There are lots of articles about how to export your Gmail contacts. But they all tell you the same thing: how to export Gmail contacts that are in your “Contacts” list.

What if you want to export a list of every email address you’ve ever sent to or received an email from? And get rich response time data on each of those people?

How Do You Export Gmail Contacts From Your Address Book?

Quick Answer: Open Google Contacts, click Export, choose your format (Google CSV, Outlook CSV, or vCard), and download the file.

First, we’ll cover how to export the contacts in Gmail that live in your address book.

Step 1: Open Google Contacts

Visit contacts.google.com or click the menu in the upper-right corner of Gmail and choose “Contacts” from the list of apps.

Step 2: Click “Export”

In the left sidebar, click “Export” to open the export options.

Step 3: Choose an Export Format

You can choose from three formats:

• Google CSV: Exports all data in Unicode format, which preserves international characters. Outlook does not support Unicode.
• Outlook CSV: Exports all data and converts characters to default character encoding, which is supported by Outlook.
• vCard (for iOS Contacts): Supported by many email programs and ideal for importing to Apple devices.

Step 4: Click Export

Click the Export button to download your contacts file.

How Do You Export Contacts Gmail Added Automatically?

Quick Answer: In Google Contacts, go to “Other contacts,” select all entries, then click Export and choose “Selected contacts.”

Gmail automatically adds email addresses to your contact list whenever you respond to an email or forward one to a new email address. You can find these entries under “Other contacts” in Gmail Contacts.

Step 1: Select a Contact

Hover your mouse over one of the contacts. You’ll see a checkbox that you can tick to select that contact. Click to select the contact.

Step 2: Select All Contacts

Click the newly-appeared drop-down box that appears as the new column header, and select “All.”

Step 3: Click Export

Click Export and select “Selected contacts” to download only the Other contacts you’ve selected.

How Do You Export Every Email Address You’ve Ever Interacted With?

Quick Answer: Use EmailAnalytics to export all email addresses you’ve sent to or received from, including response time metrics for each contact.

What about email addresses you’ve received an email from but didn’t respond to or forward? The methods above won’t capture those. Here’s how to export a complete list that includes every email address.

You can also get rich insights about each email address, including how many emails you’ve sent and received from each one, as well as each party’s average email response time.

We’ll use EmailAnalytics to do this. If you don’t already have an account, sign up for a free trial (it takes 10 seconds). This method works with a free trial or an active paid account.

Step 1: Login to EmailAnalytics

Sign in to your EmailAnalytics account to access your email data.

Step 2: Set Your Date Range

All contacts exported will be within the date range you choose. Make it as large as you like. If you’re on the free trial, you’ll be limited to just a few weeks of data.

Step 3: Export Your Top Interactions

In your Top Interactions table, click the triple-dot icon then select “Export (ALL).”

You’ll be able to download an Excel file with your list of contacts and metrics about each one, including:

• Email address
• Number of emails sent to that contact
• Number of emails received from that contact
• Your average response time to that contact
• Their average response time to you

What Export Formats Google Documents, and What It Leaves Undescribed

Google publishes far less about export formats than most guides imply. Google’s export page names two formats in one clause, and describes neither of them.

To add your contacts to another email account, first download them as a CSV or vCard file.

The only steer Google gives is one sentence: to back up your contacts, select Google CSV. There is no Google page explaining what any format is for.

The Outlook CSV option in the product menu is documented nowhere. It appears on support.google.com only in user-written community threads, so nothing you read about it comes from Google.

Format	Use it when	Source
Google CSV	You want a backup, or you are moving to another Google account	Google says to select Google CSV to back up your contacts.
vCard (.vcf)	You are moving contacts to Apple Contacts or a phone	Google says to download as CSV or vCard to add contacts to another email account.
Outlook CSV	You are importing into Outlook	Google publishes no description of this option anywhere.
Android export	You want a file straight off a phone	Google says to use the Contacts app, then Fix and manage, then Export to file.

That last row corrects something worth knowing. Exporting contacts from a phone is documented, even though exporting from the Gmail app itself isn’t.

The Limits Google Publishes on Google Contacts

These figures come from Google’s Contacts error page and its import page, and they explain most failed imports.

Limit	What Google publishes
Contacts per account	Google says you can save up to 25,000 contacts or 20 MB, with photos not included.
Size per contact	Google says 128 KB per contact.
Characters per field	Google says 1,024 characters per field, and excludes the Notes field from that cap.
Fields per contact	Google says 500 fields in total.
Contacts per import	Google says to split files of more than 3,000 contacts into multiple CSVs.

The 20 MB ceiling is the figure almost every guide omits, and Google publishes it on the same line as the contact count. A large enough address book hits it well before reaching 25,000 contacts.

What’s the Difference Between These Export Methods?

Quick Answer: Google Contacts exports saved contacts only. EmailAnalytics exports every email address you’ve interacted with, plus response time data.

Feature	Google Contacts Export	EmailAnalytics Export
Saved contacts	Yes	Yes
Auto-added contacts	Yes (Other contacts)	Yes
Emails received but not replied to	No	Yes
Email count per contact	No	Yes
Response time data	No	Yes
Date range filtering	No	Yes
Export format	CSV, vCard	Excel

When Should You Use Each Export Method?

Quick Answer: Use Google Contacts for migrating to a new email client. Use EmailAnalytics when you need interaction data and response time metrics.

Use Google Contacts export when:

• Moving to a new email client like Outlook or Apple Mail
• Backing up your address book
• Importing contacts to your phone or CRM
• You only need basic contact information (name, email, phone)

Use EmailAnalytics export when:

• Building a list of everyone you’ve ever emailed
• Analyzing which contacts you interact with most
• Tracking response time patterns with specific people
• Creating sales or outreach lists based on email history
• Identifying contacts who haven’t responded to you

How to Import Gmail Contacts Into Another Account, an iPhone, or Outlook

Exporting is half the job, and importing is where the documentation gets patchy. Each destination has a different documented route.

Import into another Google account

Use Google’s import page, which accepts CSV and vCard files. Open Google Contacts, select Import on the left, choose Select file, pick your file, then select Import.

Google also publishes a template spreadsheet with the exact column headers it expects. Multiple labels on one contact are separated by three colons.

Get your Google contacts onto an iPhone

Neither Google nor Apple documents a file import here. Both document account sync instead, and CardDAV isn’t the route either company recommends here.

Google’s iPhone sync page gives seven steps.

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap Contacts, scrolling down if you need to.
3. Tap Add account.
4. Tap Google.
5. Sign in to your Google Account.
6. Choose which Google apps to sync.
7. Tap Save, then open the Contacts app to start syncing.

Apple documents the same path in its iPhone User Guide, listing Google alongside Microsoft Exchange and Yahoo. Apple mentions CardDAV separately, and scopes it to business or school directories rather than to a personal Google account.

Import into Outlook

Microsoft documents this on its contacts CSV page, revised 23 March 2026 in the article metadata. The page carries three client tabs: new Outlook, classic Outlook and Web.

In new Outlook and on the web, go to People, select Import contacts, browse to your CSV and select Import. In classic Outlook the path is File, then Open and Export, then Import and Export.

Microsoft asks for a specific encoding, and it matters more than it sounds.

For best results, make sure that the CSV file has UTF-8 encoding. This encoding works for all languages and alphabets.

That requirement is scoped more narrowly than people assume. Microsoft repeats it six times on the new Outlook tab and six times on the Web tab. Microsoft never mentions encoding at all on the classic Outlook tab.

How to Undo a Contacts Import

Google publishes a rollback that most people never find, because it lives under Settings rather than anywhere near the import screen. Google’s page on editing contacts describes it.

You can undo all the changes you made to your contacts during the past 30 days, all at once.

Open Google Contacts, select Settings at the top right, choose Undo changes, pick a time to go back to, then select Confirm. Google warns that contacts deleted permanently from Trash can’t be recovered this way.

One catch is easy to miss. Google says restoring to an earlier point removes any contacts added after that time, so export a current copy before you roll back.

A contacts export is a snapshot, and the interaction history behind it keeps moving. EmailAnalytics tracks that side for teams on Gmail and Outlook. Our page on how that interaction history gets built from message metadata covers what it reads and what it leaves alone.

Four Places Google Contradicts Itself About Contacts

Researching this page turned up more internal disagreement than a contacts feature ought to produce. Each of these is live in Google’s own documentation.

Contradiction one: 25,000 contacts, or 27,000

Google Contacts help says you can save up to 25,000 contacts. Google’s Workspace data import documentation says you can have up to 27,000 contacts in your organization.

The Workspace page then contradicts itself in the same breath. It states the 27,000 figure, and further down says all Google Contacts limits apply, linking back to the 25,000 page.

Contradiction two: a page titled restore that never mentions restoring

Google’s export article is titled Export, back up, or restore contacts. Its Computer tab contains exactly one section, covering export, with no backup section and no restore section.

The Android tab of that same URL does deliver on the title, with sections on turning backup on or off and restoring from backups. One page, one title, two tabs, and only one honors it.

Contradiction three: Google links its own import steps to the wrong page

The Workspace Learning Center places a Learn more link directly beneath its import procedure. That link points at Google’s Add or move contacts page, which contains no import content at all.

Contradiction four: the iPhone tab tells you to use your computer

Google’s Workspace Learning Center article on sending email opens its iPhone and iPad tab with the instruction to go to Gmail on your computer. Five sections under that iOS tab serve desktop steps.

Two smaller defects sit alongside these. The Android tab of Google’s contact groups article carries no Gmail section, while the Computer tab has a full one.

The second is quieter. Two Google properties link the contacts limits page using two different anchors, and neither anchor exists on the target page.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I export Gmail contacts to Excel?

Export from Google Contacts as a CSV file, then open it in Excel. CSV files are compatible with Excel and will display your contacts in spreadsheet format with columns for name, email, phone, and other fields.

Can I export Gmail contacts to Outlook?

Yes. In Google Contacts, choose Outlook CSV as your export format, then import the file through Outlook’s contact manager. Microsoft asks for UTF-8 encoding on its new Outlook and Web import paths, and Google publishes no description of the Outlook CSV option itself.

How do I export Gmail contacts to iPhone?

Export from Google Contacts using the vCard format. Email the .vcf file to yourself, open it on your iPhone, and tap to add the contacts. Alternatively, sync Google Contacts directly with your iPhone through Settings.

Why are some email addresses missing from my Google Contacts export?

Google Contacts only includes addresses you’ve saved or replied to. Emails you received but never responded to aren’t saved. Use EmailAnalytics to export a complete list of every email address you’ve interacted with.

Can I export Gmail contacts with response time data?

Google Contacts doesn’t include response time data. EmailAnalytics exports contacts with metrics including emails sent, emails received, your average response time, and their average response time to you.

Where are “Other contacts” in Gmail?

In Google Contacts, click “Other contacts” in the left sidebar. These are email addresses Gmail automatically saved when you replied to or forwarded emails, but that you haven’t manually added to your main contact list.

How many contacts can a Google account hold?

Google says you can save up to 25,000 contacts or 20 MB, with photos not counted toward that total. Google’s Workspace import documentation gives a different figure of 27,000 for an organization, and the two have not been reconciled.

Why did my contacts import fail?

The most common documented cause is file size. Google says to split files of more than 3,000 contacts into separate CSVs. Microsoft separately asks for UTF-8 encoding on its new Outlook and Web import paths.

Can I undo a contacts import?

Yes, within 30 days. Google publishes an Undo changes option under Settings in Google Contacts, and it reverses every change made in the past 30 days. Google warns that contacts permanently deleted from Trash can’t be recovered that way.

Can I export contacts from the Gmail mobile app?

No, and no vendor documents one. Exporting from a phone is documented, but it happens in the Google Contacts app on Android or the Contacts app on iPhone. Neither route runs inside Gmail.

What We Checked, and When

Every figure and quotation added to this page came from Google, Microsoft or Apple documentation read on 11 August 2026. Microsoft dates are taken from each article’s revision metadata rather than the visible footer.

Google Help Center pages publish no last-updated date, so none is implied for them. Where two Google pages disagree, both are quoted above rather than reconciled into one tidy number.

The Outlook CSV export option is described here as undocumented rather than as nonexistent. It appears in the product, and Google publishes nothing about it.