Especially for small businesses, GoDaddy Office 365 can seem like a perfect solution, offering interesting initial discounts and an intuitive interface that makes it easy to manage basic IT tasks without needing outside help.
As business needs grow, however, those early advantages often turn into real constraints. Companies soon run into the limitations of the GoDaddy Office 365 plan, and migrating to Microsoft 365 becomes a natural – and necessary – next step.
Unfortunately, a look at GoDaddy’s help pages quickly reveals that migrating a GoDaddy 365 tenant to Microsoft 365 is a time-consuming and often frustrating process.
➡️ To help you migrate your GoDaddy Office 365 tenant to Microsoft, we’ve created this easy-to-follow tutorial that walks you threw all necessary steps, helping you to seamlessly migrate from GoDaddy to Office 365.
Summary: How to Migrate from GoDaddy 365 to Microsoft 365
- 1️⃣ Create an Office 365 Tenant & Set Up User Accounts
- 2️⃣ Migrate from GoDaddy to Office 365
- 3️⃣ Transfer & Set Up Your Domain
BONUS: GoDaddy 365 vs Microsoft 365 Comparison
Still have questions? Have a look at our FAQs!
Advantages of This Tutorial
✅ Minimal downtime and easy domain setup.
✅ Complete process easily explained including DNS & MX settings.
✅ Mailbox sync: Keep your accounts synced during the transition phase.
✅ Cloud email migration: No need to upload / download your emails.
Step 01:Create an Office 365 Tenant & Set Up User Accounts
Before starting the email migration from GoDaddy to Office 365, you need to purchase an Office 365 plan directly from Microsoft. To find the plan that suits your requirements best, have a look at this comparison: View All Microsoft 365 plans.
Set Up Office 365 User Accounts
After signing up with Microosft 365, it’s time to add users to your new Office 365 tenant. For every user you wish to migrate from GoDaddy to Microsoft O365, follow these steps:
1. Log in to the Microsoft 365 admin center at https://admin.microsoft.com.
2. In the left sidebar, open the section “Users” and select “Active users”.
3. Click on “Add a user”.
4. In the overlay that opens, fill out the required fields (display name, username) and optional fields (if desired).
5. In the “Domains” dropdown, assign the available domain ending with .onmicrosoft.com.
6. Disable the option “Automatically create a password” and create a custom password for the user.
⚠️ Write down the password – you’ll need it in a few minutes for the email migration. When everything looks good, click on “Next”.
ℹ️ At this point in the migration from GoDaddy 365 to Microsoft Office 365, we do not add your custom domain yet. First, we’ll safely migrate your emails to Microsoft. After that, we’ll remove your custom domain from GoDaddy and add it to Microsoft, so you can use it for your email addresses, changing the domain ending from yourtenant.omicrosoft.com to yourdomain.com.
7. Now, select your location and assign your Microsoft 365 license to the user.
8. Expand the section “Apps” and select the apps you wish to assign to the user. Proceed by clicking on “Next”.
9. In the optional settings, review the privileges of the users in the “Roles” section. If desired, you can also add more information about the user under “Profile info” . Again, proceed with “Next”.
10. You’ll now see a review of the user you are about to create. Review the data and confirm by clicking on “Finish adding”.
➡️ After creating the first user, repeat steps 03 to 10 for every user you wish to migrate from GoDaddy to Office 365.
Step 02:Migrate from GoDaddy to Office 365
After creating all user accounts in the Microsoft 365 admin panel, it’s time to migrate your email data from GoDaddy 365 to Office 365:
1. To start the migration of the first user, open MailJerry and click on “New Migration”.
2. In the section “Existing Address”, select “Microsoft / Office 365″ as account type.
3. Now, enter your GoDaddy email address in the field called “Username” and click on “Connect with Microsoft Account”.
❓ Why does it say “Connect with Microsoft Account”?
As a GoDaddy 365 user, you are actually relying on the Microsoft O365 infrastructure. Therefore, you need to connect both accounts – your old GoDaddy 365 account and the new Microsoft account – using the account type “Microsoft / Office 365”.
4. In the pop up that opens, enter your password and sign in to your GoDaddy account by clicking on “Sign In”.
5. Now, connect your new account by selecting “Microsoft / Office 365″ as account type in the section for “New Address”.
6. Enter your new Office 365 email address (ending with onmicrosoft.com) and click on “Connect with Microsoft Account”.
7. Sign in by entering your password in the overlay that just opened. Next, click on “Sign In”.
8. After successfully connecting both accounts, click on “Check Settings”.
➡️ MailJerry now establishes a connection with your GoDaddy 365 and your Microsoft 365 account. Depending on the size of your GoDaddy account, this process may take some time.
After both mailboxes were checked, you’ll see a summary of the planned migration.
9. On the summary page, enable the option “Auto Sync: Synchronize Emails for 10 Days”. This will ensure that all emails received in your GoDaddy account after the initial migration will be forwarded to Microsoft 365, giving you enough time to move your domain from GoDaddy to Microsoft.
10. Now, click on “Start Your Migration”.
➡️ If you need to migrate multiple accounts, click on “New Migration” and repeat steps 1 to 10.
⚠️ IMPORTANT: Wait until all account migrations finished before proceeding with step 3!
Step 03:Transfer & Set Up Your Domain
If you followed this tutorial to this point, your new Microsoft 365 accounts now contain your mailbox data. Next, it’s time to remove your custom domain from GoDaddy and add it to your Microsoft tenant. This makes it possible to continue using the same email address as before.
ℹ️ In the following steps, you need to update your domain settings. Therefore, make sure that you have access to your domains DNS settings: When hosting your domain with GoDaddy, have a look at this page to find out how to edit your DNS settings.
In case your domain is registered with another provider, get the login credentials for your domain admin panel so you can update your DNS and MX records.
Remove your Domain from GoDaddy
Before you can add your custom domain in your new Microsoft O365 tenant, you need to ask GoDaddy to remove your domain. This is probably the most critical step when migrating from GoDaddy to Office 365. But there’s no need to worry, simply follow the instruction below!
⚠️ IMPORTANT: When you ask GoDaddy to remove your domain, they will DELETE your tenant as well. So make sure that all migrations finished successfully and that all additional data stored on your GoDaddy account (e.g. files) is transferred to Microsoft before proceeding! ⚠️
1. Contact the GoDaddy support and ask them to remove your custom domain(s). It’s a good idea to call GoDaddy instead of sending an email, as this will make the transition phase as short as possible. To find the right GoDaddy support hotline for your country, have a look at this page: https://www.godaddy.com/contact-us
➡️ In general, it takes about 10-20 minutes on the phone until your domain is removed and you’re able to add it to your Microsoft tenant.
❓ Can’t I simply send an email to GoDaddy?
Of course you can. But be aware of one thing: As soon as your domain is removed from GoDaddy, you won’t receive new emails until you finished setting up the domain in your Microsoft account. Therefore, it’s advisable to call GoDaddy, so you have more control of the timing and find always know the status of the domain transition.
Add your Domain to the Microsoft Office 365 Tenant
As soon as your domain was removed from GoDaddy, repeat the following steps for every domain you wish to move from GoDaddy to Microsoft:
1. Log in to the Microsoft 365 admin center.
2. Go to “Settings” > “Domains” and click on “Add New Domain”.
3. Enter your domain name and click on “Use this domain”.
4. You will now be asked to verify the ownership of your domain. Select the default option “Add a TXT record to the domain’s DNS records” and click on “Continue”.
5. Microsoft now shows a TXT record. Log in to your domains admin panel, go to the DNS settings and add the TXT to your domain . To speed things up, set the TTL to the lowest possible value (e.g. 60 or 300).
6. As soon as the TXT record was added to your domain, go back to the Microsoft 365 admin center and click on “Verify”.
7. After verifying your domain, Microsoft will ask how you wish to connect your domain. Stay with the default option: “Add your own DNS records”. Click on “Continue”.
8. Scroll down and expand the sections “MX Records”, “CNAME Records” and “TXT Records”.
Add all records to your domain‘s DNS settings.
Again, set the TTL to the lowest possible value to speed up the process.
After adding all records, switch back to the MS admin center and click on “Continue”.
Your domain setup is complete as soon as Microsoft finishes checking your domain settings. In case of any errors, Microsoft will tell you how to resolve them. As soon as everything is up and running, you’ll see the message “Domain setup is complete”.
➡️ If you wish to add more domains to your Microsoft 365 tenant, repeat step 02 to 08. Otherwise, you can now assign your custom domain to your Microsoft 365 users.
Assign your Domain to your Office 365 Users
Now, there is only one step left until you finished the migration from GoDaddy to Office 365:
1. In the Microsoft 365 admin center, go to “Users” > “Active users”.
2. Click on the three dots shown after the display name of your user.
3. In the dropdown, select “Manage username and email”.
4. In the section “Primary email address and username”, click on the edit icon.
5. Open the “Domains” dropdown and select your custom domain. Next, click on “Done”.
➡️ Repeat steps 02 – 05 for every user.
🥳 Congratulations – you successfully finished your email migration from GoDaddy 365 to Microsoft 365 and can now start using your Microsoft 365 account!
And don’t forget to cancel your GoDaddy Office 365 plan, so you won’t pay twice 😉.
"I am so looking forward to telling everyone I know about your wonderful software. I know many people who don't change to another email platform because they are very extremely scared about the migration. With MailJerry, that fear is unfounded.
Learn More:GoDaddy 365 vs Microsoft 365
Are you unsure if it’s a good idea to make the effort and migrate from GoDaddy 365 to Microsoft 365? Let’s find out!
What is GoDaddy 365?
GoDaddy is a well-known web hosting provider offering domain registration and hosting services. In 2014, GoDaddy partnered with Microsoft to launch GoDaddy Microsoft 365, a branded version of Microsoft 365 tailored primarily to small businesses.
GoDaddy 365 includes familiar Microsoft apps at an initially lower price point and comes with a simplified admin interface. This reduced control panel is designed for non-technical users, allowing basic administrative tasks without the need to hire a dedicated IT administrator.
Easy maintenance and lower initial costs make GoDaddy Microsoft 365 an attractive choice for small businesses and startups. However, be aware of the disadvantages that come with choosing GoDaddy Microsoft 365.
Disadvantages of GoDaddy Microsoft 365:
While GoDaddy 365’s lower entry price and ease of use can be attractive at first, these advantages often become limitations over time.
Once the introductory pricing period ends, GoDaddy 365 typically costs about the same as a standard Microsoft 365 license – but with far fewer customisation options and significantly less flexibility. Certain Microsoft services and applications, such as Dynamics 365, are unavailable, making license upgrades or expansions impossible.
Additionally, although GoDaddy provides a simplified admin interface, customers do not receive full administrative rights to their Microsoft 365 tenant. This can become a serious obstacle when a business requires more than 10 users, or whenever advanced configuration is required. In many cases, users must rely entirely on GoDaddy support to make changes, which can slow down operations.
Why migrate from GoDaddy to Microsoft 365?
As we’ve seen, there are several compelling reasons to migrate from GoDaddy 365 to Microsoft 365. So when’s the best time to make the move?
- Your business grows to more than 10 users, reaching the limits of the GoDaddy 365 license.
- The initial GoDaddy discount period ended, making Microsoft 365 licensing more cost-effective.
- You require better support that actually helps to resolve problems or you’re fed up with GoDaddy’s very limited technical support.
- You wish to scale your company in terms of maximum users, storage capacity, and configuration options.
- You need full admin privileges of your Microsoft tenant, so you or your IT admin can perform all necessary operations, giving you a maximum of flexibility and making you independent from GoDaddy’s support.
Wish to learn more?
Have a look at this in-depth comparison between GoDaddy 365 and Microsoft 365:
➡️ GoDaddy Office 365 vs Microsoft 365: Which Is Better?
FAQFrequent Questions & Troubleshooting
If you have any questions or run into issues while migrating your emails from GoDaddy 365 to Office 365, have a look at the FAQs below.
Will I experience downtime during the migration?
Unfortunately, when migrating from GoDaddy 365 to Microsoft Office 365, there will be a small time period of approx. 10 to 20 minutes in which you won’t be able to send or receive emails. The downtime is caused by the architecture of the GoDaddy 365 ecosystem and there is nothing you can do about it.
The downtime starts as soon as GoDaddy removes your domain from your GoDaddy 365 account. As soon as you finished adding your domain to Microsoft 365 and changed your domains DNS settings, your emails will work again as expected.
➡️ By following the tutorial above, you’ll ensure that the downtime of your email service remains as short as possible.
What is a tenant / Microsoft tenant?
A tenant is a representation of your company that includes all data associated with your company, such as users, domains and global configurations.
Do I really have to contact the GoDaddy support in order to remove my domain from GoDaddy?
Yes. It sounds quite unbelievable, but you actually have to contact a GoDaddy support agent and ask them to remove your domain from your GoDaddy 365 account. You cannot remove your custom domain yourself.
Can I shut down MailJerry / my computer during the transfer?
Of course. You can simply shut down the app and even your computer, your migration will continue to run since it’s managed in our migration cloud. If you’d like to, you can install MailJerry on your smartphone to check the progress of your migration while being on the run.
Not all emails where migrated, what can I do?
When migrating emails with large attachments to Office 365, it is possible that they are rejected due to Microsoft’s maximum message size limit (default: 25 MB). To change the max message size, follow this tutorial.
I need to migrate a large / very large mailbox from GoDaddy to Office 365. Any tips?
Fore sure! This article explains everything you need to know about migrating large amounts of data to Microsoft 365.
Still have further questions?
If so, these help pages might be helpful:
