How to Export Thunderbird Emails to Outlook using Best Methods

Summary: Nowadays, emailing is the most frequently used method by professionals to communicate in today’s internet world. Mozilla Thunderbird, Outlook, and Gmail are a few of the most popular emailing solutions within this process. Thunderbird offers many features, including message management, junk filtering, open-source, industry standards, support, cross-platform compatibility, etc. Although Mozilla Thunderbird provides far too many capabilities, people want to export Thunderbird to Outlook for work-related reasons or because they find its features more appealing. Migrating your emails from Thunderbird to Outlook might seem daunting, but don’t worry! In this blog, we’ll explain the 03 best methods to export Thunderbird mailbox emails to Outlook, ensuring a seamless transition.

A Brief Introduction to Thunderbird and Outlook

Both Thunderbird and Outlook are widely-used email clients, and each of them has its unique characteristics. Thunderbird, developed by Mozilla, is an open-source, cross-platform email client renowned for its flexibility. It not only manages emails but also handles contacts, calendars, and news feeds. Users can customize their experience with various add-ons and enjoy a customizable interface. Thunderbird is a free email manning application available for Windows, macOS, and Linux, making it suitable for diverse user needs.

In contrast, Outlook, created by Microsoft, is a comprehensive email client bundled with productivity features like emails, calendars, tasks, and contacts. It excels in integrating Microsoft Office applications and services, especially in corporate settings, but typically requires a subscription fee. Outlook offers features to manage the bulk number of emails and attachments files in the mailbox and will enable you to export them into different saving formats (PST, CSV, EML MSG, PDF), which other email clients support.

Why Need to Export Thunderbird Emails to Outlook?

Exporting Thunderbird emails to Outlook may be necessary for several reasons:-

• If you switch from Thunderbird to Outlook as your primary email client, you must transfer your existing emails, contacts, and other data to ensure you can access them in Outlook.
• Outlook offers a wide range of features for email management, calendaring, task management, and integration, and due to these features, users might want to migrate to Outlook.
• Migrating emails from Thunderbird to Outlook is also helpful because Outlook is a widely used email client with regular updates and support from Microsoft.
• It may be possible that users prefer the user interface, functionality, or aesthetics of Outlook over Thunderbird.

03 Best Methods to Export Thunderbird to Microsoft Outlook

There are 03 ways to transfer or migrate email and attachments from Mozilla Thunderbird to MS Outlook. Follow the steps of these solutions correctly and export your Thunderbird email messages into Outlook.

Method 1: Transfer Thunderbird Mailbox to Outlook Using Gmail IMAP-feature

In this process, we will use the three popular email clients,i.e., Thunderbird, Outlook, and Gmail to migrate emails from Thunderbird to Outlook.

Step 01: Enable IMAP Access in Gmail

1. Login to your Gmail account and click the Setting icon>>See All Settings.
2. Go to the Forwarding and POP/IMAP and click the Enable IMAP option under the IMAP Access section.
3. Click the Save Changes button.

Step 02: Sign in mail IMAP-Enabled Account to Thunderbird

1. Start the Thunderbird application and click on your Thunderbird email account.
2. Go to the Email option under Set up an account.
3. Here, enter your Gmail username and password and click Continue.
4. Enable the IMAP option and click Done.

Step 03: Move Thunderbird Mailbox Items to Gmail Account

1. Once you configured your Gmail account in the Thunderbird application, try to create a new folder.
2. Right-click on the Gmail inbox folder and select the New Subfolder option.
3. Here, enter the name, opt for the Gmail account from the drop-down and click on the Create Folder.
4. Copy and move all your Thunderbird email folders to this new Gmail folder.

Step 04: Login your Gmail Account to MS Outlook

1. Open the Outlook Application and click on the File.
2. Click the Add Account option.
3. Enter the Gmail email address and click the Connect button.
4. After that, enter the password and click Continue.
5. Choose the IMAP option and click Finish to sync your Gmail account into Outlook.
6. Go to the new folder where you move all the data and copy-paste the data into your Outlook account.

Method 2: Migrate Thunderbird Emails into Outlook via EML file

It is another workable method to move or transfer mailbox emails from Thunderbird to Microsoft Outlook. Here are a few easy steps:-

Step 1: Export Thunderbird Emails

1. Run Thunderbird and open the folder containing the emails you want to export.
2. Select the emails you wish to export. 
3. You can also press Ctrl + A to select all emails or hold Ctrl while clicking to select multiple emails.
4. Right-click on the selected emails and choose the Save As option.
5. Select a location on your computer to save the emails and select an EML.
6. Finally, click Save to download the Thunderbird mailbox data.

Step 2: Import Thunderbird Emails(EML) into Outlook

1. Launch Microsoft Outlook on your computer.
2. Go to the folder containing the EML files and select all the items.
3. Drag & drop all the data into the Outlook desired folder.
4. You can select your Inbox or create a new folder for them.

Limitations of the Manual Procedures

• There is a chance of data loss during the manual process.
• These methods are not suitable for a bulk number of emails.
• It may be possible you faced folder corruption or damage.
• The process is time-consuming and lengthy.
• It may affect your folder hierarchy and attachment file size.

Method 3: Export Thunderbird to Outlook Using the Professional Method

Thunderbird Email Backup Tool is a comprehensive and reliable solution to export Thunderbird mailboxes to Outlook PST file format without losing any data. The Software allows users to migrate or transfer bulk email messages from Thunderbird to Outlook application with ease. It also includes an option to download, backup or save Thunderbird mailbox emails into PDF, EML, MSG, CSV, MBOX, and other file formats.

Simple Steps to Export Emails From Thunderbird to Outlook

1. Download, Install and Run Thunderbird Backup Tool.
2. Select the Thunderbird folder from the drop-down list and click Next.
3. Choose the folders you want to move.
4. Here, you can also preview the details of every email message and click Next.
5. Opt for the saving format as Outlook PST from the drop-down list.
6. You can include the software built-in options and set the path for the output folder.
7. Click the Convert button to download the Thunderbird emails into PST format.

Conclusion

Migrating from Thunderbird to Outlook doesn’t have to be a daunting task. By following the manual and professional methods outlined in this guide and being prepared with backups, you can seamlessly export your Thunderbird emails to Outlook. Make sure to double-check that everything has been exported correctly, and you’ll be able to use the features and benefits of Outlook.

Frequently Asked Questions

About The Author:

Pradyum Shashank

I am a technical content writer with an experience of 4 year specializing in writing about databases, data recovery, file management, e-mail recovery & migration solutions. Also, I am proficient in working in a challenging environment using all my skills and want to serve the reputed growth of the industry in the development field.

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