Export Outlook Emails to Excel and CSV: Download Emails from Outlook and Back Up a Whole Mailbox
Point it at a folder and get every message back as rows: date, sender, recipient, subject, body, and the fields inside the body.
Most people looking to export Outlook emails want one of two things: a readable spreadsheet of what is in a folder, or a safe copy of a mailbox before an account is closed. Outlook itself only really serves the second, and only in the classic desktop app. The Import/Export wizard is gone from new Outlook and the web app, the built-in mailbox export hands back a .pst that nothing but Outlook can open, and the CSV route drops every attachment and all formatting. Connect the mailbox here instead and take the folder as Excel, CSV or JSON, with the body parsed into named columns rather than one wall of text.
Last updated August 2026
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Classic Outlook for Windows exports mail through File > Open & Export > Import/Export > Export to a file > Comma Separated Values, which gives you a CSV of Subject, Body, From, To and Cc that Excel opens directly. That wizard does not exist in new Outlook or Outlook on the web; there the only built-in route is Settings > General > Privacy and data > Export mailbox, which returns a .pst file and can take up to 48 hours. MailParse connects to the Outlook, Microsoft 365 or IMAP mailbox directly and returns a spreadsheet of the folder you point it at, with no wizard, no add-in and no PST to reopen.
- 48 hrs
- Microsoft quotes for a built-in mailbox export
- No wizard
- New Outlook has no File > Import/Export
- One file
- A whole folder exports as a single sheet
- XLSX/CSV/JSON
- Formats Excel, Sheets and scripts read
There are three different jobs hiding behind the phrase "export Outlook emails", and picking the wrong tool for yours is what wastes the afternoon. The first is archival: you are closing an account, leaving a company, or keeping a copy for records, and you want every message preserved as mail. The second is reporting: you want a list of what arrived, who sent it, and when, so you can count it, sort it, or hand it to somebody. The third is data extraction: the messages contain values, order numbers, quantities, invoice totals, lead details, and you want those values in columns. Outlook was built for the first job and only tolerates the second.
The native path in the classic Windows desktop app is File > Open & Export > Import/Export, then Export to a file, then either Outlook Data File (.pst) or Comma Separated Values. Choose PST and you get a complete, faithful archive that only Outlook can reopen. Choose CSV and you get a spreadsheet with columns such as Subject, Body, From, To and Cc, which is genuinely useful right up until you notice what it left behind: every attachment, every table, and all formatting beyond plain text and basic links.
The bigger problem in 2026 is that a lot of people no longer have that wizard. New Outlook for Windows and Outlook on the web do not carry the File tab, and Microsoft has not brought Import/Export across. What exists instead is Settings > General > Privacy and data > Export mailbox, which queues a job, warns it can take up to 48 hours, and emails you a link to a .pst. For someone who wanted a list of last quarter's purchase orders in a spreadsheet by lunchtime, that is not an answer. Neither is the standard advice to install classic Outlook alongside it, or to write a VBA macro against the Outlook object model, which stops being an option the moment your IT policy blocks macros.
MailParse takes the mailbox side out of the equation. Connect the Outlook or Microsoft 365 account with Microsoft sign in, or connect any mailbox over IMAP, choose the folder or label, and download the result as Excel, CSV or JSON. Every message becomes a row with its date, sender, recipients and subject, and the body is parsed rather than dumped: if the messages are order confirmations, the order number and total come back as their own columns; if they are HTML tables of line items, each row of the table becomes a row of the spreadsheet. It is an export when you want a list, and a parse when you want the numbers, without changing tools between the two.
One thing to be straight about: this is not a PST replacement. If your requirement is a legally faithful archive of mail as mail, use Microsoft's own export and keep the .pst. And MailParse reads the message body and its HTML tables, plus attachment filenames, but does not open the data locked inside an attached PDF or spreadsheet. Those are two honest limits worth knowing before you start.
What you get that the Import/Export wizard does not give you
The native export was designed to move mailboxes between copies of Outlook. This is designed to produce a file somebody can work in.
It works where the wizard was removed
New Outlook for Windows and Outlook on the web have no File tab and no Import/Export. Instead of installing classic Outlook to get one CSV, connect the same account with Microsoft sign in here and export the folder from the browser.
The body becomes columns, not one cell
A native CSV export puts the entire message body in a single field. If every message carries a PO number, a due date, and a total, you get those as separate columns instead, which is the difference between a file you can pivot and a file you have to read.
HTML tables come back as rows
Order confirmations, shipping notices and system reports are usually HTML tables. Exported as text they flatten into a run of characters. Parsed properly, a message with eight line items produces eight rows you can total.
A whole folder in one file
Point at a folder, a label, or a date range and get one combined spreadsheet rather than one file per message. This is the shape most reporting, reconciliation and handover requests actually need.
No .pst to reopen
Microsoft's built-in mailbox export returns a .pst, which is a container only Outlook reads. Excel, Google Sheets, a database import and a Python script all read XLSX, CSV and JSON on the first try.
Not a one-off script
The VBA macro route works until macros are blocked, the object model changes, or the person who wrote it leaves. Connecting a mailbox and choosing a folder is something anyone on the team can repeat next quarter.
How to export Outlook emails to Excel
Four steps, and none of them require the classic desktop app.
Connect the mailbox or upload the files
Sign in with Microsoft to connect an Outlook.com or Microsoft 365 account, or connect any mailbox over IMAP with a host, username and app password. If you already have messages saved to disk, upload the .eml or .msg files instead.
Choose the folder and the range
Pick the folder you want exported, Inbox, Sent Items, a shared mailbox folder, or a subfolder you created for the project, and narrow it by date if you only need a quarter.
Name the columns you want
Date, from, to and subject come as standard. Add the fields that live inside the body by naming them, such as invoice_number, po_number, due_date or total, and they are found across differing sender layouts.
Download as Excel, CSV or JSON
Take XLSX to open straight in Excel, CSV to import into anything, or JSON if the destination is a script, a database or an API. The whole folder arrives as one file.
Who exports a mailbox, and what they do with it
Four requests that come up over and over, and the format each one really needs.
Offboarding and account closure
Somebody leaves and their mailbox has to be preserved before the license is released. Keep the Microsoft .pst for the faithful archive, and take a spreadsheet alongside it so the team can actually search what was in there without restoring anything.
Reporting on what a shared inbox handled
Support, purchasing and dispatch inboxes get asked how many requests came in, from whom, and how fast they were answered. A folder exported to Excel with date, sender and subject columns answers that in a pivot table.
Getting numbers out of recurring notifications
Order confirmations, remittance notices, booking alerts and system reports carry the same fields in every message. Exporting them as parsed columns turns a year of mail into a dataset instead of a reading task.
Audit, discovery and handover
When an auditor or a new account manager asks for the correspondence on an account, a dated spreadsheet of every message with subject and sender is faster to hand over and easier to review than a mailbox login.
Why not just use the built-in export
It exists where the wizard does not
New Outlook and the web app have no Import/Export. This works from the browser against the same account.
Minutes, not up to 48 hours
Microsoft queues its mailbox export as a background job and warns it can take up to two days. A folder export here finishes while you wait.
A file people can use
XLSX, CSV and JSON open everywhere. A .pst opens in Outlook and nowhere else.
Where Outlook wins
For a complete, faithful archive of mail as mail, including folder structure and attachments, Microsoft's own PST export is the right tool. Use it for that, and use this for data.
Four ways to get Outlook mail into a spreadsheet
An honest comparison of the routes, including the two cases where you should not use us. If the mail is already saved to disk, the MSG to Excel converter and the EML to Excel converter handle files rather than mailboxes.
| Method | What it gives you | Where it breaks |
|---|---|---|
| Classic Outlook, export to CSV | Subject, Body, From, To and Cc as a CSV that Excel opens | Only in the classic Windows desktop app; drops attachments, tables and all formatting; body lands in one cell |
| Classic Outlook, export to PST | A complete, faithful archive of mail as mail, with folders intact | Only Outlook can open it, so it is a backup rather than a dataset |
| New Outlook / web, Export mailbox | A .pst of the mailbox, requested from Settings > General > Privacy and data | Microsoft warns it can take up to 48 hours, and you still end up with a PST |
| VBA macro against the object model | Total control over which fields land in which columns | Needs the desktop app, needs macros allowed, and becomes one person's script to maintain |
| MailParse | A whole folder as XLSX, CSV or JSON, with body fields and HTML table rows as columns | Not a PST archive, and it does not read data locked inside attached files |
Outlook behavior described here reflects Microsoft's published guidance as of August 2026: the classic Windows path File > Open & Export > Import/Export > Export to a file, the CSV field set of Subject, Body, From, To and Cc, the absence of Import/Export in new Outlook and Outlook on the web, and the Settings > General > Privacy and data mailbox export that Microsoft states may take up to 48 hours. Microsoft ships changes to new Outlook regularly, so check your own build before you plan around it. Microsoft, Outlook, Microsoft 365 and Excel are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. MailParse is not affiliated with Microsoft.
Frequently asked questions
How do I export Outlook emails to Excel?
In classic Outlook for Windows, go to File, then Open & Export, then Import/Export, choose Export to a file, and pick Comma Separated Values. Select the folder, save the CSV, and open it in Excel. You get Subject, Body, From, To and Cc columns. Attachments and formatting are not included.
Can you export all emails from Outlook to Excel?
Yes. The Import/Export wizard exports an entire folder at once, and you can repeat it per folder. The practical limits are that it only exists in the classic desktop app, the whole message body lands in a single cell, and nothing inside attachments comes across. Connecting the mailbox and exporting the folder avoids all three.
Why is there no Import/Export option in the new Outlook?
New Outlook for Windows and Outlook on the web were rebuilt without the File tab, and Microsoft has not carried the Import/Export wizard across. The replacement is Settings, then General, then Privacy and data, then Export mailbox, which produces a .pst rather than a CSV. Installing classic Outlook is the usual workaround.
How do I export emails from Outlook on the web?
Open Settings from the gear icon, go to General, then Privacy and data, and choose Export mailbox. Microsoft queues the job and emails a download link, and states it can take up to 48 hours. The result is a .pst. For a spreadsheet instead, connect the account to a parser and export the folder directly.
What is the difference between a PST export and a CSV export?
A PST is a container that preserves mail as mail: folders, attachments, formatting, read state. Only Outlook opens it. A CSV is a flat table of selected fields, readable by Excel, Sheets, databases and scripts, but it loses attachments and formatting. Use PST to preserve, CSV to analyze.
How do I back up all my Outlook emails?
For a true backup, export to a .pst: classic Outlook does it through File, Open & Export, Import/Export, Export to a file, Outlook Data File. In new Outlook or on the web, request it from Settings, General, Privacy and data, Export mailbox. Keep the PST for the archive and export a spreadsheet separately if you also need to read the contents.
How do I export a shared mailbox in Microsoft 365?
Add the shared mailbox to your Outlook profile, then export the folder the same way you would your own. If Import/Export is unavailable in your build, connect the shared mailbox over IMAP or with Microsoft sign in, pick the folder, and export it to Excel. Ask your administrator first if the mailbox holds regulated data.
Does exporting Outlook emails to CSV include the message body?
Yes, the Body field is one of the standard columns, but the entire message arrives in a single cell as plain text. Line breaks, tables and links are flattened, so a body containing eight line items is one long string. Parsing the body into named columns is what makes it usable in a spreadsheet.
How do I export Outlook emails with attachments?
The CSV export does not include attachments at all; the PST export keeps them inside the archive. MailParse records attachment filenames alongside each message so you can see what was attached, but it parses the message body and its HTML tables, not the contents of an attached PDF or spreadsheet.
Can I export emails from Outlook to Excel automatically?
Yes. Connect the mailbox once, choose the folder and the fields you want, and every new message that arrives is parsed into the same columns. That is the difference between a one-time wizard run and a standing export you can pull each week without repeating the setup.
Export the folder, not just one message
Connect an Outlook, Microsoft 365 or IMAP mailbox and take the whole folder as Excel, CSV or JSON, with the body parsed into columns rather than dumped into one cell.