How to see who sends you the most email in Outlook

You want a simple list: which senders fill your inbox, ranked by how many emails they've sent. Outlook doesn't give you that list, but you can build one yourself.

Updated October 14, 2026 · Outlook.com, Hotmail, new Outlook, classic Outlook

What Outlook does and doesn't show you

People have asked for a "sort by number of emails from each sender" view for a long time. One person on Microsoft Q&A wrote that it "has been requested for the last 20 years." The moderator replied that "currently it is not supported in Outlook" and suggested a manual workaround, covered below.

Here is what Outlook does have:

• Sorting by sender. Microsoft's sorting guide lists sender as a sort option alongside date, category, size, importance and subject. Sorting puts each sender's mail together, but it doesn't count it or put the biggest senders first.
• Grouping by sender (classic Outlook). Classic Outlook can group the message list by the From field, so each sender becomes one collapsible group.
• A storage breakdown by folder, not by sender. In Outlook.com, Settings › Account › Storage (on some accounts, Settings › Subscription › Email storage) shows "a breakdown of how much space each folder in your mailbox is taking." It doesn't show which senders take up that space.

So the job is to turn "mail sorted by sender" into "senders ranked by count." The methods below go from quickest to most accurate.

Method 1: Sort by sender (Outlook.com and new Outlook)

This is the fastest way to get a feel for who your heavy senders are. It works in Outlook on the web, Outlook.com (including Hotmail and Live addresses) and the new Outlook for Windows.

1. Open your Inbox, or whichever folder you want to check.
2. Select Filter at the top of the message list.
3. Choose to sort by sender.
4. Scroll through the list. Long runs of the same name are your heavy senders.

In classic Outlook, the same option is in the Filter dropdown on the message list, where you choose what to view and how to sort it.

Limits: you still have to judge the counts by eye. On a big inbox, scrolling through thousands of sorted messages to spot the longest runs is slow and easy to get wrong. Sorting also only covers the folder you're in.

Method 2: Group by From (classic Outlook)

Classic Outlook for Windows can group messages by sender instead of just sorting them. A Microsoft volunteer moderator (MVP) described it on Microsoft Q&A: "You can't sort by the count but you can Group By the 'From' field which will reveal the items per sender." The path they gave:

1. Go to View > View Settings.
2. Select Group By…
3. Under Group items by, choose From.
4. Select OK, then collapse all groups so you see one line per sender.

With the groups collapsed, you can scan sender by sender instead of message by message. That's much easier on a large mailbox.

Limits: this works only in classic Outlook, and the groups are still listed alphabetically, not by size. You can see each sender's mail, but you can't reorder the groups to put the biggest senders on top.

Method 3: Count emails per sender in Excel

If you want an actual ranked list with numbers, move the sender list into Excel. Microsoft's moderator suggested this route: "use a list view (with reading pane off), sort by sender, then collapse all groups. Select all, copy and paste into Excel." The MVP answer offers a second route: export the folder to a CSV file and use the Pivot feature in Excel.

Get the list out of Outlook

1. In classic Outlook, switch the folder to a list view and turn the reading pane off.
2. Sort or group by sender, as in Method 2.
3. Select all messages (Ctrl+A), copy (Ctrl+C), and paste into a blank Excel sheet.

If copying doesn't bring the columns you need, use the export route instead. Export the folder to a CSV file from classic Outlook's import/export tools, then open that file in Excel.

Count and rank senders in Excel

1. Click any cell in your data and choose Insert > PivotTable.
2. Drag the sender column (usually From) into Rows.
3. Drag the same column into Values. Excel will count it.
4. Sort the count column from largest to smallest.

You now have the list Outlook doesn't give you: every sender, ranked by how many emails they've sent.

Limits: this is a snapshot that's out of date as soon as new mail arrives. It's also a lot of steps for a quick check, and it needs classic Outlook plus Excel. Some people who asked for this feature on Microsoft Q&A said it isn't practical when the goal is simply to clean up a mailbox.

Method 4: Check one sender with a Search Folder

If you already suspect a sender, a Search Folder collects all of their mail in one place without moving anything. Microsoft describes Search Folders as "virtual folders that show messages that match specific criteria, without moving or duplicating the original items." One of their listed uses is to "find mail from or to specific people."

In new Outlook for Windows:

1. Open Settings and go to Mail > Search folders.
2. Create a new search folder and choose Mail from specific people.
3. Add the sender. The folder will show everything they've sent you, across your mailbox.

Limits: this checks one sender (or a short list) at a time, so it confirms a suspicion rather than finding your top senders. Microsoft also notes that Search Folders in new Outlook "continue to use predefined criteria" and that "advanced custom Search Folders are supported only in classic Outlook."

Which method should you use?

If you only use Outlook.com or Hotmail in a browser, you can sort by sender or use a Search Folder for one sender, but neither gives counts. To get real counts you'll need classic Outlook and Excel.

What to do once you know your top senders

A ranked list is only useful if you act on it. Outlook's built-in tools for clearing out a sender are Sweep and rules:

• Sweep (Outlook on the web, Outlook.com, new Outlook). Select a message from the sender, then select Sweep. Microsoft says it "gives you options to automatically delete all incoming email from a particular sender, to keep only the latest email, or to delete email older than 10 days." Sweep "isn't available from the following folders: Junk Email, Drafts, Sent Items, and Deleted Items," and "Sweep rules run once per day."
• Rules. Right-click a message and create a rule to move that sender's mail to a folder. In new Outlook you can run it on existing mail (Run this rule now in Inbox); Outlook.com may only apply it to new mail.

Both tools work one sender at a time. If your Excel list shows 30 senders worth clearing, that means 30 rounds of Sweep. For step-by-step instructions in every version of Outlook, see how to delete all emails from one sender in Outlook. If Sweep isn't doing what you expect, see why Outlook Sweep isn't working.

If you're doing this because Outlook says your storage is full, remember that deleted mail still counts until Deleted Items is emptied. Here's why storage can stay full after you delete.

FAQ

PurgeInbox, now in development, will show this ranked list for your Outlook inbox automatically.

Sources

• Microsoft Q&A: Sort by count of emails from specific sender in Outlook
• Microsoft Q&A: How to sort by number of items from senders in inbox
• Microsoft Support: Sort email messages in Outlook
• Microsoft Support: Use Search Folders to find messages or other Outlook items
• Microsoft Support: Storage limits in Outlook.com
• Microsoft Support: Organize your inbox with Archive, Sweep, and other tools in Outlook on the web
• Microsoft Support: Organize your inbox