Guide

How to move your files from Google Drive to iCloud

Apple doesn't let outside services write into iCloud Drive, and Google's own export tool can send your files to Dropbox, OneDrive or Box — but not to iCloud. That leaves exactly two honest options, both of which go through your own computer. Here's how each one works, and what won't come across.

Updated September 2026 · Applies to personal Google accounts and iCloud / iCloud+

First, a detail that decides everything

Google Docs, Sheets and Slides are not files. They live on Google's servers and have nothing to copy — a Doc is zero bytes on disk. Before you move, decide what they should become: Word, Excel and PowerPoint (editable, safe choice) or PDF (fixed, good for archiving). Google Takeout does this conversion for you automatically.

Everything else — photos, videos, PDFs, Office files, zip archives — copies across unchanged.

Then, pick your method

Method 1 — Google Takeout, then upload to iCloud

1. Open takeout.google.com, click Deselect all, then tick only Drive.
2. Under Drive's options, choose what Docs, Sheets and Slides should become — Office formats or PDF.
3. For destination pick Send download link via email. iCloud isn't offered as a destination, so a plain download is the way.
4. Wait. Google emails you when the archive is ready; for a large Drive this can take hours or a day.
5. Download and unzip on your computer.
6. Open icloud.com/iclouddrive and drag the folders in, or drop them into the iCloud Drive folder on your Mac or PC.

Method 2 — Both folders on one computer

Quicker to start and easier to resume if something breaks.

1. Install Google Drive for desktop and sign in. Set your files to be available offline so they're really on the disk, not just listed.
2. On a Mac, iCloud Drive is already in Finder. On Windows, install iCloud for Windows.
3. Copy folders from the Google Drive folder into the iCloud Drive folder and let it upload.

Check your iCloud space first. A free Apple account gets 5 GB — enough for almost nothing. iCloud+ plans go 50 GB, 200 GB, 2 TB, 6 TB and 12 TB. If your Drive is bigger than your iCloud plan, the copy will stop partway and iCloud won't make a fuss about it.

Your computer needs to stay on and awake for the whole copy. On a laptop, plug it in and turn off sleep.

Photos are a separate job — and there's a proper tool

Google Photos is not part of Google Drive and doesn't come along with it. But Google runs a dedicated transfer service that copies your Google Photos library straight to iCloud Photos, without either library passing through your computer. Start it from your Google account's data settings and choose Apple iCloud as the destination. It's free, it's first-party, and it's by far the best way to move photos in this direction.

What doesn't come across

• Sharing links — every Google Drive link you'd sent stops working. You'll share again from iCloud.
• Shared with me — files someone else owns aren't yours. Ask the owner to share again, or make a copy into your own Drive before exporting.
• Comments and suggestions in Google Docs — the text arrives, the discussion around it doesn't.
• Version history — only the current version of each file is exported.
• Google Forms and Sites — these have no equivalent file. Export the responses as a spreadsheet and keep that instead.

What DriveFerry can and can't do here

We can't move files into iCloud — nobody can, and we'd rather say so than sell you something that doesn't exist. What we do handle is Google Drive, OneDrive and Dropbox: connect both sides, copy directly between them, and send a report showing what arrived. If your move is between those three, we can take it off your hands.

Before you delete anything from Google Drive

Open a handful of files in iCloud and confirm they really open. Check that your exported Docs became readable Word or PDF files. Then wait a week before deleting anything from Google.