How to migrate email from Google to Yandex: three methods

A Google to Yandex email migration can be done in three ways. Pick one based on the size of your mailbox and how much the folder structure matters:

• the Yandex Mail collector — the easiest option: everything is set up in the browser, and Yandex pulls your Gmail messages itself and keeps collecting new ones;
• Mozilla Thunderbird — a free, open-source email client that copies messages over IMAP folder by folder and also works for any other mailbox;
• Google Takeout — an .mbox archive of all your Gmail messages: handy for very large mailboxes, and it doubles as a backup.

Updated in September 2026: the collector now requires a Google app password, IMAP is always on in Gmail, Yandex Mail settings have moved, and forwarding and the Google Takeout method have been added.

If you are moving more than email to Yandex, also see how to sync phone contacts with a Yandex account.

Before you move from Google to Yandex

• Check storage. Gmail shows how much space your mail uses at the bottom of the inbox. Make sure your Yandex Mail has enough free space.
• Turn on 2-Step Verification in your Google account — without it you cannot create an app password for the collector.
• Mind the labels. Gmail labels become regular folders in Yandex. A message with several labels may end up in several folders.
• Do not delete anything in Gmail until you have checked that all the messages you need are in Yandex.

Google to Yandex with the Yandex Mail collector

Create a Google app password

The collector will not accept your regular Google password — it needs a separate app password.

1. Open the App passwords page in your Google account. If it says the feature is unavailable, first turn on 2-Step Verification under “Security”.
2. Enter a recognizable name, for example “Yandex collector”, and click “Create”.
3. Copy the 16-character password. Google shows it in groups of four — remove the spaces: instead of vvrp ylwk gkhh jymz enter vvrpylwkgkhhjymz.

Connect the collector in Yandex Mail

1. Open the full desktop version of Yandex Mail — the collector cannot be set up in the mobile app.
2. On the vertical panel on the left, click the settings icon and choose “All settings” → “Mail collector”. You can also open the collectors section directly.
3. Choose Gmail, enter your address and the app password without spaces.
4. Click “Connect”. If the connection succeeds, Yandex confirms it and lets you pick a folder for the messages.

The first collection starts within a few minutes. After that Yandex checks Gmail on its own schedule — from several times an hour to once every few days, and you cannot speed it up. A small mailbox moves in an hour or two, while tens of thousands of messages can take several days. The collector keeps pulling new messages until you turn it off.

If an old Gmail collector has stopped working, create a new app password, open “Mail collector”, click the edit icon next to the Gmail mailbox and paste the new password.

Forward new Gmail messages to Yandex

Forwarding delivers new messages instantly, without the collector’s delays, but it does not move old mail. It is convenient to turn it on once the collector has moved your archive.

1. In Gmail on a computer, open “Settings” → “See all settings” → the “Forwarding and POP/IMAP” tab.
2. Click “Add a forwarding address”, enter your Yandex address and confirm it via the link in the email that arrives in Yandex Mail.
3. Reload Gmail, choose “Forward a copy of incoming mail to” and “keep Gmail’s copy in the Inbox”.
4. Click “Save Changes” at the bottom of the page.

Messages from the Spam folder are not forwarded. Do not run forwarding and the collector at the same time — new messages would arrive twice.

Moving all emails with Mozilla Thunderbird

This method takes longer, but you decide which folders go where and can watch the progress. It also works for moving mail between any IMAP services, including back from Yandex to Gmail.

Enable IMAP in Yandex Mail

IMAP is always on in Gmail, so there is nothing to configure there. In Yandex Mail, open “All settings” → “Email clients” (direct link), tick “From the imap.yandex.com server via IMAP” and the “App passwords and OAuth tokens” authorization method.

Add Gmail to Thunderbird

1. Download Mozilla Thunderbird from the official website, install and launch it.
2. In the account setup window, enter your name and Gmail address. You can skip the password: sign-in happens in a Google window anyway.
3. Click “Continue”, wait for Thunderbird to find the IMAP settings, and click “Done”.
4. In the Google window, sign in, complete 2-Step Verification and click “Allow” to give Thunderbird access to your mail.

Add Yandex Mail to Thunderbird

1. Open the Thunderbird menu (three lines at the top right) → “Account Settings”.
2. At the bottom left, click “Account Actions” → “Add Mail Account”.
3. Enter your Yandex address, click “Continue” and “Done”.
4. In the Yandex window, sign in and allow Thunderbird to access your mail.

Copy messages between mailboxes in Thunderbird

1. Open the Gmail Inbox, click any message and press Ctrl+A to select all.
2. Right-click the selection → “Copy To” → your Yandex mailbox → the target folder.
3. Wait for copying to finish — progress is shown in the status bar at the bottom of the window.
4. Repeat for “Sent” and any label folders you want to keep.

Do not copy the “All Mail” folder under [Gmail] together with the others: it contains every message, so Yandex would get duplicates. Either copy only “All Mail” into a separate archive folder, or only Inbox, Sent and the labels you need. While a large mailbox is being copied, keep Thunderbird open even if it looks frozen: with many messages the process can take more than three hours.

Move a large mailbox from Google to Yandex with Google Takeout

If you have a huge number of messages or the collector cannot finish for weeks, export your mail as an archive and move it via Thunderbird.

1. Open Google Takeout, click “Deselect all” and tick only “Mail”. The format is MBOX.
2. Choose the delivery method (“Send download link via email”) and archive size, then click “Create export”. A large mailbox can take from a few hours to a couple of days to prepare.
3. Download and unzip the archive — it contains an .mbox file with all your messages.
4. In Thunderbird, install the ImportExportTools NG add-on, right-click “Local Folders” → ImportExportTools NG → import mbox file.
5. Copy the imported folder to your Yandex mailbox the same way as in the copying section above.

Keep the .mbox file itself — it is a backup of your Gmail that you can open in Thunderbird years from now.

After the migration

• Compare the number of messages in the main Gmail and Yandex folders.
• Turn on the Gmail vacation responder (“See all settings” → “General” → “Vacation responder”) with a note about your new address.
• Update your email address with banks, shops, social networks and other services where you signed up with Gmail.
• Keep the collector or forwarding running for a few weeks so you do not miss mail from people who still use the old address.

If the Yandex collector cannot connect to Gmail

• “Invalid username or password” — you entered your regular Google password or an app password with spaces. Create an app password and paste it without spaces.
• No “App passwords” page — 2-Step Verification is off. Turn it on under “Security” in your Google account.
• Work or school Google account — the admin may have disabled app passwords and forwarding. Contact them or use Thunderbird.
• Messages arrive late — normal for the collector: Yandex decides how often to check Gmail. Set up forwarding for instant delivery.

If your phone has no Google services but your contacts and calendar still live in your Google account, you can sync them without Google Play Services — see how to sync Google contacts and calendar with DAVx5. And if your calendar is moving to Yandex too, see how to sync your calendar with Yandex.

Google to Yandex email migration FAQ