How to Convert Thunderbird to Outlook: The Ultimate Guide

Written By Ravinder Ahlawat
Published on February 28th, 2022
Updated on June 15, 2022

Before finding the answers to your queries, do you know the exact difference between both the email clients Thunderbird & Outlook? If No, then we are here to help you with your problems. Also, we will discuss the best ways to Convert Thunderbird to Outlook PST using manual and automated approaches.

We are well aware that Thunderbird is a desktop-based email client for different types of operating systems like Windows, Mac, etc. It saves attachments, emails, and other mailbox items to the MBOX files on their system or PC.

Microsoft Outlook is one of the widely used email clients that can read all mail in offline mode and it can serve your purpose both, a standalone application and multi-user software. This can be used by individuals as an email client-server & as an organization that needs to know the importance of exporting emails from Thunderbird to Outlook application. Now, moving ahead towards the exporting process.

Related Post: Transfer Emails from Thunderbird to Gmail

Table of Contents

Simple Steps to Convert Thunderbird Mail to Outlook

There might be two possible ways to forward or move Thunderbird emails from the Mozilla Thunderbird email client to Microsoft Outlook. The first is the manual method, and another is the automated approach.

Part 1: Enable IMAP in Gmail Settings

Log in to the Google Mail account and open Settings.
In the Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab, Enable the IMAP radio button under the IMAP access section.
At last, press the Save Changes button to turn on the IMAP settings.

Part 2: Login Thunderbird Using Gmail IMAP Account

Launch the Thunderbird application and open your Thunderbird email account.
Now, click on the Email under Set up an account.
Type your Google Mail Username and Password.
Here tap on the IMAP radio button and then hit the Done button.
Enter your Gmail username and password.
At last, wait for the Thunderbird Mail account to sync the copied emails to the Gmail server.

Part 3: Sign in to Outlook using Gmail IMAP Account

Now, launch Microsoft Outlook on your Windows or Mac (where you want to save Thunderbird emails and sign in with your Outlook account?)
Here Login with the same Gmail account that you used in Thunderbird.
Now, wait for Outlook to sync all the Gmail folders including the new folder that you created in Thunderbird where you have copied all the Thunderbird emails.
Then, Open the same Gmail account that you used in Thunderbird.
Here, wait for Outlook to Sync all the Gmail Folders including the new folder that you have created in Thunderbird where you can copy all the Thunderbird emails.
After sync, Copy the Folder and Paste it into your New Outlook Account.
In the end, after copying the folder, you may Sign out from the Gmail account. In this stage, you can successfully convert Thunderbird to Outlook PST.

Points to Remember

It is a time and effort-consuming process.
There might be chances that the folder structure will be lost.
Incomplete data transfer throughout the conversion process.

Export from Thunderbird to Outlook using Reliable Tool

To avoid such circumstances, we suggest users opt for the best Cigati Thunderbird Backup Tool. It is the top-rated solution that helps the users to convert Thunderbird to Outlook PST, PDF, MBOX, CSV, EMLX, etc. Also, the software migrates Thunderbird emails to Office 365, Gmail, Yahoo, Live Exchange, IMAP, iCloud, Amazon Webmail, and many other webmail clients.

This utility converts Thunderbird emails into different file formats and email clients.
Users can preview their Thunderbird emails before the conversion process.
Supports backup of select emails between the date range.
It allows the users to remove duplicate emails throughout the conversion process.

Take Away

Through the above post, we have discussed the step-by-step process of the manual approach to Convert Thunderbird to Outlook PST. We have also discussed the professional method for the same that instantly converts Thunderbird mail to Outlook. But there are some drawbacks of the above manual approach due to this users want to switch their email accounts. Hence, we suggest users to opt for the best alternative method for the same.

You May Also Read: Save Thunderbird Emails as PDF

About The Author:

Ravinder Ahlawat

Ravinder Ahlawat is a Techincal Expert at Cigati Solutions. He is keen on technology and writes content in the field of Data Recovery and Email Migration for solving the problems related to it.