Google Drive: Can I Copy Folder to Another Account?

Google Drive Copy Folder to Another Account
Google Drive Copy Folder to Another Account

How much do you know about Google Drive? Google Drive, as a file storing and syncing service developed by Google, is launched on April 24, 2012. Google Drive allows users to store files online, sync files across devices, and share files to others through links with 15 GB free storage space. In addition to the official website, Google Drive also provides offline-enabled applications for Windows and macOS systems, as well as Android and iOS mobile applications.

As a common user of Google Drive, you are very likely to have more than one account no matter to gain more free storage or to acquire better order of your personal and business files. With several Google accounts in hand, you may wonder if there’s any chance for you to move files from one Google Drive to another. Luckily, this article will tell you how to copy a Google Drive folder to another account in details.

Why Copy Google Drive Folder to Another Account?

In the past decade, due to fierce competition among large cloud service companies, free cloud storage has really taken off, and all companies have provided free cloud storage products. Even though Google Drive generously provides 15 GB of free space, you may still want to copy folders from Google Drive to another account in the following situations:

  • These two Google Workspace accounts are under different domains so that you cannot directly share folders from one account to another.
  • You want to make a backup for your important data and that’s why you want to copy folders between two Google Drive accounts.
  • With the increase of data, there is less and less storage space in Google Drive, so that you need to create another account to store some folders.

How to Copy Google Drive Folder to Another Account in 4 Easy Ways

We all know Google Drive does not offer any direct way to copy folder between Google Drive accounts, but actually you will be able to copy from one Google Drive to another by 4 excellent methods given below. 

  • Solution 1. One-key copy folder from one Google Drive to another account easily and quickly in a single interface of a great web-based multiple cloud storage manager, MultCloud.
  • Solution 2. Copy files and folders from one Google Drive to another as zip files by Google Takeout.
  • Solution 3. Transfer Google Drive folder to another account by sharing from Google Drive website through sharing link.
  • Solution 4. Transfer folder from one Google Drive to another by manually downloading and uploading.

Tip: In the following part, your first and second Google Drive accounts will be replaced as Google Drive 1 and Google Drive 2.

Solution 1. Google Drive Copy Folder to Another Account by MultCloud

Using MultCloud may be the most efficient way to copy data from one Google Drive to another account without spending any extra time and energy. And the advantages of MultCloud are as follows.

  • As a free third-party cloud file manager, MultCloud won’t ask you to download or install any application on your PC, which can largely save your local storage space.
  • MultCloud has subverted the traditional cloud to cloud transfer method, and you no longer have to download and upload files to transfer data between clouds.
  • MultCloud values the user’s privacy and won’t save any username and password of your account since it uses OAuth authorization system to connect your clouds.
  • MultCloud offers lightning-fast transfer speed, which can transfer petabytes of data in just a few weeks.

As for how to copy Google Drive files and folders to another account, here are the detailed steps.

Step 1. Create one MultCloud account for free. Or, you can sign in MultCloud directly with your Google or Facebook account.

Sign Up MultCloud
Sign Up MultCloud

Step 2. Click “Add Cloud” and choose “Google Drive” to add a Google Drive account to MultCloud. Then follow the same step to add another Google Drive account to MultCloud as well.

Add Google Drive to MultCloud
Add Google Drive to MultCloud

Tips:

  • To distinguish between two Google accounts, when adding your first Google Drive account to MultCloud, you can name it as “Google Drive 1” and another account as “Google Drive 2”.
  • MultCloud supports 30+ clouds and allows you to add as many cloud accounts as you have for free.

Step 3. Click on “Cloud Transfer”, choose folder that you want to copy from Google Drive 1 as the source, select Google Drive 2 as the destination. Then click on “Transfer Now” and the task will run immediately.

Copy Google Drive Folder to Another Account with MultCloud
Copy Google Drive Folder to Another Account with MultCloud

Tips:

  • If the 30 GB free data traffic per month is not enough for you to copy and transfer data across clouds, you can upgrade to higher subscription to get superfast transfer speed and more data traffic.
  • If you want to know the transfer result, you can enable “email notification” in “Options”.
  • If you want to copy Google Drive folders regularly, you can also enable “Schedule” so that MultCloud will copy folder from one Google Drive account to another in daily, weekly, or monthly plan.
  • If you just want to move certain files from one Google Drive to another, it’s recommended for you to use “Copy to” to make it.
Copy Google Drive to Another Account
Copy Google Drive to Another Account

Solution 2. Move Folders from One Google Drive to Another by Google Takeout

If you want to copy Google Drive folders from one Google account to another account by Google products, you can make use of Google Takeout.

Step 1. Visit Google Takeout, select folder that you want to copy from your Google Drive 1.

Select Folders to Include under Google Takeout
Select Folders to Include under Google Takeout

Tips:

  • When entering in Google Takeout, all products are ticked by default. If you want to migrate Drive, please uncheck the box beside it.
  • If you want to download specific folders under the Drive, tap on “All Drive data included”, select folders that you need, click on “Ok”, then only these folders you select are included.
Select Folders to Include
Select Folders to Include

Step 2. Click "Next" in the bottom of the page.
Step 3. Choose the Delivery method as “Add to Drive” from the dropdown menu.

Add to Drive with Google Takeout
Add to Drive with Google Takeout

Step 4. Click on “Create export” and wait for the process to complete.

Create Export
Create Export

Tips:

  • This process will take from minutes to days to complete according to your data size.
  • The folders will be compressed as zip files and stored in Google Takeout folder of Google Drive 2.
  • After the process is complete, you will receive an email notification in your Gmail account linked to your Google Drive 2. Select “View in Drive” and you can view it through your Google Drive.
View in Drive
View in Drive

Solution 3. Copy Google Drive Folder to Another Account with “Share”

Step 1. Log in your Google Drive 1 account on Google Drive official website, select folders that you want to copy to your Google Drive 2 account, right-click and select “Share” from the pop-up menu.

Share Folder from Google Drive
Share Folder from Google Drive

Step 2. Type your Google Drive 2 account as the receiver, click “Done” and choose “Send”.

Share with People and Groups from Google Drive
Share with People and Groups from Google Drive

Step 3. Log in Google Drive 2 account and you will find these copied folders under “Shared with me”.

Solution 4. Copy Folder from Google Drive to Another Account by “Download” and “Upload”

This method is the most common solution which most users can think of. Here are the detailed steps that you can follow to have a try.

Step 1. Log in your Google Drive 1 account on official website and select folders that you want to copy from your Google Drive 1.
Step 2. Right-click and choose “Download” to download folders to PC.

Download Folders from Google Drive
Download Folders from Google Drive

Step 3. After downloading, these folders will be converted to zip files. Before uploading to Google Drive 2 account, you need to unpack them first.
Step 4. Log in Google Drive 2 account, you can upload them through “Folder upload”.

Upload Folders to Google Drive
Upload Folders to Google Drive

Summary

As you can see, all solutions above can help you copy Google Drive folder to another account successfully. But in addition to the first solution, the other three solutions all require you to take complicated steps. That’s why MultCloud is commended to help Google Drive copy folder to another account directly without switching accounts, downloading, uploading, logging in and out, etc.

In addition to “Cloud Transfer”, MultCloud also has “Cloud Backup” and “Cloud Sync” functions. For “Cloud Sync”, it can help sync data across clouds directly by 1 of 10 sync modes. If you want to sync Google Drive with OneDrive free, you can make full use of it.

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