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Switch from Gmail to Runbox: step by step

How to move your mail, contacts and address from Gmail to Runbox without losing anything. Most moves take an evening to set up, then a few weeks of forwarding.

Compare them side by side

Watch out for

  • Gmail labels become folders elsewhere, so an email with several labels can be copied more than once.
  • Importers usually need IMAP turned on in Gmail's settings, and an app password, which needs 2-Step Verification.
  • Google may delete a personal account that hasn't been used for two years, so sign in now and then while forwarding is on.

  1. Before you start

    • Check where your address lives. If it ends in @gmail.com, it belongs to Gmail and stays there: you'll forward your mail and tell people your new address.
    • Check the space you need. See how much mail you have in Gmail, and compare it with Runbox's plans (the cheapest is Mini, $34.95 a year, with 10 GB).
    • Read the small print. Runbox's page covers exporting, cancelling and refunds under "Before you sign up".

  2. Open your Runbox account

    Sign up on Runbox's website (30 days free, then a 60-day refund), and turn on two-step sign-in straight away. You'll find the link on Runbox's page: Runbox.

  3. Bring your mail across

    Copy it with a mail app. Add both accounts to a mail app over IMAP (Thunderbird is free, for Windows, Mac and Linux), then drag your folders from Gmail to Runbox. It's slow for a big mailbox, but it works with almost any provider. Thunderbird ↗

    Your old mail stays where it is while it's copied, so nothing is lost if you need to start again.

  4. Move your contacts and calendar

    Export your contacts as a .vcf file and each calendar as an .ics file from Gmail, then import them into Runbox. Most providers have both options in their contacts and calendar settings.

  5. Keep your @gmail.com address working

    1. Forward new mail. In Gmail on a computer, open Settings, then Forwarding and POP/IMAP, and add your new address. Gmail sends a code to the new address to confirm it. Gmail's guide ↗
    2. Tell people. Send your new address to the people who matter, and add it to your email signature.
    3. Update your sign-ins. Change the email address on your bank, shopping, social and work accounts. A password manager's list of saved sign-ins is the quickest checklist.
    4. Keep the old account open for a while. Mail will keep arriving there for months. Sign in now and then so it isn't closed for not being used.

  6. Check everything arrived

    • Compare the number of emails in each folder on both sides.
    • Send a test email to your new address from another account, and reply to it.
    • Check that mail forwarded from Gmail is arriving, and isn't going to spam.

  7. Close Gmail, when you're ready

    Wait at least a month, until nothing new arrives there. On a free account you can leave it open with forwarding on instead. Before you close a paid account, download a last copy of your mail.

    From Gmail's page: Gmail.

I checked the providers' help pages on 24 October 2026. Menus move, so if a step doesn't match what you see, tell me and I'll update it.

Moving to Runbox from somewhere else? Outlook.com to Runbox · iCloud Mail to Runbox · Proton Mail to Runbox · Fastmail to Runbox · Tuta to Runbox · mailbox.org to Runbox · All switching guides

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