OST Vs PST, Differences Between OST and PST Files

Megha Chouhan | Updated On - December 13, 2022 |

Read time 7 minutes

If you are among millions of people who use Outlook applications for email communication, you may have come across of OST and PST files. These data storage files save the mailbox items such as email messages, calendars, contacts, and notes. Both these files are stored in your personal system and are helpful in recovering mailbox items when any corruption occurs.

MS Outlook is a part of the MS Office Suite and works as an e-mail client application with mind-blowing features like a calendar, task manager, contact manager, journal, and a lot more. This application offers several innovative features that make it unique from other options. But many Outlook users are still confused about the data files included in it, i.e., OST and PST. They don’t know exactly what it is actually and what the difference is between OST and PST. Now, you need not worry; this blog will guide you to get detailed information about both data files.

Introduction to OST

OST (Offline Storage Files) allow access to mailbox data offline on the local machine upon registration with Exchange Server using Microsoft Outlook. This file gets automatically created after establishing connection with the server and is saved in a system with .ost extension. If you are facing any issue with your local OST file location, you can simply change the location of the OST file in Outlook.

Instant Solution

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Introduction to PST

PST (Personal Folders file) is an Outlook data file that stores your messages and other items on your computer. It is the most common file in which small organizations and single users use information in Outlook. They may have one or more email accounts. The most common types of accounts are referred to by their Internet protocol named POP3. In POP3 configuration, data is stored as a PST file with a .pst extension. In addition, these files are also secured from unauthorized access with a password.

Now it’s time to know the differences between the OST and PST files data files in Outlook.

OST vs PST

If you are still confused between these two data files, you need not worry, as here we listed the top differences between OST and PST files.

Difference between OST and PST files based on common criteria

How to access inaccessible OST files?

To access OST files, you can convert OST files into PST. Then you can easily access the mailbox items. Using the third-party OST to PST converter tools is a reliable option to do so as it can save OST emails to Gmail, Outlook.com, and other IMAP servers efficiently.

PST files are very easy to access. To save the data from theft or corruption, you can use this PST converter tool which converts the PST files into various file formats such as DBX, MBOX, MSG, EML, TXT, RTF, HTML, and MHTML. It easily converts corrupt OST files to the desired formats. In addition, you can also recover your deleted emails with this tool.

Conclusion

Whether it’s OST vs PST, MS Outlook keeps all information using both these file formats. OST has its own importance as it allows offline access to mailbox data; one can easily send new messages even when the system is offline or disconnected from the Exchange Server. OST files are highly encrypted, whereas PST files are easy to access without a password by using a third-party tool. Still, one can access the OST file and convert OST to PST format or export it to live Exchange or Office 365 by using a Kernel for OST to PST Converter.