How to Transfer Email from One Hosting to Another? (2026 Guide)

To transfer email from one hosting to another, you need to create new accounts, transfer the old email account to the new hosting company via third-party tools or by migrating them manually, and update the MX records in the DNS. Furthermore, one should wait a couple of days until the DNS changes propagate and keep the old account active.

The following article outlines everything you need to know to carry out email transfer when switching between hosting service providers.

Reasons to Transfer Email from One Hosting to Another

• Affordability and reliability: Switching hosts to get better pricing or a more stable email delivery service.
• Provider bankruptcy or ownership change: Necessitates an immediate change of providers, involving little opportunity to plan the transition.
• Repeated delivery failures: Requires changing providers due to the existing shared IP’s disreputable history.
• Consolidating domains: Moving email services of different domains to the same provider to reduce multiple payments.
• Standardizing infrastructure: With an agency or IT team, this means assuming control of hosting and transferring clients or new employees to the preferred provider.
• Reaching mailbox storage capacity: Means the current plan is not capable enough. An upgrade requires switching to a hosting solution that has enough capacity.
• Mergers and acquisitions: Involve the merging of two email systems into the same host.
• Rebuilding a website: On a new platform, this requires a decision on whether to keep the email separate or transfer it.
• Transferring domains: To a new registrar that also provides hosting will require moving mail too.

Before You Begin

• Make a checklist: Note all mailboxes and aliases of the previous hosting service along with important email domains such as info@, support@, etc. These domains can be very easily overlooked and will not be carried over automatically.
• Verify disk space: Ensure the new hosting service has enough disk space to accommodate the incoming emails from the old host, especially if you have been using the old host service for a long time.
• Find the IMAP hostname: Get the IMAP hostname and port of the old server because it will be needed during the transfer. Usually, you can easily find this information in the email account section of the client area of your current host.
• Backup each mailbox: Do this before you transfer email from one hosting to another. This step is considered important as it allows you to recover your emails in case of failure during the transfer.

Methods for Migrating Email Accounts from One Host to Another

Approach	Ideal for	Skill required	Speed
Manual (email client)	One or two mailboxes	Basic	Slow (manual folder sync)
Purpose-built tool	Bulk migration (10+ accounts)	None	Fast (automated)
Hosting provider’s tool	Same or similar control panel	Intermediate	Medium

Method 1: Transferring Email from One Host to Another Using an Email Client (Free, Manual)

To manually transfer email from one hosting to another, a client email client based on IMAP protocol such as Thunderbird, Outlook or Apple Mail can be used.

Steps:

1. Create a mailbox on the new hosting service with the same email address and password you previously had.
2. Set up both email accounts in your email program. While creating the new account, connect with the hostname provided by the new hosting service (can be found in the welcome email or in the “Connect Devices” section).
3. Transfer the data from the old account to the new account by opening folders sequentially and dragging emails into the corresponding folders in the new account.
4. Check for successful migration through webmail and not just the email program. Log into the webmail interface of your new hosting service and check whether all emails transferred successfully.
5. Do not modify DNS/MX records until you have confirmed the successful copy of all folders.

Pros: Free, compatible with different providers.

Cons: Not suitable for large mailboxes as the process is time-consuming. We cannot migrate the bulk of emails from one hosting to another. In addition, this method requires management of each folder individually.

Best for: Small migrations (1-2 mailboxes), occasional email users with limited message volume.

Method 2: Professional Tool (Automated, Fastest)

If you want to transfer large amounts of email or several accounts from one host to another, then an automated migration tool like Email Backup Software is the quickest and safest solution for you. The tool connects to any mailbox via the IMAP protocol and performs all your migrations automatically without any technical knowledge.

1. Launch the tool and select Webmail or IMAP as the source to transfer email from one hosting to another.
2. Provide the credentials of the account from which you want to migrate data, such as the login, password, and the IMAP Host.
   
3. You will have the option to select which folders you want to migrate from one host to another.
   
4. Want only specific items from your inbox? Use Advanced Filters by date, sender, recipient, folder, or keyword.
   
5. To perform the email transfer between clients easily, activate the schedule feature to repeat at set intervals until the process is complete.
   
6. In the Saving Option, choose IMAP and fill in your login and IMAP server details of the email account of the other client.
   
7. Press Backup to begin the transfer.

Pros: Fully automated, supports bulk accounts and large mailboxes, works with any hosting provider, and doesn’t require any technical skills to use it.

Cons: Requires purchasing a license for the tool.

Best for: Provides free trial, large migrations (100+ emails), automation, multiple accounts, and users who want guaranteed data safety and no downtime.

Method 3: Using Your Hosting Provider’s Built-In Migration Tool

Some web hosts provide built-in tools to transfer email from one hosting to another in their control panel. It works better when old and new hosting providers use the same control panel software.

Steps:

1. If the email account has not been created on the new host, do so.
2. Login to the control panel of the new host and search for the migration tool or email transfer tool present under the ‘Email’ or ‘Tools’ section.
3. Fill in the required information about the old host account: email address, password, IMAP hostname / IP address.
4. Start the migration.
5. After the process is finished, check the migration log. If you see pending accounts, migrate them again.

Pros: You can use the built-in tools provided by the hosting provider, thus centralizing all processes into a single interface.

Cons: It is only useful when the old and new service providers’ control panels are compatible with each other, it may have limits for mailbox sizes.

Best for: Users who switch hosting accounts using the same hosting provider.

Updating MX Records (Final Step)

After confirming the successful migration of emails to the new hosting service:

• Do not update MX records prematurely: Changing DNS before the migration is complete may result in incoming emails being sent to old servers and lost.
• Identify domain DNS/MX record settings: Generally found with either the domain name registrar or nameserver provider.
• Manually change the old MX records to the new ones provided by your new hosting service (look for your welcome email or hosting documentation).
• Keep the old hosting servers in DNS SPF records until confirmed that email communication is operating properly. Do not remove the old servers till you have propagation confirmation.
• Take a few days (2-3) for the DNS propagation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q 1: How do I transfer email from one hosting to another without losing anything?

Before changing your MX records, make sure to duplicate and check all mailboxes on the new host. It’s always advisable to back up your data beforehand.

Q 2: Can I migrate between different hosting providers?

Yes. All the three given options are suitable for migration between various hosting firms. The IMAP protocol is the most commonly used one. However, the best way to perform this task is by using a professional tool.

Q 3: What’s the quickest way to transfer multiple accounts from one host to another?

Use the automated tool. Other methods for migrating won’t be as effective for transferring files in bulk as the IMAP protocol can.

Q 4: Is changing passwords necessary?

No. It’s advisable to keep the password unchanged so there will be no trouble moving email accounts.

Q 5: Can I migrate emails from one host to another for free?

Yes, you can use the manual method or the trial version of the dedicated tool.

Q 6: Do I have to change the settings on my devices once the migration is over?

Not if you decide to use the same password. Otherwise, you will have to change the settings on your email clients.

Conclusion

There are 3 main steps to transfer emails from one host to another: 1) Migrate emails using your chosen method. 2) verifying that emails are perfectly transferred, 3) updating MX records.

You can use the manual ways for small mailboxes. However, for larger mailboxes, multiple accounts, or peace of mind, you must use the automated tool.