What Are the Differences Between Outlook PST and OST FILES?

in osttopstconverter •  6 years ago 

Microsoft is a popular organization, which provides a plethora of services and tools. Outlook is a prominent email service offered by Microsoft. It comes with Microsoft office suite which includes other application such as PowerPoint, MS Word, Excel, Access and more.

MS Outlook is not just an email service but itself a personal information manager. It has been designed to offer the best yet user-friendly email service to the users. Consequently, it gives a number of highlights like creating tasks, calendars, journals, note, it can be used with or without Microsoft Exchange server.

The OST and PST file format makes Outlook unique among another email client. The OST file stands for Offline storage table whereas PST full-form is Personal storage table. Both files are linked with the one Outlook profile and perform a various task on the same niche. The major difference between OST and PST is, OST files allow users to work in the absence of exchange server and store all offline work in the exchange server. On the other side, PST files stores data on the user’s device memory.

Definition of OST and PST files

OST File

OST is your offline folder in MS Outlook. It allows users to save the documents even in the offline mode or absence of internet connection won’t hamper the process. After establishing the connection with the exchange server it automatically synchronizes data to the mailbox. This feature lets users to read, write and delete the emails on the offline mode later it sync all the offline modification to the exchange server.

PST file

PST files stand for Personal Storage Table, it is stored in the user’s system hard drive or on the local Window Server. PST files allow Outlook user to open and use mailbox with any hassle. It holds emails and allied items such as journals, notes, tasks, contacts, calendar items, attachments of an Outlook user mailbox.


Difference between OST and PST

  • OST is offline storage folder and PST named as personal or online storage folder.


  • Microsoft OST files let users to work on offline mode, on the other side PST is Personal storage table used for locally stored data and files


  • OST files only support Microsoft Exchange server whereas PST files can be used with Exchange setup


  • OST files allow users to read, view, and reply and compose emails even in offline mode whereas PST files don’t give this ability.


  • OST is the exchange server based file and PST create a default folder on the user's device.

  • Above mentioned are the brief differences of OST and PST file, if you need to convert your OST file into PST format, go for the OST to PST converter software which gives instant recovery of OST data file. If somehow PST file gets corrupted PST recovery tool is also a great option to regain access to such file. As there are many third-party OST recovery tools are available over the web, hence, choosing the best one for your data recovery process is a hectic task. Recovee OST to PST converter or Recovee PST repair tools is the best option for users.

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