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. For most people, moving Gmail to Apple Mail is not really an export. Add your Gmail account to Apple Mail over IMAP and every message appears, kept in sync. If you want a standalone offline copy instead, download your mail as an MBOX from Google Takeout and import that into Apple Mail. A tool helps only in a few awkward cases.
On this page
The easy way, add your Gmail account
Here is the part most guides skip. Apple Mail talks to Gmail directly, so in the common case you do not export anything at all. You simply add the account and your whole mailbox shows up.
In Apple Mail on your Mac, open Mail, then Add Account, choose Google, and sign in to your Gmail. Apple Mail connects over IMAP, and within a minute your inbox, sent mail, labels and folders all appear inside Apple Mail, complete with attachments. Nothing is copied out of Gmail and nothing is at risk, the mail is simply shown in a second app. For someone who has just moved to a Mac and wants their Gmail there, this is the whole job.
No export needed. Adding the account is the whole job for most people.
“People reach for a converter far too quickly here. Gmail and Apple Mail both speak IMAP, so the mail is one sign in away, and adding the account is not a copy that can go wrong, it is just a second window onto the same mailbox. The only reason to actually export is when you want a copy that survives independently of the Google account, and for that a Takeout MBOX imported into Apple Mail is the clean answer. The one thing to watch is that Takeout hands you a single very large file per label, which the Mail import can chew on slowly.” Shubham Dixit, Email Migration reviewer (draft, pending approval)
Synced or a standalone copy
Before you pick a method, decide which of two things you actually want, because they are not the same.
Adding the account, above, gives you a synced view. Apple Mail and Gmail stay in step, so a message you delete or file in one shows the change in the other, because it is one mailbox seen from two apps. If instead you want a standalone copy that sits in Apple Mail and does not change when you touch Gmail later, or that you can keep after closing the Gmail account, then you need a real export, and that is what Google Takeout gives you. Most people want the first. Reach for the second only when independence from Gmail is the point.
The offline copy, through Google Takeout
Google’s own Takeout service downloads your Gmail as MBOX files, which Apple Mail can then import. It is free and needs no extra software.
Export from Takeout. Sign in to Google Takeout, deselect everything except Mail, choose your options and create the export. Google prepares the download and emails you a link when it is ready, which can take a while for a large mailbox.
Import into Apple Mail. In Apple Mail choose File, then Import Mailboxes, pick Files in mbox format, and point it at the MBOX you downloaded. The mail lands in an On My Mac mailbox, a local copy independent of Gmail.
The export route, a standalone copy that does not depend on Gmail.
One honest caveat. Takeout gives you one large MBOX per label, and Apple Mail can be slow, or occasionally stubborn, importing a very large single file. If yours is huge, splitting it into smaller MBOX files before importing makes the process far smoother.
When a tool actually helps
Be clear about when a paid tool earns its place here, because for a Mac user it usually does not, the two free routes above cover it. A converter is worth considering in a narrow set of cases, when you are working from a Windows machine rather than the Mac, when you want Gmail pulled into tidy per folder MBOX files ready for a clean Apple Mail import without wrestling Takeout’s single giant file, or when you are moving many accounts and want it done in bulk. The PCDOTS Gmail Converter connects to a Gmail account and exports it for that kind of job. Worth noting, it runs on Windows, so if you are already sitting at your Mac the account method above is simpler and free. There is a free demo to test it on your own mailbox first.
The tool route, for the narrow Windows or bulk cases.
Here are the steps with the screens.
Step 1. Install and run the tool on Windows, then open the menu.
Step 2. Choose Email Accounts, add your Gmail account and sign in.
Step 3. Open the Export menu and pick your target, an MBOX file or an IMAP account.
Step 4. Enter the destination details and run the export.
For the file side of the offline route, our guide to import MBOX to Apple Mail goes deeper, and you can also save Gmail emails to the desktop or import a Google Takeout to a new account.
The methods compared
Match the route to whether you want a live view or a copy you keep.
| Method | Best for | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Add the Gmail account | Most people, free | Synced view, nothing to export |
| Google Takeout MBOX | A standalone offline copy, free | Large single file can import slowly |
| Gmail Converter tool | Windows side, MBOX or bulk | Windows only, not needed on a Mac |
Frequently asked questions
How do I get my Gmail into Apple Mail?
Open Apple Mail, choose Add Account, pick Google and sign in. Apple Mail connects to Gmail over IMAP and your whole mailbox appears, kept in sync. For most people that is all you need.
Do I need to export anything?
Usually no. Adding the account shows your Gmail in Apple Mail without exporting. You only export if you want a standalone copy that does not depend on the Gmail account.
How do I make an offline copy in Apple Mail?
Download your mail as MBOX from Google Takeout, then in Apple Mail choose File, Import Mailboxes, Files in mbox format, and select the file. It lands in a local On My Mac mailbox.
Why is my Takeout import so slow?
Takeout gives one large MBOX per label, and Apple Mail can be slow importing a very large single file. Splitting it into smaller MBOX files first makes the import quicker and more reliable.
Do I need a paid tool for this?
On a Mac, generally no, the free account and Takeout routes cover it. A tool mainly helps if you are working from Windows, want tidy per folder MBOX files, or are moving many accounts at once.
Will my attachments and folders come across?
Yes. The IMAP account brings your labels, folders and attachments as they are, and a Takeout MBOX import preserves the messages with their attachments too.
Most of the time, just add the account
Strip this back to what it really is. If you want your Gmail in Apple Mail, adding the account over IMAP does it in a minute, free, with your mail kept in sync and nothing exported. Only when you specifically want a copy that lives on your Mac independently of Gmail do you need Google Takeout and an import, and only in a few Windows or bulk situations does a tool come into it. The same account idea works on an iPhone or iPad too, add the Google account under Mail and your Gmail follows you onto every Apple device. Start with the account, and reach further only if your situation truly calls for it.
