How to Transfer Google Contacts to Another Account: A Step-by-Step Process

Summary: Switching your Google account and concerned about Google contacts? Then don’t worry we have a solution for you. See how to transfer Google contacts to another account via the best possible solution to migrate single/multiple contacts at a time.

Table of Content

• What are the Ways to Transfer Google Contacts to Another Account?
• Method 1: Copy Contacts from One Google Account to Another, Manually
• Method 2: Use Android App
• Method 3: Test Email Method
• Professional Method to Transfer Google Contacts Across Accounts
• Conclusion
• FAQs

Google doesn’t provide any direct solution to automatically copy contacts between two Google accounts. Instead, you need to perform this contacts transfer in two steps, first export from the source account in CSV format and then import contacts into the destination Google account.

However, performing this operation for every user can become a cumbersome task. Therefore, in this guide, we are going to introduce an alternative solution also to copy contacts from one Google account to another for multiple users.

What are the Ways to Transfer Google Contacts to Another Account?

Apart from manual import/export solutions for a single account, there are automated solutions also for transferring Google Address book to another Google account in bulk. Admin / User can opt for any method according to their choice.

Method 1: Copy Contacts from One Google Account to Another, Manually

This contact transfer method is broken down into two steps. First, export contacts from the source account, and second import them into a new account. Although this task can be easily done from the Gmail application, it’s much easier to do via the Google Contacts App.

Step 1: Export Contacts from Source Google Account

1. First, visit contacts.google.com and log into your source Google account
2. From the left Menu bar, click on the Export button from the drop-down
3. In the next step, you can select custom or all contacts and choose Export as the “Google CSV” option.
4. Finally, click on the Export button to browse the location to save the file.

After exporting contacts from the source account, log in from that account and log into your destination Google account. Here, instead of export, you need to choose the “import” option to transfer Google contacts to the destination Google account.

Step 2: Import Exported Contacts into Destination Google Account

1. After logging into the destination Google account.
2. From the left Menu bar, select the “Import” option this time.
3. Next, from the Import Contacts pop-up, click on the Select File option to browse the exported CSV file of Step 1.
4. After providing the CSV file path finally, click on the Import button to finish the process.

That’s it! You have successfully copied contacts from one Google account to another. Repeat the above steps if need to transfer Google contacts of other users.

Shortcomings of the Import/Export Method

Though the import/export method can successfully operate, it is associated with some drawbacks. While copying contacts from one Google account to another manually, the user faces some issues, such as:

• Only one user account contact can be transferred at a time.
• Unable to locate the copied contacts in the destination account.
• The manual method can create formatting inconsistencies in the destination account.
• It can create confusion which can result in duplicate contact entries.
• The manual method can not migrate the contact photo to the destination user account.
• Shows errors when transferring more than 2000 Google address books to another account.

Method 2: Use Android to Move Contacts Across Accounts

Prerequisites: You need to possess the credentials of both accounts sign in and set them up on your Android mobile.

Steps:

• Step 1. On the Contacts app tap and hold to select the contact(s) you want to move.
• Step 2. Look for “Contact settings” or a three-dot menu and tap on it.
• Step 3. Tap on the “Move to another account” or an equivalent option on your device screen.
• Step 4. Choose the Target account from the “Move contacts to” pop-up
• Step 5. Confirm by tapping “Move” on the confirmation pop-up.

Drawbacks:

• Only works on Android devices.
• Need to keep Accounts synced with the device (so with “All contacts” view options moving becomes pointless)
• Not efficient for large lists.
• Contacts are moved, not copied – they are removed from the source account.

Method 3: Unorthodox “Test Email” Method

The basic idea is this:

• Phase 1: Source sends a bulk email asking contacts to reply to the target.
• Phase 2: Target receives emails and uses the “Add to contacts” feature to populate the contact list.
• Additional edits are required to fill in missing contact details.

Drawbacks:

• High manual effort.
• Depends on contacts replying.
• Only email addresses are reliably captured.
• Clutters inboxes with unnecessary emails.

Professional Method  to Transfer Google Contacts of Multiple Users to Another Account

To overcome all the limitations of the manual solution, users can opt for a more reliable solution such as the SysTools G Suite Migration tool. Using this tool, Admin can copy contacts from multiple Google accounts to different accounts simultaneously. Moreover, the tool offers various advanced features which makes it easier for the user to work on it. The tool is user-friendly and has an interactive user interface that consists of a Help section for a detailed overview of every feature.

Download Tool Purchase Now

Some of the Key Features of the Automated Tool are as Follows:

• Transfer multiple user account contacts to another Google account.
• Apart from contacts, also allows to transfer of emails, calendars, and drive data.
• Provides category and date-range filter options for each category.
• Copy selective date-range contacts via the date filter.
• Provides priority option to transfer contacts of some accounts before others.
• Offers Delta Migration feature to skip already transferred contacts in the previous attempt.

Software Steps to Move Google Contacts to Another Account Quickly

Step 1. Launch and Activate the tool (tools are available for both Windows & Linux).

Tips: Before beginning with migration, don’t forget to fulfill basic prerequisites, see How-it-Works.

Step 2. Select the source and destination as G Suite from the migration screen.

Step 3. Select the category Contacts and set a date-range filter for it.

Step 4. Provide Source and Destination admin details. Validate the required permissions and click on Next.

Step 5. Choose the Mapping option and import the users for mapping.

Step 6. Validate the user accounts, Apply Priority and click on the Start Migration button to move Google Contacts to another account.

Also Read: How to import Google contacts to Office 365 accounts?

Conclusion

Several times users in an organization need to transfer Google contacts to another account – either due to a domain name change or when an employee leaves an organization, or others. No matter your reasons, you can simply copy contacts from one Google account to another using the explained methods in this blog. We have provided step-by-step solutions for manual and automated solutions and their advantages and disadvantages. Carefully select the right method for your organization and save time to do such a simple task.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Q. While using the export/import mechanism of the Google Contacts web app I see that there are 3 distinct options to export, out of these which one is the most suitable and why?
  A. As your primary objective is to perform a Google-to-Google account contact transfer we recommend that you go for the Google CSV. It contains all the different hidden fields that Google reserves for its contact data types. So you won’t need to edit or alter any item before importing it into the target account. Additionally, vCard (VCF) is more universal but less optimal for Google-to-Google account transfers. Outlook CSV is entirely different so you will have to do a lot of manual remapping.
• Q. Should I construct my very own Google Contact API-based solution to perform the transfer?
  A. It is a decent personal project idea and you can approach it if you wish to learn app building and possess the necessary coding knowledge. However, keep in mind that API methods are overly complex for most users so you face major challenges along the way. Not to mention such an attempt is non-viable in an organizational setting. The tool we gave you does exactly this but can be used by anyone regardless of technical skill or background.
• Q. I asked my admin to unlock the Contact Delegation feature for my account how can I use it to trigger a contact transfer between two Google accounts on the same domain?
  A. The task you trying to achieve with Contact delegation is not possible. It is a way with which a primary account can let other members of the organization manage the contact list on their behalf.
  However, Delegates cannot:
  • Import or export contacts.
  • Merge duplicates.
  • Change settings.
  • Manage trash