How to Import Favorites from Edge to Chrome (Step-by-Step)

Switching from Microsoft Edge to Chrome is straightforward once you know the two available routes. Edge calls its saved pages “Favorites” and Chrome calls them “Bookmarks,” but they are the same thing, stored in the same universal file format. You can move them in about two minutes using Chrome’s built-in import tool — no third-party software required.

Two Ways to Do the Import

The method you use depends on one thing: whether Edge is installed on the same computer as Chrome.

Direct import — Chrome can read Edge’s data directly from its profile on your machine, with no export file needed. This is faster and works well when both browsers are on the same computer.

HTML file import — You export your Favorites from Edge as an HTML file, then import that file into Chrome. This is the method to use when moving to a new computer, when Edge has been uninstalled, or when you want a portable backup of your bookmarks before switching.

Both methods preserve your folder hierarchy, and both result in your Edge Favorites appearing in Chrome inside a dedicated folder without disturbing anything already in Chrome.

Method 1: Direct Import When Edge Is Installed on the Same Machine

This is the fastest option. Chrome’s import tool reads Edge’s bookmark data directly from Edge’s profile folder on your computer. Edge does not need to be open, but it does need to be installed and to have bookmarks saved in a profile.

Step 1. Open Chrome and click the three-dot menu in the top-right corner (labeled “Customize and control Google Chrome”).

Step 2. Click Bookmarks and lists, then select Import bookmarks and settings.

Step 3. In the dialog that opens, click the Source dropdown. Look for Microsoft Edge in the list and select it.

Step 4. A list of checkboxes appears. At minimum, check Favorites/Bookmarks. You can also import browsing history, saved passwords, and search engine settings — leave the others unchecked if you only want bookmarks.

Step 5. Click Import. Chrome reads Edge’s profile data and adds the bookmarks. A confirmation message appears when the import is complete.

You can also reach this dialog directly by typing chrome://settings/importData into Chrome’s address bar and pressing Enter.

If Edge is not listed in the dropdown, either it is not installed on this computer or it has no saved profile data. In that case, move to Method 2.

Method 2: Export from Edge, Then Import into Chrome

Use this method when Chrome cannot see Edge directly — for example, when you are setting up Chrome on a new computer or when Edge has been removed. You first export your Favorites from Edge as an HTML file, then bring that file into Chrome.

If you need full detail on the Edge export side — including how to export from a specific Edge profile, or how to find the file after saving — the companion post on how to export Edge bookmarks covers that completely. The summary is below.

Exporting Your Favorites from Edge

Open Microsoft Edge on the computer where your bookmarks are saved.

On Windows:

1. Press Ctrl+Shift+O to open the Favorites panel, or click the star icon in the Edge toolbar.
2. Click the three-dot menu (More options) at the top of the Favorites panel.
3. Select Export favorites from the dropdown.
4. In the Save dialog, choose a location you can find easily — your Desktop or Downloads folder. The file is saved as favorites.html.
5. Click Save.

On Mac:

1. Press Cmd+Shift+O or click the star icon in the Edge toolbar to open Favorites.
2. Click the three-dot menu at the top of the panel.
3. Select Export favorites and save the file.

Edge exports in the Netscape bookmarks HTML format — the standard format that Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Brave all understand. Your complete folder hierarchy is embedded in the file, so the structure comes across intact.

Once the file is saved, transfer it to the computer where Chrome is installed if you are moving machines.

Importing the HTML File into Chrome

With the HTML file in hand, you have two equally valid paths inside Chrome.

Option A — through the Bookmark Manager:

1. Press Ctrl+Shift+O on Windows/Linux (or Cmd+Option+B on Mac) to open Chrome’s Bookmark Manager.
2. Click the three-dot menu inside the Bookmark Manager’s toolbar — this is not the main browser toolbar, but the smaller toolbar at the top of the Bookmark Manager pane.
3. Click Import bookmarks.
4. In the file picker, navigate to your saved HTML file, select it, and click Open.

Option B — through Chrome’s settings menu:

1. Click the three-dot menu in Chrome’s main toolbar → Bookmarks and lists → Import bookmarks and settings.
2. In the Source dropdown, select Bookmarks HTML File.
3. Click Choose File, navigate to the HTML file, select it, and click Import.

Both options produce identical results. For a deeper look at Chrome’s import behavior — including troubleshooting a failed import or recovering from a corrupt HTML file — see the full guide on how to import Chrome bookmarks.

What Happens to Your Folder Structure

One of the questions people ask most often: will Chrome scramble the folder organization that took years to build in Edge?

It will not. Chrome preserves the complete folder hierarchy from the source. If you had a top-level folder called “Research” with subfolders “2024” and “2025” inside it, those subfolders appear in Chrome with the same nesting under the same parent folder. Nothing is flattened and nothing is merged with your existing Chrome structure.

Where the imported bookmarks land depends on which method you used:

• Direct import (Method 1): Chrome creates a folder called Imported from Microsoft Edge at the bottom of your bookmarks list. Everything Chrome read from Edge sits inside this folder.
• HTML file import (Method 2): Chrome creates a folder named Imported on MM/DD/YYYY — for example, “Imported on 9/28/2026” — using the date of the import. This is Chrome’s standard label for any HTML file import, regardless of source browser.

In both cases, the imported folder and your existing Chrome bookmarks are completely independent. Chrome never modifies, overwrites, or merges with what was already there. Importing the same data a second time creates a second folder — Chrome does not detect duplicates at import time.

After the import, if you want to integrate the incoming bookmarks with your existing Chrome structure, open the Bookmark Manager (Ctrl+Shift+O), expand the imported folder, and drag items into the folders where you want them. There is no automatic merge option; reorganization is a manual step.

You can also rename the imported folder: right-click it in the Bookmark Manager and select Edit, then type a new name.

After the Import: Check for Dead Links

People switching from Edge to Chrome often have Favorites they collected over many years. The older the bookmarks, the higher the chance that many are dead — pages that have been deleted, moved behind a paywall, or had their domain expire. Importing does not fix this; it just moves the problem into Chrome.

This is a natural point to do a cleanup. Bookmend is a free Chrome extension designed for exactly this situation. It works with whatever is in your Chrome bookmarks folder, including bookmarks you just imported from Edge. After you complete the import:

1. Install Bookmend from the Chrome Web Store (it is free, no account required).
2. Open Bookmend and run a scan. It checks every bookmark in your library against its live URL, typically in about a minute for a standard-sized library.
3. Bookmend flags anything that returns a 404, a connection timeout, or a dead domain. For pages that used to exist but are now gone, it offers a one-click option to open a cached copy from the Wayback Machine.
4. It also surfaces duplicate bookmarks — useful if you had overlap between your Edge Favorites and your existing Chrome bookmarks before the import.

Bookmend runs entirely on your computer and does not send your bookmark data to any server. The Wayback Machine recovery is the only network request it makes, and that only happens when you click the recovery button on a specific bookmark.

Troubleshooting Common Problems

Edge does not appear in Chrome’s import dropdown. Chrome only lists browsers that are installed and have saved profile data on the current machine. If you have uninstalled Edge, or if you are on a different computer, Edge will not appear. Use the HTML file method (Method 2) instead.

The import completes but no bookmarks appear. Scroll to the bottom of your bookmarks list — imported folders are always added at the bottom, not at the top. If you see no new folder there, check whether the Edge profile Chrome accessed is the one that actually contains your bookmarks. Edge supports multiple profiles, and Chrome reads the default profile. If your bookmarks are in a non-default Edge profile, export them to an HTML file from within that specific profile and import the file instead.

The HTML file import shows an error or imports zero bookmarks. Open the HTML file in a text editor and verify it starts with <!DOCTYPE NETSCAPE-Bookmark-file-1>. If it does not, it is not a valid bookmarks export file. If it looks correct but Chrome still rejects it, try moving the file to your Desktop (avoid filenames with special characters) and importing from there. Also check that the file is not open in another program when you try to import.

Some imported bookmarks are already broken. This is common and expected, particularly for bookmarks saved more than two or three years ago. Run a scan with Bookmend to identify which ones are dead and recover what you can through the Wayback Machine.

Passwords did not import from Edge. Chrome occasionally fails to decrypt passwords imported from Edge because of differences in how each browser stores encryption keys. If your saved passwords did not come across, export them from Edge directly: go to Edge’s Settings → Passwords, click the three-dot menu next to “Saved passwords,” and choose Export passwords. Save the CSV file and import it at chrome://password-manager/settings in Chrome.