How do you transfer emails from one IMAP account to another without downloading everything first?

General Discussions
1

I’m switching from one email provider to another, and both accounts support IMAP. Instead of exporting everything to my computer and importing it again, I’m hoping there’s a way to transfer emails directly between the two accounts. Has anyone done this successfully?

While researching, I found the MacSonik IMAP BackUp Tool, and it appears to support direct IMAP-to-IMAP migration in addition to creating local backups. That sounds much simpler than manually dragging folders through an email client, especially when dealing with years of email data.

Another thing I liked is that it doesn’t seem to have mailbox size restrictions, so larger accounts shouldn’t be an issue. It also allows multiple mailboxes to be processed simultaneously, which could be useful if you’re migrating several users instead of just one account.

I don’t necessarily want every email, so the selective date filter caught my attention. Being able to migrate only emails within a certain timeframe would reduce the amount of unnecessary data being transferred. It also includes a duplicate email removal option, which should help prevent copied messages if the destination mailbox already contains some emails.

Besides direct account migration, it can export emails into formats like PST, PDF, MBOX, EML, MSG, CSV, DOC, and DOCX. For businesses planning future upgrades, it even supports migrating IMAP to Office 365 along with Gmail and Google Workspace. I also noticed options to migrate emails with or without attachments, save attachments separately as PDF, preview mailboxes before starting, and preserve the original folder hierarchy throughout the process.

2

Direct IMAP-to-IMAP migration is definitely possible without downloading everything locally first, and it saves a lot of time compared to the manual export-import route.

Another option worth considering is Shoviv IMAP to Office 365 Migration Software. It supports direct migration between IMAP accounts, handles multiple mailboxes in one go, and lets you filter by date range so you only move what’s needed. It also preserves folder structure during the transfer, which helps if your mailbox has been organized over the years.

Since you’re switching providers, this kind of tool can save you from manual syncing issues while keeping your data intact and organized on the new account.

3

You can transfer emails from one IMAP account to another without downloading everything by using a direct IMAP migration method. It connects the source and destination accounts and moves emails directly between the two servers, so there’s no need to create local backup files first.

I had to migrate one IMAP account recently and used an IMAP migration tool like DataVare Mail Migration Tool because it supported direct account-to-account transfer. The mailbox folders, email properties, and attachments stayed intact, and I could migrate multiple mailboxes without handling each account separately. It turned out to be much simpler than downloading emails and importing them again later.