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Switch from Outlook.com to Tuta: step by step

How to move your mail, contacts and address from Outlook.com to Tuta 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

  • Microsoft closes an Outlook.com inbox that hasn't been signed in to for a year, so sign in now and then while forwarding is on.
  • Tuta has no IMAP either, so mail has to go in as files through its desktop app, on the Legend and Unlimited plans.
  1. Before you start

    • Check where your address lives. If it ends in @outlook.com, it belongs to Outlook.com 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 Outlook.com, and compare it with Tuta's plans (the cheapest is Revolutionary, About €3 a month, yearly, with 20 GB).
    • Read the small print. Tuta's page covers exporting, cancelling and refunds under "Before you sign up".
  2. Open your Tuta account

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

  3. Bring your mail across

    Export, then import. Save your mail as .mbox or .eml files from a mail app connected to Outlook.com over IMAP (Thunderbird does this with its free ImportExportTools add-on).

    Then bring them in: Tuta imports .eml and .mbox files in its desktop app (Settings, then Email import), on the Legend and Unlimited plans.

    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 Outlook.com, then import them into Tuta. Most providers have both options in their contacts and calendar settings.

  5. Keep your @outlook.com address working

    1. Forward new mail. In Outlook.com, open Settings, then Mail, then Forwarding, and add your new address. You'll be asked to turn on two-step verification if it isn't on already. Outlook.com'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 Outlook.com is arriving, and isn't going to spam.
  7. Close Outlook.com, 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: Cancel Microsoft 365 from your Microsoft account. You keep using it until the date you've paid up to. If you bought it through Apple, Google Play or a shop, cancel with them.
    • Refunds: A refund if you cancel within 30 days of first buying, or before your first renewal, whichever comes first. You can also get your latest renewal back if you cancel within 30 days of paying, once per account.

    From Outlook.com's page: Outlook.com.

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 Tuta from somewhere else? Gmail to Tuta · iCloud Mail to Tuta · Proton Mail to Tuta · Fastmail to Tuta · mailbox.org to Tuta · Posteo to Tuta · All switching guides

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