV, no admin rights, and you can see exactly what is moving.
The bulk way, a migration tool
When you are moving many accounts, or you want the move without wrangling a CSV and app-password batch, a tool handles it directly. The PCDOTS Gmail Converter connects to a Gmail account over IMAP and exports it straight to Office 365, keeping folders and labels, with filters to move only part of a mailbox. It can also save the mail as a PST if you would rather import it into 365 that way. It runs on Windows with a free trial for the first ten items per folder, so you can confirm the connection before committing. For a single small mailbox the free routes above are plenty, this is for bulk and convenience.
The tool route, Gmail connected and pushed straight into Office 365.
Here are the tool steps with the screens.
Step 1. Install and run the software on Windows, then add your Gmail account.
Step 2. Review the loaded mail and select what to migrate.
Step 3. Open Export and choose Office 365.
Step 4. Enter the Office 365 account details and start.
Related reading, our guides to export Gmail to Apple Mail and import Google Takeout to a new account. If you take the PST route, the free PST viewer lets you confirm the file before importing it.
The methods compared
All three land your Gmail mail in Office 365, so pick by who you are moving.
| Method | Best for | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| IMAP migration | Admins, a whole team | Free, mail only |
| Both accounts in Outlook | One person, no admin | Free, drag and drop |
| Migration tool | Many accounts, bulk | Windows, filters, or to PST |
Frequently asked questions
What is the free way to export Gmail emails to Office 365?
Use Microsoft’s built-in IMAP migration in the Exchange admin center, or add both accounts to Outlook and drag the Gmail mail into your Office 365 mailbox.
Do I need an app password for Gmail?
Yes, if the Gmail account uses two-step verification. Create an app password in your Google security settings and use it in place of the normal password.
Does IMAP migration move my calendar and contacts?
No, IMAP migration moves email only. For calendar and contacts too, use the Google Workspace (Gmail) migration batch type instead.
Can I migrate without admin access?
Yes. Add both accounts to Outlook and move the mail yourself, or use a migration tool that connects to the accounts directly.
Will my Gmail be deleted after migrating?
No. These methods copy the mail up to Office 365, your Gmail stays exactly as it is until you choose to close it.
How long does it take?
Small mailboxes are quick, but large ones of several gigabytes can take hours, so start early and let the batch run.
Nothing leaves Gmail until you say so
If the word migration makes you nervous, it should not here. Every method on this page copies your mail up into Office 365, it does not move it out of Gmail, so your Google mailbox sits untouched the whole time. That means you can run a small test batch, open Office 365, check it looks right, and only then do the rest, with your original mail as a safety net at every step. Take the free IMAP migration for a team or Outlook for yourself, or a tool if you are moving many accounts, and you can do the whole thing knowing nothing is lost along the way.
