Save Gmail as PDF or Use Google Takeout? How to Choose

By the Pick Ads team · Tested on Chrome · Published October 20, 2026 · Updated October 20, 2026

Answer: Use Google Takeout for a complete backup of your mailbox, including attachments and labels. You can't pick a date range, and the result isn't easy to read. Save as PDF when you need readable records of specific emails: one at a time with Gmail's Print, or many selected threads at once with an extension.

Verdict

Full backup or leaving Gmail: Takeout.
One email or thread as a readable record: Gmail's Print > Save as PDF. No extension needed.
Many selected threads as PDFs, or a ZIP with attachments: Attachly.

Disclosure: We make Attachly.

Comparison table

	Google Takeout	Gmail Print > Save as PDF	Attachly
Price (USD)	Free	Free	Free; Premium $6.99/mo or $69.99/yr
Free limits	Archive expires in about 7 days; 5 downloads per archive	None	Print unlimited; Save PDF, Attachments and Full pack 3 exports/day each
Manifest V3	n/a (web service)	n/a (built in)	Yes (Chrome extension)
Format	.zip or .tgz archive; mail format	PDF	PDF; Full pack: dated ZIP with a folder per thread and an HTML copy
Selectivity	By product; no date ranges	One message or conversation	Emails you select in Gmail
Attachments	Included	Not saved as files	Downloaded with original names, or inside Full pack
Privacy	Google creates the archive; delivered to the destination you choose	Local print in Chrome	Processed locally in the browser, per product disclosure
Last updated	Help page checked 2026-10-20	Help page checked 2026-10-20	v1.0.4, October 2026
Best for	Complete backup, account move	A single record	Batches of readable records

Sources: How to download your Google data, Export your data from Gmail, Print Gmail messages.

Last verified: 2026-10-20

Choose Takeout if… / choose PDF if…

Choose Takeout if you want everything: message content, headers, attachments, labels and settings like filters and signatures. It's also the choice for keeping a copy before closing an account. Takeout doesn't support exporting a specific time period.
Choose PDF if someone will read the result, such as an accountant, a client or a court clerk. You want only certain threads, in a format that opens anywhere.
Attachly isn't needed for one thread, or for a full backup. Gmail's Print and Google Takeout already cover both.

Takeout steps

Sign in and open Google Takeout. Products you use are preselected.
Click Deselect all, then tick Mail. To limit Mail to some labels, use the option for which data is included, if shown.
Click Next step.
Choose a delivery method: email link, Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive or Box. Drive delivery counts toward your storage.
Choose one-time or scheduled (every 2 months for a year), the file type (.zip or .tgz) and the maximum archive size. Larger exports are split into several files.
Click Create export and wait for the email. It can take minutes to days.
Download within about 7 days. Each archive can be downloaded 5 times.

Encrypted messages stay encrypted in the export. On work or school accounts, some data may not be available.

PDF steps

Native (one at a time)

Open the email in Gmail on a computer.
Click More > Print, or Print all for the whole conversation.
In Chrome's print dialog, set the destination to Save as PDF.
Click Save.

If the sender used confidential mode, printing is blocked. For more detail, see save Gmail as PDF.

With Attachly (many at once)

In Gmail, select the emails you need, for example after a search.
Click Save PDF in the Attachly toolbar.
In Chrome's print dialog, choose Save as PDF.
For PDFs plus attachments in one archive, use Full pack. It creates a dated ZIP with each thread in its own folder.

Use both

A common setup is a scheduled Takeout as a complete safety copy, plus PDFs of the threads you need to hand to someone. The archive is your backup; the PDFs are your readable record.

Storage and naming tips

Name PDFs by date first: 2026-03-14_client-acme_contract-signed.pdf.
Keep one folder per year or per client. Full pack already creates one folder per thread.
Takeout archives can be large. If you deliver to Drive, the archive counts toward your Google storage.
Store archives where only you have access, especially on a shared computer.

Update log

2026-10-20: First version. Takeout options and Gmail Help steps checked.

Privacy: Attachly processes email content locally in your browser. See the Attachly privacy policy.

FAQ

Does Takeout include attachments? Yes. Google lists message content, message headers, attachments and labels in a Gmail export, along with settings like filters and signatures. Messages you've already deleted aren't included, and encrypted messages stay encrypted. On work or school accounts, some data may be unavailable.

Can I export a single thread? Not with Takeout. It exports by product and doesn't support time periods. For one thread, open it in Gmail, click Print all, and choose Save as PDF in Chrome. For several threads at once, select them in Gmail and use an extension such as Attachly.

How big is a Takeout file? It depends on your mailbox. You choose a maximum archive size, and anything larger is split into several files. Google mentions a 50 GB option to reduce splitting. Creating the archive can take minutes to days, and the archive expires in about 7 days.

Save Gmail as PDF: one email with Chrome, or many with Attachly.
Attachly and other PDF savers: when a single-email tool is enough.
Print several Gmail emails: batch printing.

Add Attachly to Chrome - Free

Sources

How to download your Google data – Google Account Help: https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/3024190
Export your data from Gmail – Gmail Help: https://support.google.com/mail/answer/10016932
Print Gmail messages – Gmail Help: https://support.google.com/mail/answer/8255