Leaving Gmail has two parts. Moving your old mail is mostly waiting for an import to finish. Moving your address is the real project, because your bank, your tax account, your phone carrier and a few hundred shops all know you by it. If one of them sends a password reset to an inbox you no longer read, you can get locked out.
This plan handles that with overlap. Gmail keeps forwarding to your new inbox for a year or more while you move accounts over, most important first. Nothing gets cut off until it’s safe.
The Plan at a Glance
| Phase | When | Hands-on time | What you do |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. New mailbox | Day 1 | 30–60 minutes | Open the account, optionally on your own domain |
| 2. Forward and announce | Day 1 | 10 minutes | Forwarding plus an auto-reply with the new address |
| 3. Import | Day 1–2 | 10 minutes, then hours to days | Old mail, contacts and calendars |
| 4. Important accounts | Weeks 1–8 | 3–5 minutes per account | Change the address, highest-risk accounts first |
| 5. The tail | Months 3–24 | Minutes a week | Update stragglers as they turn up |
| 6. Retire Gmail | After 12–24 months | 10 minutes | Delete Gmail, or keep it as a dormant forwarder |
Partial is fine. Plenty of people finish phase 4 and leave forwarding on for years.
Before You Start
Pick your provider. Our full comparison is on the Gmail alternatives page. For this move, the three most common choices differ mainly in how they import, as the table below shows.
| Provider | How it imports Gmail | Price (Oct 2026) | Choose it if |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proton Mail | Easy Switch connects to Gmail for mail and forwarding, and its More import options bring contacts and calendars | Free (1 GB). Mail Plus about $4.99/month, or $3.99/month billed yearly | You want the easiest move and end-to-end encryption |
| Tuta | A Takeout MBOX file, imported in Tuta’s desktop app (Legend plan) | Revolutionary about €3/month, Legend about €8/month, billed yearly | You want the most encryption for the money |
| Fastmail | Built-in Gmail import for mail, calendars and contacts | About $5/month billed yearly, or $6 monthly | You want the most Gmail-like experience and can skip end-to-end encryption |
Then get these ready before you start.
- A password manager. Its list of logins becomes half of your account inventory.
- Your Google password and 2-Step Verification device.
- A computer. Gmail’s forwarding settings exist only on the web.
- A paid plan if your Gmail is large. Proton’s free plan holds 1 GB.
Open Your New Mailbox on Day 1
Sign up, save a long unique password in your password manager and turn on two-factor authentication. Install the phone app today so the new inbox becomes the one you check.
Decide on a Custom Domain (Optional)
A custom domain gives you an address like you@yourname.com. You pay a yearly fee to a domain registrar. In return, you never repeat the account-updating phase. If you change provider later, you point the domain’s MX records at the new one and keep your address.
Proton Mail Plus includes 1 custom domain, Tuta Revolutionary 3 and Tuta Legend 10, and mailbox.org Standard includes them too (Oct 2026). Free plans from Proton and Tuta don’t. Your provider lists the DNS records to add at your registrar. Copy them exactly, then wait for the provider to show them as verified.
A provider address is fine too. A future move would just mean updating your accounts again.
Forward Gmail and Announce Your New Address on Day 1
Using Proton? Skip the forwarding steps, because Easy Switch turns forwarding on for you. Do set up the auto-reply.
Turn on Gmail Forwarding
- Open Gmail on a computer. Click the gear (Settings), then See all settings.
- Open the Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab.
- Click Add a forwarding address, type your new address, then click Next, Proceed and OK.
- Open your new mailbox, find Google’s verification email and click the link.
- Back in Gmail, refresh and open Forwarding and POP/IMAP again.
- Select Forward a copy of incoming mail to and pick your new address.
- Choose Keep Gmail’s copy in the Inbox, which Google recommends. Archiving Gmail’s copy also works.
- Click Save Changes.
Keeping Gmail’s copy leaves you a searchable backup during the move.
Turn on a Vacation Responder
- In Gmail on a computer, click the gear, then See all settings.
- On the General tab, scroll to Vacation responder and select Vacation responder on.
- Set the start date to today and an end date a few months out. Add a subject and message.
- Click Save Changes.
Here is a message that works. Use the subject line My email address has changed.
I’ve moved to new@example.org. This Gmail address will stop working on [date]. Please update your address book. Messages sent here are forwarded for now.
Leave the contacts-only option unticked. Gmail replies once per sender, and again if they write after 4 days. Spam and mailing lists get no reply, so the responder mainly reaches people. You’ll update companies yourself.
Import Your Old Mail, Contacts and Calendar on Day 1 or 2
You don’t have to bring every old message. Start the import, then work on your accounts while it runs.
Import With Proton Easy Switch
- In Proton Mail, open Settings, then All settings, then Import via Easy Switch.
- Choose Google, then Connect to Gmail. Import emails is ticked by default.
- On Google’s permission screen, tick Select all, then click Continue. If you leave out a permission, setup fails.
Easy Switch then imports your most recent mail, up to 80% of your Proton storage. It also connects your Gmail address, so new Gmail mail keeps arriving in Proton and you can send as your Gmail address. Calendars come through a separate import, described next.
For calendars, contacts and older mail, go back to Import via Easy Switch and use More import options, then Google. Tick Emails, Contacts and Calendars as needed, then click Start import, or Customize to pick a time range (1, 3, 6 or 12 months, or all) and which labels to bring. Contacts come across with their groups (up to 10,000), and calendars arrive as a new calendar unless you choose Merge with calendar. Running a mail import again doesn’t create duplicates. Big mailboxes take hours to days, and progress shows on the Import via Easy Switch page.
Our Gmail to Proton Mail guide goes further, with how labels land, rebuilding filters, aliases and the Bridge app.
Keep these limits in mind.
- The free plan connects one Gmail account; paid plans connect three.
- Personal Gmail only. Google Workspace and custom-domain Gmail aren’t supported.
- Only mail that lands in your Gmail Inbox is forwarded. A Gmail filter that skips the Inbox keeps that mail in Gmail.
- Mail you send as your @gmail.com address to people outside Proton still goes through Google.
Import a Takeout File Into Tuta
Tuta has no IMAP and no direct Gmail connection. You download your mail as an MBOX file and import it in Tuta’s desktop app. Email import needs the Legend plan (or Tuta’s Unlimited plan).
- Go to takeout.google.com, click Deselect all, then tick Mail only.
- Click Next step. Choose Send download link via email, a one-time export, .zip and 50GB, then create the export.
- When Google’s email arrives, download every part and unzip it. Your mail is in one large .mbox file.
- In the Tuta desktop app, open Settings, then Email Import, and choose the .mbox file.
- Turn on Gmail forwarding with the steps above.
Export contacts and calendars from Google (see troubleshooting) and import the .vcf and .ics files into Tuta using the import menus in Tuta’s help pages. Our Google Takeout guide covers the export in detail, and our Gmail to Tuta guide walks through the whole move, including which plan you need.
Use Fastmail’s Built-In Import
- In Fastmail, open Settings, then Migration, then Import.
- Choose Gmail / Google Workspace, click Sign in with Google, then Allow.
- Pick mail, calendars and contacts, then click Do it.
Gmail labels become folders, so a message with three labels is copied into three folders. Switch Fastmail to labels mode if you prefer labels. Export your Gmail filters and import them under Filters & Rules. Don’t run two imports at once, or you’ll get duplicates. Then turn on Gmail forwarding.
Any Other Provider
Technical users can copy mail over IMAP with a tool such as imapsync. Otherwise, download the Takeout MBOX (Tuta steps 1–3), open it in Thunderbird with the ImportExportTools NG add-on, and drag the folders into your new IMAP account.
Keep an Offline Archive Anyway
Even after a full import, download Mail from Takeout once and keep the .mbox file on an external drive. It opens in Thunderbird. Takeout links expire after about 7 days, and each file can be downloaded 5 times.
Move Your Accounts to the New Address in Weeks 1 to 8
Budget 20–40 minutes to find your accounts, 1–2 hours to turn them into a list, then 3–5 minutes per account.
Build Your Account List
Combine the three sources below, because each one misses accounts the others catch.
- Your Sign in with Google list at myaccount.google.com/linkedapps, filtered to Sign in with Google. These accounts may have no password at all. Our Sign in with Google guide walks through the page.
- Your password manager. Every login that uses your Gmail address is an account to update.
- Gmail search. Paste these into Gmail’s search box.
in:anywhereincludes Spam and Trash.
subject:(welcome OR verify OR confirm OR "activate your account" OR "confirm your email" OR "verify your email") in:anywhere
subject:("reset your password" OR "password reset" OR "new sign-in" OR "security alert") in:anywhere
subject:(receipt OR invoice OR "order confirmation" OR subscription OR renewal) in:anywhere
Select the results and apply a label such as MIGRATE to keep the list in one place. Also look for accounts that use Gmail only as a backup address, such as a Microsoft or Apple account. They need updating too.
Our scan tool can do the sorting. Paste your Sign in with Google list and load your Google password export, and it builds a prioritized list in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, and it never asks you to sign in to Google.
Update Accounts in This Order
- Accounts that can reset other accounts come first. That means your bank, government and tax, health, your Apple or Microsoft account, your password manager, domain registrar and mobile carrier.
- Money accounts come next, such as shops with saved cards, PayPal and subscriptions.
- Social and everyday accounts.
- Newsletters. Unsubscribe where you can instead of moving them. Google Alerts belong to your Google Account, so re-create the ones you want with one of our Google Alerts alternatives.
Do the first group in week 1. After that, update each account when its next email arrives through forwarding.
Change the Address on One Account
- Log in to the site, with your password or with Google one last time.
- Find the email setting, usually under Account, Profile or Settings, sometimes under Security or Login.
- Enter your new address. Most sites send a confirmation link to the new address, and some also confirm through the old one, which is why Gmail stays alive for now.
- Click the confirmation link in your new mailbox.
- Update any separate recovery email, two-factor backup or notification address.
- Log out, log back in with the new address, and update your password manager entry.
Accounts That Use Sign in With Google
Log in with Google one last time and change the account’s email. Set a password on the site (if there’s no option, log out and use its forgot-password link while Gmail still works) and turn on its two-factor authentication. Only then go to myaccount.google.com/linkedapps, open the app, and choose See details, Stop using Sign in with Google and Confirm. Some apps allow only one sign-in method per account; ask their support how to switch.
Use Aliases for New Sign-Ups
An alias is an extra address that delivers to your inbox. Give each shop or newsletter its own, and turn it off when it gets spam. With an alias service, a future provider move means changing one setting instead of every site. Proton Mail has hide-my-email aliases, Fastmail has masked email, and SimpleLogin, addy.io and DuckDuckGo’s email addresses work with any provider. Keep banks, government and recovery logins on your main address, so they don’t depend on one more service.
Catch the Last Accounts in Months 3 to 24
Once a week, search your new inbox for messages sent to your Gmail address. Each one is a sender to update, unsubscribe from or ignore. Yearly emails (taxes, insurance, renewals, domain reminders) arrive only once, which is why forwarding should run at least 12 months. Many people keep it for 1–2 years.
Extend the vacation responder if mail still arrives at the old address, and send friends and family a personal note. They’re the most likely to type your old address from memory.
Retire Gmail by Deleting It or Keeping It as a Dormant Forwarder
When the forwarded mail is down to spam and unwanted newsletters, decide.
| Keep Gmail dormant | Delete Gmail only | |
|---|---|---|
| Forwarding | Keeps working | Stops |
| Your old address | Still receives mail | Stops working; never given to anyone else |
| Effort | Sign in at least once a year | About 10 minutes, once |
| Risk | Google can delete personal accounts unused for 2 years | Any account you missed can no longer reach you |
Keeping it dormant is the safe default. Google may delete a personal account not used within a 2-year period, and reading email counts as use, so sign in and read something at least once a year. If Proton’s Easy Switch connection does your forwarding, leave it in place.
Deleting Gmail only keeps your Google account, Drive and Google Play purchases. Download one last Takeout of Mail first.
- Go to myaccount.google.com/deleteservices (or Manage your Google Account, Data & privacy, Remove data from services you no longer use) and sign in again.
- Next to Gmail, click Delete (the trash icon).
- Enter an alternate address that isn’t a Gmail address. Use your new one. It becomes your Google sign-in.
- Click Next, then confirm through Google’s verification email at that address. Nothing is removed until you do.
Gmail deletes your emails and settings after 30 days. If you change your mind soon, you may be able to recover it, but Google warns that after a while your emails might not come back. To remove the whole account instead, see how to delete your Google account.
Last, clean up. Any importer you allowed appears at myaccount.google.com/linkedapps under Access to your Google Account. Remove it once you no longer need forwarding. To end Proton’s forward, open Import via Easy Switch, then History, Delete forward and Remove.
Troubleshooting
The Forwarding Verification Email Doesn’t Arrive
Check your new mailbox’s spam folder and the address for typos. If it’s wrong, remove it on the Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab and add it again. Google sends a link, not a code.
Some Gmail Messages Aren’t Forwarded
With Easy Switch, only mail that reaches your Gmail Inbox is forwarded. Look through Gmail’s filters for any that skip the Inbox, and change them.
Your Gmail Is Bigger Than Your New Plan
Easy Switch imports newest mail first, up to 80% of your Proton storage. Use Customize to import the last 12 months and keep the rest in your MBOX archive. Folder-based mailboxes store one copy per label, so leave headroom.
The Import Is Slow or Seems Stuck
Large mailboxes take hours to days. For Fastmail, check that IMAP is enabled on Gmail’s Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab, with the folder size set to Do not limit the number of messages in an IMAP folder (default). Don’t start a second import while one is running.
Contacts or Calendars Didn’t Come Across
- With Proton, open Import via Easy Switch, choose More import options, then Google, and tick Contacts and Calendars.
- Contacts can be exported at contacts.google.com. Choose Selection Actions, then All, then More actions, Export, vCard, and Export. Auto-saved addresses sit separately under “Other contacts”; export those too if you want them.
- Calendars can be exported from Google Calendar on a computer. Open Settings, then Import & export, then Export. You get one .ics file per calendar you own.
- Calendars others shared with you aren’t included, so ask the owners to share them with your new address. Meet links in old events still point to Google. More in our Google Calendar alternatives guide.
Your Gmail Is on Google Workspace or a Custom Domain
Easy Switch doesn’t support these. Use Fastmail’s Gmail / Google Workspace import, an IMAP copy or the MBOX route, then move the domain’s MX records to the new provider. For work or school accounts, the administrator decides.