How to Extract Emails from a Salesforce Export
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Export and import options vary by plan, permissions and product version. Check the platform’s current help documentation if a menu or format differs. Use only contact data you are authorized to process; an extracted address is not proof of marketing consent.
Why Extract from Salesforce?
Salesforce is the most widely used CRM platform. It stores contact data across several standard objects: Leads, Contacts, Accounts and Person Accounts. Each record can include one or more email addresses alongside names, phone numbers, titles, account associations, opportunity data, activity history and custom fields.
Over years of use, a Salesforce org (instance) accumulates thousands or tens of thousands of records. Extracting just the email addresses is useful in several scenarios.
Migrating to another CRM. When switching from Salesforce to a different platform, an extracted email list serves as a cross-reference to verify that all contacts transferred successfully.
Consolidating across objects. Salesforce separates Leads and Contacts into different objects. A lead that has been converted to a contact may appear in both. Extracting and deduplicating across objects gives you a true count of unique email addresses.
Building a marketing list. While Salesforce connects to marketing platforms (Marketing Cloud, Pardot/Account Engagement, and third-party tools), you may need a standalone email list for a tool that is not directly integrated.
Combining with other data sources. If contacts live in Salesforce, a form builder, an email platform and various spreadsheets, extracting from all sources and deduplicating produces one complete list.
Auditing data quality. Extracting all email addresses and running them through a verification service reveals how many are still deliverable, which helps with licence reviews and database hygiene.
How to Export from Salesforce
Salesforce offers several ways to export data. The two most accessible for most users are Data Export and Report Export.
Option A: Data Export (all records)
- Log in to Salesforce.
- Go to Setup.
- Search for Data Export in the Setup search bar.
- Click Export Now (or Schedule Export for a recurring export).
- Select the objects you want to export (Contacts, Leads, Accounts, etc.).
- Click Start Export.
- Salesforce generates ZIP files containing CSV files for each selected object. Download the ZIP when the export is ready (you will receive a notification or email).
This method exports all records for the selected objects.
Option B: Report Export (filtered records)
- Create or open a Salesforce report that includes the contacts you want (e.g., "All Contacts" or "Leads Created This Year").
- Make sure the Email field is included as a column in the report.
- Run the report.
- Click Export and choose CSV or Excel format.
- Download the file.
This method is useful for exporting a specific subset of records based on report filters.
Export fields
Salesforce Contacts have a standard "Email" field. Leads also have a standard "Email" field. Some organisations add custom email fields (e.g., "Personal Email," "Assistant Email"). All of these appear as separate columns in the CSV export, and Email Extractor scans all columns.
How to Extract the Email Addresses
- Go to bulkemailextractor.com.
- Select "Text and files."
- Upload the CSV file (or files, if you exported from multiple objects). Up to 25 MB per file, 100 MB per batch.
- Click "Extract emails."
- Review the results. Duplicates are removed automatically. A lead who was converted to a contact (and thus exists in both exports) will appear only once.
- Download as TXT for a plain list, CSV for a single-column spreadsheet, or CSV with sources to see which object's export each address came from.
Working with the Results
Track which object each contact came from
If you export Leads and Contacts separately and upload both files in one extraction, downloading as CSV with sources shows which object's export file each address appeared in. This helps you see how contacts are distributed and identify addresses that exist in both objects (likely converted leads).
Combine with marketing platform data
Upload your Salesforce export alongside exports from your email marketing platform (Mailchimp, HubSpot Marketing, Pardot, Constant Contact) in a single extraction. This reveals the total number of unique contacts across CRM and marketing and identifies contacts missing from one system or the other.
Prepare for migration
When migrating from Salesforce to another CRM, extract email addresses from the old system before and after migration. Compare the two lists to verify that every contact made it to the new platform. This is particularly important for large orgs with complex data models where records can be lost during migration.
Verify data quality
Extract all email addresses from Salesforce and run the list through an email verification service. The results tell you how many of your CRM records have deliverable email addresses, which informs data quality initiatives and helps you identify records that need updating. See Best email verification services.
Things to Know
Column headers are not extracted
CSV column headers like "Email" or "Contact: Email" are text, not email addresses, so they do not appear in the extracted results.
Names and opportunity data are not preserved
Email Extractor outputs email addresses only. Contact names, account names, titles, opportunity amounts, stages, activity history and custom fields from the Salesforce export are not carried over. If you need those fields, import the original CSV files into your destination system.
User permissions
Salesforce data access depends on your profile, role and sharing settings. If you cannot see certain contacts or leads in reports, those records will not appear in your export. For a complete export, work with your Salesforce administrator or use a system administrator login.
Person Accounts
If your Salesforce org uses Person Accounts (a feature that combines the Account and Contact objects for individual consumers), person account records are exported with the Accounts object. Email addresses from person accounts will be captured by extraction just like any other email field.
Large data volumes
Salesforce orgs with hundreds of thousands or millions of records may produce very large CSV files. If a single export file exceeds 25 MB, split it or process it in stages. You can also use filtered reports to export smaller subsets.
Archived and deleted records
Standard Salesforce exports include only active records. Deleted records in the Recycle Bin and archived records are not included unless specifically exported by an administrator using Data Loader or a similar tool.
