google drive for desktop alternatives for mac
by sumit paul · last updated
the main alternatives to google drive for desktop on a mac are the google drive website (free, no install), rclone (free, open source, command line), cloudmounter, expandrive and mountain duck (apps that mount many cloud services in finder), and feather drive (a paid app for google drive and dropbox that streams only the parts of a file an app reads). none of them is strictly better; which one fits depends on how many services you use, if you need offline access and how big your files are.
why people look for an alternative
google drive for desktop is free and shows your whole drive, shared drives included, which is hard to beat. the usual complaints are about space and waiting. in stream mode it downloads the whole file when you open it and keeps it, so big files fill your disk; in mirror mode it keeps all of my drive locally. it also only does google drive. if any of that is the problem, read on. if it isn't, google's app is probably still the right choice, and you may only need to clear its cache or switch modes.
at a glance
| services | shows in finder | offline | platforms | setup | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| google drive for desktop | google drive | yes | yes | mac, windows | easy, free |
| google drive website | google drive | no | no (download first) | any browser | none, free |
| rclone | dozens of services | yes, via mount | with its cache | mac, windows, linux | command line, free |
| cloudmounter | many services | yes | yes on mac | mac, windows | easy |
| expandrive | many services | yes | pin files offline | mac, windows, linux | easy |
| mountain duck | many services and protocols | yes | yes, smart sync | mac, windows | easy |
| feather drive | google drive, dropbox | yes | no | mac (macos 26+) | easy, paid, 3-day trial |
the google drive website
drive.google.com in safari or chrome needs nothing installed and uses no disk space. you can upload, share, search and preview most files, including videos. the limit is that mac apps can't open files from it: to edit a photo in lightroom or a clip in final cut you download it first, and then it's on your disk anyway. good for occasional use and for sharing; not a finder replacement.
rclone
rclone is a free, open-source command-line tool that talks to dozens of cloud services. rclone mount puts a remote in finder. on macos it needs macfuse or fuse-t, and rclone's docs now recommend rclone nfsmount on macos, which needs no extra driver. with --vfs-cache-mode full, rclone caches only the parts of files that apps actually read, so a big video doesn't have to download in full.
- better at: free, scriptable, more services than anything else here, runs on every platform.
- worse at: you configure it in terminal, keep the mount running yourself, and tune cache flags. for google drive, rclone's docs suggest creating your own google api client id for better performance.
a walkthrough is in how to mount google drive with rclone on a mac.
cloudmounter
cloudmounter, from eltima, mounts google drive, dropbox, box, amazon s3, sftp, webdav and more as drives in finder. it supports several accounts from the same service and has a cloud encryption feature.
- better at: many services in one app, a mac and a windows version, offline work on mac.
- worse at: one more app to set up and keep updated if google drive is all you need.
expandrive
expandrive mounts each cloud as a drive in finder (or explorer on windows) and streams files on demand, with a local cache for recently used files. you can pin files to keep them offline, and changes made offline sync back later.
- better at: runs on mac, windows and linux, has a headless server edition and a command-line tool, and has team features.
- worse at: more than most single users need if they only use google drive.
mountain duck
mountain duck comes from the makers of cyberduck. it connects to google drive, dropbox, box, s3-compatible storage, sftp, ftp, webdav, smb, nextcloud and more. version 5 integrates through apple's file provider system on mac, shows all remote files, caches opened files for offline use, and lets you mark folders to always keep offline. it also supports cryptomator vaults for client-side encryption.
- better at: the widest protocol support of the apps here, solid offline handling, mac and windows.
- worse at: in its sync mode, files you open are kept on your disk for offline use, much like google's own app, so that alone doesn't solve the space problem for big files.
feather drive
full disclosure: this is our app. feather drive mounts google drive and dropbox in finder as one drive. when an app reads a file, it fetches only the byte ranges the app asks for, so a big video plays without a full download and takes zero bytes on disk. in a side-by-side test a 1.22 GB video opened in 1.7 s, against 1 min 44 s in google drive for desktop, which downloaded the whole file first. it also has optional end-to-end encryption.
- better at: large files on a mac with little free space: video, raw photos, archives.
- worse at: it only sees files you put in it, not your whole google drive. it covers google drive and dropbox only, needs a connection to open files, has no offline mode, runs only on macos 26 or later, and is paid after a 3-day free trial.
which one to pick
- you want your whole drive in finder, offline, for free: stay with google drive for desktop.
- you rarely need files in mac apps: the website.
- you're comfortable in terminal and want it free: rclone.
- you use several clouds or servers, or windows too: cloudmounter, expandrive or mountain duck. try the one that covers your services.
- your problem is big files filling a small disk: feather drive, alongside google's app for everything else.
related
- feather drive vs google drive for desktop
- expandrive vs mountain duck vs cloudmounter
- how to mount google drive with rclone on a mac
- how to use google drive in finder on a mac
common questions
is there a free alternative to google drive for desktop on a mac?
yes: the google drive website in a browser, and rclone, which is free and open source. rclone can mount google drive in finder but is set up from the command line.
which google drive app for mac uses the least disk space?
an app that reads only the parts of a file you open, rather than downloading whole files. rclone with its full cache mode, and feather drive, both work that way. the browser uses none until you download something.
can i use google drive on a mac without the desktop app?
yes. drive.google.com works in safari or chrome for browsing, uploading, sharing and previewing. to open a file in a mac app you have to download it first.
which alternative works with the most cloud services?
rclone supports the most by far. among the mac apps, cloudmounter, expandrive and mountain duck each connect many services and protocols, not just google drive.