Free online PST to VCARD converter

People convert Outlook contact data to vCard when a phone, mail client, address book, or contact-management application requires .vcf files. vCards are also easier to share individually and import into systems that cannot open an Outlook data file.

What the PST format is

PST, or Personal Storage Table, is Microsoft Outlook’s database format for locally stored mail, contacts, calendars, tasks, notes, and journal items. Microsoft Outlook creates PST files when an account uses local storage, when a user exports mailbox data, or when an archive is created. Outlook for Windows opens them through File → Open & Export → Open Outlook Data File.

A PST is not a contact file: it can contain many Outlook item types and folders. A contact conversion therefore extracts contact records rather than converting every item in the archive.

What the VCARD format is

vCard is a standardized contact format normally stored with the .vcf extension. A file can contain one contact or a collection of contacts and can be imported by smartphones, webmail systems, desktop address books, and contact-management software.

vCard stores fields such as name, organization, job title, telephone numbers, email addresses, postal addresses, websites, notes, birthdays, and photographs. It is portable and human-readable, unlike the database structure of a PST. Common versions are vCard 3.0 and 4.0; the importing application determines which version is safest.

How to actually convert PST to VCARD

Using the built-in online converter

1. Make a copy of the PST and close Outlook so the original file is not being modified.
2. Open the PST-to-vCard converter on 101convert.com.
3. Upload the .pst file and choose the contacts folder or contact-export option if the converter displays item-type choices.
4. Start the conversion, then download the resulting .vcf file or archive.
5. Import the output into the destination address book using its contact-import command. If the result contains multiple contacts, the application may import the whole file at once or require separate files.

Do not upload a PST containing confidential contacts unless the service’s privacy and retention terms meet your requirements. A password-protected or damaged PST may need to be opened and repaired in Outlook before conversion.

Using Outlook and desktop address-book software

For a small number of contacts, open the PST in Outlook, open a contact, and use File → Save As → vCard Files (*.vcf). This creates one vCard per contact and avoids exporting unrelated mail or calendar items.

For bulk conversion, first export the contacts from Outlook as a CSV file through File → Open & Export → Import/Export → Export to a file → Comma Separated Values. Import that CSV into a vCard-capable address-book application such as Thunderbird, map the name, email, phone, organization, and address columns, then select the contacts and use the address book’s Export → vCard command. This two-stage method is useful when direct PST parsing is unavailable, but field mapping must be checked manually.

Quality and compatibility limitations

• Only contact items become vCards; messages, appointments, tasks, notes, and Outlook categories do not automatically become contact fields.
• Outlook-specific fields, custom forms, distribution lists, contact groups, reminders, and some categories may be omitted or flattened.
• Check names, international characters, phone-number labels, postal addresses, and duplicate contacts after import. UTF-8 output is generally the safest choice for non-English data.
• Photos and embedded attachments may not survive every conversion route. Test several representative contacts before processing a large archive.
• vCard 3.0 is often more compatible with older phones and desktop applications; vCard 4.0 supports newer features but may not be accepted by legacy importers.