How to Transfer Google Drive Files to OneDrive

A project folder lives in Google Drive. OneDrive is where the rest of the work sits. Zipping that folder, downloading it, and uploading it again spends the evening and the home connection.

Transfer from Google Drive to OneDrive here means a copy of the files into OneDrive. The Drive copies stay where they are. It is not a two-way sync, and it is not a move that empties Drive.

Direct answer: You can copy Google Drive files into OneDrive without downloading them to your PC. On the web, sign in to OneDrive and use Settings → Import cloud photos and files. That official import copies Drive files and folders and leaves the originals. Use it when you want the whole Drive account brought across, including Google Docs turned into Office files. When you want specific folders, file-type filters, or a skip-or-rename rule for names that already exist, connect both accounts in Easy Cloud Manager and run Transfer Now. That copy runs through Easy Cloud Manager’s servers, then the working files are removed. It does not delete anything in Drive.

Key takeaways

• OneDrive’s own import is the first method. Originals stay. It is a copy, then it stops.
• Import brings Drive files and folders. It skips Drawings, Forms, Sites, and Maps, and it converts Docs, Sheets, and Slides to Office files.
• Download-then-upload is fine for a handful of files. It is a poor plan for a large folder tree.
• Easy Cloud Manager copies the folders you pick. The same connected account cannot be both source and target. Drive and OneDrive are two connections, so this pair is allowed.
• This is not a sync, not a move, and not a Google Photos export. Photos is a different library.

Compare the ways to get Drive files into OneDrive

Check the free space on OneDrive before you start. A full Drive library can be larger than the OneDrive plan.

Method 1: Import with OneDrive

This is Microsoft’s own copy. Steps match Import other cloud files using OneDrive as published for OneDrive on the web.

1. Sign in at onedrive.com.
2. Open Settings.
3. Choose Import cloud photos and files.
4. Connect Google Drive and follow the prompts.

OneDrive copies files and folders from that Drive account. It does not delete or move the originals. When the copy finishes, it stops. New files added in Drive later are not watched. You can run the import again. Microsoft says a newer source file can replace the OneDrive copy on that later run. An older source file does not.

Afterward, look in the Imports folder for a text report: what finished, and which items did not.

What this import skips or changes

• Google Drawings, Forms, Sites, and Maps are not imported. Mail, contacts, and calendars are not part of a Drive import.
• Files larger than 15 GB, zero-byte files, and some very long names or paths are skipped. Microsoft lists the character limits on that same help page.
• A file that is restricted so it cannot be copied stays behind until that restriction is turned off.
• Sharing settings are not copied. The file arrives in your OneDrive. The old share links do not come with it.
• Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides are converted to Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files.

Google Photos is not this job. Drive and Photos are separate libraries even when they share storage quota. This article does not cover a Photos import. Microsoft’s page treats Photos separately from Drive files.

Use Import when “everything in this Drive account, as Office files where Google used its own formats” is the goal. Use the next methods when you want one project folder, or when Import skipped items you still need as they are.

Method 2: Download, then upload

Use this for a small set you can already see in Drive.

1. Open Google Drive and download the files (Drive will zip a multi-file selection).
2. Open OneDrive in the browser and upload that download into the folder you want.

The originals stay in Drive until you delete them yourself. Your computer holds the zip for as long as the download and the upload take. For a deep folder tree, switch to a cloud-to-cloud copy instead of filling the laptop.

Method 3: Copy chosen folders in the browser

Easy Cloud Manager is a browser app. No install. You sign in, connect Google Drive and OneDrive, and each provider shows its own login. You do not type those cloud passwords into Easy Cloud Manager.

1. Connect Google Drive and OneDrive. Work and personal OneDrive are the Microsoft account you sign in with, not a second product.
2. Open Cloud File Transfer, on the Data Transfer tab.
3. Set Source Drive to the Google Drive folders you want. Set Target Drive to one OneDrive folder. The screen is a folder tree, not a file preview.
4. Optional File Transfer Settings:

- All files, or only documents, archives, music, videos, or images - Skip files smaller than, or larger than, a size you set - Skip files older than, or newer than, a date - If the name already exists in the target: Skip Files or Rename Files (name (1).ext)

1. Click Transfer Now.
2. Open My Tasks for progress, completed, and failed.

The copy walks the folders you selected and rebuilds that folder structure in the OneDrive folder. Drive is not emptied. There is no switch to delete the source when the copy finishes.

OneDrive and Google Drive are different connections, so they can be source and target together. One connected account cannot be both sides of the same job. Copying between two Google Drive accounts is a different article. That pair can use Google’s own copy. Drive to OneDrive cannot. The files are downloaded to Easy Cloud Manager, uploaded to OneDrive, and the working copy on that server is deleted when the upload finishes. Your home connection is not the pipe. The files do pass through Easy Cloud Manager for the length of the job.

Do not expect Google Docs, Sheets, or Slides to become Office files on this path. That conversion is what OneDrive Import does. This cross-cloud copy has not been verified as an Office conversion. If the folder is mostly native Google files and you want .docx, .xlsx, and .pptx, use Method 1.

A schedule form is on the same screen (once, daily, weekly, monthly). In this product’s current source, saving a schedule does not make a repeating copy run later. Treat Transfer Now as the control that starts the job. Do not plan a nightly backup on the schedule control until you have seen one fire on the live site.

Paid plans and the free trial change how much you can transfer. This page does not quote a price or a gigabyte cap. Read the pricing page on the product site before you buy.

What this does not do

• Empty Google Drive, or delete the source files for you
• Keep Drive and OneDrive mirrored after the copy
• Carry share links, Shared drives, or SharePoint libraries as their own source
• Import Gmail, contacts, or calendars
• Export a full Google Photos library
• Copy from iCloud
• Find duplicates or rename a library inside this transfer (those are other Sorcim products)
• Promise that a huge library finishes in minutes

FAQ

Can I transfer Google Drive to OneDrive without downloading to my PC?

Yes. OneDrive Import runs in the browser and in the OneDrive app. Easy Cloud Manager also copies in the browser. In both cases the PC is not the pipe. A cloud-to-cloud copy still passes through the service that is doing the copy.

Will my Google Drive files be deleted?

Not by these methods. Import and Easy Cloud Manager both copy. Delete the Drive copies yourself only after you have opened the files in OneDrive and checked the import report.

Does OneDrive Import copy folders?

Yes. Microsoft’s help says individual files and folders from Google Drive are copied. It is aimed at the connected account, not at “this one folder and nothing else.”

Why are some Drive files missing in OneDrive?

Import skips Drawings, Forms, Sites, Maps, files over 15 GB, zero-byte files, and some over-long names. Restricted files that cannot be copied are skipped until you allow copying. The text report in the Imports folder lists what failed.

Will Google Docs become Word documents?

OneDrive Import converts Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides to Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Easy Cloud Manager’s Drive-to-OneDrive copy is not that converter. Use Import when the Office file is what you need.

Is this a sync?

No. A sync would keep watching both sides. These methods copy, then stop. New Drive files stay in Drive until you run the copy again.

Can I move the files so only OneDrive has them?

Not in one step here. Copy first. Confirm the OneDrive copies. Then delete in Drive yourself. There is no “delete source when finished” switch in Easy Cloud Manager.

Can I choose one folder instead of the whole Drive?

Yes, in Easy Cloud Manager. Select the source folders and one target folder. OneDrive Import is the whole-account copy.

Do the files ever sit on a server?

For Drive to OneDrive in Easy Cloud Manager, yes, for the length of that transfer. The working folder is removed after the upload. That is not the same as “no file is ever stored,” and it is not the same as downloading the zip to your PC.

Can I schedule this every night?

Do not count on it. The schedule form can be saved. A repeating run is not wired in the current source. Start the copy with Transfer Now.

Copy the folder, then check OneDrive

Use OneDrive Import when you want the Drive account copied and Google office files converted. Download and upload when the set is small. Use a browser copy when you want chosen folders, filters, and the originals left in Drive.

Open the OneDrive copies before you delete anything in Google Drive.

Use the button below when you are ready to connect the two accounts.