How to Import Gmail Contacts to Outlook? Stepwise Guide

  

Rollins Duke   
Published: June 26th, 2025 • 6 Min Read

Moving to a new email platform can be difficult, especially if you have a large network of connections. But do not be afraid! This tutorial can assist if you’re switching from Gmail to Outlook and are scared of losing your valuable contact list. In this blog, we’ll lead you through the basic steps to import Gmail contacts to Outlook, which ensures a smooth transfer and keeps you in touch with everyone you need.

Gmail has excellent spam filtering and free cloud storage, whereas Outlook works smoothly with Microsoft Office applications and includes strong organizational tools. When switching email clients, transferring your Gmail contacts to Outlook allows you to use these organizing tools while also keeping your contact list centralized.

Why Import Gmail Contacts to Outlook?

There are various reasons why you would want to import your Gmail contacts into Outlook:

• It keeps all of your contacts in one location for simpler management and access.
• There is no need to switch between platforms when composing emails.
• Use Outlook’s functionalities, such as contact groups and distribution lists, to improve communication.
• If you are more familiar with the Outlook interface.
• The import Gmail contacts to Outlook process helps users with professional purposes, as several organizations rely on Outlook.
• With Outlook, users can benefit from the additional layer of backup offered by the platform. 
• When users move contacts from Gmail to Outlook, they are able to sync the contacts with several Microsoft applications and devices. 
• Along with the other benefits in Outlook, users also get the advanced contact management features such as categorization, grouping, and other follow-up options. 

Some Expert Tips On How to Copy Contacts from Gmail to Outlook

Before you start the import procedure, here are some useful tips:

• Make sure your contact information is up-to-date and accurate to avoid any issues during import.
• If you have a large number of contacts, consider grouping them in Gmail for easy selection during export. This can also help with future organizing in Outlook.
• Choose the correct file format because Outlook imports contacts via Comma Separated Values (.CSV) files.
• Before proceeding with the import Google contacts to Outlook 365 process, make sure to remove the duplicate data and sort the contacts for efficient transfer.
• To avoid any misstep during the move contacts from Gmail to Outlook process, it’s crucial to go for the right option. 
• During the import Gmail contacts to Outlook procedure, users might risk compromising data integrity. Therefore, try the import process on a smaller batch of contacts first to check the process accuracy.
• Permissions are a crucial aspect for Outlook to access and modify the contacts. So, ensure the specified Outlook has the required permissions.

Steps to Transfer Contacts from Gmail to Outlook

The manual way of transferring the Gmail contacts to Outlook account has two stages. The first stage explains how to export the contacts from the desired Gmail account to a CSV format. Whereas, the second phase elaborates on how to import the contacts into the Outlook account. Let’s take a look at these stages one by one for a better understanding of the method.

Stage 1: Export Contacts from Gmail

1. Firstly, sign in to your Gmail account.
2. Secondly, click on the square made up of nine dots.
3. Thirdly, click on the Contacts Icon from the multiple apps.
4. Hit the Export button from the left panel of the screen.
5. Select the category that you want to transfer, like the ‘frequently contacted’ or any other label.
6. Pick the Google CSV option as the target format.
7. Hit the export button to finish the first step to export Gmail contacts to Outlook.

Stage 2: Import Gmail Contacts to Outlook

Now you have the Gmail exported contacts in CSV format, so you can import Google contacts to Outlook 365. This approach includes the use of the default wizard.

1. Open MS Outlook on your Windows system.
2. Navigate to File >> Open & Export >> Import/Export.
3. Choose “Import from another program or file” as your source in the Import and Export Wizard window.
4. Then, choose the Comma Separated Values option under the “Select file type to import from“.
5. Hit the browse option to choose the destination location and select an action for duplicates.
6. Click the Next option to continue the move contacts from Gmail to Outlook process.

Steps to Import VCF File to Outlook

1. Upload the vCard file by clicking the Select Files or Select Folders option.
   
2. Choose the .vcf file on the software panel.
   
3. Select the PST option from the 10+ saving options.
   
4. You can change the destination location to transfer Gmail to Outlook.
5. Lastly, you are ready to import Gmail contacts to Outlook in bulk.