How to Migrate from Google Workspace to Microsoft 365? (Manual & Direct Ways)

Published By Jamie Kaler

Approved By Rollins Duke

Published On November 5th, 2026

Reading Time 5 Min Read

Organizations can migrate from Google Workspace to Microsoft 365. For emails, users can employ Exchange Admin Center (EAC), an IMAP workaround, or Exchange Online Powershell. To transfer files from Google Drive, users can resort to SharePoint Migration Manager. However, to directly transfer emails, attachments, and contact information together and in bulk, the best option is to use the specialized Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 migration tool offered by Recovery Tools.

Native Manual Methods (Fragmented & High Complexity): Microsoft does not offer a built-in migration tool. Admins must combine multiple methods:
- Exchange Admin Center (EAC) via Google Cloud API: This is the standard native tool for emails that require generating JSON keys.
- Legacy IMAP Migration: This is meant only for standard email moves and requires using manual App Passwords. It does not work for contacts or calendars.
- Exchange Online PowerShell: For command-line scripting of large-scale email batches.
- SharePoint Migration Manager: This involves the requirement to have separate access to another portal to help move Google Drive files.
The Dedicated Tool (Best Option): RecoveryTools Google Workspace to Office 365 migration tool utilizes OAuth 2.0 and the Microsoft Graph API. This allows admins to directly migrate multiple users from Google Workspace to Office 365 along with emails, attachments, and contacts in bulk in a single process. It preserves the original mailbox structure, formatting, and metadata during the process.

When an organization decides to migrate from Google Workspace to Microsoft 365, the transition involves transferring a massive ecosystem of emails, contacts, calendars, and drives. A single misconfiguration can lead to missing emails, broken folder hierarchies, and severe operational downtime.

Whether you are executing a full tenant-to-tenant transfer to migrate data from Google Workspace to Office 365, or simply need to migrate email from Google Workspace to Office 365, selecting the right methodology is critical for data security.

Overall, in this comprehensive guide, we provide the ultimate Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 migration step-by-step instructions. We will break down every manual method to migrate mail from Google Workspace to Microsoft 365, detail their inherent limitations, and demonstrate why utilizing a highly secure, Google Workspace to Office 365 migration tool is the overwhelmingly preferred method for IT professionals to seamlessly migrate mailboxes from Google Workspace to Office 365.

Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 Migration Prerequisites

Before you migrate from Google Workspace to Microsoft 365, you need to fully prepare both platforms in order to avoid failures in the migration process. Among the prerequisites you need to meet to perform migration from Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 are the following:

Administrator access to both platforms: You need to have Super Admin access to Google Workspace and Global Admin access to your Microsoft 365 environment.
Domain verification on the Microsoft 365 Admin Center: You need to add TXT or MX records to verify your domain in the Admin Center.
Target user creation: You need to create all target user accounts in Office 365 and assign active licenses to them; in fact, migration just moves the data to the existing user accounts, it does not create any.
App passwords/API access: Depending on the method you are using for the migration, you may have either to enable IMAP and create App passwords for all users or create Google Cloud Service accounts.

All Native Manual Methods to Migrate from Google Workspace to Microsoft 365

Microsoft does not offer a single, unified tool to move your entire Google Workspace environment to Microsoft 365. Instead, IT admins are forced to piece together different manual methods depending on the data type and tenant size.

Method 1: Google Cloud API Migration (EAC)

The modern recommendation for moving mailboxes, calendars, and contacts natively is via the Exchange Admin Center using APIs. However, because Google and Microsoft utilize vastly different architectures, this process strictly demands flawless Google Cloud API management.

Requires enabling the Gmail, Calendar, and People APIs in Google Cloud.
Moreover, it requires generating a JSON key from a Service Account.
Requires granting Domain-Wide Delegation in the Google Admin Console.

Method 2: Legacy IMAP Migration (Step-by-Step)

If configuring Google Cloud APIs is too complex, administrators often rely on the traditional IMAP migration method through the Exchange Admin Center. Below are the step-by-step instructions for this process:

Step 1: Prepare Exchange Admin Center

Firstly, log in to your Microsoft 365 admin account and open the Exchange Admin Center (EAC).
Then, on the left-hand side, navigate to the Recipients section and click on the Migration tab.

Note: Enter the account credentials wisely to avoid unnecessary interruptions.

Step 2: Select Migration Type

Select your preferred migration type:

Select New >> Migrate to Exchange Online.
Then, under Options, select IMAP Migration.

Step 3: Upload CSV File

Firstly, prepare a single CSV file with all the user email addresses and Google Workspace App Passwords credentials to upload.
After that, upload the CSV file and select Next to migrate from Google Workspace to Microsoft 365.

Step 4: Setup IMAP Settings

Follow the IMAP workaround to migrate emails from Google Workspace to Office 365:

Initially, Enter the IMAP details needed for Google Workspace:
- IMAP Server: imap.gmail.com
- Port: 993
- Encryption: SSL/TLS
- Click Next.

Step 5: Create Migration Batch

Name your migration batch.
Furthermore, determine the max failed items allowed per mailbox.
Select Next.

Step 6: Start Migration

Finally, start the Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 migration:

Select the recipient to receive the migration report.
Choose the Automatically start the batch option.
You can monitor the migration process from the Migration tab.
Eventually, the email data will be migrated into Office 365 mailboxes successfully.

Limitations of the Manual IMAP Method

Even though the manual method is free, this means that only the emails get migrated, with no contacts, calendars, or Google Drive files.
Furthermore, it has a limit of 50,000 mailboxes and 10 MB per file.
Moreover, manual app passwords have to be generated for each Google Workspace user as well.
Hence, there is also a high chance of losing data because of manual misconfiguration and inadequate migration filters.

Method 3: Exchange Online PowerShell

In the case of larger organizations transferring a large number of users from Google Workspace to Microsoft 365, the administrators can skip the EAC interface.

This requires deep command-line expertise to execute module commands like New-MigrationEndpoint and New-MigrationBatch.
It still requires the exact same complex backend setup as the EAC/IMAP methods.

Method 4: SharePoint Migration Manager (Files)

All three email techniques mentioned earlier are capable of transferring Google Drive files to Office 365. The only way that you can transfer documents is to use some other application- namely, SharePoint Migration Manager.

Open the SharePoint Admin Center and go to Migration Manager.
After that, Choose Google Workspace as your source.
Initially, download and install the Microsoft 365 migration app from the Google Workspace Marketplace to confirm the connection.
Then, examine the Google Drives of your users to map them correctly to their OneDrive accounts and begin the transfer.

Why Google Workspace to Office 365 Migration Tool Is the Better Option

As outlined above, attempting to natively migrate from Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 forces administrators to juggle up to four fragmented methods. IMAP migrations leave crucial contact data completely stranded, while API methods are incredibly prone to JSON key errors.

By utilizing a Google Workspace to Office 365 migration tool, you consolidate this exhausting, multi-portal process into a single, unified dashboard. It is the overwhelmingly preferred option for organizations that cannot afford data loss or extended downtime.

Feature / Risk Factor	Manual Methods (EAC + IMAP + Migration Manager)	Google Workspace to Office 365 migration tool
Migration Interfaces Required	Fragmented (3 to 4 Separate Portals)	Single Unified Dashboard
Migrates Contacts?	No (If using IMAP)	Yes (Fully Supported)
Authentication Protocol	Legacy Service Accounts / App Passwords	Highly Secure OAuth 2.0 & MS Graph API
Data Filtering & Granularity	All-or-Nothing Batching	Advanced Date & Folder Filters

The Highly Secure Tool to Migrate Data from Google Workspace to Office 365

For businesses demanding flawless execution without the headache of native tools, the Google Workspace Backup Tool is the ultimate solution.

This utility allows administrators to effortlessly migrate from Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 without wrestling with backend cloud configurations. It securely transfers your crucial email and contact data while flawlessly maintaining folder hierarchy, meta-properties, and attachments in one go.

Download Now Purchase Now

Enterprise-Grade Security: OAuth & Microsoft Graph API

Unlike basic IMAP scripts, this software guarantees connection stability and enterprise compliance by supporting OAuth authentication for Google Workspace and Microsoft Graph API integration for Office 365 account:

OAuth 2.0 Authentication: The tool utilizes token-based OAuth to access your Google tenant. The software never asks for, sees, or stores user passwords. It generates a secure, revocable token directly from Google.
Microsoft Graph API Integration: To migrate Google Workspace data into Office 365, the software connects via the Microsoft Graph API. This bypasses legacy protocol throttling, ensures lightning-fast data transfer, and natively supports Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA).

Prime Features of the Migration Tool

Batch & Admin Mode: Seamlessly migrate users from Google Workspace to Office 365 in bulk. Authenticate once as an admin and upload a CSV file to process hundreds of mailboxes simultaneously.
Incremental Migration: The software intelligently detects previously migrated emails, transferring only new or updated data on subsequent runs to ensure a rapid, duplicate-free final cutover.
100% Data Integrity: Moreover, Google Workspace to Office 365 migration tool preserves all email metadata (To, CC, BCC, Subject, Date), rich-text formatting, inline images, attachments, and exact folder structures.
Advanced Data Filters: Furthermore, RecoveryTools Google Workspace to Office 365 migration tool allows to apply date-range, subject, and sender filters to selectively migrate from Google Workspace to Microsoft 365, leaving legacy or unnecessary data behind.

Quick Steps to Migrate

Download, install, and launch the Google Workspace to Office 365 migration tool.
Authenticate your Google Workspace account securely via OAuth.
After that, select the required user folders you wish to move.
Click on Select Saving and choose the Office 365 option.
Authenticate your target Office 365 admin account via Graph API and click Backup.

Detailed Step-by-Step Video Guide

Launch the software. Click “Next” and securely log in to your Google Workspace account via the secure OAuth prompt.
Then, Enable Use Batch Mode to map and migrate multiple employee accounts simultaneously.
The software will load the complete mailbox hierarchy. Check the specific folders and subfolders required for transfer.
After that, Select Office 365 from the drop-down saving menu list.
Apply any needed advanced filter options (such as specifying a specific date range) to exclude unnecessary data.
Input your destination Microsoft 365 login credentials. The tool uses the Microsoft Graph API to connect securely, bypassing legacy throttling. Hit the “Backup” button.
At the end, once the software completes the process, a success message will appear on the screen. Click “OK”.

Final Verdict

While an IT team can technically migrate from Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 manually, the high risk of human error, complex Google Cloud API management, and split admin portals make it a massive operational liability. However, by using a unified, OAuth-secured Google Workspace to Office 365 migration tool, your organization is guaranteed to securely and efficiently migrate from Google Workspace to Office 365 with zero data loss, preserving business productivity from day one.