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How to Export Outlook Contacts to Thunderbird Safely?

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Published By siddharth
Anuraag Singh
Approved By Anuraag Singh
Published On January 29th, 2025
Reading Time 4 Minutes Reading

Do you want to know how to export Outlook contacts to Thunderbird easily? If so, don’t worry. You are on the right page. In this blog, we will tell you the best way to convert Outlook contacts to Thunderbird email client. Outlook is one of the most well-known and widely used email platforms for managing contacts and address book data. Due to its ever-changing nature, multiple users may find it necessary to switch from MS Outlook to a more accessible email client such as Mozilla Thunderbird.

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Convert Outlook Contacts to Thunderbird – Why Beneficial

Thunderbird is a fully free email client that helps you avoid the costs associated with Outlook or Microsoft 365.

  • Thunderbird email client save contacts locally, reducing reliance on cloud services and providing better data protection.
    It permit you to customize the interface and install plugins for additional features.
  • The email client works flawlessly on Windows, Mac and Linux, making it ideal for users of different platforms.
  • Thunderbird uses an open format for contacts, ensuring future compatibility and easy data conversion.

Read More: Export Outlook Contacts to WAB

Manual Procedure to Export Outlook Contacts to Thunderbird

The Approach to export contacts from Outlook to Thunderbird can be divided into two categories. This includes: Let’s look at these procedures in detail.

Step 1: Export Contacts from Outlook

  • Begin MS Outlook and go to the File menu.
  • Select Open & Export > Import/Export.

export Outlook contacts to thunderbird

  • Press the Export to a file and click Next.

click next

  • Select Excel or CSV (Comma Separated Values), then click Next.

export contacts from Outlook to Thunderbird

  • Find the Contacts folder and hit Next.

contacts folder

  • Choose a location to save the file (name it and save as CSV), then click Finish.

choose a location

Steps 2: Import Contacts into Thunderbird

  • Open Thunderbird.

open thunderbird

  • Choose Address Books, then click Next.

convert Outlook contacts to thunderbird

  • In the Address Book window, click Tools > Import.

import

  • Select CSV and click continue.

select csv file

  • Browse for the CSV file exported from Outlook, and click Open.

browse for CSV file

  • Your Outlook contacts should now be imported into Thunderbird.

Limitations using of Manual Method

  • Field Mapping: Sometimes not all fields (such as birthdays or notes) map correctly between Outlook and Thunderbird.
  • Duplicate Contacts: If you have similar contacts in Thunderbird, the import process may create duplicates.
  • Formatting Issues: Data in the CSV file (such as phone numbers) may not be formatted the same or may not import correctly.
  • Large Contact Lists: If you have a lot of contacts, the process may be slow or error-prone.
  • No Direct Synchronization: There is no automatic synchronization between Outlook and Thunderbird; export/import is a time-consuming process.

Automatic Method to Export Outlook Contacts to Thunderbird

As an alternative to the traditional manual method, users are advised to use a professional automated solution to convert Outlook contacts to Thunderbird and avoid technical issues. The professional method is considered to be safer and faster than the manual method. It avoids all the risks and limitations that we see in the manual method. We recommend using one such solution – vCard Exporter Tool.

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This software is developed using advanced algorithms. Users can convert Outlook contacts to vCard, MSG, HTML, CSV, etc. A free vCard export tool is also available to export 15 contacts for free to evaluate the performance of the software.

Steps to Export Contacts from Outlook to Thunderbird

  • Download and launch the vCard export software on your Windows computer.
  • Click Browse File/Folder or Automatically Detect Outlook PST File on your computer.
  • Click Browse to add the file.
  • Select the vCard export options.
  • Check the Export option to start the process.
  • A notification will appear confirming the success of the operation. Click OK.
  • Finally, open your Thunderbird account and import vCard file to Thunderbird using the Import window.

  • The process is complete! So, you can smoothly move Outlook contacts file to Thunderbird in a few clicks.

Conclusion

Above in this blog post, we have explained how to export Outlook contacts to Thunderbird. We have reviewed both manual and professional vCard exporter tools. We found that the traditional manual method has some limitations and risks. Therefore, we highly recommend you to use an automated and professional software for an easy conversion.

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