Switch from Google Workspace to Gmail: step by step

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

Moving fromGmailOutlook.comiCloud MailProton MailFastmailTutamailbox.orgPosteoZoho MailGoogle WorkspaceMicrosoft 365 BusinessMailfenceStartMailRunboxAnother providerMoving toGmailOutlook.comiCloud MailProton MailFastmailTutamailbox.orgPosteoZoho MailGoogle WorkspaceMicrosoft 365 BusinessMailfenceStartMailRunboxAnother provider

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1. Before you start

   • Check where your address lives. Google Workspace runs on your own domain, like you@yourname.co.uk, so your address comes with you: you'll change a few DNS settings.
   • Check the space you need. See how much mail you have in Google Workspace, and compare it with Gmail's plans (the cheapest is Free (Google One 100 GB for more space), Free; 100 GB about £1.59–£1.99 a month, with 15 GB).
   • Read the small print. Gmail's page covers exporting, cancelling and refunds under "Before you sign up".

2. Open your Gmail account

   Sign up on Gmail's website (Free), and turn on two-step sign-in straight away. You'll find the link on Gmail's page: Gmail.

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 Google Workspace to Gmail. 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 Google Workspace, then import them into Gmail. Most providers have both options in their contacts and calendar settings.

5. 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 Google Workspace is arriving, and isn't going to spam.

6. Close Google Workspace, 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.

   • Cancelling: An admin cancels the subscription in the Google Admin console. If you bought through a reseller, cancel with them.
   • Refunds: Cancelling an Annual/Fixed-Term Plan early still charges the rest of the contract. On the Flexible Plan, charges stop when you cancel.

   From Google Workspace's page: Google Workspace.

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.

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