Reviewed by Shubham Dixit, Independent Expert in Email Forensics and Data File Conversion. Shubham is an external reviewer and not a PCDOTS employee.
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Switching from Thunderbird to GNOME Evolution and want your old mail to come along? Here is the bit other guides bury behind a paywall. For almost everyone, this costs nothing. Thunderbird and Evolution both understand the same MBOX file format, so moving your mail is just an export from one and an import into the other. No paid software required.
Summary To import emails from Thunderbird to Evolution, export your Thunderbird folders to MBOX with the free ImportExportTools NG add on, then use Evolution’s built in Import option to bring those MBOX files in. Both clients use MBOX natively, so the move is free. A converter only helps if your Thunderbird profile is corrupted.
Good news: this one is free
Many migration tasks need paid tools because the two sides speak different formats. This is not one of them. Both Thunderbird and GNOME Evolution store and read mail in the MBOX format, and both are free clients that usually sit on the same Linux machine.
So the entire job is two steps. Get your Thunderbird mail out as MBOX files, then import those files into Evolution. The only time you would reach for anything paid is if Thunderbird itself is broken and will not open, which we cover at the end. For a working Thunderbird, keep going, it is free from here.
Step 1: Export your Thunderbird mail to MBOX
Thunderbird does not export MBOX out of the box, but its free, widely used add on does. Install ImportExportTools NG first.
- In Thunderbird, open the menu, choose Add-ons and Themes and search for ImportExportTools NG. Install it and restart Thunderbird.
- Right click the folder you want to move, or Local Folders for everything.
- Choose ImportExportTools NG, then Export folder (or Export all folders).
- Pick a destination directory. The add on writes one MBOX file per folder there.
When it finishes you have a folder of MBOX files, one per Thunderbird folder, ready for Evolution.
Step 2: Import the MBOX into Evolution
Evolution reads MBOX natively, so this part uses its own built in importer, no add on needed.
- Open Evolution and go to File, then Import.
- In the import assistant, choose Import a single file.
- Browse to one of your exported MBOX files. Evolution detects the MBOX type automatically.
- Choose the destination folder in Evolution and finish. Repeat for each MBOX file you exported.
Evolution pulls the messages in with their dates, attachments and read status intact. If you exported many folders, importing them one file at a time keeps the structure tidy on the Evolution side.
Check the import worked
Before you uninstall Thunderbird, do a quick sanity check in Evolution.
- Compare the message count of a folder in Evolution against the same folder in Thunderbird.
- Open a couple of older messages and confirm their original dates carried over.
- Open one email with an attachment and make sure the file is still there.
- Keep your exported MBOX files as a backup until you are sure everything landed.
“When both clients share a format, do not pay for a converter, the native export and import is the cleaner path. I only reach for a recovery tool when the source profile is damaged and the application refuses to open it. That is a different problem from migration, and it is the one case where dedicated software actually earns its place here.”
Shubham Dixit · Independent Expert, Email Forensics and Data File Conversion
If Thunderbird will not open at all
Here is the one situation where the free route fails. If Thunderbird is corrupted, crashing or refusing to open because the profile is damaged, you cannot run the export add on, so there is nothing to hand Evolution.
In that case you need a tool that reads the Thunderbird profile files directly, recovers the mail and writes clean MBOX you can then import into Evolution. The PCDOTS Thunderbird Converter does this, reading Thunderbird data even from a broken profile and exporting healthy MBOX. It runs on Windows, so you would point it at a copy of the Thunderbird profile folder from the affected machine.
To be clear, this is only for a broken Thunderbird. If your Thunderbird opens normally, the free export and import above is the right path and there is no reason to pay for anything.
People also ask
Can Evolution import Thunderbird email directly?
Not by pointing it at Thunderbird, but yes through MBOX. Export your Thunderbird folders to MBOX with ImportExportTools NG, then use Evolution’s File, Import option to bring those MBOX files in. Both clients use MBOX, so no conversion is needed.
Is moving Thunderbird to Evolution free?
Yes, for a working Thunderbird. The ImportExportTools NG add on is free and Evolution’s importer is built in, so the whole migration costs nothing. Paid software only matters if your Thunderbird profile is corrupted and will not open.
How do I export all my Thunderbird folders at once?
In ImportExportTools NG, right click Local Folders and choose Export all folders. The add on writes a separate MBOX file for every folder into the directory you select, ready to import into Evolution.
Will my folder structure and attachments survive?
Yes. MBOX carries the full messages, including attachments, dates and read status. Exporting one MBOX per folder and importing them into matching Evolution folders preserves your structure.
What if Thunderbird is corrupted and will not open?
Then you cannot run the export add on, so you need a tool that reads the Thunderbird profile directly and recovers the mail into clean MBOX. That is the one case where a dedicated converter is worth using instead of the free route.
That is the whole job
Most people land on a page like this expecting to buy something, and for a healthy Thunderbird you simply do not need to. Export to MBOX with a free add on, import into Evolution with its built in tool, check the counts and keep your MBOX files as a backup. The only time to bring in paid software is a Thunderbird that will not open, and even then it is just to rescue the mail into MBOX so Evolution can take it.
Keep those exported MBOX files somewhere safe, and you have both a finished migration and a free backup of your old mail in one move.
