Gmail Backup Software for Windows: Export Gmail to PST and MBOX

A full archive every time or a backup you re-run

Google already has an export for your account. Every export is the whole mailbox again, and on a schedule it comes once every 2 months.

Google's own tool

A full archive every time

Google Takeout packs your mailbox into an archive when you ask for it. That is fine if you need it once.

The download link expires in about 7 days
Getting newer messages means a whole new archive to download
Labels are written as an X-Gmail-Labels header line in each email

This program

A backup you re-run

The first run saves what you tick.

EML, MBOX or PST, your choice
Labels stay separate, not in one pile
A repeat run fetches only what is new
An interrupted run resumes where it stopped

Download

How to download and use the Gmail Backup & Export Software to PST and MBOX

Install the program and connect

Download the Gmail Backup & Export Software to PST and MBOX and install it on Windows 10 or 11. On the Home screen click Connect Gmail account. For a different mail service click Other IMAP mailbox.

Sign in with an app password

Type your Email address and paste the App password. An app password is a 16-digit passcode that Google creates for one program. Google offers it only when 2-Step Verification is on. Your regular Google password is rejected here. The links Create an app password and Turn on 2-Step Verification open the right Google pages. Then click Connect.

Pick folders and labels

The Folders to back up screen lists Gmail folders and your labels with email counts. Tick the ones you want, or use Select all and Clear all. Then click Next: format.

Choose a format and start the backup

On the Save as screen pick EML, MBOX or PST. Set the target folder under Save to with Browse and click Start backup. When the screen says Backup complete, click Open backup folder. Next time open the same mailbox and click Download new emails.

Features of the Gmail export software

Back up Gmail to PST, Outlook optional

Gmail Backup & Export Software to PST and MBOX writes the Outlook data file itself, so Outlook does not have to be installed on this PC. You get one PST per account with the full folder tree inside. The next backup appends new mail to that same file, which the program does not split into parts.

Labels saved as folders

Each Gmail label becomes a folder in the backup, so an email with two labels is saved in both folders. Such copies are not removed, and that is why All Mail, Important and Starred are unticked from the start. All Mail holds every email once more. Spam and Trash start unticked too.

Each run downloads the new emails

The program remembers what it has saved. Point it to the same backup folder and it downloads only emails that arrived since the last run. The Home screen shows how many new emails are waiting.

Safe stop and resume

Click Stop at any time. The next run continues from the same email, without duplicates. If the connection drops, the program reconnects up to 5 times in a row before it gives up and tells you about it. A disk-space check warns you before the backup starts.

Read-only access to your mailbox

Nothing in your mailbox is deleted, moved or marked as read. Read-only access also means the program is backup only and does not upload mail back into an account. Emails go from the mail server straight to your PC and never pass through our servers. Your password is not stored, so you sign in again in each new session.

Yahoo, iCloud and other IMAP mailboxes

The same program works as email backup software for Yahoo Mail and iCloud Mail, with a preset for each. For any other mailbox, pick Other IMAP server and enter the host, port and encryption yourself. Only IMAP is supported, POP3 is not. The interface comes in 20 languages.

When a Gmail backup on your PC pays off

A full mailbox being copied from the cloud to a hard drive.

Gmail storage is running out

The warning about space keeps coming up. Save the mail to your PC first and look through the result. Then delete it in Gmail by hand, because the program will not do it for you.

Old emails carried over into a new mail program.

You are moving to Outlook

You want your old Gmail to come along. On the Save as step choose PST. The FAQ below has the menu path and the size limits.

A box of saved messages next to a closed mailbox.

You are giving up an old address

A mailbox you no longer use is about to be closed, but some of what is in it still matters. On the step where you choose what to save, All Mail and several system items come without a tick. Tick what you need, or All Mail itself, then download before you close the mailbox.

A calendar with one day a week marked for a mail backup.

You want a fresh copy every week

Saving everything once a year is not much of a safety net. Open the program once a week or once a month and click Download new emails. There is no scheduler, so the next run waits for your click.

Who needs the Gmail Backup & Export Software to PST and MBOX

Home users with years of personal mail

Your Gmail address is ten or fifteen years old, and family letters sit there next to receipts and travel bookings. You do not need to know how mail servers work. The setup is on the Google side: turn on 2-Step Verification and create an app password.

Freelancers and small-office owners

Client mail often lives in a personal Gmail address, sorted by a label per client. Those labels become folders in the backup, so an old agreement is easy to find. This applies to personal accounts. App passwords may be unavailable for work or school Google accounts, and without one the program cannot sign in.

The person who looks after family PCs

You set up computers for your parents or for a team of three. Add each of their mailboxes to the same program, one after another. After that their part is short: sign in and press one button.

EML, MBOX or PST: which format to choose

You pick one format per backup. To export Gmail to MBOX for Thunderbird, choose MBOX. To backup Gmail to PST for Outlook, choose PST.

Format	What you get	Opens in	Good to know
EML	One file per email. Windows folders repeat the mailbox folders.	Most mail programs, including Thunderbird and Outlook	Each file is the full message with headers and attachments. Read or unread state is not saved.
MBOX	One file per folder or label.	Thunderbird, Apple Mail	The same full messages, packed per folder. Read or unread state is not saved.
PST	One data file with all folders and labels.	Microsoft Outlook	Keeps read and unread state. Raw internet headers and stars are not carried over.

Download for Free

Trial and full version

The trial keeps every feature and never expires. It differs in one thing, the number of emails saved from a folder.

Feature	Trial	Full versionWith a license key
Emails saved from each folder	The newest 25	All of them
EML, MBOX and PST output	✓	✓
Choice of folders and labels	✓	✓
Later runs that add new mail	✓	✓
Yahoo, iCloud and other IMAP mailboxes	✓	✓
Works without a time limit	✓	✓
After you enter a license key, the next run downloads the rest and skips what is already saved.	Download	Buy now From $ 14.99

Buy now

From $ 14.99

Download

After you enter a license key, the next run downloads the rest and skips what is already saved.

Gmail Backup & Export Software to PST and MBOX

Price

from $ 14.99 / month

Version

3.3

File Size

67.7 Mb

Last updated on

10/08/26

Trial version: saves the newest 25 emails from each folder, no time limit

System Requirements

Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7 (32/64 bit)
Intel i3, AMD Ryzen 5 or above
4 GB of RAM or above
NVIDIA® GeForce® series 8 and 8M, Intel® HD Graphics 2000, Quadro FX 4800, Quadro FX 5600, AMD Radeon™ R600, Mobility Radeon™ HD 4330, Mobility FirePro™ series, Radeon™ R5 M230 or higher graphics card with up-to-date drivers
1280 × 768 screen resolution, 32-bit color
1 GB of free hard disk space or above

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I backup my entire Gmail?

Connect the account and tick every folder and label you use. The default selection skips All Mail to avoid double copies. But archived emails that have no label live only in All Mail. If you archive a lot, tick All Mail too. Labeled emails will be saved twice then.

How can I bulk export all my emails from Gmail?

Use a Gmail backup tool that works over IMAP. It downloads whole folders in one run, so you do not save emails one by one from the browser.

How do I export all my Gmail emails to Outlook?

Short answer: save the mailbox as PST and open that file in Outlook. Long answer: in classic Outlook open the File menu and choose Open & Export. Then click Open Outlook Data File and select the PST. The new Outlook app opens a PST only when classic Outlook is installed too. Check the size first. Outlook 2010 and later accept a PST up to 50 GB by default. Outlook 2003 and 2007 stop at 20 GB. For a mailbox above that, EML or MBOX is the safer choice.

Does Gmail support PST files?

No. Gmail cannot open a PST and cannot export one. PST is the data file of Microsoft Outlook. The program reads your Gmail over IMAP and writes the PST on your PC while it downloads. Each email keeps its subject, body, sender, recipients, sent date and attachments, inline images included.

How do I export my Google data?

Google has its own feature for that, Google Takeout, in your Google Account. Takeout covers the whole account, from Contacts and Calendar to Drive and Photos. Gmail Backup & Export Software to PST and MBOX handles mail only. Use Takeout for the other data and the program for the mail.

How do I get my Gmail backup?

Your Gmail backup is a normal folder on your disk. Click Open backup folder on the Backup complete screen, or go to the folder you set under Save to. Each mailbox has its own subfolder there.

Why does my regular Gmail password not work in the backup program?

Short answer: Google accepts only an app password from mail programs like this one. Long answer: app passwords do not exist for every account. They may be unavailable for work or school accounts, for accounts in Advanced Protection and for 2-Step Verification that uses only security keys. The program has no Sign in with Google button, so without an app password it cannot sign in. It fits personal Gmail accounts, not Google Workspace.

How do I back up a very large Gmail mailbox?

Plan for more than one run. Google limits how much mail an account can download over IMAP in a day. If a large mailbox hits that limit, the program stops and shows a message. Open the mailbox again later and click Continue backup. The next run picks up where it stopped.

How do I keep Gmail labels when I move the mail to Thunderbird?

Choose MBOX. The program writes one .mbox file per folder or label, so the labels stay apart on disk. A sub-label goes into a folder with the parent's name plus .sbd, next to the parent's .mbox file.

Download Gmail Backup & Export Software to PST and MBOX