Transfer Google Drive to Another Google Account

Why transfer Google Drive between accounts?

Google Drive's 15 GB of free storage is shared across Gmail, Drive, and Google Photos — all in one pool. When that fills up, Google nudges you to pay for Google One. But before you do, switching to a fresh account (or moving files to a different service) resets that quota entirely.

The more urgent reason is account loss. Google Workspace accounts tied to schools, universities, and employers are deleted when you leave — often without much notice. Any files stored in those accounts disappear permanently unless you move them first.

Other common reasons include:

• Account consolidation — you have been using two personal Google accounts and want everything in one place
• Name change — changing your email address means your old Drive stays behind unless you migrate it
• Privacy — separating personal files from a shared family or work account

What GTransfer moves

• All files — documents, spreadsheets, presentations, PDFs, images, videos, zip archives, and any other file type stored in Drive
• Folders — the complete folder hierarchy is recreated in the destination account
• File names — exactly as they appear in the source account
• Google Workspace files — Docs, Sheets, and Slides are exported to Microsoft Office format (DOCX, XLSX, PPTX) during transfer

GTransfer does not transfer file-sharing permissions (those are tied to the original account) or comments on Google Docs. For emails, see the Gmail → Gmail transfer page.

How to transfer Google Drive to another account — step by step

1. Sign in at gtransfer.app with either Google account
2. Connect both accounts — go to Accounts and add both Gmail addresses. GTransfer requests read-only access for the source and write access for the destination
3. Go to Drive Transfer on the dashboard and choose your source and destination accounts
4. Select files or folders — choose individual items or select all. You can sort by size to identify the largest files first
5. Start the transfer — GTransfer copies files directly between Google's servers. You can close the browser tab; the transfer continues in the background
6. Verify and free space — once GTransfer confirms completion, verify a few files in the destination account, then delete them from the old Drive and empty the Trash to reclaim storage

Does Google have a built-in way to move Drive files between accounts?

Not for personal accounts. Google lets you share individual files with another account, but sharing is not the same as transferring ownership — the files remain in the original account's storage quota. Google Takeout lets you export files as a zip archive, but you then have to manually re-upload to the destination account, which is slow, error-prone, and loses folder structure for large exports.

GTransfer is purpose-built for this exact problem: it connects to both Google accounts via OAuth and performs the copy automatically, preserving folder structure and file names.

Leaving school or work? Transfer before the deadline

Google Workspace accounts are commonly closed 30–90 days after you leave an institution. Once the account is deleted, the files are gone. GTransfer has a free plan so you can connect both accounts and preview what would be transferred right now — no payment needed to start.

If you also need to move emails from the same account, the Gmail → Gmail migration runs at the same time and is included in the same £9 Pro plan.

Frequently asked questions

Can I transfer Google Drive files from one account to another?
Yes — GTransfer connects to both Google accounts via OAuth and copies files and folder structure from one Drive to the other without you downloading anything.

Will folder structure be preserved?
Yes. GTransfer recreates the same folder hierarchy in the destination Drive account so your organisation is maintained exactly.

Can I transfer from a Google Workspace Drive to a personal Drive?
Yes. Connect the Workspace account as the source and your personal account as the destination. This is the most common use case — people leaving school or a job and wanting to keep their files.

What file types can be transferred?
All file types — documents, spreadsheets, presentations, PDFs, images, videos, and more. Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides are exported to the equivalent Microsoft Office format during transfer.

Does GTransfer delete files from my old Drive?
No. GTransfer copies files — it never deletes from the source. You can manually delete from the old account after confirming the transfer is complete.

How much does it cost?
GTransfer has a free plan so you can see what would be transferred. The Pro plan is a one-time payment of £9 — no subscription — and covers unlimited Drive-to-Drive transfers.