How to Download Everything From Google Drive
Google Drive makes it easy to store files in the cloud — but getting everything back onto your device, especially all at once, takes a bit more than just clicking a single button. Whether you're switching accounts, backing up your data, or moving to a different storage platform, here's exactly how the process works and what affects how smoothly it goes.
The Two Main Methods for Downloading Everything
Method 1: Download Directly From Google Drive
For smaller collections of files, Google Drive's built-in download feature works well:
- Open drive.google.com in a browser
- Click on any file or folder, or press Ctrl+A (Windows) / Cmd+A (Mac) to select everything in the current view
- Right-click and choose Download
Google Drive will automatically compress your selected files into a .zip archive and begin the download. For a full account download, you'd need to select everything across all folders — which can be tricky if your Drive is organized into many nested folders. This method works, but it's manual and fragmented if your storage is large or deeply organized.
Method 2: Google Takeout (The Recommended Full-Account Approach) 📦
Google Takeout is Google's official data export tool, and it's the most complete way to download your entire Drive at once.
Here's how it works:
- Go to takeout.google.com
- Deselect all services, then scroll down and select Google Drive
- Choose your export format — you can keep files in their original format or convert Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides to Microsoft Office formats (.docx, .xlsx, .pptx) or PDF
- Select your delivery method (download link via email, or send directly to Dropbox, OneDrive, or Box)
- Choose file size limits per archive (1 GB, 2 GB, up to 50 GB chunks)
- Click Create Export
Google will prepare your archive in the background — this can take minutes to hours depending on your total storage size — and then email you a download link. Large exports are split across multiple zip files automatically.
What Affects How Long This Takes
Several variables determine how fast or slow your export will be:
| Factor | Impact |
|---|---|
| Total storage used | More data = longer processing time |
| Number of files | Thousands of small files can take longer than fewer large ones |
| File types | Google Docs/Sheets/Slides need to be converted, adding time |
| Google's server load | Peak times may slow export queuing |
| Your internet speed | Affects download time once the archive is ready |
| Archive size limit set | Smaller chunk sizes = more files to download separately |
Google Workspace Files vs. Regular Files
This distinction matters more than most people expect.
Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Forms are not stored as traditional files — they exist natively in Google's format with no direct file equivalent on your hard drive. When you download or export them, they must be converted into a portable format like .docx, .pdf, or .csv.
Regular uploaded files — PDFs, images, videos, Word documents you uploaded — download exactly as they are, without conversion.
If your Drive is heavy with native Google Workspace documents, expect your Takeout archive to be larger and take longer, and be aware that some formatting may shift slightly during conversion depending on the complexity of the document.
Using Google Drive for Desktop
If you use Google Drive for Desktop (the sync app for Windows and Mac), your Drive files may already be partially or fully mirrored on your local machine depending on how you've configured it.
- Mirror mode keeps a full local copy of everything — your files are already on your device
- Stream mode keeps files in the cloud and downloads them on demand — local copies may be incomplete
If you're already in Mirror mode, you may not need to export anything at all — your local Drive folder essentially is your downloaded backup. You can check your sync settings within the Drive for Desktop app.
Mobile Devices: A Different Situation 📱
Downloading your entire Drive from a phone or tablet isn't practical. The Google Drive mobile app supports individual file and folder downloads, but there's no bulk "download everything" option within the app. For a full account export, you'll need a desktop browser or the Drive for Desktop app.
Shared Files and Shared Drives
One detail that catches people off guard: files shared with you (but not owned by you) are not included in a Google Takeout export. Takeout only exports files you own.
If you need copies of shared files:
- Open each shared file and use File > Make a Copy to add it to your own Drive first
- Then run your export
For users on Google Workspace (business or school accounts), access to Takeout may be restricted by your administrator. If Takeout is grayed out or unavailable, that's likely why.
File Size and Storage Realities
A 15 GB Google Drive account doesn't necessarily produce a 15 GB download. Native Google Docs files consume minimal storage quota but expand significantly when converted to .docx or .pdf. Conversely, videos and high-resolution photos take up exactly as much space as they do on Drive.
How your storage is composed — whether it's mostly documents, media files, or a mix — meaningfully changes what your final downloaded archive looks like in terms of size, number of files, and folder structure. 🗂️
Knowing your own breakdown before starting an export helps you plan for storage space on your destination device or drive.