Move contacts from one Google account to another: what to know first

To move contacts from one Google account to another, export a CSV or vCard file from the old account and import it into the new one. Every method in this guide follows that pattern, so the routes differ only in where you do the work.

This guide covers three routes:

• Computer export and import suits large address books, or anyone who wants a backup file before changing anything.
• Android sync suits people who have both accounts on one Android phone and would rather skip files entirely.
• iPhone suits people who manage their contacts from an iPhone and have no computer nearby.

Most people finish in 10 to 15 minutes. Larger address books take a little longer because the import has to process every entry, but the steps themselves are short.

Before you start, make sure you can sign in to both accounts. Also decide whether the old account keeps its copy. Exporting does not delete anything, so you can clean up the old account later, once you have checked that everything arrived.

Copy versus move: what actually happens

Google offers no one-click button to move contacts from one Google account to another. Instead, you export the contacts from the old account and import them into the new one. That gives you a copy, so every contact stays in the old account until you delete it yourself.

A copy is the safer default. Imports sometimes drop a phone number, merge two people into one or create duplicates. Because the originals are still in place, you can compare both lists and fix gaps before anything is lost. It also keeps the old account usable while you tell people about your new address.

A true move makes sense in two cases:

• You are leaving a job, and the work account will be closed.
• You are shutting down an old Gmail address and want a single clean list.

In both cases, copy first. Then check that the contact count in the new account matches the old one, and only after that delete the originals. If the contacts sit in a work account, check your employer's policy before you export, because business contacts may belong to the company.

What to prepare before you start

A few minutes of prep make it much easier to move contacts from one Google account to another. Gather the items below first, so you don't have to stop halfway through.

• The email address and password for the old account, plus the phone or device you use for two-step verification.
• The same login details for the new account.
• A computer or a phone. A computer is easier for handling the export file, but a phone works too.
• One spare minute to count the contacts in the old account.

Write down the contact total from the old account. You will need it later, because comparing the numbers is the quickest way to check that nothing went missing. In Google Contacts, the count shows next to the list heading.

Google Workspace accounts, such as those from a school or an employer, may block exports. If the export option is greyed out or missing, an admin can change this in the Admin console. So ask early, because waiting for a reply is often the slowest part.

Method 1: Move contacts from one Google account to another on a computer

This is the most reliable way to move contacts from one Google account to another, so try it first. It takes about five minutes, and you can check the result before you delete anything.

1. Open contacts.google.com and sign in to the old account.
2. Tick the contacts you want, or skip this step to export everyone.
3. Click Export in the left menu, then choose Google CSV.
4. Download the file and sign out.
5. Sign in to the new account and open Google Contacts again.
6. Click Import, select the CSV file, and confirm.

Google offers three formats, so pick carefully. Google CSV keeps the most fields, including labels, notes, extra phone numbers and custom fields, because it uses Google's own column layout. Outlook CSV works, but it drops some of those fields since it was built for a different address book. vCard suits Apple Contacts and phones, though it handles labels less reliably on import.

After the import, open a few contacts that had several numbers or notes. Then look for duplicates, because Google lists them under Merge & fix. If the old account stays active, you also have a backup.

Export a file from the old account

The first step to move contacts from one Google account to another is getting them out of the old one. Open contacts.google.com in a browser while signed in to the old account. Check the profile picture in the top right corner, because it is easy to land in the wrong account.

1. Tick the box next to a contact to select it, then tick more to build a selection. To export everything, skip this step.
2. Click Export in the left sidebar.
3. Choose all contacts or your selected ones, then pick Google CSV as the format.
4. Click Export again to save the file.

Your browser usually saves the file as contacts.csv in the Downloads folder. However, if you changed that setting, check the download bar to see where it went. Note the location, because you need the file in the next step.

The file holds names, phone numbers, email addresses and sometimes notes, so it counts as personal data. Delete it once the import works. Then empty the recycle bin as well, so no copy stays on the computer.

Import the file into the new account

Switch to the new account first. Click your profile picture in Google Contacts and pick the new address, or sign in to that account in a fresh browser window.

1. Open Import in the left menu.
2. Click Select file and choose the CSV you exported earlier.
3. Click Import to confirm.

Small files finish in seconds. Large files can take a few minutes, so wait before you retry. If the progress message stays frozen after ten minutes, refresh the page and see whether contacts have already appeared.

If nothing shows up, split the CSV into smaller files of a few thousand rows each. Then import them one by one. Importing the same file twice creates duplicates, so check the list before each retry.

Finally, check the count. Compare the total at the top of the contact list with the number you noted before exporting. If the new total is lower, look for rows with no name, email or phone number, because those often get dropped. If it is higher, open Merge & fix to clean up duplicates.

Delete the originals if you want a true move

Copying contacts leaves the originals in the old account. So if you want to move contacts from one Google account to another, you still need to clear out the old list. Do this only after you have checked the new account.

Open the new account in Google Contacts first. Scroll through the list, search a few names, and confirm that phone numbers, emails and labels came across. Then spot-check a handful of contacts with long notes or several numbers, because those are the ones that break most often.

Once everything looks right, switch back to the old account and clear it out:

1. Open contacts.google.com and sign in to the old account.
2. Tick the checkbox on one contact, then use the top checkbox to select all.
3. Click the Delete icon and confirm.

Deleted contacts go to Trash in Google Contacts and stay there for 30 days. During that window you can open Trash and restore any of them. After 30 days they are gone for good.

Still, verify before you delete. A missed import is much easier to fix while the originals exist, and Trash only covers you for 30 days.

Method 2: Move contacts from one Google account to another on an Android phone

This method works when both Google accounts are signed in on the same Android phone, so you can move contacts from one Google account to another without a computer. Menus differ by manufacturer, so your screens may look a bit different from the steps below.

1. Open the Contacts app, then long-press the contacts you want to move.
2. Tap the three-dot menu and choose Move to another account. On some phones it sits under Manage contacts or Settings.
3. Select the destination Google account and confirm.

If you cannot find that option, use a vCard export instead. Open Settings in Contacts, tap Export, and save the .vcf file. Then switch to the other account, tap Import, and pick that file.

Before you start, check where your contacts are saved. Contacts stored only on the device or SIM never synced to Google, so the other account will not show them unless you move or export them. Synced contacts also stay tied to their original account, so look at the destination account after the move.

Method 3: Move contacts from one Google account to another on an iPhone

Your iPhone can hold both Google accounts at once. Go to Settings, Contacts, Accounts, add each account, and switch Contacts on. However, the iPhone cannot move contacts from one Google account to another directly, so you need a short detour through a computer.

The simplest route has five steps:

1. Open Google Contacts on a computer and sign in to the old account.
2. Select the contacts you want, click Export, and choose Google CSV.
3. Then sign out and sign in to the new account.
4. Click Import and pick the CSV file.
5. On your iPhone, check that Contacts is switched on for the new account. The imported entries then sync within a few minutes.

Next, choose where new contacts go. Open Settings, Contacts, Default Account, and select the new Google account. From then on, every contact you save lands there, so you will not repeat this export.

Finally, turn off Contacts for the old account if you no longer need it on the phone. Otherwise, duplicates can show up in your list.

Move only some contacts: labels and selections

Sometimes you only need to move contacts from one Google account to another for a slice of your list. Labels and checkboxes handle the sorting, so the rest stays put.

Take a freelancer who wants 40 client contacts in a new business account, with personal numbers left behind. A label does the filtering.

1. Open Google Contacts in the old account and create a label called Clients.
2. Then tick the checkbox next to each client and apply the Clients label.
3. Click the Clients label in the left sidebar.
4. Next, tick the top checkbox to select everyone in the label, open the three-dot menu and choose Export.
5. Pick Google CSV and download the file.
6. Finally, sign in to the new account, open Import and upload the file.

For a handful of people, skip the label. Instead, tick the checkbox beside each contact and choose Export from the toolbar menu. Google then exports only the selected contacts.

Check the count before you export, because the toolbar shows how many are selected. In the freelancer's case it should read 40. The same method also works for a Suppliers label or any other group.

Fix duplicates, missing details and other problems after the move

You imported the file, and something looks off. That happens often when you move contacts from one Google account to another, but most problems take a few minutes to fix.

• For duplicates, open Google Contacts, go to Merge & fix and select Merge duplicates. Google then combines entries that share a name, email or number.
• If everything doubled because you imported twice, use Undo changes in Settings and pick a time before the import.
• Missing phone numbers or notes usually trace back to the CSV. Open it in a spreadsheet, because columns with unusual headers get skipped. Then rename them to match Google's own export format.
• Labels that vanished can be added back in bulk. Tick the contacts, then click the label icon.
• Garbled characters in names mean the file was probably saved in the wrong encoding. Re-save it as UTF-8 CSV and import it again.
• Contacts that appear on the web but not on your phone need a sync check. Make sure Contacts sync is on for the new account. Also confirm the account is ticked under Contacts to display.

Export a backup before you clean anything up. Then, if a fix goes wrong, you can import the backup and start again.

Merge duplicates

Once you move contacts from one Google account to another, the new account may already hold some of the same people. You then see two cards for one client, each with a different phone number or email. Google Contacts can find these pairs for you.

Open Google Contacts on a computer and click Merge and fix in the left menu. Then choose Merge duplicates. Google lists each suggested group and shows the details it would combine.

Review the suggestions one by one instead of merging everything at once. Google matches on names, numbers and email addresses, so it can pair people who only look alike. For example, two colleagues who share a sales@ inbox can end up as one card, and you lose a name.

So check each group, then click Merge only on the pairs that are the same person. Skip the rest. If a merge goes wrong, open Settings and use Undo changes to restore your list. The whole pass takes a few minutes.

Missing photos, labels and other contacts

A CSV file holds text only, so profile photos do not travel with it. Some labels also fail to carry over, especially when you edit the Labels column in a spreadsheet. Contacts under Other contacts are missing from the export too, because Google keeps that list separate from My contacts.

First, copy those contacts across before you export:

1. Open Google Contacts in the old account and click Other contacts in the left menu.
2. Tick the box next to each person you want to keep.
3. Click Add to My contacts in the top bar.
4. Then export again, so the file includes them.

After the import, restore your labels in the new account:

1. Click Create label and use the same name as before.
2. Select the contacts that belong in that group.
3. Click the label icon and tick the new label.

Photos need a different route. You can add them again by hand, but exporting as vCard instead of CSV is faster because that format keeps them.

Workspace restrictions and sync errors

Work and school accounts often block the steps to move contacts from one Google account to another. If the Export option is greyed out or missing in Google Contacts, an admin has probably switched it off. Import can be disabled the same way, so the fix has to come from the admin.

Ask the admin for one of these:

• Permission to export contacts from your account.
• A CSV file of your contacts, exported on your behalf.
• Confirmation that importing contacts into your account is allowed.

Sometimes the transfer works but your phone still shows old data. In that case, check these in order:

1. Open your phone's account settings and confirm that Contacts sync is switched on for the right account.
2. Check the account storage. A full Google account stops syncing, so delete large files or buy more space.
3. Sign out of the account on the phone, then sign back in to force a fresh sync.

After that, give it a few minutes and reopen Contacts. The new entries should appear.

Keep your contacts organized after you move contacts from one Google account to another

After you move contacts from one Google account to another, they stay useful only if you maintain them. Your list will get messy within weeks without a few basic habits.

• Use one naming format everywhere, such as "First Last, Company".
• Add labels like Clients and Leads so you can filter fast.
• Check for duplicates monthly using Google Contacts' Merge and fix tool.
• Once a quarter, review contacts with no recent activity and archive or delete the ones you no longer use.

If most of your selling happens on WhatsApp, email and LinkedIn, a contact list has a real limit. Names and numbers sit in Google Contacts, but context lives in chats. That context gets scattered across apps and hard to find.

A mobile-first CRM like Leadrealizer keeps conversations and follow-ups tied to each contact. Google Contacts remains your address book. Instead of jumping between five apps, you see the last thing you discussed and what comes next, all in one place.

Quick checklist to move contacts from one Google account to another

Work through this list each time you move contacts from one Google account to another. The steps go in order.

1. Check how many contacts are in the old account. Google Contacts shows this count at the top.
2. Export them as a Google CSV file.
3. Sign in to the new account and import the file.
4. Compare the contact counts. They should match unless the new account already had contacts in it.
5. Use Merge and fix to find and merge duplicates.
6. Delete the exported file from your computer. It contains names, numbers and emails in plain text.
7. Remove the old contacts only if you want a true move. Skip this step if you still use the old account.

Before you delete, make sure the new account looks complete. Then select all contacts in the old account and delete them.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I move contacts from one Google account to another?

Export them from the old account, then import the file into the new one. Open contacts.google.com while signed in to the old account, select Export, choose Google CSV, and download the file. Then sign in to the new account, select Import, and upload that file. The contacts appear in the new account within a few moments.

Does exporting delete contacts from the original Google account?

No. Export only creates a copy, so the contacts stay in the old account until you remove them. If you want a true move, check the new account first. Then delete the originals from the old account.

Can I move contacts from one Google account to another on my phone?

Sometimes. The Google Contacts app on Android often offers a Move to another account option in a contact's menu. However, the option depends on your device and app version. If you do not see it, use the export and import method on a computer instead.

Will my labels come along when I move contacts from one Google account to another?

They do when you export as Google CSV. That format carries label names, while vCard handles them less reliably. After the import, check the left menu in the new account to confirm that labels like "Leads" or "Suppliers" are there.

What should I do about duplicates after the import?

Open Merge & fix in Google Contacts on the new account. Google lists duplicate contacts and offers to combine them. This happens often when some of the same people were already saved there, so review the suggestions before you merge.