How to import PST to Gmail
To import PST to Gmail, you need a program that reads the PST and pushes its messages into your account over IMAP: Google Workspace Migration for Microsoft Outlook (GWMMO) or Outlook itself with your Gmail account added. Gmail has no upload button for PST files. Below: both methods step by step, what happens to contacts and calendar, and how to keep a PDF copy of important mail before you move it.
Why Gmail cannot upload a PST file
Gmail's Settings → Accounts and Import → Import mail and contacts pulls mail from another live account over POP; it does not accept files. Google Takeout works in the other direction only. And a PST is Outlook's private database, readable by Outlook's engine and by converters that reimplement it, not by a web form.
Every working route therefore has two halves: something that reads the PST, and an IMAP connection to Gmail that receives the messages one by one. Imported messages keep their original dates and senders because the headers travel with them. Background on the format is in the PST file explainer.
Have the email as a file (EML, MSG, MBOX)? Convert it to PDF in your browser: nothing is uploaded.
Method 1: Google Workspace Migration for Microsoft Outlook
- On the Windows PC that has Outlook installed, download and install GWMMO from Google.
- Start it, sign in with the Google account that should receive the mail, and allow access.
- Choose From PST file(s) and browse to the .pst. You can add several.
- Tick what to migrate: email, contacts, calendar. Choose whether to migrate everything or only items after a date.
- Click Migrate and leave the PC on. Outlook folders become Gmail labels; nested folders become nested labels.
GWMMO was built for Google Workspace accounts and has been Google's supported path for years. If your account is a personal @gmail.com, check Google's current help page first; when the tool declines the account, Method 2 works for any Gmail.
Method 2: import PST to Gmail with Outlook over IMAP
- In Gmail, make sure IMAP is enabled (Settings → See all settings → Forwarding and POP/IMAP).
- In classic Outlook for Windows: File → Add Account, enter the Gmail address and sign in through Google's window. Outlook sets up IMAP.
- Open the PST: File → Open & Export → Open Outlook Data File. Its folders appear in the left pane.
- Drag a folder from the PST tree onto the Gmail account, or select its messages and drag them into a Gmail folder such as Inbox or a label you created.
- Wait. Outlook uploads each message; the status bar shows progress. Check Gmail in the browser: the label should fill up.
Go folder by folder rather than the whole tree at once. Thousands of messages take hours, and if Outlook stalls you can resume from the folder that stopped. Gmail refuses messages above its size limit, so a few very large emails may stay behind; save those as PDF or MSG separately.
Contacts and calendar from the PST
Mail is only part of a PST. Contacts: in Outlook, File → Open & Export → Import/Export → Export to a file → Comma Separated Values, choose the Contacts folder of the opened PST, then import the CSV at contacts.google.com. Calendar: open the calendar from the PST, File → Save Calendar as an .ics file, then import it in Google Calendar settings.
GWMMO handles all three in one run, which is its main advantage over the IMAP method. Either way, tasks and notes do not migrate; copy them manually if they matter.
Which method when
| Situation | Use | Contacts, calendar | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Workspace account, Outlook on the PC | Method 1: GWMMO | Yes, labels from folders | Yes |
| Personal Gmail, Outlook on the PC | Method 2: Outlook + IMAP | Yes, drag per folder | Via CSV and ICS |
| No Outlook installed | Install Outlook (trial) for the move, or a paid PST uploader | Yes | Depends on the tool |
| Only a few messages needed | Drag them out as .msg and forward or convert | Yes | No |
| A readable archive, not a mailbox | Convert PST to PDF | PDF per message | No |
Keep a PDF record before you migrate
Migration is a good moment to pull out the mail you may need to show someone later: a contract thread, an HR exchange, invoices with attachments. Drag those messages out of the PST as .msg files and convert them on MSG to PDF: each PDF carries From, To, Date, Subject and Message-ID, and attachments download beside it. Nothing is uploaded during that step.
If you are also leaving the Outlook mailbox behind, backing up Outlook emails explains keeping the PST itself as a long-term copy, and moving emails to another Gmail account covers the Gmail-to-Gmail case once the mail has landed.
Frequently asked questions
Can Gmail import PST files?
Not directly: there is no upload option. Use Google Workspace Migration for Microsoft Outlook or add Gmail to Outlook over IMAP and drag the PST folders in.
How to import a PST file to Gmail without Outlook?
GWMMO needs Outlook on the PC, and the IMAP method is Outlook itself. Without Outlook you need a paid PST uploader with its own PST reader, or a one-month Outlook install for the move.
How long does a PST import to Gmail take?
Hours for a large mailbox: each message is uploaded individually over IMAP. Move one folder at a time so you can resume if it stalls.
How to import PST contacts to Gmail?
Export the PST's Contacts folder from Outlook as a CSV and import it at contacts.google.com, or let GWMMO migrate contacts along with mail.
Does Google Workspace import PST?
Yes, through GWMMO on a Windows PC with Outlook; folders become labels and contacts and calendar can come along.
Will the original dates and folders be kept?
Yes. Headers travel with each message, so dates and senders stay the same, and Outlook folders arrive as Gmail labels.