How to Migrate from Thunderbird to Outlook Using Advanced Third-Party Tools

Migrate from Thunderbird to Outlook

Mozilla Thunderbird is a popular open-source email client that allows users to send and receive emails via its desktop application.

Outlook, on the other hand, is a fully-fledged user data manager that lets users manage emails, contacts, calendar events, create & share MS Office files, make video calls via Skype, and more.

Because of the long list of collaborative features and enhanced privacy measures on offer, many Thunderbird users look for ways to migrate to Outlook.

In this guide, you will learn to use manual and automated methods to migrate from Thunderbird to Outlook.

Need to Migrate from Thunderbird to Outlook

Outlook offers its users added functionalities that enhance the email experience. Some of these are listed below –

• Availability of collaborative tools like Skype, Notes, Office, etc.
• Advanced privacy guards to prevent unwanted phishing scams, malware, etc.
• Allows users to create and store contacts, schedule events via Calendar, and seamlessly manage personal & professional information.
• Option to choose between the desktop application or online web application.

Methods to Migrate Emails from Thunderbird to Outlook

There are two ways that you can use to migrate your emails and attachments from Thunderbird to Microsoft Outlook. Let’s look at them in detail.

✅Part 1 – Third-party Software to Migrate Emails from Thunderbird to Outlook

Method 1: Use an MBOX to PST Converter

If you have a Thunderbird MBOX file from which you want to migrate emails to Outlook, you can use an advanced MBOX to PST converter.

We know how tricky it is to migrate large mailboxes or multiple MBOX files  to Outlook without the required expertise and specialized tools.

However, using an MBOX to .PST converter like Steller Converter for MBOX allows you to do this easily.

Irrespective of whether you are an IT professional or not, you can use this tool to convert large MBOX files to PST file format.

You can also use this software to directly export emails and attachments from Thunderbird MBOX file to Outlook .PST file in a matter of a few clicks. Here are the steps to do this –

• Download and Install Stellar Converter for MBOX on your PC.
• Launch it.
• In the Select MBOX window, use the drop-down menu against Email Client to select Thunderbird.
• Then, click on the Select Identity button and browse for the Identity folder.
• Select the Identity folder and click on Convert.
• The software will create a tree view in the left pane and list all the mailbox items. Check the folders for your emails.
• Once you are satisfied, click on Save Converted File.
• Choose the Export to Existing Outlook profile option in the Save As Click Next.
• You will get the Select Outlook profile and PST
• Select the Save to MS Outlook Profile option to select one of the listed Outlook profiles.
• Click Save.
• Once it completes the saving, go to the save location to check migrated Thunderbird emails.

✅Notes –

• You can also add the converted Thunderbird data to an existing .PST on your system. Click on the Append to existing PST option and browse for the existing .PST file.
• You can also apply filters to the converted MBOX data to split a large .PST file while saving it. You can also save data by applying the date range Finally, you can also use this software to exclude certain sender IDs from your .PST file.

Stellar Converter for MBOX simplifies migrating from Thunderbird to Outlook. Not just that, it can convert MBOX files from 17 other email clients, including Eudora, AppleMail, SeaMonkey, Netscape, etc., to .PST files.

Additionally, you can upgrade your copy of Stellar Converter for MBOX to the Technician edition to seamlessly export Thunderbird data to Outlook 365 without even saving the converted Thunderbird mailbox to .PST file format.

✅Part 2 – Free Workaround to Migrate Emails from Thunderbird to Outlook

Method 2: Drag and Drop EML Files in Outlook

Another way to migrate emails from Thunderbird to Outlook manually is to save the Thunderbird emails in.EML file format. Then, drag and drop the .EML files into Outlook. Carefully follow the steps below –

✅Note – If you don’t use Thunderbird but have a Thunderbird MBOX file on your system, you will need to install Thunderbird on your system. After this, follow the steps to import a Thunderbird profile. However, if you are using Thunderbird, follow the steps below to export the MBOX emails as .EML files.

• Launch Thunderbird on your PC.
• Select the email you want to open in Outlook. Right-click on them and click on Save As.
• Choose the destination folder and click on Select Folder.
• It will save the selected emails in .eml
• Now, launch the Outlook desktop app.
• Right-click in the left pane to create a new folder. Name it
• Select the .eml files, and drag and drop them onto the newly created folder in Outlook.
• You will see all your imported emails in Outlook.

In this way, you can migrate your emails from Thunderbird to Outlook.

However, there are certain limitations of this method.

• You can only select one mailbox folder at a time to convert its emails to .EML files.
• You will need to select all the emails using CTRL + A or SHIFT + Down key.
• This is time time-consuming and repetitive process, as you will need to do the same for other mailbox folders.
• This method only allows you to convert and migrate emails. For migrating contacts, you will need to install other add-ins in Thunderbird.

Conclusion

If you are trying to migrate a single Thunderbird MBOX file data to Outlook, the drag-and-drop method explained above is sufficient.

However, if you want to migrate multiple Thunderbird account data to Outlook, then it be inefficient.

For migrating multiple Thunderbird mailbox data to Outlook, you can leverage Stellar Converter for MBOX.

It is an easy to use software that simplifies both the mailbox migration as well as MBOX to .PST file conversion processes.

Additionally, you can use this software to save the converted mailbox files to EML and file MSG formats.