Google's built-in Data Migration service moves Microsoft SharePoint Online sites, files, folders, and permissions directly into Google Shared Drives, up to 100 sites at a time. The native tool copies the data. Designing the Shared Drive structure and mapping permissions correctly is the work that determines whether the migration lands clean or stalls.

Moving files off SharePoint is where a lot of Microsoft-to-Google migrations get stuck, because file migration is genuinely harder than email migration. Email is standardized, so it moves predictably. SharePoint carries years of nested sites, inherited permissions, and folder structures nobody fully understands anymore. The move is very doable, but it rewards planning rather than just copying everything across as it sits.

Can you migrate SharePoint to Google Drive?

Yes, and as of 2025 Google does this natively. The New Data Migration service, built into the Google Admin console, migrates SharePoint Online sites, including document libraries, folders, files, and their permissions, straight into Google Shared Drives. It handles up to 100 sites in a single run and supports delta updates to catch files that change mid-migration, and the whole process runs in the cloud once a super administrator sets it up. What the tool does not do is decide how your files should be organized on the other side, and that is the part that actually determines whether the move is a success.

How do SharePoint document libraries map to Google Drive?

When the move is planned properly, here is how the pieces line up:

  • Each SharePoint Online site becomes a Google Shared Drive, which you set up first
  • Personal OneDrive files move into each person's My Drive
  • Your folders move over exactly as they are now, so nothing gets jumbled together
  • You decide how the new Shared Drives should be organized before the move, instead of sorting it out on the fly

That last point is what separates a smooth migration from a mess. Copying years of SharePoint clutter over exactly as it sits just moves the problem to a new place. Deciding how the Shared Drives should be laid out first is how a growing team comes out of the move more organized than it went in.

What happens to permissions?

SharePoint and Google Drive secure files in fundamentally different ways, so permissions are re-mapped rather than copied verbatim. Access groups become Google Groups, and Shared Drive membership replaces SharePoint's site-level permissions. This is deliberate work, and it is usually an upgrade, because most SharePoint permission models have drifted into a tangle of one-off shares over the years. The migration is the moment to reset it properly.

The risk to plan around. The two ways a SharePoint migration goes wrong are lost version history and broken permissions discovered weeks later. Both are prevented the same way: a pilot migration on one site first, validation that files and access match, then the full move. Rushing straight to a full copy is how teams lose data they only notice they needed much later.

How long does it take, and what does it cost?

Most small business file migrations finish inside the same 2 to 4 week window as a full Google Workspace move, and each migration includes up to 1 TB of data allocated for the transfer. Pricing follows the standard model of $750 plus $100 per mailbox; the full breakdown is in the migration cost guide.