Corbett
Corbett Email Archiving Software archives mail from 100+ IMAP servers, webmail accounts and desktop clients to PST, MBOX, EML, MSG, PDF, HTML, CSV or TXT on your own drive. Filters, preview and attachment extraction keep every email archive focused. Try free demo first.
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Mail moves from your server to your PC alone. Corbett never sees your account or messages.
Free demo, scanned clean on VirusTotal and a 30-day money-back window.
Lifetime licence from $99 Demo saves 10 items per folder
Quick answer
Email archiving software copies emails and attachments out of a mailbox and stores them as files you keep. Corbett Email Archiving Software does that for 100+ servers and saves PST, MBOX, EML, MSG, PDF, HTML, CSV or TXT files on Windows, so you can archive emails without touching your mail source.
What it archives
Emails, attachments, folders, addresses and phone numbers
Where it archives
Local drive, USB drive, external disk or NAS
Who uses it
IT admins, legal teams, business owners and home users
Core features
Five screens of Corbett email archiving software, in archive order.
Automatic setup
Go to Email Accounts, select Add Account, enter an email address and password, and select Find. Email archiving software detects host and port on its own. If login fails, advanced settings accept non-standard servers, so any mailbox with IMAP switched on connects.
Gmail, Yahoo and iCloud accept an app password, and Gmail and Office 365 accept modern sign-in (OAuth 2.0). Add several accounts to one session or load many from a CSV list. Compact view limits your folder list to key folders. Credentials link your PC to your provider and go nowhere else.
Folder selection
Your mailbox loads as one tree with a checkbox per folder. Inbox, Sent, Drafts, labels and nested subfolders switch on or off one by one, and folder totals show archive size before anything starts.
Untick Spam, Trash or any folder not worth keeping. Original folder names carry into output, so your email archive mirrors your mailbox.
Message preview
Click a message and it opens beside four analysis views. Admins and compliance teams use them to confirm sender, route and size before saving.
Content shows your mail with every address line. Message header lists From, To and Subject. Properties reports item attributes, while hex and raw message views show stored values and message code.
Selective archive
Quick Search finds a keyword from your search bar and highlights every match in yellow. Advance Search goes deeper with two fields: All Search covers every field including calendar and date, and Emails Search covers name, subject, To, Cc and content.
Filters trim your mailbox before saving. Set From and To dates, filter by sender or recipient, and limit attachments by size or extension. A separate option archives addresses, phone numbers, contact photos and attachments alone. Duplicate emails are skipped.
Output options
After preview, choose where your email archive goes: files on disk in one of eight formats or a direct move into another account. Folder structure, attachments and dates survive both routes.
Select Export, choose PST, MBOX, EML, MSG, PDF, HTML, CSV, TXT or vCard, mark folders and Browse to a local drive, USB drive, external disk or NAS. Options include email headers, skip greyed out folders, create empty folders, delete old folders and open folder after export. Moving mail between servers? Open IMAP Migration Tool for that job.
Archive vs backup
A backup restores mail after a loss. An email archive keeps mail long term, so you can search and open it years later. Microsoft archive mailbox documentation describes an archive mailbox as extra space tied to retention and eDiscovery needs.
What an email archive does
It holds old mail in files you can search, open and hand over. Records, audits and disputes need that history long after an inbox has been cleaned.
Where server archives fall short
A provider archive lives inside your account. A closed plan, a lapsed licence or a deleted user takes that archive with it.
What a local archive adds
Email archiving software writes messages to files on your own drive. Account trouble and provider changes no longer touch your mail history.
Accepted sources
Corbett connects to email accounts, desktop clients and mail data files. Business and Enterprise licences add email servers.
| Source type | Popular examples | Sign-in |
|---|---|---|
| Webmail | Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook.com, Hotmail, AOL, iCloud, GMX and Comcast | App password or OAuth 2.0 |
| Shared hosting | GoDaddy, HostGator, Bluehost and Namecheap mailboxes | Email, password and server name |
| Cloud mail | Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace | OAuth 2.0 or admin impersonation |
| Desktop clients | Outlook, Thunderbird and saved mail data files | Select your profile or file |
| Email servers | Company mail servers (Business and Enterprise licence) | Server name, port and login |
| Custom domains | Any company domain with IMAP switched on | Server name, port and login |
Need one provider only? Open Gmail Backup Tool, Office 365 Backup Tool or Email Backup Software for all 209+ services.
Working process
Four steps take a live mailbox to an email archive on your drive. Try them on one account in free demo first.
Add your email account
Open email archiving software, go to Email Accounts and select Add Account. Enter your email address and password, select Find to detect your server, then select Add. Gmail, Yahoo and iCloud accept an app password.
Select folders and filters
Your mailbox loads as one tree. Tick folders, then set a date range, sender, subject or attachment filter to keep your email archive focused.
Select format and location
Choose PST, MBOX, EML, MSG, PDF, HTML, CSV or TXT. Save to a local drive, USB drive, external disk or NAS.
Start your archive
Press start and watch live progress for every folder. A log and CSV report list what was saved.
Want screenshots for every click? Follow IMAP backup guide.
Working process
Prefer text? Open Email archiving guide for every click with screenshots.
Advanced options
Small options that save hours on large email archive jobs.
OAuth 2.0 sign-in
Modern authentication for Gmail and Office 365
Office 365 admin archive
Impersonation archives user mailboxes with one admin login
Bulk sign-in
Load many accounts from one CSV list
Proxy support
Connect through your own proxy server
Split PST by size
Cut large PST output into smaller files
Unicode PST
Modern PST format with a 50 GB default limit in Outlook
Merge accounts
Combine many accounts into one PST
Duplicate skip
Repeated emails are saved once
Auto retry
Failed items are tried again without a restart
Live progress
Watch every folder as it saves
Log and CSV report
See what was archived and what failed
USB and NAS targets
Save archives to external drives and network storage
Quick and advance search
Find emails by keyword before you archive
Include email headers
Keep full header data in archived mail
Open folder after export
Jump to your email archive in one click
Choose output
Email archiving software saves to eight formats. Match format to what you plan to do with your email archive.
| Format | Best for | Opens in |
|---|---|---|
| PST | One file per mailbox with folders intact | Microsoft Outlook |
| MBOX | Moving mail to a free email client | Thunderbird and Apple Mail |
| EML | One file per email, easy to search | Windows Mail and most email clients |
| MSG | Single messages kept as Outlook items | Microsoft Outlook |
| Legal files, audits and printing | Any PDF viewer | |
| HTML | Reading mail with no email client | Any web browser |
| CSV | Lists of senders, dates and subjects | Excel and Google Sheets |
| TXT | Plain text archives | Any text editor |
Free demo
Test Email Archiving Software on a Live Mailbox
Install free demo, add any account, tick folders and select a format. Free demo saves 10 items per folder, so output is easy to check.
Download free demoTry before you buy
Free demo connects, loads and previews your full mailbox. Only export is capped.
| Feature | Free demo | Full version |
|---|---|---|
| Connect accounts and load mailboxes | Yes | Yes |
| Preview, filter and analysis views | All available | All available |
| Emails exported per folder | 10 | Unlimited |
| Mailbox size limit | Export stops at 10 per folder | None |
| Price | Free | From $99 one time |
Use cases
Anyone whose records live in a mailbox they do not fully control.
Legal and compliance teams
Archive emails to PDF or PST with headers intact for audits, disputes and records requests. Records stay searchable long after an inbox is cleaned.
IT administrators
Archive leaver mailboxes before an account closes and load many accounts from one CSV list. Admin archive for Office 365 works without asking every user for a password.
Business owners
Archive emails before a plan ends, a domain moves or a provider changes. Staff keep every message even after a licence lapses.
Agencies and consultants
Use email archiving software for many client accounts in one session and save every account to its own folder.
Home users leaving an ISP
Archive years of mail before you switch internet provider or close a free mailbox.
Anyone near a storage limit
Move old mail to a local email archive and free space in your online mailbox. Mail is copied first, so you decide what to delete.
Why Corbett
No subscription
Lifetime price from $99
Safe source mailbox
Archiving never deletes mail at source
Direct connection
No Corbett server in between
Eight formats
Plus account to account transfer
No size limit
Any mailbox size or message count
Auto server detection
Host and port found for you
Smart filters
Date, sender, subject and size
30-day refund
Money-back window after purchase
Manual or tool
Mail clients can move old mail into an archive folder. That works for one small mailbox. Here is where it stops.
| Task | Manual method | Email Archiving Software |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free | From $99 one time |
| One mailbox | Copy from a mail client | Works too |
| Many accounts | Repeat for every login | One session from a CSV list |
| Output formats | Client format only | PST, MBOX, EML, PDF and more |
| Filters | Client rules | Date, sender, subject, size |
| Server address | Looked up by hand | Detected on its own |
| Preview | Open one message at a time | Content, header, hex, raw |
| Failed items | Spotted and copied again by hand | Auto retry with a log and CSV report |
| Attachments alone | Save one file at a time | Extract in bulk |
Manual copying works in two rows only.
Specifications
Download details
System
Supported editions
Windows 11 (64 bit), 10, 8 and 7 in 32-bit or 64-bit, plus Windows Server 2016, 2012 R2 and 2008.
Start it with Run as Administrator.
Corbett has built Windows email utilities since 2020. Setup trouble and first-use questions go to our support desk.
User testimonials
Ratings from 393 users who archived mail through Corbett.
Collected across 393 reviews pulled from portals and emails, no edits made.
Hands down, this is the best email archiving software out there. I had a bunch of email files that I needed to archive into the local hard drive of my computer. After reading up on a few manual methods, I realized how long of a process that would be. I looked up a few automated software and this tool came up. I read the previous reviews and bought the tool. Suffice it to say that I’m happy with my purchase.
I had to archive my email files only for a particular email address. At the suggestion of a colleague, I picked up this tool to help me with this task. I believe the email archive software works pretty well and takes care of the tasks that it says it will. Apart from this, it has a simple UI that I personally found quite easy to navigate. If I had to rate this email archiving tool, I would give it four stars.
This is my second email archiving solution. I believe the application that I used before this didn’t have anything near the features that this email archive software offers. If someone were to ask me for a suggestion, I would recommend this email archiving software to them in a heartbeat. What I liked most about this tool was its ability to archive emails from 100+ different email service providers and the built-in IMAP server auto-detection.
Before archiving
Three short checks keep your email archive clean.
Gather your login data
Have your email address, password, server name and port number ready. Host and port fill in on their own for most accounts.
Create an app password
Gmail, Yahoo and iCloud block normal passwords when two-step verification is on. Create an app password first, as Google app passwords help explains.
Choose your output
Local files cover PST, MBOX, EML, MSG, PDF, HTML, CSV and TXT. Account to account transfer needs login details for your second account.
Best practice
An email archive only helps if you can open it later. Four habits keep saved mail usable for years.
Follow 3-2-1
Keep 3 copies on 2 types of media with 1 copy off site. Save to your drive, then copy to USB or NAS and to storage that you own off site.
Open a sample file
After every archive, open a few messages from your PST or MBOX. Catch a bad path or a missing folder while your account is still live.
Name archives by date
Save every archive to a folder named with account and date. Repeat archives copy your mailbox again, so dated folders keep versions apart.
Archive before you delete
Save mail before you close an account, change provider or remove a user. Deleted accounts cannot be recovered once your provider purges them.
Common questions
Steps, sources, formats, archive vs backup and licence answers.
Email archiving software copies emails and attachments from a mailbox and stores them as files on your drive. Corbett Email Archiving Software saves PST, MBOX, EML, MSG, PDF, HTML, CSV and TXT files on Windows.
Open email archiving software, go to Email Accounts and select Add Account. Enter your email address and password, select Find, then Add. Preview folders, select Export, choose a format, mark folders, Browse to a save location and select Save. Free demo lets you test every step first.
A backup exists to restore mail after a loss. An email archive keeps mail long term so you can search and open it later. Microsoft archive mailbox documentation ties archive mailboxes to retention and eDiscovery needs. Corbett saves a local copy that serves both jobs.
Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook.com, Hotmail, AOL, iCloud, GMX, Comcast, Microsoft 365, Google Workspace and any mailbox with IMAP switched on, across 100+ servers. Personal licence covers email accounts, desktop clients and data files. Business and Enterprise add email servers.
Yes. Email archiving software reads Outlook data and saves it to PST, MBOX, EML, MSG, PDF, HTML, CSV or TXT. Microsoft 365 mailboxes connect with OAuth 2.0 or admin impersonation.
Yes. Add your Gmail address, sign in with an app password or OAuth 2.0 and select folders or labels. Email archiving software saves them to your drive in any of eight formats.
Your email address or username and password. Server name and port number fill in when you select Find, and advanced settings accept any other server if login fails.
PST, MBOX, EML, MSG, PDF, HTML, CSV and TXT, plus vCard for contacts. You can also move mail straight into Gmail, Office 365, Thunderbird or another IMAP account.
Yes. A separate option saves attachments, email addresses and phone numbers alone, without message bodies.
Yes. Set From and To dates in filters and email archiving software saves only mail inside that range.
Yes. Quick Search finds a keyword from your search bar and highlights matches in yellow. Advance Search offers All Search for every field including calendar and date, and Emails Search for name, subject, To, Cc and content.
Yes. Email archiving software has a built-in viewer with content, message header, properties, hex and raw message views for every email.
Yes. Filter by date range, sender or recipient address, folders, subject and content, and attachment size or extension.
Include email headers, skip greyed out folders, create empty folders, delete old folders and open folder after export. Live progress shows while your archive saves.
Yes. Load a CSV list of addresses and passwords and email archiving software signs in to all of them in one session. Save every account to its own folder or merge them into one PST.
Yes. Sign in with an admin account and impersonation archives user mailboxes without collecting user passwords. Queue many users in one session.
Yes. Set a size limit and output splits into several Unicode PST files. Outlook sets a 50 GB default limit per Unicode PST, as Microsoft PST file size limits documentation explains, so splitting keeps files easy to open.
Yes when two-step verification blocks your normal password. Create an app password with your provider and type it in place of your password. Gmail and Office 365 can use OAuth 2.0 sign-in instead. Google explains app passwords in Google app passwords help.
Yes. Folder hierarchy is kept and attachments save with their emails in every format.
Yes. Repeated emails are saved once, so your email archive stays clean when a mailbox holds copies.
Auto retry tries failed items again without a restart. A log and CSV report list what was saved and what failed.
No. Every session copies folders you select. Set a From date in filters to save only newer mail, and save every session to a dated folder.
No. Email archiving software only reads your mailbox. Mail stays on your server until you delete it yourself.
Yes. Save to any local drive, USB drive, external disk or network drive.
No. Mail moves from your server to your PC alone. Corbett never sees your account or messages.
Yes. Free demo saves 10 items per folder, which lets you test every step before buying.
Yes. Save your email archive to your drive, copy it to USB or NAS and keep 1 copy off site. CISA back up business data guide lists that rule.
Windows 11 (64 bit), 10, 8 and 7, plus Windows Server 2016, 2012 R2 and 2008.
Personal licence covers 5 machines, Business covers 25 and Enterprise covers 100. All three are one time payments with lifetime validity.
Yes. Every licence includes 24/7 customer support.
By email once payment clears, with a setup link and your activation key attached.
Yes. Refunds are accepted within 30 days of purchase.
Step by step
Guides for saving, opening and sorting archived mail.
Archive mail to a drive
Open an email archive
Items from archives
Hosted account moves use Email Migration Tool and server cutovers use IMAP Migration Tool. More formats sit with email converter tool, broken archives belong with email recovery software and saved mail opens free in email viewer software. Related tools: Email Attachment Extractor, Email Address Extractor, IMAP Backup Tool and Email Backup Software for all 209+ services.
Get started
Test Email Archiving Software on one mailbox first. Full access is from $99 in a single payment, and refunds are open for 30 days.
Download free demo Purchase now
87.4 MB · Windows 11 and below · 30 days money back