How to Send a Mail Merge from Gmail Using Google Sheets (2026 Guide)

Mail merge lets you send personalized emails to a list of people — each with their own name, company and details — from your regular Gmail account, without moving to a separate email marketing tool.

This guide shows how to do it with Zestmail, a Chrome extension for Gmail. Mail merge is part of Zestmail Pro ($9/month or $69/year), and every new install starts with a 7-day Pro trial with no credit card, so you can send your first merge before paying anything.

What you need

1. A Google account with Gmail
2. A Google Sheet with your recipients
3. The Zestmail Chrome extension

Step 1: Prepare your Google Sheet

Put one recipient per row. The first row holds the column headers, which become your template variables:

Important: one column must contain email addresses. Give it an obvious name such as "email".

Step 2: Install Zestmail

Add Zestmail from the Chrome Web Store and sign in with your Google account. Google will ask you to allow Zestmail to see your Google Sheets (read-only) and to send email on your behalf — both are needed for mail merge.

Step 3: Open Mail Merge

Click the Zestmail icon in your browser toolbar. On the Home tab, choose Mail Merge under Features. Paste your Google Sheets URL and click Load Spreadsheet.

Step 4: Write your template

Zestmail tries to detect the email column; check that the right one is selected. Then write your subject and body using {{column_name}} variables — the available columns are listed under the editor.

Subject: Hi {{first_name}}, quick question about {{company}}

The body is HTML, so wrap each paragraph in <p> tags:

<p>Hi {{first_name}},</p>
<p>I noticed {{company}} is growing fast — congratulations!
I'd love to show your {{role}} team how we could help.</p>
<p>Would you have 15 minutes this week?</p>
<p>Best,<br>Your Name</p>

Step 5: Preview and send

Zestmail shows a preview of the first three emails with the variables filled in. Check that everything looks right, then click Send All.

Each email is sent individually from your Gmail account with its own tracking pixel, so you'll know exactly who opened it.

Step 6: Track results

After sending, open the Activity tab to see opens as they happen, with the time, approximate location and device of each open.

Tips for better mail merge results

1. Personalize beyond the name. Mention the company, role or something specific to the recipient.
2. Keep it short. A merged email should read like a note from one person to another.
3. Send in smaller batches. Gmail limits how many emails an account can send per day — personal accounts have a lower limit than Google Workspace — so split large lists.
4. Follow up with the people who opened. The Activity tab shows who read your email, so you can prioritize your follow-ups.

Free vs Pro

Mail merge is a Pro feature ($9/month, or $69/year), and new installs include a 7-day Pro trial with no credit card. The free plan includes open tracking for up to 20 emails a day.