How to Send an Email to Multiple Recipients Individually
The quick answer: for a handful of people, put everyone in Bcc so nobody sees the other addresses. To send each person their own personal copy ("Hi Sam" instead of "Hi all"), use mail merge in Gmail or in Outlook with Word. For newsletters and large lists, use an email service such as Mailchimp, Brevo or Kit.
Option 1: Bcc (quickest, not personal)
Put your own address in To and everyone else in Bcc. Each person receives the message without seeing who else got it, and "Reply all" only goes to you. The downside: everyone gets the identical message, and many Bcc recipients in one email can look like spam to filters.
Option 2: Mail merge in Gmail
Gmail has a built-in mail merge on eligible Google Workspace plans (including Workspace Individual, Business Standard and Business Plus). Each person gets a separate copy, can't see other recipients, and replies come back as separate threads.
- Put your contacts in a Google Sheet, with email, first name and last name columns on the first tab.
- In Gmail, start a new message and click the mail merge icon next to the To field.
- Choose your spreadsheet and match the columns.
- Type @ in the message to insert merge tags such as @firstname.
- Send yourself a preview, then send.
Google currently allows up to 1,500 mail merge recipients per day, and they count toward the account's overall daily sending limit. Free personal Gmail accounts don't have the built-in mail merge; add-ons in the Google Workspace Marketplace can do it instead.
Option 3: Mail merge with Outlook and Word
- In Word, go to Mailings → Start Mail Merge → E-mail Messages.
- Select Recipients → Use an Existing List and pick your Excel or CSV file.
- Write the message and add fields with Insert Merge Field, for example First_Name.
- Click Preview Results to check a few, then Finish & Merge → Send E-mail Messages. Word sends each message individually through Outlook.
This works with classic Outlook for Windows. Check that your version supports it before you rely on it for a big send.
Prepare your list first
- Pull addresses out of messy exports with the email extractor, and turn them into a clean spreadsheet with the email to CSV converter.
- Run the list cleaner to remove duplicates, typos and dead domains, so bounces don't hurt your account.
- Need first names for the greeting? The email to name tool guesses them from addresses like
jane.smith@.
Stay under the sending limits
| Account | Limit |
|---|---|
| Gmail (free account) | About 500 recipients per message and around 500 emails a day, per Google's help pages |
| Gmail mail merge (Workspace) | Up to 1,500 merge recipients a day |
| Outlook.com (Microsoft 365 subscriber) | 500 recipients per message, 5,000 recipients a day, and 1,000 a day to people you haven't emailed before; lower without a subscription |
If your list is bigger than your daily limit, the email list splitter breaks it into daily batches and remembers which ones you've sent.
When to use an email service instead
For newsletters, promotions or anything sent regularly to a large list, use a proper email service. They add the unsubscribe link and handling that laws like CAN-SPAM and the GDPR expect, and that Gmail and Yahoo require from bulk senders. Only email people who agreed to hear from you.
Questions people ask
How do I send an email to multiple recipients without them seeing each other?
Put the addresses in the Bcc field instead of To or Cc. Each person gets the message without seeing the other addresses, and Reply all only reaches the sender.
How do I send a personalized email to multiple recipients in Gmail?
Use Gmail mail merge on an eligible Google Workspace plan: connect a Google Sheet of contacts, insert merge tags like @firstname with the @ key, preview and send. Each person receives a separate, personalized copy.
Can I mail merge from a free Gmail account?
Gmail's built-in mail merge needs an eligible Google Workspace plan. Free Gmail accounts can use third-party add-ons from the Google Workspace Marketplace instead.
How many people can I email at once?
It depends on the account. A free Gmail account allows around 500 recipients a day. Outlook.com allows 500 recipients per message and 5,000 a day for Microsoft 365 subscribers, with lower limits for new or free accounts.
Is Bcc bad for deliverability?
A few Bcc recipients is fine. Large Bcc sends look like bulk mail to spam filters and give each person an impersonal message, so mail merge or an email service is better for big lists.