How to mail merge in Gmail

Updated October 29, 2026

Short answer

Put your list in a sheet with an email column, write one message with tags like first name, and send each person their own copy. Gmail’s built-in mail merge does this on some paid Google Workspace plans. On a free Gmail account, use an extension such as Mergeline (free for 60 emails a day) or a Sheets add-on.

What mail merge in Gmail means

Mail merge turns one email into many personal emails. You write the message once, and a tool fills in each person’s details from a list: their first name, their company, the date of their appointment, or anything else you keep in a column.

The result looks nothing like a group email. Each person gets a separate message addressed only to them, so nobody sees the other addresses and replies come back in separate threads. Every copy also lands in your Sent folder, as if you had typed it by hand.

That is the big difference from Bcc. Bcc sends one identical email, usually starting with “Hi all”, and a slip into the To field shows every address. People ask for this on forums all the time: “Everything is exactly the same except for the email ... not to BCC” (r/techsupport: email each person individually without Bcc).

Your four options

Option	Who can use it	Daily sending	Watch out for
Gmail’s built-in mail merge	Eligible Google Workspace plans only	Up to 1,500 mail merge recipients a day	No merge tags in the subject, one Cc or Bcc address, no follow-ups
Google Sheets add-on	Any Google account	YAMM: 20 a day free	Asks to read, compose and send your email
Chrome extension	Any Gmail or Workspace account	Mergeline: 60 a day free	Your browser must stay open while it sends
Google Apps Script	Anyone who can edit code	Gmail’s own limit	You write and fix the script yourself

Numbers come from Google: Send personalized emails with mail merge in Gmail and YAMM pricing. All four send through your own account, so Gmail’s sending limit applies to every one of them. A free Gmail account can send to about 500 people a day (Google: Gmail sending limits).

Prepare your list first

Every option starts with the same thing: a clean list. Use one row per person and one column per detail. Put the column names in the first row and keep them short, with no spaces, like Email, FirstName and Company.

Check three things before you write a word. Every row needs an email address. Names should be spelled the way people spell them. And empty cells need a plan, because “Hi ,” looks worse than “Hi there,”.

Remove duplicates, or decide on purpose to keep them (siblings with the same parent, for example).
Delete people who asked not to be emailed.
Fix obvious typos like gmial.com before they bounce.

How to mail merge in Gmail with Mergeline

Install Mergeline. Add Mergeline to Chrome, Edge or Brave from the Chrome Web Store, then open Gmail in the same browser and sign in.
Add your list. Paste addresses, drop a CSV or Excel file, or paste a Google Sheets link. Duplicates and invalid addresses are removed for you, and each column becomes a merge tag.
Write one email. Type your subject and message, and insert tags like {{FirstName|there}}. The word after the bar is used when a cell is empty.
Preview each person. Click through the live preview to see the exact email each person gets, and fix anything that reads oddly.
Send a test. Send yourself a test copy and read it in Gmail, ideally on your phone too.
Press send. Mergeline sends each email from your Gmail with random gaps and a daily cap. Every email appears in your Sent folder, and replies come back to your inbox.

How to use Gmail’s built-in mail merge

If your organization pays for Workspace Individual, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Standard and Education Plus, Gmail has a mail merge switch in the compose window. You add people from your contacts or pick a Google Sheet, then type @ to insert fields like @firstname, @lastname or a column from your sheet (Google: Send personalized emails with mail merge in Gmail).

It is free with those plans and fine for plain announcements. It has real limits, though. You cannot put merge tags in the subject line or inside linked text. You get one Cc or Bcc address, and none at all when you use a spreadsheet. The sheet data must sit in the first tab. You cannot schedule it, send from an alias or add follow-ups, and Google adds an unsubscribe link you cannot export.

If the switch is missing, you are probably on Business Starter or a free account. See Gmail’s built-in mail merge: who has it and why the button is missing.

Before you press send

Whichever tool you use, run this short check. It catches most of the mistakes that make a mail merge look automated.

Send a test to yourself and read it on your phone.
Open three random previews, including a person with empty cells.
Keep the first send small, 20 to 50 people, and watch for bounces.
Make the email easy to answer: one question, one link at most.
Write like you would to one person, because each person reads it alone.

For the deliverability side, read how to keep bulk emails from Gmail out of spam.

How Mergeline is different

Mergeline is a Chrome extension that sends from your own Gmail. Your list, messages and results stay in your browser, and it adds no tracking pixels or link redirects. Free covers 60 emails a day with merge tags, conditional text, 12 templates and reply detection. Pro is $12 a month or $99 a year and adds up to 7 follow-ups that stop on reply, scheduling, Cc, Bcc and attachments.

It sends at a human pace, with random gaps between emails, a daily cap and a slow start for new accounts. To see where the data lives, read the security page. To compare prices with other tools, see mail merge pricing.

Questions

Can I mail merge in Gmail for free?

Yes. A free extension or add-on works with any Gmail account. Mergeline sends 60 emails a day for free with no branding added. Gmail’s built-in mail merge is included only with some paid Workspace plans.

Does mail merge work with a personal @gmail.com account?

Not the built-in one. Google lists only paid Workspace and Education plans as eligible. A personal account needs an extension, an add-on or a script.

How many people can I email at once?

A free Gmail account hits its limit at 500 recipients in a day. Workspace allows 2,000 messages a day, of which 1,500 can be mail merge recipients. See Gmail sending limits explained.

Will people know it was a mass email?

Not from the headers. Each person gets their own email, addressed only to them. They can only tell from the writing, so keep it short and specific.

Do I need Google Sheets?

No. Sheets is the most common source, but you can also paste addresses or use a CSV or Excel file with Mergeline.

Sources

Facts checked October 29, 2026. Google and other vendors change their limits and prices, so check the source before you rely on a number.

Mergeline does this from your own Gmail. Free for 60 emails a day with merge tags and no branding. Pro is $12 a month or $99 a year for follow-ups, scheduling and attachments.

Add to Chrome, free See pricing