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Migrate from Google Workspace to MailSprout

Your old emails come with you. This guide walks you through copying every message from your Google Workspace account to MailSprout, then flipping your domain's MX records so new mail flows to MailSprout. You'll use imapsync's free web app to do the copy. Fill out a form, click Start, and wait. About 30 minutes per account, most of which is sit-and-wait.

Before you start

  • Your Google Workspace login (and 2FA, if you use it).
  • A MailSprout account already created with the same address (create it in the dashboard).
  • Your domain's MX records are still pointed at Google for now. We change them last.
Two-step model: first copy old email to MailSprout while Google still receives new mail (everyone keeps working). Then change the MX records to cut over. Then run the sync one more time to sweep up anything that arrived during the cutover. Zero downtime, zero lost mail.
1

Create the destination account in MailSprout

In your MailSprout dashboard, open the relevant domain and click Add account. Type the same name (the bit before the @) you have in Workspace. If your old address was you@yourdomain.com, type you.

MailSprout will generate a strong password and show it to you once. Copy it into a password manager or sticky note; you'll need it in Step 3.

MailSprout 'Add account' dialog with the name filled in and the generated password visible.
2

Generate a Google App Password (if 2FA is on)

If your Google account has 2FA enabled (very likely), imapsync can't log in with your regular password. You'll generate a one-off App Password that lets external tools read your mail.

  1. Go to myaccount.google.com/apppasswords (opens in a new tab) while signed in to the Workspace account.
  2. If prompted, sign in / verify 2FA.
  3. Enter a name like MailSprout migration and click Create.
  4. Google shows a 16-character password. Copy it now; it won't show again.
See Google's official App Passwords help
Step-by-step instructions from Google, kept in sync with their current sign-in UI.
App Passwords are not available if your admin has restricted them. If you don't see the option, your Workspace admin needs to enable "Less secure app access" or generate an App Password from the admin console. Email support@mailsprout.io if you're stuck. We can usually find a workaround.
3

Run the migration with imapsync

Go to the imapsync free web app: imapsync.lamiral.info/X/ (opens in a new tab). Fill in your credentials and click Start.

Fill in the form with two sets of credentials:

Source (Google Workspace)

  • Host: imap.gmail.com
  • Port: 993 (SSL)
  • User: your full Google email
  • Password: the App Password from Step 2

Destination (MailSprout)

  • Host: fusion.mxrouting.net
  • Port: 993 (SSL)
  • User: the same email address
  • Password: the MailSprout password from Step 1
imapsync online form with source and destination IMAP credential panels
The imapsync online form has separate panels for your old mailbox (left) and your new MailSprout one (right).

Click Start. imapsync will copy every folder, every message, every flag (read/unread, starred, labels-as-folders). For an average inbox of 10k messages, expect ~30 minutes. You can close the browser tab; the job runs server-side and you'll get an email when it finishes.

Gmail label quirk:Gmail's labels show up as IMAP folders. If a message has 3 labels in Gmail, you'll see it 3 times in MailSprout (once per folder). That's by design; imapsync mirrors what IMAP shows it. Most clients treat it the same way Gmail did, so this is rarely a problem.
4

Verify the migration looks right

Set up your MailSprout account on a device (use the QR code on the account detail page; quickest is to scan with iPhone Camera). Open Apple Mail / Outlook / Gmail app, browse your folders, and confirm your old messages are there.

Do this before changing MX records. If anything looks wrong, fix it now. There's no rush yet because Google is still receiving your live mail.

5

Cut over the MX records

Now we change your domain's MX records to point at MailSprout instead of Google. From this moment forward, new mail goes to MailSprout, not Google.

Open your registrar's DNS panel and follow the registrar-specific guide:

When you're done, your DNS panel should have MailSprout's MX records (pointing at fusion.mxrouting.net priority 10 and fusion-relay.mxrouting.net priority 20), the MailSprout SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records, plus no Google MX records (those used to point at aspmx.l.google.com and similar).

DNS changes are not instant. Some senders may still try to deliver to Google for up to a few hours after you change MX. That's why Step 6 exists: to sweep up anything that arrived at Google during the cutover window.
6

Run imapsync one more time

About an hour after the MX change, go back to imapsync and re-run the sync with the same credentials. This time it's near-instant. imapsync skips messages that already exist on the destination and only copies what's new. This sweeps up any mail that landed in Google during the cutover.

7

Cancel Google Workspace (when you're sure)

Once mail is flowing to MailSprout and you've had a few days to verify nothing's missing, you can cancel your Workspace subscription. We recommend waiting at least a week before canceling. That way you can run imapsync one more time if a stray message turns up in Google after the cutover.

In Google Workspace admin: Billing → Subscriptions → cancel. Google will give you a grace period before fully terminating the account.

Migrating multiple users at once?

The same imapsync flow works for an entire team. The fastest approach: create all the MailSprout accounts first (each takes 30 seconds), then run imapsync once per user with its scripted batch mode. imapsync's hosted UI has a CSV-import option that handles this for you. See imapsync.lamiral.info/X/ (opens in a new tab) for details.

If you have more than 10 users or your team isn't comfortable with the tool, email support@mailsprout.io. We can offer concierge migration as a one-time service. We've done it before; it's straightforward.

Troubleshooting

imapsync says authentication failed for the Gmail account.
The App Password is wrong (re-generate in Step 2), 2FA isn't set up, or your admin has disabled App Passwords. If admin has blocked them, the admin can enable "Allow less secure apps" in the Workspace admin console temporarily, then turn it back off after migration.
My folder structure looks different in MailSprout.
Gmail's labels become folders in IMAP. Items in [Gmail]/All Mail show up in a folder called All Mail. [Gmail]/Sent Mail becomes Sent. Apple Mail and most clients auto-map these correctly.
The sync is taking forever / appears stuck.
For a large inbox (50k+ messages), imapsync legitimately takes 1-3 hours. It runs server-side, so closing the browser is fine; you'll get an email when it finishes. If it's been running 6+ hours without progress, contact imapsync support directly (link on their site).
Will my Calendar / Drive / Docs come with me?
No.MailSprout is email only. We don't replace Calendar, Drive, or Docs. If you live in Google Docs all day, you'll want to keep Workspace OR move to alternatives (Apple Calendar / iCloud Drive / Notion etc.) separately. Email is what we do.
I changed MX but new mail isn't arriving at MailSprout yet.
Wait up to 1 hour for DNS to propagate everywhere. You can check current MX state at mxtoolbox.com (opens in a new tab) and enter your domain, click MX Lookup. If it shows fusion.mxrouting.net at priority 10 (and fusion-relay.mxrouting.netat priority 20), you're good. If it still shows Google's servers, the registrar hasn't propagated the change yet.

Set up your domain first

GoDaddy→

The #1 registrar by market share. Most small businesses start here.

Namecheap→

Popular among indie founders and developers.

Cloudflare→

Power-user favorite. DNS panel is the cleanest in the business.

Porkbun→

Indie-hacker darling. Fast, cheap, fair pricing.

Squarespace Domains→

Includes former Google Domains customers who got migrated here.

Hover→

Long-time favorite of founders and writers.

Stuck on a step?

Email support@mailsprout.io with the step number and a screenshot. We reply same day.