How to Migrate Emails from Amazon WorkMail to Gmail with Attachments ?

Moving your email from Amazon WorkMail to Gmail sounds complex. It’s not.

You need the right tool and about 20 minutes. This guide walks you through the exact process I use with the Turgs Email Backup Wizard to migrate AWS WorkMail emails to Gmail with all attachments intact.

Why People Move from Amazon WorkMail to Gmail

Amazon WorkMail is a solid business email service, but Gmail’s ecosystem wins for most teams. Google Workspace integrates with Drive, Docs, Meet and Calendar in ways WorkMail simply doesn’t match. Many businesses also cite cost: WorkMail charges $4 per user per month, while Google Workspace Business Starter comes in at $6 with far more bundled tools.

The other big reason is mobile experience. Gmail’s Android and iOS apps have better push notifications, search and filtering than WorkMail’s IMAP setup on mobile clients.

Whatever your reason, the migration itself is straightforward once you use a dedicated tool.

Step-by-Step: Migrate Amazon WorkMail Emails to Gmail

The Turgs Email Backup Wizard handles this migration in 8 steps. Download and install it on any Windows PC, then follow along below.

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Step 1: Open Email Backup Wizard. From the email source list, select the Amazon WorkMail option.

Step 2: Enter your Amazon WorkMail credentials: the email address and password. Click the Connect option.

Step 3: The tool loads your mailbox folders. Select Gmail as the saving format from the destination list.

Step 4: Enter your Gmail account credentials: the email address and app password. Click Connect.

Step 5: Select the specific folders you want to migrate. You can choose all folders or specific ones like Inbox, Sent and Drafts.

Step 6: If your destination is Google Workspace (G Suite) rather than a standard Gmail account, select the G Suite option here instead.

Step 7: Click Start Migration. The tool processes each email one by one, preserving attachments, folder structure and timestamps.

Step 8: Once complete, click the Download button to save a migration report or open Gmail to confirm your emails are there.

Can You Do This Manually?

Technically, yes. You can configure Amazon WorkMail as an IMAP source in Thunderbird, then add Gmail as a second IMAP account and drag emails across folders. I’ve done this for small mailboxes under 200 MB.

The problem starts with scale. Thunderbird times out on large IMAP transfers. Attachments sometimes detach from their parent emails. Folder structure often collapses. For anything over 500 MB, a dedicated migration tool saves hours of cleanup work.

There’s also the rate limit issue. Gmail enforces a 500 MB per day upload limit via IMAP for free accounts. A 4 GB mailbox would take 8 days manually. Email Backup Wizard uses the Gmail API, which has a higher throughput ceiling and handles retries automatically.

Key Features of Email Backup Wizard

The tool does more than a single one-time migration. Here’s what you actually get with the full version:

Date range filtering lets you migrate only emails from a specific time window. This is useful when you want to move just the last 12 months instead of a 6-year archive. It cuts migration time significantly on large mailboxes.

Folder mapping lets you control where each WorkMail folder lands in Gmail. Inbox goes to Inbox, but you can point your WorkMail “Projects” folder to a custom Gmail label instead.

Incremental backup means you can run the tool weekly to sync only new emails since the last run. This is handy during a transition period where staff may still be using both accounts.

The tool works on Windows 7, 8, 10 and 11. No server-side installation needed. One PC can run migrations for multiple mailboxes.

Limitations to Know Before You Start

What to Check After the Migration Completes

Once Email Backup Wizard shows the migration as complete, do three quick checks before you consider the job done.

First, open Gmail and navigate to the folders that matter most to you. Inbox, Sent and any project-specific labels you used in WorkMail. Spot-check 5 to 10 emails in each folder to confirm the subject, body and attachments are all intact.

Second, check the total email count. In Amazon WorkMail, go to Settings and look at your mailbox usage. In Gmail, search “in:anywhere” and look at the approximate result count in the top right corner. The numbers do not need to match perfectly. Gmail deduplicates some messages, so a small difference is normal. They should be in the same ballpark.

Third, test a forwarded attachment. Find an email with a PDF or ZIP attachment in Gmail and try to download it. Gmail processes attachments slightly differently than IMAP clients, and this quick test confirms everything came through correctly.

If you notice any folders missing, you can run Email Backup Wizard again with just those specific folders selected. It handles incremental re-runs without creating duplicates.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Email Backup Wizard migrate Amazon WorkMail emails with attachments?

Yes. The tool preserves all attachments during migration. PDFs, images, Word documents and ZIP files all transfer intact to your Gmail account.

Can I migrate from Amazon WorkMail to Google Workspace (G Suite)?

Yes. When selecting the destination in Step 6, choose the G Suite option instead of standard Gmail. You’ll use your Google Workspace email address and an app password to authenticate.

How long does the Amazon WorkMail to Gmail migration take?

A 1 GB mailbox typically takes 10 to 20 minutes. A 5 GB mailbox can take 60 to 90 minutes depending on your internet speed and the Gmail API rate limits at the time of migration.

Do I need technical knowledge to run the migration?

No. The wizard-style interface walks you through each step. You need your Amazon WorkMail login details and a Gmail app password, both of which take under 5 minutes to set up.

What happens to my original Amazon WorkMail emails after migration?

Nothing. The tool reads and copies your emails. It does not delete or alter anything in your Amazon WorkMail account. Your original emails stay intact after migration.

Is there a free version of Email Backup Wizard?

Yes. The free trial migrates a limited number of emails per folder so you can test the process before buying. The full version removes this limit and unlocks all features including incremental backup and date filtering.