Migrating From Dropbox To Google Drive in 2021: From One Cloud To the Next

If you’re thinking of migrating from Dropbox to Google Drive, then you’ll need a way to move everything you’ve saved as easily and quickly as possible. Luckily, there are two great ways to do this, and in this article, we’ll review both methods and why you would want to use them.

Key Takeaways:

• The simplest way to migrate to a new cloud service is by using desktop applications. 
• Third-party apps are available and will help you transfer data quickly, especially if you make regular transfers.

Before you begin any data migration, you should make sure that you actually need to transfer all of your files. Google Drive is a great solution if you work in Google Docs or keep many photos in the cloud. However, if you want the best collaboration or file-syncing features, Dropbox may still be the best cloud service for some of your data. 

• How Do I Move Photos From Dropbox to Google Drive?

  You can move photos from Dropbox to Google Drive in the same way you would transfer any other file — either through the desktop folders or with a third-party app. However, you can also use these methods to move the image to Google Photos, which has better duplicate detection and the ability to create albums.

• How Can I Move a Shared Folder in Dropbox to Google Drive?

  You can transfer a shared folder from Dropbox to Google Drive as you would with any other folder. However, your files would no longer sync with the users you were sharing with, unless you share the folder again through Google Drive.

Why Move From Dropbox to Google Drive? 

There are a few features that make Google Drive better, and — if you plan to use them — they’re worth the time it’ll take to transfer everything from another cloud service. The two main reasons you might want to move include the way it handles photos and the more generous pricing structure with a larger free plan. 

Dropbox vs Google Drive: What’s the Difference? 

Google Drive is a decent service on its own, but it really shines when you take advantage of the close integration within the Google Workspace. You can use Google Drive to keep your Google Docs and Gmail attachments safe while also using one of the best cloud storage services for photos — Google Photos.

See our separate guide on how to transfer photos from Dropbox to Google Photos.

On the other hand, Dropbox really shines when it comes to collaboration. It also has a high-speed block-level sync to keep your files up-to-date without using too much bandwidth, and its strong “rewind” feature makes it a great cloud storage for versioning.

If you want more details about the specific features that each provider offers — as well as how they stand up to OneDrive — you can find them in our full Dropbox vs Google Drive vs OneDrive comparison.

Migrating From Dropbox to Google Drive 

Moving files from Dropbox to Google Drive is as simple as downloading them to your computer and then uploading them to the other cloud service.

However, if you plan to migrate your entire account, this will take some time, and you’ll need plenty of space on your hard drive. The best way to do this is to download the desktop applications and sync your cloud storage to your device.

1. Download and install Dropbox and Google Drive

   You’ll first need the desktop applications for both services. You can read our full how-to guides for both Dropbox and Google Drive to learn what each app can do, but as long as you’ve installed both of them, you’ll have access to the sync folders.

   

2. Open up both sync folders

   You can find both the Dropbox and Google Drive folders in Windows File Explorer in the quick access menu on the right or in your user folder. Open them in separate windows so that you can transfer files.

   

3. Drag and drop

   With both folders open, you can select all of the files to move from Dropbox and simply drag and drop them over to Google Drive.

   

Using Third-Party Apps to Migrate From Dropbox to Google Drive 

Although manual data migration is an easy one-off solution for small groups of files, if you want to regularly sync data or transfer files between different users, you should use a cloud-to-cloud management service. Our favorite — and the one we’ll use here — is MultCloud, as it’s easy to use, is great for a one-off file transfer and offers a decent free plan.

1. Create a MultCloud account and sign in

   Go to MultCloud.com and create a free account. After you have activated it, sign in to your MultCloud account. (Note: You can also create temporary user accounts on MultCloud, but you won’t be able to get help accessing it if you forget the password.)

   

2. Add your Dropbox and Google Drive accounts

   Click on the “add cloud drives” tab on the left of the screen, select Dropbox and add your Dropbox account. Then repeat this for your Google Drive account.

   

3. Select everything in your Dropbox account

   Open the Dropbox tab on the left of the screen to see everything inside your Dropbox storage. You can either select the specific files and folders that you want to move or click the “select all” box at the top to transfer everything.

   

4. Move the files to Google Drive

   Now right-click on the selected items and click “copy to.” In the window that opens, select the folder where you want to place your transfer and check the “move” box. That will start to transfer your files to Google Drive and delete the data from Dropbox after it’s moved.

   

5. Wait for the process to finish

   MultCloud will begin to move the files from Dropbox to Google Drive. You can monitor this process with the progress window in the bottom-right corner.

   

Final Thoughts 

The process of moving files from one cloud storage to another is rather simple, and all you need are the desktop applications for each service. These will prepare everything automatically, so you’ll know when your files are ready for you to upload them to the new service. 

However, a cloud-to-cloud management service will speed up the whole process, and you won’t need to download everything to your device before you can upload anything. MultCloud is our favorite option here, although there are other options, such as CloudHQ.

Have you done a file transfer to a different cloud storage service? Did you migrate from Dropbox to Google Drive? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below. Thanks for reading.