Migrate Thunderbird to Outlook: Manual method + the Thunderbird to Outlook migration tool

If you have been using Thunderbird as your email client on your Mac, Windows, and Linux, you would agree that it works great for storing emails and attachments in the MBOX files on your device.

But do you know how to migrate Thunderbird mailbox items to Outlook? The most common and efficient way would be to convert Thunderbird MBOX files to Outlook PST file format. However, there are other ways to migrate mail items from Thunderbird to Outlook. Let’s find out.

Drag and Drop: The manual method

You can migrate its files to Outlook manually, but it takes a lot of time to export your emails and address books. Follow these steps if you want to give it a try.

1. Save all your emails to an EML file
2. Import the EML files into Outlook
3. Import these emails to Outlook using Drag and drop. You can also do this by opening both Outlook and Thunderbird side-by-side and then drag emails from Thunderbird and drop in Outlook.

Using the Thunderbird to Outlook migration tool

Thunderbird to Outlook migration tool makes the migration process easy for you. The tool will copy your emails and contacts and also create and configure IMAP/POP3 accounts for you. Once you finish exporting the data, all you need to do is type the passwords for your accounts.

This export tool will save you the stress of converting from one format to the next and creating accounts in Outlook.

Beyond the migration from it to Outlook, you can also export single or multiple MBOX files to PST files, such as transferring data between computers and creating backup copies.

Features of the Thunderbird to Outlook migration tool

This migration tool will help you copy contact lists to a PST file, meaning that you don’t need to create contacts all over.

The contacts can also be exported while retaining all fields. In a case where you use multiple address books, the tool will export the contacts from all the books into a PST file. Note that the tool only supports local address books.

With the Thunderbird to Outlook migration tool, you can export messages between both platforms. The messages will be exported to PST files and they will retain the original formatting throughout the process. It is up to you to decide whether you want to create one PST file for all accounts or a different PST file for each account.

The export/migration tool will also preserve the folder tree when you’re copying messages from your folders and moving them to a PST file.

Conclusion

When looking to migrate Thunderbird to Outlook, you can choose to go manual or explore the migration tool. A manual method is a good option if you simply want to migrate one or two Thunderbird mailboxes or accounts to Outlook, or when you’re dealing with just a few hundred emails or less.

However, for very large numbers of Thunderbird emails amounting to thousands, or when you’re dealing with multiple Thunderbird accounts, manual methods can be stressful and time-consuming, so the migration tool is the best option.