How to move photos from Google Drive to Dropbox?

Moving photos from Google Drive to Dropbox is a common task for many users who want to consolidate their cloud storage or switch between providers. The good news is that it's easy to transfer photos between these two popular storage services. In this comprehensive guide, we'll walk through the steps to seamlessly move your photos from Google Drive to Dropbox.

Prerequisites for migrating photos

Before we begin moving photos, let's review some key information and requirements:

• Have a Google Drive account - You need to have photos stored in Google Drive currently to transfer them out.
• Have a Dropbox account - You need an active Dropbox account to move the photos into.
• Install Dropbox app on computer - The easiest way to move photos is by installing the Dropbox desktop app on your Windows or Mac computer.
• Have internet access - An active internet connection is required on the computer to transfer files between cloud services.
• Free up Dropbox space - Check that you have enough free Dropbox storage space to receive the photos from Google Drive. You may need to delete or move files out of Dropbox to make room.

Step-by-step guide to move photos

Once you've verified the prerequisites above, follow these steps to start moving photos from Google Drive to Dropbox:

1. Open Google Drive and select the photos

• Go to drive.google.com in your web browser and log into your Google account.

  

• Navigate to the folder containing the photos you want to move.
• Select the photos - Click the box beside each photo thumbnail to select it. You can use Shift/Ctrl click to select multiple photos easily.

2. Download the photo files to your computer

• With the photo files selected, click the three vertical dots icon → Download.
• Choose where to download the files on your computer. We suggest creating a new folder for the Google Drive photos, for example "Google Drive Photo Export".
• The photos will download as individual files to your selected download location.

3. Open the Dropbox desktop app

• Open the Dropbox app installed on your computer.
• Log into your Dropbox account in the app if required.

4. Import photos into Dropbox

• In the Dropbox app, click the Add File button.
• Navigate to the folder where you downloaded the photo files from Google Drive.
• Select all the photos and click Open to import them into Dropbox.

5. Verify import and remove from Google Drive

• Go back to dropbox.com in your web browser to confirm the photos were imported successfully.

  

• If verified, you can now delete the photo files in your Google Drive account to complete the transfer process.

Quick Tip to ensure your videos never go missing

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Simply Download PicBackMan (it's free!), register your account, connect to your online store and tell PicBackMan where your videos are - PicBackMan does the rest, automatically. It bulk uploads all videos and keeps looking for new ones and uploads those too. You don't have to ever touch it.

Alternative methods to transfer photos

The above steps using the Dropbox desktop app provide the easiest and quickest way to move photos from Google Drive to Dropbox. However, there are couple of other ways to achieve the transfer:

Use cloud transfer services

Specialty cloud file transfer services like Multcloud and CloudHQ can copy files directly between Google Drive and Dropbox without having to download and re-upload. These services offer free and paid plans.

Download directly from Google Takeout

You can use Google Takeout to export your Google Drive files to your computer as a ZIP file or other format, then manually import the photos into Dropbox. This avoids downloading individual files.

Tips for a successful Google Drive to Dropbox photo transfer

Follow these tips for the smoothest experience moving your photos:

• Double check you have enough free space in Dropbox before starting.
• Transfer in batches if moving a very large number of photos.
• Keep the software updated on your computer and mobile apps.
• Use strong and stable Wifi or wired internet connection.
• Once verified, delete the photos in Google Drive to free up your space.
• Consider enabling 2-factor authentication on both Google and Dropbox for security.

Conclusion

Moving your photos from Google Drive to Dropbox is straightforward following the simple workflow of downloading from Google Drive and uploading to Dropbox via the desktop app or web browser.

With these step-by-step instructions, required prerequisites, advanced alternative options, and answers to common questions, you should feel fully equipped to easily and successfully migrate your photos between the two popular cloud storage platforms.

Common questions about migrating photos (FAQ)

Here are answers to some frequently asked questions about transferring photos from Google Drive to Dropbox:

How long does it take to transfer photos between Google Drive and Dropbox?

The time required depends on your internet speeds and the number/size of files. For example, 100 photos with an average size of 2MB each may take 15-20 minutes in ideal conditions. Larger transfers will take longer.

Will my Google Photos library transfer to Dropbox automatically?

No, there isn't a direct sync between Google Photos library and Dropbox Photos. You need to manually select and move the photos as outlined in the steps above.

What happens to the photos still in Google Drive after the transfer?

The photos will still remain in your Google Drive account after the transfer. It's recommended to remove them in Google Drive to free up your space after confirming they copied correctly into Dropbox.

Does Dropbox have any file size limits when transferring from Google Drive?

Dropbox has a file size limit of 150 GB per file. So you cannot directly transfer any individual photo larger than this limit, but most photos will fall well below this size.

Will the photos retain their original quality during the transfer process?

Yes, photos will keep their original resolution and image quality when transferred as long as you download and upload using the steps above. Compression typically only occurs if you email or message the files.

Is there an easy way to transfer my photo albums or folder structure between Google Drive and Dropbox?

Unfortunately there is no direct way to retain the album or folder structure between services. You would have to manually recreate the structure in Dropbox after the transferring the photos.

What about videos in Google Drive? Can I also move them to Dropbox?

Yes, the process is the same. Simply select the videos in Google Drive, download to your computer, then upload to Dropbox. Videos and photos can be moved at the same time.