Google Drive to OneDrive and SharePoint Migration: The Complete Guide

• Last updated: 03 November 2026
• Migration,OneDrive for Business
• Editorial Team

Google Drive to OneDrive migration used to mean downloading a zip file and uploading it again. Many guides still say so, including the earlier version of this one, which told readers that neither Google nor Microsoft offers a built-in way to move files between the two. That is no longer true. Microsoft’s Migration Manager now copies Google Drive content directly into OneDrive and SharePoint, converts Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides into Office files, and, with the right settings, carries permissions and older versions along. It is free, built into the Microsoft 365 admin center, and has a simplified version for smaller businesses.

What it doesn’t do is plan your migration for you. The details that decide whether a Google Drive move goes smoothly are the ones most guides skip: where shared drives should land, how groups map, why permissions may not follow by default, and which files never move at all. This guide covers all of them for both OneDrive and SharePoint destinations, checked against Microsoft’s current documentation. If you are still weighing the move, our full OneDrive vs Google Drive comparison covers the differences.

Why Migrate from Google Drive to OneDrive and SharePoint?

Organizations move from Google Drive to OneDrive and SharePoint to consolidate file storage under the Microsoft 365 subscription they already pay for, edit documents natively in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, and keep files next to their Teams conversations and Exchange mail. Many businesses start on Google Drive because it comes free with a Gmail mailbox, then outgrow the arrangement as they standardize on Microsoft 365.

• One platform. Files, mail, calendar, chat, and meetings sit in one subscription instead of two.
• Native Office editing. Teams work in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint with real-time co-authoring, rather than converting formats back and forth.
• Teams and SharePoint integration. Files shared in a Teams channel already live in a SharePoint site, and personal working files live in OneDrive.
• Files On-Demand. OneDrive can keep files in the cloud and download them only when needed, which saves local disk space on Windows devices.
• One compliance framework. Microsoft Purview applies retention, eDiscovery, and data loss prevention across files, email, and chat.

Storage is rarely the obstacle. Most business plans include 1 TB of OneDrive storage per user, and admins can raise that to a hard ceiling of 5 TB following Microsoft’s September 2026 change, so it is worth checking OneDrive storage and plans before you migrate very large accounts.

Does Microsoft Have a Free Google Drive to OneDrive Migration Tool?

Yes. Migration Manager is Microsoft’s free, admin-led tool for migrating Google Workspace files, metadata, and permissions into OneDrive and SharePoint, and Microsoft’s own FAQ names it as the tool to use for Google content. It copies content and never deletes anything in Google Drive.

You reach it in the Microsoft 365 admin center under Setup, then Migration resources, then Self-service migration and import tools, where you choose Google Workspace. On the Microsoft side, you need to be a OneDrive or SharePoint admin, a user with the Microsoft 365 Migration Administrator role, or a Global admin, and Microsoft recommends using the role with the fewest permissions. On the Google side, you need a Google Workspace administrator account that can install and authorize the Microsoft 365 migration app and access the drives you plan to move.

Smaller businesses get a shortcut. Migration Manager Lite is a simplified version that is enabled by default when a migration project is created in a tenant with fewer than 300 Microsoft 365 licenses. It condenses the workflow into a guided setup that still covers task selection, destinations, identity mapping, and settings, and it can provision users’ OneDrives automatically, which the standard experience does not. If your organization is government-hosted, check Microsoft’s specialty environments support page, since availability differs there.

What Do You Need Before You Start?

You need the right admin accounts on both sides, destination users who are ready to receive content, and a clear decision on migration settings, because those settings determine how permissions and versions behave. A short preparation pass prevents most failed files. Our broader migration checklist covers the surrounding project.

• Admin access on both sides. A Google Workspace admin who can install and authorize the migration app, and a Microsoft 365 admin with one of the migration roles.
• Ready destination users. Users should exist and be licensed in Microsoft 365, and in the standard experience their OneDrives need to be provisioned before migration. Lite provisions them for you.
• Groups for shared drives. Recreate a Microsoft 365 group with the same memberships as each Google group that controls a shared drive.
• Settings decided in advance. Choose whether to migrate file-level permissions and older file versions, and designate a Forms destination if you have Google Forms.
• Drive and Docs enabled. Make sure the service is turned on for the users you migrate. Authentication failures during migration can trace back to it.
• Cleanup. Look for orphaned files, restricted files, destination paths over 400 characters, and drives with a slash in the name, all of which cause trouble later.
• A pilot group. Pick a few users, including one with a shared drive, to test the whole flow first.

How Do You Migrate Google Drive to OneDrive, Step by Step?

You connect Migration Manager to Google, scan the drives, add them to the migration list, review destinations, map identities and permissions, and then migrate and monitor. Microsoft describes the standard workflow as six steps.

• Connect to Google. Sign in with a Google Workspace administrator account that can install and authorize the Microsoft 365 migration app from the Google Workspace Marketplace and access the drives you plan to migrate.
• Scan and assess. Add the Google drives you want to move for scanning, then download the scan reports to find issues that could block the migration.
• Copy to the migrations list. Once a drive shows as Ready to migrate, add it to your migration list.
• Review destination paths. Migration Manager maps each source path to a matching destination automatically. Review every one so content lands in the right OneDrive or SharePoint location.
• Map identities and review permission settings. Map Google domains, groups, and users to their Microsoft 365 counterparts, and review the permission settings, because identity mapping alone does not turn on file-level permission migration.
• Migrate and monitor. Start the migration and watch its progress. After the first run completes, selecting Migrate again performs a delta sync that copies only new or changed files.

For most personal drives, the destination is simply the matching user’s OneDrive, and Migration Manager proposes that automatically. The review step matters more than it looks: it is your last easy chance to catch a drive heading to the wrong place before content lands there.

How Do You Migrate Google Drive to SharePoint, Including Shared Drives?

Google shared drives belong in SharePoint sites, not individual OneDrives, and Migration Manager can send them there as long as you set up the destination and the group mapping before you start. This is the part of a Google Drive migration that most guides skip.

Google Content	Best Destination	Why
My Drive, personal files	The user’s OneDrive	Owned by one person and tied to their account
Shared drives, team-owned	A SharePoint team site or library	Owned by the team, so it survives staff turnover
Content tied to a team	A Teams-connected SharePoint site	Keeps files next to the conversation
Access controlled by a Google group	A matching Microsoft 365 group	Lets permissions map across

Migrating shared drive permissions correctly takes three preparation steps from Microsoft:

• Recreate the group. Create a Microsoft 365 group with the same memberships as the Google group, or edit the group linked to the team site you designate as the destination.
• Map it. In the identity mapping step, map the original Google group to the Microsoft 365 group you just prepared.
• Review permission settings. Confirm your file-level permission choices, and note the source root-folder exception that applies when a SharePoint library root is the destination.

If a destination site doesn’t exist yet, Migration Manager can provision it before the migration starts. If you can’t find a site while assigning destinations, remember that SharePoint admins only see sites where they are at least a member, new sites can take a couple of hours to appear, and you can upload destinations by CSV instead. Our comparison of where OneDrive ends and SharePoint begins helps you decide what belongs where.

What Converts, and What Doesn’t Move?

Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides convert to Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, Google Forms migrate to a destination you choose, and several items, including Google Sites, Google Maps, shortcuts, and orphaned files, do not move at all. The Google Export API handles the conversion, and the original files in Google Drive are unaffected.

• Converted. Documents become .docx, spreadsheets become .xlsx, and presentations become .pptx. Complex formatting or embedded objects are worth a spot check afterward.
• Forms and Drawings. Google Forms migrate, but a Forms destination must be designated. Google Drawings are saved as PNG files by default.
• Not migrated. Google Sites and Google Maps can’t be exported from Drive. Our guide to moving Google Sites to SharePoint covers that separate project.
• Skipped. Shortcut files, restricted files, orphaned files that sit outside any folder, files over 250 GB, and anything whose destination path exceeds 400 characters.
• Renamed. Files with the same name in the same folder get suffixes such as (1) and (2).
• Not supported. Two drives with the same name, where only the first discovered is migrated, and drive names that contain a slash.

One trap deserves its own warning. Unsupported files generate item-level errors but do not change the final status of a task, so a migration can finish as Completed even though some files didn’t move. Always read the reports instead of trusting the green status.

What Happens to Permissions, Sharing Links, and File Versions?

Folder permissions migrate by default, but file-level permissions are off unless you enable them, only the latest file version is copied unless you change the setting, and external sharing links are never recreated. Each of these is a setting or a limit you need to know before you press Migrate.

• Permissions. With file-level permission migration off, files inherit the permissions of their destination folder. Turn it on in Project settings if you need migrated files to be shared with exactly the same people as before, and verify the resulting access rather than assuming identity mapping preserved every permission.
• Timing of permissions. Permissions are migrated along with files. In a delta sync, they are updated only when the corresponding files are transferred, so a permission-only change might not move on its own.
• Versions. Migration Manager supports version migration, but copies only the most recent version by default. Configure the file versions setting in Project Settings or the task settings if you need older versions, and check the history at the destination before retiring Google.
• External sharing. External sharing links are not recreated, and content is not shared with external collaborators, a policy that prevents sensitive data from being shared with guests automatically. Recreate those links manually and tell outside partners where files moved.
• Notifications. Email notifications for migration progress can be customized.

How Do Delta Syncs and Cutover Work?

After a task completes once, selecting Migrate again runs a delta sync that compares the destination with the source and copies only new or changed files, which lets you migrate in the background and then catch up before cutover. It also means you shouldn’t rearrange anything mid-migration.

• Default behavior. New or updated source files transfer, and a destination file with a newer modification time isn’t overwritten, even if the source was also edited.
• Renames cause duplicates. Rename a migrated destination folder, or a source folder, and a later run can copy the content again under the other path, leaving both copies. Microsoft recommends making major structural changes before or after migration, not during.
• Overwrite mode. An option exists to migrate all files and overwrite existing destination files. It can carry permission changes with unchanged content, but it also overwrites any edits made at the destination.
• Source stays intact. Migration Manager copies rather than moves, so Google Drive is untouched until you retire it.

A sensible cutover looks like this: run the initial migration well ahead of time, run one or more delta syncs as users keep working, tell everyone when Google Drive goes read-only, run a final delta sync, verify the reports, and only then retire Google.

Is There Another Way? Manual Downloads, Extensions, and Third-Party Tools

Yes, but the alternatives trade scale and fidelity for simplicity: manual downloads work for a handful of files, browser extensions work user by user, and third-party tools add control that Migration Manager doesn’t. For most organizations Migration Manager is the right starting point.

• Manual download and upload. A user downloads files from Google Drive, often as a zip file, and uploads them to OneDrive. It is simple, but it works one person at a time, loses sharing and permissions, and becomes cumbersome beyond a few folders.
• Browser extensions. Web-based extensions can sync a Google Drive with OneDrive and sometimes schedule it. They also work at the user level, and may not suit every browser, device, or operating system.
• Third-party tools. Dedicated migration platforms can offer finer control over scheduling, permissions, and metadata, and some centralize a whole Google Workspace move. Capabilities and pricing vary a lot by vendor, so test any shortlisted tool against your own requirements.

What Are the Most Common Google Drive Migration Mistakes?

The most common mistakes are assuming permissions follow automatically, trusting a green task status, and rearranging folders while the migration is running. Nearly all of them come from skipped preparation.

• Assuming permissions came across. File-level permissions are off by default, so files simply inherit folder permissions.
• Trusting a green status. Unsupported files don’t change the final task status, so check the detailed reports.
• Skipping the group setup for shared drives. Without a matching Microsoft 365 group and a mapped identity, shared drive access won’t translate properly.
• Rearranging during migration. Renames and moves look like new content to the delta sync and create duplicates.
• Forgetting external sharing. External links aren’t recreated, so outside collaborators lose access without warning.
• Ignoring orphaned and restricted files. They aren’t scanned or are excluded, and nobody notices until a user asks where a file went.
• Missing the Forms destination. Google Forms need one to migrate.
• Leaving Drive and Docs off. Authentication failures can trace back to the service being disabled for some users.
• Skipping the pilot. A few users would have exposed most of these problems cheaply.

How Long Does a Google Drive to OneDrive Migration Take?

It depends on data volume, file counts, and the number of users, so a handful of users can finish in days while hundreds typically take several weeks including planning and validation. The table below is a planning estimate, not a Microsoft figure, so pilot a small group first to measure your real throughput.

Users	Typical Project Length
Under 25	2 to 5 business days
25 to 250	1 to 3 weeks
250 to 1,000	3 to 6 weeks
1,000+	6 to 12 weeks or more

Large drives, many shared drives and groups, heavy sharing, and strict change windows push a project toward the top of its range.

Should You Do It Yourself or Use a Managed Migration?

Do it yourself when you are moving a small number of users with simple sharing, and use a managed migration when you have shared drives and groups to map, need permissions or versions preserved, or can’t afford failed files.

Situation	DIY Is Fine When	Managed Makes Sense When
Small team, personal drives	A few users, simple sharing, time to monitor	You can’t spare the admin time
Shared drives and groups	A handful, with clear ownership	Many drives, nested groups, or unclear ownership
Permissions and versions	Inherited folder permissions are acceptable	File-level permissions or older versions must be preserved
Deadline and risk	Flexible timing	A hard cutover, or compliance requirements

If you are weighing options for a larger project, our migration services cover every layer.

Is This Part of a Bigger Google Workspace Move?

Drive is usually one piece of a larger project. Mail, calendar, and contacts follow a different path, covered in our guide to the full Google Workspace migration, and Google Groups have their own challenges, covered in our walkthrough of moving Google Groups to Microsoft 365. If you also need to consolidate other storage services, we have guides for Dropbox and Box, and once everyone is in Microsoft 365, our OneDrive to OneDrive guide covers moving content between accounts later.

How Does Apps4Rent Help with Google Drive Migration?

Apps4Rent plans and runs the full migration, from assessing your drives and shared drives to cutover and validation, so permissions, groups, and deadlines are handled as one project instead of a series of manual copies. Google Drive and OneDrive use different file formats, permission models, and naming conventions, which is exactly where a first-time migration goes wrong.

• Assessment. A review of drive sizes, shared drives, groups, sharing, restricted and orphaned files, and long paths.
• Design. Deciding what lands in OneDrive, what becomes SharePoint sites, and how groups and permissions map.
• Settings and preparation. Choosing permission and version settings, setting up the groups and destinations, and getting users and licenses in order.
• Pilot and migration. A pilot first, then controlled waves with delta syncs ahead of cutover.
• Validation and support. Reports reviewed, results checked before Google is retired, and 24/7 phone, chat, and email support throughout.

FAQs About Google Drive to OneDrive and SharePoint Migration

1. Does Microsoft have a free tool to migrate Google Drive to OneDrive?

   Yes. Migration Manager, built into the Microsoft 365 admin center, copies Google Drive files, metadata, and permissions into OneDrive and SharePoint at no additional license cost. Microsoft’s own FAQ names it as the tool to use for migrating Google content, and it never deletes your source files.

2. How do I migrate Google Drive to SharePoint?

   Use Migration Manager and assign a SharePoint site or library as the destination for each Google shared drive. Before you start, recreate a Microsoft 365 group with the same memberships as the Google group and map the two in the identity mapping step, so shared drive permissions come across correctly.

3. Are Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides converted when I migrate?

   Yes. During migration, the Google Export API converts Google Docs to Word (.docx), Google Sheets to Excel (.xlsx), and Google Slides to PowerPoint (.pptx). The original files in Google Drive are not affected.

4. Can I migrate Google shared drives to SharePoint or Teams?

   Yes. Shared drives can be migrated to SharePoint team sites or libraries, including sites linked to Teams. Plan the destination structure first, and prepare the matching Microsoft 365 group so permissions map correctly.

5. Does the migration keep permissions and sharing?

   Folder permissions are migrated by default, but file-level permission migration is off by default, so files otherwise inherit their destination folder’s permissions. External sharing links are not recreated and external collaborators are not shared on migrated content, so recreate those manually.

6. Does Migration Manager keep Google Drive file version history?

   Version migration is supported, but by default only the most recent version of each file is copied. To retain older versions, configure the file versions setting in Project Settings or the task settings before you migrate, and verify the history at the destination before you retire Google.

7. Can I merge Google Drive and OneDrive?

   No. The two services can’t be merged. You migrate by copying content from Google Drive into OneDrive or SharePoint, and Migration Manager copies rather than moves, so your Google files stay in place until you decide to retire them.

8. What can’t Migration Manager migrate from Google Drive?

   Google Sites and Google Maps are not migrated, shortcut files are skipped, restricted files and orphaned files are not migrated, and files over 250 GB or with destination paths over 400 characters are excluded. Google Forms do migrate, but they need a Forms destination.

9. How long does a Google Drive to OneDrive migration take?

   It depends on data volume and the number of users: a handful of users can finish in days, while hundreds of users typically take several weeks including planning and validation. Pilot a small group first to measure real throughput.

10. When should I use a managed migration instead of doing it myself?

    Consider a managed migration when you are moving many users, have shared drives and groups to map, need file-level permissions or older versions preserved, or can’t afford failed files. Apps4Rent plans, runs, and validates the whole project as one engagement.