Convert MBOX to PST for Outlook

How to convert MBOX to PST

1. Open the .mbox file on the homepage, using desktop Chrome or Edge. A Google Takeout file is the one inside Takeout/Mail after you unzip the download.
2. Pick the messages (optional). Search by sender or subject and set a date range, or leave it as the whole mailbox.
3. Click Export → PST (Outlook). Choose this message, the current view or the whole mailbox, then Export.
4. Save the .pst. It is built in your browser and saved to your downloads folder, named after your MBOX file.

Open the PST in Outlook

• Outlook for Windows (classic): File → Open & Export → Open Outlook Data File, and choose the .pst. It appears in the folder list as its own data file, which you can browse, search, or drag messages out of into your mailbox.
• To merge it into an existing mailbox: File → Open & Export → Import/Export → Import from another program or file → Outlook Data File (.pst).
• Outlook for Mac: File → Import → Outlook for Windows archive file (.pst).

What ends up in the PST

• One folder of mail, named after your MBOX file, inside the data file.
• Each message with its sender, To, Cc, subject, sent date and both the HTML and plain-text body, so formatted mail still looks formatted.
• Attachments, byte for byte, and inline images in HTML mail.
• The original internet headers, visible in Outlook under message properties.

The file is a standard Unicode PST, the format every Outlook since 2003 uses. Messages arrive marked as read.

Why convert in the browser

Most MBOX-to-PST converters are either online services that make you upload your whole mailbox to their server, or Windows installers from companies you've never heard of, often demos that cap how many messages you can convert. Here the conversion runs on your own machine: there's nothing to install and the mail never leaves your computer. It works on a Mac too, even though the PST is for Outlook on Windows.

Limits worth knowing

• Gmail labels don't become folders. Every exported message goes into one folder. To split by label, year or sender, filter first and export a separate PST for each.
• Very large mailboxes: the whole PST is assembled before it is saved, so a 10 GB+ export needs plenty of free memory and disk. Exporting a year at a time is quicker and easier to check.
• Contacts and calendars aren't in an MBOX file, so they aren't in the PST either.

What's free

Converting a single message to PST is free, so you can check it opens in your Outlook first. PST exports of the current view or the whole mailbox are part of the one-time $29 unlock, with no subscription.

Common questions

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