Easy & Free | How to Upload Files to Google Drive via FTP

Quick Search:

• What is FTP or SFTP?
• Benefits of Uploading Files to Google Drive via FTP\SFTP
• Easiest Way: Upload Files to Google Drive via FTP | MultCloud
• Free Way: Upload Files to Google Drive via FTP | FileZilla
• Summary
• FAQs

What is FTP or SFTP?

Both Google Drive and FTP/SFTP are powerful services to do cloud backup. Before we introduce the best way to upload files to Google Drive with FTP\SFTP, we should know enough about FTP and SFTP:

Benefits of Uploading Files to Google Drive via FTP\SFTP

FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is a commonly-used tool for transferring files and Google Drive is a space to store data safely, so many people are willing to upload files to Google Drive via FTP. And, people can get several benefits:

Easiest Way: Upload Files to Google Drive via FTP | MultCloud

How to achieve this goal? Considering all the inconvenience, it's recommended you try another way to directly FTP\SFTP access to Google Drive - that is to use MultCloud. It allows you to add as many cloud storage services as possible here, including but not limited to FTP\SFTP and Google Drive, then you don't need to download content from one and upload to another since all work is done in the browser with MultCloud. Therefore, even if FTP\SFTP access is unavailable to Google Drive, you can still easily upload files via FTP to Google Drive with MultCloud.

✨Integration: Easily integrate FTP\SFTP and popular cloud storage accounts.
✨Fast: Quickly transfer files between FTP\SFTP and cloud accounts.
✨Automatic: Scheduled transfer across different accounts.
✨Offline: Support transferring data in the background.

MultCloud is a free application that helps people backup, sync and move files between different services: FTP\SFTP and cloud drives, such as Dropbox, Dropbox Business, Google Drive, Google Workspace, Google Photos, iCloud Photos, iCloud Drive, OneDrive, SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business, MEGA, Flickr, Box, Box for Business, pCloud, Amazon S3, Wasabi,  Egnyte, even NAS, WebDAV, Shared with me and Shared Drive. So, it’s the best way for FTP\SFTP upload to Google Drive.

Step 1. Sign Up

Open your browser and input MultCloud URL: https://www.multcloud.com. Then click on the "Sign up Free" button to create an account and you can use MultCloud.

Step 2. Add FTP to MultCloud

Click on the "Add Cloud" icon, add FTP to MultCloud and go to the next step.

Granting MultCloud access to the FTP requires your FTP server address, FTP username and password. You could add more FTP accounts in MultCloud so as to sync files between FTP accounts.

Step 3. Add Google Drive to MultCloud

Click on the "Google Drive" icon. Then follow the instructions to go to the website of Google Drive to grant access to MultCloud.

Step 4. Upload to Google Drive via FTP [2 Options]

After you have finished Google Drive and FTP integration, you can start to upload to Google Drive via FTP.

☞ Option 1: Right-clicking "Copy" or "Copy to" Option

☞ Option 2: Choose the "Cloud Transfer" Feature

This is a better way for transferring huge numbers of folders or the whole data from FTP to Google Drive. When you set a schedule and other options, the task can be committed even to power off.

Following the above options, you can upload files to Google Drive via FTP. Also, MultCloud provides some explorer-type functions, so you can use the "Delete", "Cut", "Rename", and other operations like you are doing the operations through "Windows Explorer", so it can help you manage clouds together more easily. For example, it can help you manage multiple OneDrive accounts on Windows 10 from one platform.

What's more, the "Cloud Sync" feature can help create sync relationships between cloud services. With the help of this function, you can enjoy 10 sync modes to sync FTP to Google Drive easily.

🚀 New: Backup Website Files and Databases to Google Drive

For webmasters and developers, MultCloud has launched a specialized "Website Backup" feature. This is the most efficient way to protect your WordPress site or any web project by saving it directly to Google Drive.

Why use Website Backup?

How to use Website Backup:

1. Connect your Website: In MultCloud, click "Add Cloud" and select "Website". In the "Add Website Files" tab, add your website via FTP/SFTP.

2. Connect your Database: In the "Add Database" tab, input your MySQL information to link your site’s data.

3. Open Website Backup: On the left sidebar, click the "Website Backup" button.

4. Configure the Task:

• Source: Select your Website files and the corresponding Database.
• Destination: Select a folder in your Google Drive.

5. Start Backup: Click "Backup Now." You can also set a "Schedule" to automate this process so your site is always backed up without manual intervention.

Free Way: Upload Files to Google Drive via FTP | FileZilla

Like the third-party tool used by most users - FileZilla can also be used to upload files to Google Drive, but the whole operation process will be more complicated.

Step 1. Open FileZilla. In the menu bar, click "File" > "Site Manager...".

Step 2. Click "New site". Select Google Drive from the Protocol drop-down list.

Step 3. Enter your user ID in the "User" field. Click "Connect". FileZilla Pro will open the Google Drive authorization page in a browser window, click "Allow". If you are not signed in to Google Drive, you will need to sign in before you can authorize FileZilla Pro to access your files.

Step 4. FileZilla Pro will check the server's TLS certificate. Check that the Common Name listed on the certificate is googleapis.com, and click "OK". 

Step 5. After the link is successful, FileZilla will display your Google Drive folder in the Remote Directories section of the main window. You can now transfer files between your local computer and Google Drive.

Summary

While traditional tools like FileZilla are useful for basic file management, MultCloud provides a more comprehensive, automated solution. By using the "Cloud Transfer" and the newly launched "Website Backup" feature, you can ensure that both your personal files and your professional website data are securely stored in Google Drive.

Whether you are syncing photos between OneDrive and Google Photos or migrating a MySQL database to a new host, MultCloud acts as the ultimate bridge for all your cloud storage needs.

FAQs

1. Does Google Drive natively support FTP connections?

No, Google Drive does not provide a native FTP/SFTP server address. To connect them, you must use a third-party intermediary tool that bridges the protocol and the cloud API.

2. Is it safe to provide my credentials to MultCloud?

Yes. MultCloud uses 256-bit AES encryption for SSL during all data transfers. Furthermore, it uses OAuth authorization to connect to Google Drive, meaning MultCloud never sees or stores your Google password.

3. Should I use FTP or SFTP for my file transfers?

Whenever possible, use SFTP. While FTP is common, it transmits data in plain text. SFTP encrypts your username, password, and the files themselves, ensuring your server remains secure from hackers.

4. Can I close my browser once the transfer starts?

If you are using MultCloud, yes. Because the transfer happens on MultCloud’s high-speed servers, you can start a "Cloud Transfer" or "Website Backup" task and shut down your computer; the process will continue in the background.

5. Is there a limit to how much data I can transfer at once?

Google Drive has a daily upload limit of 750GB. However, different tools have their own limits. Most free tiers on FTP clients or cloud managers have data caps, while premium versions allow for multi-terabyte migrations.

6. Do I need to download files to my PC before moving them to Google Drive?

Not if you use a cloud-to-cloud manager. These tools allow "Server-to-Server" transfer, moving data directly from your FTP host to Google Drive without using your local internet bandwidth.