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How to move from Gmail to Proton Mail with Easy Switch

SwitchTo HQ · Updated 18 October 2026 · Email and team chat · How we write

Proton Mail includes a migration tool called Easy Switch. It can copy your existing Gmail messages, contacts and calendars into Proton, and it can also connect your Gmail address so you keep receiving and sending from it inside Proton Mail while you move your accounts over. This guide is based on Proton's support articles on switching from Gmail and Easy Switch.

What Easy Switch can do

Proton describes three parts to a Gmail migration:

Import. Easy Switch transfers your existing Gmail data, meaning emails with attachments, contacts and calendars, into Proton.
Connection. Easy Switch forwards future Gmail messages to Proton Mail and lets you send from your Gmail address inside Proton Mail.
Recommended setup. Both of the above: Proton imports your history and connects the account.

The instructions below are for personal Gmail accounts. Proton says that connecting a Gmail address works for individual Google accounts, and that Google Workspace accounts and custom domain addresses aren't supported for the connection. Proton has a separate guide for business migrations from Google Workspace.

Before you start

Check your storage. By default, Proton's recommended setup imports your most recent Gmail messages, using up to 80% of your available Proton storage. That leaves room for new mail. A large Gmail archive may not fit on a smaller plan, so compare your Gmail storage use with your Proton plan's allowance.
Make your own backup. Proton suggests downloading your Google data with Google Takeout when you're ready to leave Gmail. Doing this before you start gives you an independent copy of your mail, contacts and other Google data.
Know the limits. Free Proton users can connect one Gmail account. Proton says paid plans support up to three, and legacy forwarding connections count towards the same limit.

Recommended setup: import and connect

Sign in to Proton Mail and open Settings.
Go to Import via Easy Switch and select Google.
Click Connect to Gmail. This starts Google's sign-in and authorisation process. If you don't want to import your old emails, untick the import checkbox first. It is ticked by default.
On Google's permission screen, click Select all, then Continue. Proton warns that if you don't grant every requested permission, the setup will fail later.

Easy Switch then starts importing in the background and connects your Gmail address. Proton notes that an import can take days if you have used your old account for a long time. It runs on Proton's servers, so you don't need to keep your computer on.

Importing more, or choosing what to import

If the first import only brought recent messages, you can run another. Go to Import via Easy Switch, then More import options, choose Google and pick Emails, Contacts or Calendars. Before starting, select Customize to:

Change the label applied to imported messages, which is useful if you are importing from more than one account.
Limit the time range: all messages, or the last 1, 3, 6 or 12 months.
Deselect folders you don't want.

Proton says running the same import more than once won't create duplicate messages, because Easy Switch skips emails it has already imported.

How your Gmail folders and data arrive

Gmail system folders, such as Inbox, Sent and Drafts, go into the matching Proton system folders.
Other labels become Proton folders. Proton supports three levels of folder hierarchy, and deeper structures are reorganised.
You may be asked to customise the import if a folder name is longer than 100 characters, your account has more than 2,000 folders, or a Gmail label has the same name as an existing Proton folder or label.
Calendars are imported into a new Proton calendar by default, or you can merge them with an existing one.
Contacts are imported as they are, up to 10,000.

Sending from your Gmail address in Proton

Once connected, you can send from your Gmail address inside Proton Mail. Proton explains the privacy difference clearly:

Emails to other Proton Mail users are end-to-end encrypted. This includes Gmail addresses connected to a Proton account.
Emails to everyone else are sent through Gmail's servers without end-to-end encryption, and appear in your Gmail Sent folder.

If the newer Gmail connection isn't available on your account, Proton's older automatic Gmail forwarding does a similar job for incoming mail. Proton notes that it only forwards messages that arrive in Gmail's Inbox, so mail filtered into other labels won't be forwarded.

Finishing the move

Proton suggests these steps for leaving Gmail behind:

Update your online accounts to your new Proton address, starting with banking, healthcare, government services and anything tied to a payment method.
Download your Google data with Google Takeout, if you haven't already.
Disconnect Gmail from Proton Mail in settings, once mail to the old address has dried up.

It also helps to tell your regular contacts about your new address. Think carefully before deleting your Google account: your Gmail address may still be the sign-in for other services, and Google services such as YouTube or Google Play are tied to the same account.

Checklist

Check that your Proton plan has enough storage for the mail you want to import.
Take a Google Takeout backup.
Run the recommended Easy Switch setup and grant all permissions.
Import older mail with More import options if needed.
Check folders, calendars and contacts after the import.
Move important accounts to your Proton address, then disconnect Gmail.