How to upload large video files to Google Drive
Google Drive takes files up to 5 TB, but Google says each user can upload 750 GB in 24 hours, and free accounts have only 15 GB shared with Gmail and Photos. For big footage, skip the browser tab: use Google Drive for desktop, which retries on its own, or an app that resumes interrupted uploads. Most failed uploads come down to a dropped connection, a full Drive or the daily limit, not the file itself.
The Google Drive limits that matter for video
- 5 TB per file. No single camera clip comes close.
- 750 GB per 24 hours. Google's Workspace documentation states it, and the Drive API limits page repeats it. Google's consumer help no longer mentions the number, but rclone's documentation reports the same limit on personal accounts. When you hit it, only the file that crosses the line finishes; the rest wait until the limit resets within 24 hours.
- 15 GB free, shared across Gmail, Drive and Photos. Once you're over quota you can't upload new files, so a card of footage needs a paid plan.
Why large uploads fail
Google's own help points to the usual suspects: a weak or dropping connection, an unsupported browser, cache and cookies, antivirus or ad blockers, and firewall or proxy settings. Drive for desktop adds the daily limit, a full Google storage quota, a full local disk, permissions and security software.
The browser is the weakest link for big files. Google doesn't say that a browser upload resumes, so if the tab closes, the laptop sleeps or the connection drops, you may be starting a 40 GB clip again from zero.
How to upload big video files reliably
- Make room first. Check your Google storage; 15 GB free won't hold one card of 4K footage.
- Use Google Drive for desktop, not a browser tab. It automatically retries when a transfer fails or you hit a limit, and puts files it couldn't upload in a local Lost & Found folder so nothing silently disappears.
- Stay under 750 GB a day. For a multi-terabyte shoot, plan the upload over several days or prioritize what the editor needs first.
- Keep the machine awake and wired. A sleeping laptop or a weak Wi-Fi link is the most common reason a long upload dies.
- Check the result. Compare file counts and sizes in Drive with the folder on your drive before you delete anything locally.
Do it automatically after each camera card
Copsy is a free app that does the camera-card version of this for you: it copies the card to your drive, verifies every file with xxHash64 and an ASC-MHL manifest, then uploads that verified copy to Google Drive in the background while you load the next card. Files of 128 MiB and up go through their own resumable upload sessions, so a dropped connection or a Mac restart picks the upload up where it stopped instead of starting the file again. It runs on macOS 13 or later today, with a Windows version coming.
Why that matters: plain rclone, which many tools use for Drive, retries a failed chunk inside one session, but if the whole upload fails it sends the file again from byte 0. Saving the session is what turns a dropped connection into a short pause. How Copsy backs up cards to Google Drive →
"Still processing" after the upload?
That's Drive preparing its preview player. Google says large videos can take a while to process, and its player streams at up to 1080p. If you shared the file for download, the recipient doesn't need to wait for the preview.
Frequently asked questions
Offload your next card for free
Copsy — a free Mac app that copies camera cards to a drive, verifies every file, then backs them up to Google Drive or Dropbox.
Download Copsy for Mac
