The fastest way depends on where your contacts are now

If your contacts live in a CSV file, another email program, or your phone, Outlook can pull them in directly. The method you use depends on the source: a CSV file takes a few clicks in the import wizard, contacts from Gmail or another email account can sync automatically, and phone contacts usually move through your email account first. Most imports finish in under five minutes.

Outlook handles this differently depending on whether you use Outlook on the desktop (Windows or Mac), Outlook on the web, or Outlook on your phone. The desktop version has the most control; the web version has fewer options; the phone app usually syncs automatically from your email account instead of importing manually.

Key Takeaways

  • Desktop Outlook imports from CSV files, other email programs, and vCard files through the File menu's Import & Export option.
  • Outlook on the web cannot import contacts directly — you must use the desktop version or upload a CSV to your email provider first.
  • Gmail, Yahoo, and other email accounts can sync their contacts to Outlook automatically if you add the account in Outlook's settings.
  • Phone contacts usually sync through your email account (Gmail, Outlook.com, iCloud) rather than importing directly into the Outlook app.
  • CSV files must have the right column headers — "First Name", "Last Name", "Email Address" — or Outlook will not map the data correctly.

Importing from a CSV file on Windows or Mac

A CSV file is a plain text file where each contact is one row and each field (name, email, phone) is separated by a comma. Most contact lists can be exported as CSV. To import one into Outlook on the desktop, open Outlook, go to the File menu, and select Import & Export (Windows) or Import (Mac).

On Windows, the Import and Export Wizard will open. Choose "Import from a file" and then select "Comma Separated Values (.CSV)". Click Next, browse to your CSV file, and click Open. Outlook will then show you a preview of the data and ask you to map the columns — this means telling Outlook which column in your file is the first name, which is the email, and so on. Match each column header to the correct field, then click Finish. The contacts will appear in your Contacts folder within a few seconds.

On Mac, the process is similar but the menu path is File > Import. Select the CSV file, review the column mapping, and confirm. Mac Outlook may ask which folder to import into; choose Contacts unless you have a reason to use a different folder.

Importing contacts from another email program

If your contacts are in Gmail, Yahoo Mail, Apple Mail, or another email client, the easiest path is usually to export them as a CSV or vCard file first, then import that file into Outlook using the method above. However, if you use Gmail or Yahoo regularly, you can also add that account directly to Outlook and let the contacts sync automatically.

To add a Gmail or Yahoo account to Outlook on Windows, go to File > Add Account. Enter your email address and password. Outlook will connect to the account and begin syncing your contacts, calendar, and mail. This happens in the background and does not require manual import. On Mac, go to Outlook > Preferences > Accounts, click the plus sign, and add the account the same way.

If you want to export contacts from Gmail before adding the account, open Gmail in a web browser, click the Google Apps menu (nine dots), select Contacts, click the menu icon on the left, choose Export, and read as CSV or vCard. Then import that file into Outlook using the steps above. This gives you a one-time copy rather than a live sync.

Syncing contacts from your phone

Phone contacts do not import directly into Outlook. Instead, they sync through your email account. If your phone contacts are stored in Google (Android) or iCloud (iPhone), those accounts already sync to Outlook if you have added them to Outlook's settings.

On Android, open the Outlook app, tap the menu icon (three lines), go to Settings, and add your Google account if you have not already. Your Google contacts will sync automatically. On iPhone, add your iCloud account to Outlook the same way. If your phone contacts are stored locally on the device instead of in an email account, you will need to export them to a CSV file first — this varies by phone model and is usually found in the Contacts app's menu under Export or Share.

What to do if the import fails or contacts appear twice

If Outlook does not recognize the column headers in your CSV file, the import will fail or the data will map to the wrong fields. Before importing, open the CSV file in a text editor or spreadsheet program and check that the first row contains standard headers like "First Name", "Last Name", "Email Address", or "Email". If the headers are different (for example, "Given Name" instead of "First Name"), Outlook may still import them, but you will need to manually map each column during the import wizard.

If contacts appear twice after importing, it usually means you imported the same file twice or you synced an account that already had those contacts. To remove duplicates, go to the Contacts folder, select the duplicate entries, and delete them. Outlook does not have an automatic duplicate-removal tool, so you may need to do this manually if you imported a large list.

If an import appears to hang or freeze, close Outlook completely and reopen it. Large CSV files (more than a few thousand contacts) can take longer to process. If the problem persists, try splitting the CSV file into smaller chunks and importing them separately.

Importing contacts on Outlook on the web

Outlook on the web (the browser version at outlook.com or outlook.office.com) does not have a built-in import tool. If you need to import contacts there, use the desktop version of Outlook instead, or upload your CSV file to your email provider's contact manager directly. For Outlook.com accounts, you can also add other email accounts (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) in the web version's settings, and their contacts will sync automatically.

If you only have access to Outlook on the web and need to add contacts from a CSV file, read the desktop version of Outlook, import the file there, and the contacts will sync to your web account automatically. Alternatively, some third-party tools can convert CSV files and upload them to Outlook.com, but these are not official Microsoft tools and carry their own security considerations.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I import contacts from Facebook or LinkedIn into Outlook?

Not directly. Facebook and LinkedIn do not offer CSV exports of your connections. You would need to use a third-party tool to read your connections as a CSV file, then import that file into Outlook. These tools vary in reliability and may require you to give them access to your social media account, so review their privacy policy first.

What happens to my contacts if I delete them from the source email account?

If you imported a one-time CSV file, deleting the original file does not affect your Outlook contacts. If you synced a live account (like Gmail), deleting a contact in Gmail will also delete it in Outlook because they are linked. If you want a permanent copy that will not change, import a CSV file instead of syncing the account.

Can I import contacts into a specific folder instead of the main Contacts folder?

Yes, on Windows you can choose the destination folder during the import wizard. On Mac, Outlook will ask which folder to use. If you want to organize contacts into subfolders after importing, you can create new folders in Contacts and drag contacts into them manually.

Why does my CSV file show an error when I try to import it?

The most common reason is that the file is not actually a CSV — it might be an Excel file (.xlsx) or a text file with the wrong extension. Save it as a true CSV file (comma-separated values) in your spreadsheet program or text editor. Also check that the first row contains column headers and that no cells contain line breaks or special characters that might confuse the parser.

Do I need to remove contacts from my old email program before importing them to Outlook?

No. Importing to Outlook does not delete contacts from the original program. You can keep both copies or delete the old ones manually once you confirm the import worked. If you synced an account instead of importing a file, the contacts will stay in both places as long as the account remains connected.