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How to Export Mac Mail to PST Format? Step by Step Guide

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Published By Jamie Kaler 
Rollins Duke
Approved By Rollins Duke
Published On December 25th, 2025
Reading Time 8 Min Read

If you are looking for a solution to export Apple Mail to PST format then, this blog will help you to easily export Mac Mail to PST file. We all know that Apple Mail is the default email application of the Mac Machine. So most Mac users prefer it to manage their email data.

Although Apple Mail is a good email client, many users still want to switch to a more professional email client i.e., Microsoft Outlook. To migrate their data, they just need to export the data into an Outlook-supported format i.e., PST.

Let us discuss the entire solution to export Apple Mail to PST. Here, you will get step-by-step instructions to achieve this. Before starting the process, have a look at the Table of Contents to check what you will get here.

Although, Apple Mail stores its mailboxes in .mbox file format. And if you ever drag and drop the mailbox folders from Outlook for Mac 2016 & 2019, you will also get .mbox files. This usually leads to a misconception that both Apple Mail and Outlook for Mac use compatible formats.

Export Apple Mail to Outlook PST Manually

You can export Apple Mail to PST format through Gmail, that will work as a mediator. Gmail is a web-based, free email service that can connect with both Apple Mail and Outlook to move data safely.

Below are the step-by-step processes given below with all the information. Let’s start the process to export Mac Mail to PST file.

Step 1: Configure Gmail Account to Apple Mail 

  1. Secondly, open your Mac Mail on the system.
  2. Now, click on the “Mail” icon and then “Add Account” option.
  3. Now, choose the “Google” as option and then the “Continue” icon.
  4. Provide the login credentials such as email address and click on the “Next” button.
  5. Grant all the required permissions to proceed.
  6. Now select all the data that you want to migrate.
  7. Lastly, click on the “Done” button..

Once your account is configured, create a new folder in your Gmail account and then drag and drop all the emails from Apple Mail to Gmail account.

Step 2: Configure Similar Account in Outlook

  1. First of all, “Open Outlook” on your system.
  2. Now, click on “File” and then select “Add Account”.
  3. Now, type “Gmail address and click on “Connect” button.
  4. A “Google sign-in window will now appear”, login with your Gmail account.
  5. In the Google permission windows, click on “Allow”.
  6. Lastly, click on “Done” and Gmail account will be synced in Outlook.

Step 3: Export Emails as PST Format

  1. First of all, “restart your Outlook account”.
  2. Now, click on the “File” option.
  3. click on the “Open & Export” option, then click on “Import/Export” button.
    import and export option
  4. Now, click on the “Export to a File” option and then click on “Next” button.
    export file
  5. Select your Outlook data by clicking on “Outlook Data File (.pst)” option and then click on “Next” button.
    outlook data file
  6. Choose the folder that contains your Apple Mail emails and then click on “Next” icon.
    choose folder
  7. Lastly, choose the location to save your output data and click on “Finish” button to export Apple Mail to Outlook.
    process completed

Why Professionals Avoid This Manual Method?

  • A properly configured Gmail account is mandatory to act as intermediary during the process.
  • There is a significant risk of losing emails and other data while migrating and syncing mailboxes.
  • This method does not provide any assurance and guarantee that you will get accurate results.
  • It involves multiple steps and a lengthy process, making it hectic and time-consuming.

How to Export Mailbox from Mac Mail to PST Format?

RecoveryTools Apple Mail Converter is an expert’s trusted tool that helps you to export Apple Mail to PST files. Moreover, all novices, as well as technical users, can easily work on this tool without facing any kind of size limitations or issues.

The utility also supports exporting into 30+ other formats and carries out the data instantly without facing any kind of size issues or limitations. Apart from that, the software has been developed with multiple advanced algorithms and with that imposes multiple other features that make the users work according to their convenience.

Just download the mentioned tool for free of cost to export Apple Mail to PST. Use the trial version, and it will help you try all the software features before purchasing the tool. It has a limitation of exporting only 25 emails from each folder.

How to Export Mac Mail to PST File in Bulk? Complete Guide

Here we are going to mention the complete method to export Apple Mail to PST format in bulk using one of the best professional tools to convert Mac Mail to PST format. both steps are explained below:

Step 1: Export Mailboxes from Apple Mail

  1. First, open the Mac Mail on your machine.
  2. Select all the mailboxes that you want to export to PST.
  3. Click on Mailbox >> Export Mailbox.

    Export Mailbox

  4. You can also export a single mailbox by right-clicking on it and choosing the Export mailbox option.
  5. Choose the location where you want to save the Apple Mailboxes.

    location

  6. Once done, you can view all resultant Apple Mail mailbox files.

Now, we have the data. So, we will convert the resultant MBOX files to PST format using a tried and trusted solution.

Step 2: Export Apple Mail to PST Format Professionally

  1. Download and install the mentioned software on your system to export Mac Mail to PST file.

    export apple mail to pst

  2. Upload the single or multiple MBOX using the Select Files and Select Folders options and hit the Next button.

    load files to export apple mail to pst

  3. All the folders and subfolders will appear and the required data as per choice.

    preview to export apple mail to pst

  4. Click on the Select Saving Option and choose PST as the saving option.

    choose pst to export apple mail to pst

  5. Click on the Filter Options tab and enable the advanced filter options to export Apple Mail to PST selectively.

    filter options to export apple mail to pst

  6. Enable the required advanced modes such as Separate PST, Split PST, and Change Language to map folders into different languages.

    advanced modes to export apple mail to pst

  7. Browse the new location to save your resultant PST file using the Browse button.

    location to export apple mail to pst

  8. Lastly, hit on the Convert button to start the process of converting MBOX to PST format.

    converting Mac Mail to PST format

Benefits of Using Mac Mail to PST Converter

The software export Apple Mail to PST with all the attachments kept intact with the respective email. It always ensures the integrity of exported data without creating any modifications. It provides various features that facilitate the secure conversion of Mac Mail to PST format such as;

  • Export multiple mailboxes from Apple Mail within a single attempt without having any limitations.
  • Preserve & maintain all properties of entire mailbox data while exporting to PST.
  • Export emails to PST format along with attachments whether they are normal or embedded.
  • Retain folder & subfolder hierarchy and will not lead to any kind of discomfort.
  • Allow generating separate PST corresponding to each Mac Mailbox and will export a UNICODE PST file that can be easily utilized by all the versions of Outlook.
  • Split option to break a large mailbox into smaller PST files to make it more convenient to use.
Commonly Asked Questions
  • Ques 1: How do I export a CSV file from Apple Mail?
    1. Open your Contacts app.
    2. Select the needed contacts.
    3. Hit on the File >> Export >> Export vCard.
    4. Browse the saving location.
    5. Hit on the Save button.
  • Ques 2: What is the export limit for Apple Mail?

    Ans: Apple Mac Mail allows users to export a size of 2.15 GB.

  • Ques 3: Is PST compatible with Mac?

    Ans: Yes, your PST file is compatible with your Mac machine in Mac Outlook.

  • Ques 4: What are rules in Apple Mail?

    Ans: Users can create rules easily to manage their incoming emails and automate tasks including replying to or deleting messages.

Final Thoughts

Email conversion is always a tedious process if one is not aware of certain technical aspects. The same holds for the scenario involving Apple Mail, the default mail client of the Mac machine. If you were one of the users who wanted to export Apple Mail to PST, this write-up should have solved everything for you.

Here, we have described the proven 2 step solution that has exported thousands of mailboxes globally from Mac Mail to PST format. And that too without any hiccups. Therefore, if you want to export Mac Mail to PST file, the process is no longer be a difficult task and will be completely possible after using this tool. To get more information and assistance, you can get in touch with out Technical Support Team anytime.