What Is a Mail Merge? How It Works in Gmail and Word

A mail merge is a way to send the same email or letter to many people, with each copy filled in with that person's own details, such as their name. You write the message once, put placeholders where the details go, and keep the details in a list, usually a spreadsheet. The mail merge then makes one copy per person on the list and swaps each placeholder for that person's value.

So instead of typing "Hi Priya" and "Hi Tom" into 200 separate emails, you write "Hi {{First name}}" one time. Each person gets their own email, addressed to them, and nobody sees who else got it.

How a mail merge works

Every mail merge has three parts:

1. A template. The message you write once. In Word it's called the main document. In Gmail it's a draft.
2. A data source. The list of people and their details. Most of the time it's a spreadsheet: one row per person, one column per detail (email address, first name, company, and so on).
3. Merge fields. The placeholders in the template that point to a column in the list, like {{First name}}. Some tools call them merge tags or markers.

When you run the merge, the tool reads the list row by row. For each row, it copies the template, replaces every merge field with the value from that row's matching column, and sends or prints the result.

A mail merge example

Say you run a yoga studio and want to remind three students about their next class. Your spreadsheet looks like this:

Your template says:

Hi {{First name}}, see you in class on {{Day}}!

The mail merge sends three separate emails. Priya's says "Hi Priya, see you in class on Tuesday!" Tom's says "Hi Tom, see you in class on Thursday!" Ana gets hers too. With three people you could type them by hand. With 300, a mail merge saves you hours of work and avoids typing mistakes.

What is mail merge used for?

Mail merge started with printed paper: form letters, envelopes and mailing labels, each one addressed to a different person. Word still does all of these. Today, many mail merges are emails. Common uses:

• Announcements and invitations. An event invite that greets each guest by name.
• School and class updates. A teacher sending each parent a note about their own child.
• Reminders. Appointments, renewals or deadlines, each with the person's own date.
• Outreach and follow-ups. A short personal email to each contact, sales lead or partner.
• Surveys and feedback requests. Each person gets their own link or question.
• Small newsletters. A team or club update that should feel like a normal email, not a marketing email.

Mail merge vs BCC

You can also reach many people by putting them all in BCC, as our guide to sending an email without showing recipients explains. The difference is what each person receives. With BCC, everyone gets the exact same email, and the "To" line often shows your own address or nothing at all, so it looks like a mass email. With a mail merge, each person gets their own email, with their own address in the "To" line and their own name in the text.

A mail merge isn't the same thing as an email marketing platform either. Platforms like Mailchimp send from their own systems and add tools like email designers and automations. A mail merge in Gmail sends from your own account, so each email is a normal email from you.

Where you can do a mail merge today

In Microsoft Word, with Excel or Outlook

Microsoft Word has had mail merge for a long time. You write the main document in Word, connect a data source (most often an Excel spreadsheet or your Outlook contacts) and insert merge fields. Word can then make personalized letters, envelopes, labels or a directory, or send emails directly from Word. Note: Word on the web keeps mail merge settings but can't run a mail merge. You need the Word desktop app (Microsoft's guide). Our guide to mail merge from Excel to Outlook walks through it step by step.

In Gmail, with its built-in mail merge

Gmail has its own mail merge, but only on some paid Google Workspace plans: Workspace Individual, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Standard and Education Plus. It isn't available on a free @gmail.com account. In a new email, you click Use mail merge next to the "To" line, add recipients or a spreadsheet, and type @ to insert merge tags such as @firstname (Google's help page).

It works well for simple emails to a list: there's nothing to install, an unsubscribe link is added for you, and replies arrive in separate threads. According to Google's help page, it also has limits worth knowing before you plan a campaign:

• Up to 1,500 mail merge recipients a day, counted together with your regular emails.
• Merge tags don't work in subject lines, so every subject is the same.
• You can't schedule a mail merge to send later.
• An attachment goes to every recipient as the same file.
• When the recipients come from a spreadsheet, the list must be in its first tab, and you can't add anyone in Cc or Bcc.

In Gmail and Google Sheets, with an add-on

Add-ons such as YAMM (Yet Another Mail Merge) run the mail merge from a Google Sheet and send through your own Gmail account. They work on free @gmail.com accounts as well as Google Workspace accounts. Our guide to mail merge in Gmail shows this route in detail. With YAMM, you can:

• Use any column of your sheet as a marker, in the subject line as well as the body.
• Send a different attachment to each person, using a Google Drive link in their row.
• See who opened, clicked, replied, bounced or unsubscribed, written back into the same sheet as it happens.
• Send a follow-up only to the people who didn't open or didn't reply.
• Schedule a mail merge for later (on paid plans).

YAMM's paid plans cost $6 a month in the US for an @gmail.com account, with up to 400 recipients a day, and $12 a month for a Google Workspace account, with up to 1,500 a day. Both are billed annually, and prices vary by country.

Which one should you pick?

Use Word if you're printing letters, labels or envelopes, or your list and contacts already live in Excel and Outlook. Use Gmail's built-in mail merge if you're on one of the Workspace plans above and a simple email, with the same subject and attachment for everyone, is enough. Use an add-on like YAMM if you're on a free @gmail.com account, or you want personalized subject lines or attachments, tracking in your sheet, follow-ups or scheduling.

How to do a mail merge in Gmail with YAMM

Here's the whole thing, from an empty spreadsheet to sent emails. If you'd rather use Gmail's built-in mail merge, follow Google's help page.

Step 1: Install YAMM

Sign up for YAMM with your Google account and install it from the Google Workspace Marketplace. There's nothing to download to your computer.

Step 2: Build your list in Google Sheets

Create a spreadsheet. In the first row, type the column names, for example Email, First name and Last name. Then add one row per person, starting from row 2. Add a column for every other detail you want to use, such as a company name, a date or a link.

The Email column is the only one you must have. Check that every row has a value in each column you plan to use, so nobody gets an email that says "Hi ," with a blank where the name should be.

Step 3: Write your template as a Gmail draft

In Gmail, click Compose. Leave the "To" field empty, because YAMM fills it in from the Email column. Write the subject and the message, and put markers wherever a detail should go, for example Dear {{First name}} {{Last name}},.

Each marker must use the same words as a column name in your spreadsheet. Capital letters don't matter: {{first name}} works for a First name column. Then close the draft. Gmail saves it in your Drafts folder, and that's your template.

Step 4: Start the mail merge

In your spreadsheet, select Extensions > Yet Another Mail Merge: Mail Merge for Gmail > Start Mail Merge.

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In the Start Mail Merge window, check that YAMM found the column with the email addresses. Select your Gmail draft in the Email Template list, and turn on tracking if you want to see who opens and clicks.

Before you send to everyone, click Send test email to send yourself a copy and check that the markers filled in the way you expect. Then click Send emails.

Step 5: Track the results

YAMM sends one email per row and writes the result into a Merge status column as it goes. The tracking report then opens in the sidebar and keeps updating as people open, click and reply. Watch the bounces. A hard bounce means the address is wrong or no longer exists, so remove it before your next send.

From the tracking report, you can run a follow-up to the people who haven't opened, or to the people who haven't replied, either as a reply under your first email or as a new one.

Frequently asked questions

Does anyone still use mail merge?

Yes. Word still ships it for letters, labels and envelopes, Gmail added its own built-in mail merge, and YAMM alone has been installed more than 16 million times.

Is mail merge free?

It can be. Word's mail merge comes with Word, and Gmail's comes with the eligible Workspace plans above, at no extra cost. YAMM has a free plan for up to 20 recipients a day.