4 Free Ways to Copy Files from One Google Drive to Another

Did you want to copy files from one Google Drive to another? Here in this post, you'll find 4 free and easy ways to achieve your goal.

By @Jonna Last Updated October 10, 2024

Why Need to Copy Files from One Google Drive to Another?

Google Drive is widely known for its secure and convenient file storage capabilities, enabling users to access their files effortlessly from anywhere. Additionally, it offers the functionality to share large files with others through shareable links.

However, if you happen to possess multiple Google Drive work and personal accounts, you may find the need to copy files from one Google Drive to another. Numerous reasons can prompt this practice, including the following:

  • Your original account is unavailable due to a job change or other reasons.
  • The old Google Drive cloud storage is used up.
  • You want to transfer some files, pictures, videos, etc. to another account for backup.
  • You want to put all files in one Google Drive account for easy management.

Whatever the reason you want to transfer files from one Google Drive to another, we hope that the following four methods will help you accomplish this task as easily as possible.

Copy Files from One Google Drive to Another in 4 Free Ways

As we all know, Google Drive does not provide a direct way to seamlessly transfer Google Drive to another account.

If you want to move files from one Google Drive account to another without downloading and re-uploading them, CBackup, a free cloud backup and sync service, is highly recommended. Additionally, we will cover three traditional Google Drive file transfer solutions as well. Please choose the one that suits you.

Way 1. Easiest Way to Transfer Files from One Google Drive to Another

To copy google drive to another account, you can ask for help from the professional yet free backup software, CBackup, which can help you do cloud to cloud transfer efficiently and quickly. Supported on Windows 11/10/8/7 devices, this software can meet all your data transfer needs.

Features of CBackup cloud backup software:
  • Support multiple cloud storage: It supports Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, FTP/SFTP, and various cloud drives; and you can add unlimited cloud accounts and use it as a cloud storage manager.
  • No file transfer limitations: It has no limit on data transfer speed and supports seamless migration of hundreds of types of files.  
  • Flexible sync settings: It offers you multiple advanced sync settings, such as schedule sync (one time only/daily/weekly/monthly), email notification, file filter, etc. And these settings can keep your data up-to-date and get you out of waiting processes.
  • Cloud storage combination: It can be used to combine cloud accounts regardless of different platforms. For example, you are able to combine 2 free Google Drive accounts to get 30GB could storage. You can also merge Google Drive and OneDrive if you have accounts.

Here are clear steps offered below for how to transfer everything from one Google Drive to another using this software:

1. Register for a free CBackup account by signing up. Then, log in.

2. Proceed to the My Storage section and click on the Add Cloud button. Choose Google Drive and grant CBackup permission to access your Google Drive account.

3. Head to Sync Tasks and click on New Task.

4. Customize the task name to make it easily identifiable among other tasks. Click on the Add Source button to select the whole Google Drive account or specific files. Then, click on Add Destination to add another Google Drive account.

5. Lastly, tap on Start Sync to copy files from one Google Drive to another effortlessly.

Tips:

The Cloud Sync features on CBackup aims to keep data in two cloud drives the same. If you want to backup data from one Google Drive to another for data protection, you can rely on the Cloud Backup function, which allows you to keep all backup versions and restore file backups when needed.

CBackup also provides a desktop app that can backup/sync local files to Google Drive, OneDrive, and Dropbox, as well as to its CBackup Cloud, offering 5GB of free cloud space.

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Way 2. Transfer Google Drive Files to Another Account by Share

If you only need to transfer a few documents, you have the option to perform a one-time share to another Google account. This method does not involve extensive setup and is incredibly straightforward. During file sharing, you can configure file access.

Steps on how to move files from one Google Drive to another are presented as follows:

1. Open a web browser and sign in to your first Google Drive account.

2. Select the files and folders that you wish to copy to another Google Drive account. Right-click on the selected items to reveal a pop-up window, and then choose the Share option.

3. In the provided fields, enter the information for the second Google Drive account. Set as Editor to grant editing permissions for the shared files and folders. Once completed, click on the Send button.

4. Now, log out of the current Google Drive account and sign in to the second account. Proceed to the Shared with me tab to access the items shared from the first account. To add them to your Google Drive, right-click on each item and select Add shortcut to Drive.

Way 3. Copy Google Drive Files to Another Account via Download and Upload

One typical approach that comes to mind to copy Google Drive to another account is downloading and uploading data. However, there are instances where this method may not be ideal. For example, if your device lacks sufficient local storage capacity or if you have too much data that makes the download process consume a significant amount of time. This is how it goes:

1. Begin by signing in to your source Google Drive account. Select and download the desired files to your local storage on the device you are using.

2. Next, sign out of the source account and sign in to the target Google Drive account. Now, click New > Folder upload to add the downloaded files to your second account.

Way 4. Move Files from One Google Drive to Another with Desktop App

If you have Google Drive for desktop installed on your computer, copying files from one Google Drive to another becomes a straightforward process. With the Drive for desktop app, you can manage multiple Google Drive accounts simultaneously, supporting up to 4 accounts, and access the files locally on your computer.

How to transfer files from one Google Drive to another using this method? You can follow these steps:

1. Run the Google Drive for desktop app, and sign in.

2. Go to Preferences, click on the avatar in the upper right corner, and hit Add another account.

3. Go to File Explorer/Finder to find Google Drive disks on your computer.

4. Locate the files you wish to copy in the source account and copy and paste them to the other Google Drive cloud.

In the End

Following any way above, you can copy files from one Google Drive to another hassle-free. If you choose to use CBackup to transfer all files from one Google Drive to another, don’t forget that this freeware can also help you move files from Google Drive to Dropbox, and other mainstream clouds for free.