Copy New Files From Google Drive to Dropbox Automatically

TL;DR: To have every new file in a Google Drive folder also appear in a Dropbox folder (or any direction between Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive and SharePoint), the best tool in 2026 is The Drive AI: a workflow watches the folder, copies each new file across, and can rename and sort it on the way, with nothing to maintain. Zapier does a plain copy per task. If edits and deletions must be mirrored both ways, you want a sync service, cloudHQ or MultCloud. To move everything once, use a migration tool instead.

Every claim in this guide links to its source, and prices were checked on October 14, 2026.

Disclosure: The Drive AI publishes this guide and is one of the tools ranked.

The usual reason for this is a team that works in one cloud and clients or partners who live in another. Deliverables are saved to a Google Drive folder, and the client expects them in a shared Dropbox folder. Someone downloads and re-uploads them every Friday, and occasionally forgets.

Copy, sync or migrate: which do you need?

Three jobs get called "syncing", and the right tool depends on which one you have:

• Copy new files across. Files land in one place and should also appear in another. Nobody edits the copy. This is the most common need, and the one this guide ranks.
• Two-way sync. Both sides are edited, and edits and deletions on either side must appear on the other. That needs a sync service.
• Migrate once. You're leaving one cloud for another and want everything moved, with permissions. That needs a migration tool.

What is the best tool to copy new files between cloud drives automatically?

1. The Drive AI

What it is: our own product. A workflow watches a folder in Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive or SharePoint (or on a Mac, PC or NAS) and, when a file is added or changed, saves a copy to a folder in another connected account, creating the folder if it's missing. (How workflows work)

When a new file lands in Google Drive /Clients/Acme/Deliverables, copy it to Dropbox /Acme shared/Deliverables.

• On the way across: the same workflow can read the file and rename it, or route it to a different folder by what it is, so the client's folder arrives organized.
• Duplicates: a file whose exact content is already there is skipped, or kept beside it, as you choose. An edited file arrives as a new copy beside the old one; it doesn't overwrite it.
• What it doesn't do: it copies one way, and deleting the original doesn't delete the copy. For a true mirror, see the sync services below.
• Google Docs arrive as Word, Excel or PowerPoint files, since a Google Doc has no file of its own to copy.
• Existing files: the agent copies a folder that's already there in one request, up to 2,000 files or 2 GB at a time.
• Price: workflows on connected drives need the Max plan or any Team plan; Max is $99.99 a month and includes 1,000 workflow files a month. (Plans)

Best for: teams sending files from the cloud they work in to the cloud a client uses, filed properly, without a weekly chore.

2. Zapier

What it is: Google Drive's "New File in Folder" trigger, which can optionally include subfolders, feeding Dropbox's "Upload File" action, or the equivalent for OneDrive and other drives. (Zapier)

• Price: free for 100 tasks a month with 15-minute checks; Pro from $19.99 a month billed yearly for 750 tasks. Each copied file is roughly one task. (Zapier pricing)
• Where it falls short: the name and folder come from template fields, not from the file, and cost grows with volume.

Best for: a plain one-folder copy at low volume, or one step in a bigger automation.

3. cloudHQ

What it is: continuous sync between cloud accounts. Free for personal use with throttling; Premium is $149 a year for one user, and Business, which adds SharePoint, is $399 a year for three users. (cloudHQ)

Best for: keeping two folders mirrored both ways over time.

4. MultCloud

What it is: a web service for cloud-to-cloud transfer and sync, with real-time and two-way sync modes on every plan. Free for 5 GB of transfer a month; $19.99 a month for 100 GB, $119 a year unlimited, or $249 for life. (MultCloud)

Best for: personal accounts that need a mirror, at a low price.

5. rclone

What it is: a free, open-source command-line tool that copies and syncs between almost any storage, including SharePoint libraries; run it on a schedule to copy what's new. Google Docs are exported as Office files by default. (rclone)

Best for: technical people who'll run and maintain a scheduled job.

Need edits and deletions mirrored both ways?

Then you need sync, not a copy. cloudHQ and MultCloud keep two folders the same in both directions, so an edit or a deletion on one side appears on the other. Before turning that on, decide which side wins when both are edited, and remember that a deletion syncs too: a mistake on one side becomes a mistake on both.

Moving everything to another cloud once?

That's a migration, and the tools are different:

• Into Microsoft 365 from Google, Dropbox or Box: Microsoft's Migration Manager, in the SharePoint admin center. It converts Google files to Office formats, can carry permissions if you turn it on, and copies what changed when you run it again. (Microsoft Learn)
• Into Google Workspace from OneDrive, SharePoint or Dropbox: Google's data import, at no additional cost on most business editions; Dropbox is supported for organizations of up to 100 users. (Google Workspace Updates)
• Any other direction: Movebot charges at most $0.75 per GB, with permission mapping and delta passes. (Movebot)

Whatever you use, move one real test folder first, with a mix of Google Docs, large files and long paths. OneDrive and SharePoint reject some characters (" * : < > ? / \ |) and paths over 400 characters. (Microsoft Support)

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I automatically copy files from Google Drive to Dropbox?

Use a tool that watches the Google Drive folder and uploads each new file to Dropbox. The Drive AI does it with a workflow that can also rename and sort the files on the way; Zapier does it with a New File in Folder trigger and an Upload File action, at about one task per file.

Can Google Drive sync with Dropbox?

Not by itself: neither has a built-in way to sync with the other. To copy new files one way, use a workflow tool such as The Drive AI or Zapier. To mirror edits and deletions both ways, use a sync service such as cloudHQ or MultCloud.

Does deleting a file in Google Drive delete the copy in Dropbox?

With a copy workflow, no: each copy is independent, which is usually what you want when sending files to a client. With two-way sync, yes, which is why sync needs more care.

What happens to Google Docs when they're copied to Dropbox?

They're exported, usually as Word, Excel or PowerPoint files, because Google Docs aren't stored as files. The copy in Dropbox is a regular Office file and doesn't stay linked to the Google Doc.

What's the best way to move all my files from Dropbox to SharePoint?

For a company, Microsoft's Migration Manager, which Microsoft 365 admins run from the SharePoint admin center to move Dropbox into SharePoint and OneDrive. For a few folders, an agent such as The Drive AI copies them in one request each.

Start with one folder

Set up the copy for the one folder that causes the Friday chore, check a week of files on the other side, then add the next.

More rankings in this series: AI file organizers for Mac, NAS and cloud drives, MCP servers for Google Drive, OneDrive and Dropbox and saving email attachments automatically.