How to Get the New Outlook App for Mac in 2026: 3 Ways

To get the new Outlook app on a Mac, open the App Store, search for Microsoft Outlook and click Get. If Outlook is already installed, open it and turn off the Legacy Outlook switch, or update through Help > Check for Updates. The App Store version is free and needs macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later.

Timing is probably why you're looking. Microsoft ended legacy Outlook for most accounts in October 2026, so an app that has worked for years may suddenly feel like it's on borrowed time. Below: the right route for your Mac, what to save before you move, how to get your accounts across, and the fix for a missing switch.

Which way of getting the new Outlook fits your Mac

The new Outlook for Mac reaches you one of three ways: a free App Store download, a switch inside the Outlook you already have, or an update. Start from what's on your Mac today.

How to download the new Outlook on a Mac

The Mac App Store is the simplest way to get the new Outlook: it installs just that one app, listed at 1.2 GB, instead of the whole Office suite. These steps follow Apple's guide to getting apps.

1. Choose Apple menu > About This Mac and check that you're on macOS 14 or later.
2. Open the App Store app.
3. Type "Microsoft Outlook" in the search field at the top left, then press Return.
4. Click the result from Microsoft Corporation to open its page.
5. Click Get, then follow the prompts to download it.
6. Open Outlook from Applications and add your first email account.

Check the seller before you click. When I install anything from a store search, I read the name under the icon rather than trusting the icon itself, and here it should say Microsoft Corporation.

Is the new Outlook for Mac free?

Yes. Microsoft made Outlook for Mac free to use in March 2023, with no Microsoft 365 subscription or license needed. The catch is advertising: the App Store listing says a premium subscription removes ads, and it lists Microsoft 365 Personal at $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year. If you only want email and a calendar, I wouldn't pay just to get rid of them.

Can you download Outlook for Mac from Microsoft instead?

Not as a stand-alone app. Microsoft's update history lists full Office suite installers and an Outlook update package, but that package only updates an existing installation. For Outlook alone, use the App Store. The suite installers make sense only if you have a license and want Word, Excel and PowerPoint as well.

How to switch from Legacy Outlook to the new Outlook

Moving from Legacy Outlook to the new Outlook on a Mac takes one switch, as long as your version is recent enough to have it. Microsoft's support article on the change gives these steps:

1. Open Legacy Outlook.
2. Turn off the Legacy Outlook switch. Microsoft's article doesn't name the spot, so check the toolbar and the Outlook menu.
3. If there's no switch, choose Help > Check for Updates, install what's offered, and look again. You can also download the newer version from the App Store.

How to tell which Outlook you have

The Help menu is the quickest test. If it offers **Revert to Legacy Outlook**, you're already on the new app. If you see a Legacy Outlook switch in the window, you're on the old one. Microsoft has moved this control before, so the wording can differ on an older build. To see your exact version, choose Outlook > About Outlook and compare it with Microsoft's release notes, which listed 16.114.3 as the latest on October 27, 2026.

What happens if you stay on Legacy Outlook

Legacy Outlook for Mac can't reach Exchange Online mailboxes from October 2026 onward, because it relies on Exchange Web Services, which Microsoft set to retire on October 1, 2026. A few setups get longer, and Microsoft says over 95% of Microsoft 365 users have already moved.

Microsoft's article only says the old app stops working against Exchange Online. It's silent on Outlook.com, Gmail and IMAP accounts in Legacy Outlook, so don't treat them as safe for long.

If your employer runs its own Exchange servers, you have time, but don't assume the move will be painless. Microsoft's feature list says Kerberos and certificate sign-in aren't supported for on-premises accounts in the new Outlook. That's a question for IT, not something you can fix from your chair.

What to save before you leave Legacy Outlook

Mail on a server comes back when you sign in again. Anything kept only on your Mac needs a backup first, and the risky spots are On My Computer folders and POP accounts. Accounts also don't carry over automatically if you add them in one version and not the other.

• Write down every address in the app. Before I move a mail app, I list each account from Tools > Accounts, because a side address I rarely check is exactly the one I'd forget until someone asks why I've gone quiet.
• Look through On My Computer. Old projects tend to get parked there and forgotten.
• Export an archive. In Legacy Outlook, go to **Tools > Export**, or look under the File menu, tick what you want, click Continue, and save the .olm file somewhere outside your mail folders.
• Pick a quiet day. When I'm waiting on a time-sensitive client reply, I leave my mail setup alone until it's in. A new app can wait a few days. A missed reply can't always.

How to add your email accounts to the new Outlook

The new Outlook for Mac works with Microsoft 365, Exchange, Outlook.com, Hotmail, Live and Google accounts, plus Yahoo and other IMAP or POP mail. Microsoft's article on the change doesn't promise that existing accounts move when you flip the switch, so check Tools > Accounts afterward and add any that are missing. The setup path differs slightly between your first account and the rest.

Your first account

1. Choose Outlook > Settings.
2. In the side panel, click Accounts, then + Add Account.
3. Type your email address and click Continue.
4. Follow the prompts. Yahoo and other IMAP or POP accounts may send you to the provider's site to approve access, so approve it and come back.
5. Click Done.

Each account after that

1. Choose Tools > Accounts.
2. Click + Add Account below the list of accounts.
3. Enter the address, follow the prompts, and click Done.

Then run a quick check. After adding a work account I send one message to myself from it and reply from my phone, so I know mail is flowing both ways before anyone else is relying on it. Keep webmail open in a Safari tab for the first day, too, in case something looks off.

What you get in the new Outlook, and what's missing

The new Outlook for Mac brings improved search, a customizable toolbar and a My Day pane, though Microsoft still lists some gaps. Whether the move feels like an upgrade depends on how much of your routine lives in those gaps.

• Search and layout: Microsoft Search behind the search box, a customizable toolbar, and My Day under View > Task Pane.
• Second chances: message recall arrived in version 16.94, and version 16.96 stretched Undo Send to as long as 120 seconds.
• Time savers: Snooze, Resend Message and suggested meeting times.
• A new look: Liquid Glass visuals across the app since version 16.110.

On the other side, Microsoft's page says Notes and Tasks views aren't natively available, and auto-expanding online archive support is still listed as coming. It also says you can't move or copy events and contacts between accounts. A 2025 admin notice, for a plan Microsoft later dropped, listed AppleScript and Public Folders as unavailable, and I haven't seen Microsoft say either has changed, so if a script or a shared folder runs part of your day, test that first. If you're still weighing the whole thing up, I've compared Apple Mail and Outlook on the Mac separately.

Why the new Outlook won't install or switch, and the fixes

Most failed installs and missing switches come down to an old macOS, an old Outlook build, or an admin setting. Start with the symptom closest to yours.

The App Store says your Mac isn't compatible

The current listing needs macOS 14 or later. On older systems, Microsoft's requirements page says version 16.101 was the last update for macOS Ventura and 16.88 the last for Monterey. Existing apps keep working there, but with no updates, security fixes included. Open System Settings > General > Software Update to see what your Mac can run. If it can't reach macOS 14, the choice is to stay on your last update without security fixes, or read your mail in a browser or another mail app.

The Legacy Outlook switch isn't there

Run Help > Check for Updates first. If nothing changes, check the Help menu for Revert to Legacy Outlook, which would mean you're already on the new app. On a work Mac, Microsoft says it respects admin preferences, so your IT team may have hidden the switch on purpose, and only they can change that.

An account hangs while you add it

In one Microsoft Q&A thread, a user's Gmail moved across while iCloud, Outlook.com and Comcast accounts stayed on "still working". The moderator's suggestions included updating, adding accounts one at a time and trying another network, and they didn't solve it for that user, so they're only a first try, not a sure fix. If you're stuck, choose **Help > Contact Support** with a Microsoft account, or go to your help desk with a work account.

The new Outlook opens but misbehaves

Install updates first, since Microsoft ships fixes often. If it's still acting up, I've written up what to try when Outlook freezes on a Mac and when Outlook search finds nothing.

Can you go back to Legacy Outlook?

Sometimes, but it's a short-term answer. Where it's offered, **Help > Revert to Legacy Outlook** takes you back, and Microsoft lets you leave feedback on the way. Accounts you added in the new app won't be there automatically. Reverting doesn't help an Exchange Online mailbox, which legacy Outlook can no longer serve, and the App Store version isn't supported on legacy at all.

If what you dislike is the new app rather than the change, I'd give it a working week and then decide. If it still isn't working for you and your employer doesn't require Outlook, there are other Mac email apps that handle Microsoft 365.