Introduction

Mozilla Thunderbird and Outlook are the two most prominent email clients that allow users to configure their IMAP-enabled email programs. These two have many similar features in their models and deliver the same output and functionalities to the users. Still, businesses prefer Outlook over Mozilla Thunderbird as it is an information manager application with additional inbuilt features such as calendar, note, task, journal task management, etc.

Your presence signifies that you either want to switch to Outlook or you need to access your Thunderbird emails in Outlook. However, before going into the detailed method to perform Thunderbird to Outlook Migration, let’s understand the basic functionality of both email clients.

Mozilla Thunderbird Email Client

Thunderbird is an open-source desktop email client developed by the Mozilla Community. It is primarily available for Linux, but later on, it is available for Windows and Mac OS.

Thunderbird gained popularity due to its easy setup and customization features. Also, users can easily create folders within the mailbox that help them to share desired emails. In addition, it allows users to install Add-Ons to extend its functionalities.

Instead of these functionalities, Thunderbird has the following limitations that evoke an urge to export Thunderbird emails to Outlook.

1. By default, it doesn’t have a calendar or a task list feature.
2. It doesn’t have any inbuilt integration with third-party applications.
3. More bugs are found due to its slower updates or improvements.

Overview of Microsoft Outlook

Microsoft Outlook is one of the most prominent utilities under the Office suite. Most SMEs and large enterprises rely on MS Outlook for their business information management system. One of the best aspects of Outlook is that it manages your emails, contacts, tasks, and calendar. Additionally, it’s integrated with other Office 365 apps and services, including Excel, PowerPoint, Word, etc.

Apart from this, several other benefits of MS Outlook induce the demand to export Thunderbird emails to Outlook. In the next section, we will discuss the additional features of Outlook that make it superior to other email clients.

Why do Users Want to Export Thunderbird Emails to Outlook?

The need for Thunderbird to Outlook migration arises when various SMEs and large enterprises opted for Outlook as their primary email clients. Apart from this, Outlook offers the following advanced functionalities that help users to manage their business operations.

1. MS Outlook is one of the most secure email clients which is integrated with blocking suspicious emails, filtering junk emails, and preventing ActiveX applet executions.
2. You can efficiently manage emails and automate your tasks by creating rules in Outlook.
3. It is one of the most compatible cross-platform applications which runs smoothly on Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS devices.
4. Users can also use it with SharePoint and Exchange Server in a networked environment.

Also Read: Transferring Thunderbird To New Computer

Move Emails From Thunderbird to Outlook Manually

This section explains a manual way to export Thunderbird emails to Outlook. It works well when there is a need to transfer a few Thunderbird emails to Outlook. Here, we divide the whole process into two different stages to simplify the process.

1. Save Thunderbird emails to EML format.
2. Import EML files into your Outlook Account.

Now, let’s go through the detailed process of Thunderbird to Outlook migration.

Stage 1: Save Thunderbird Emails to EML Format

First, create a new folder on your PC to store your Thunderbird emails in EML files. After that, perform the following steps carefully.

• Open the Thunderbird desktop application and sign in to your account.
• Select the emails that you want to export from Thunderbird to Outlook.
• For multiple selections, hold the shift key and click on the emails.
• After that, drag and drop them into the new folder created on your system.

These emails are saved with the .eml extension. Now, you can move to the next stage, which helps you to export Thunderbird emails to Outlook.

Stage 2: Import EML Files into Your Outlook Account

Configure the account with Outlook where you want to move your Thunderbird emails. Then, execute the below steps to import emails from Thunderbird to Outlook.

• In Outlook, create a new folder where you import your Thunderbird emails.
• Now, open the folder that contains your Thunderbird emails in EML format.
• Select all EML files, then drag and drop them into the folder created in Outlook. It may take some time to import your Thunderbird emails.

The above method can’t assure you of the complete migration of your Thunderbird emails. There might be a chance of missing some emails or attachments. Additionally, this approach has some limitations that generate a need to find an authentic software approach.

Drawbacks of Exporting Thunderbird Emails to Outlook Manually

• This approach is not convenient for batch migration of Thunderbird emails to Outlook.
• There is a high possibility of data loss and corruption while performing Thunderbird to Outlook migration.
• Also, the manual approach becomes hectic as it takes a lot of time and effort to accomplish the migration task.

Therefore, to overcome these limitations, it is advisable to move emails from Thunderbird to Outlook using a secure professional approach.

Advanced Approach to Export Thunderbird Emails to Outlook

The manual approach is fair enough to migrate a few Thunderbird emails. However, with the help of Mozilla Thunderbird Backup Tool, you can effectively perform the entire Thunderbird to Outlook Migration. It is one of the most secure and reliable utilities, which allows users to export Thunderbird emails to PST format. After that, you can easily import the PST file that contains the entire Thunderbird profile data in its original hierarchy.

Furthermore, it comprises some advanced features that allow you to optimize the migration process.

Advantages of Using Thunderbird Backup Tool

Mozilla Thunderbird Backup Tool is developed under the experts’ supervision to fulfill all the necessary requirements of the users.

• Using this advanced utility, you can easily export Thunderbird emails to Outlook PST, PDF, CSV, EML, MSG, EMLX, etc.
• It has an advanced and intuitive user interface that makes it compatible with technical and non-technical users.
• Thunderbird Backup Tool also allows you to migrate from Thunderbird to Outlook 365, Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, iCloud, and other popular IMAP-enabled email clients.
• This software is integrated with the Mail Filter option, which allows you to select specific emails within a particular date range. You can also Split the resultant PST file according to your requirement.

Conclusion

Thunderbird and Outlook are the two famous desktop email clients. Just because you’re switching email clients doesn’t mean you need to lose your email history. We always strive to make our articles as helpful as possible. In this blog, we have included 2 different methods to export Thunderbird emails to Outlook PST. If you are planning to switch from Thunderbird to Outlook, then the advanced Mozilla Thunderbird Backup Tool is the best solution to ensure high data security.

Also Read : Export Thunderbird Emails to CSV Files.

About The Author

Sachin Prajapati

Sachin Prajapati is an experienced technical content writer with a passion for simplifying complex topics. Specializing in email and cloud migration solutions, he crafts informative and reader-friendly content that empowers users to understand and manage their digital tools more effectively. His insights have been featured on several respected tech platforms, earning the trust of a wide audience.