Migrate Yandex Disk to Google Drive, Dropbox or S3

What is Yandex Disk?

Yandex Disk is the cloud storage service from Yandex — the largest Russian-language internet company, often called 'the Google of Russia and CIS countries'. Free accounts get 5 GB of storage with a strict 1 GB per-file upload cap; paid Yandex 360 Premium plans expand storage up to 3 TB and raise the per-file ceiling to 50 GB. Yandex Disk includes built-in document editing, photo sync, integration with Yandex Mail, and unlimited free photo storage on the mobile app. It remains a primary cloud for tens of millions of users across Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and other CIS markets.

What sets Yandex Disk apart — and what makes migrations to and from it more complex than typical Western clouds — is the monthly upload quota of 2× your storage capacity. A free 5 GB account can upload only 10 GB total in any 30-day window before the account is locked to read-only for the rest of the period. Geopolitical sanctions and regional payment restrictions also affect access for some users. CloudsLinker bypasses both pain points by running every Yandex Disk transfer through Yandex's official REST API on our infrastructure — no VPN required, no local bandwidth used — letting you migrate Yandex Disk content to any of 140+ destination clouds, or pull data into Yandex Disk from elsewhere.

Key features of Yandex Disk

5 GB free, 1 GB per-file cap

Free Yandex Disk accounts get 5 GB total, but individual files are capped at 1 GB. Paid Yandex 360 Premium plans raise this to 50 GB per file.

Yandex 360 Premium tiers

Plans range from 200 GB to 3 TB, all under the Yandex 360 subscription which also covers Yandex Mail Pro. CloudsLinker works with every paid tier.

Monthly upload quota: 2× storage

Yandex limits monthly uploads to twice your storage capacity. Hit it on a free account (10 GB/month) and you're locked to read-only for the rest of the 30-day cycle. CloudsLinker pauses gracefully and resumes when the quota resets.

Web browser uploads: 2 GB recommended

Yandex's own docs recommend keeping browser uploads under 2 GB to avoid timeouts. CloudsLinker uses the chunked API, sidestepping browser-specific limits entirely.

Unlimited mobile photo backup

Photos uploaded via the Yandex Disk mobile app don't count against your storage quota — useful for photographers who want a free regional cloud backup.

Russian-region data residency

Yandex Disk stores data primarily in Russia. For users with cross-border compliance concerns, CloudsLinker can mirror to Western providers (S3 EU, OneDrive EU) on a schedule.

Why connect Yandex Disk to CloudsLinker

CloudsLinker connects to Yandex Disk via Yandex's official OAuth 2.0 flow. Once authorized, every transfer runs cloud-to-cloud over the Yandex Disk REST API — no files are downloaded to your machine, and your home internet is not consumed. The connector handles Yandex's monthly quota gracefully (paused with notification when hit, resumed automatically the next cycle), supports both files and folders, and works against Free, Yandex 360 Plus, and Premium plans. Common destinations include Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, Mega, Proton Drive, S3, Wasabi and B2.

What you can do with Yandex Disk on CloudsLinker

Direct Yandex Disk-to-any-cloud copy

Move Yandex Disk content to Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, S3, Wasabi or Proton Drive without downloading to your computer.

Runs without local bandwidth

Yandex Disk transfers execute on CloudsLinker's servers. Useful when your local connection to Yandex's servers is slow or restricted.

Scheduled & incremental sync

Set hourly, daily or weekly jobs. Delta mode copies only changed files — important for staying under Yandex's monthly upload quota.

Filter by folder, type, size

Migrate only <code>/Photos</code>, skip files > 1 GB (the free-tier limit), or copy just images and videos.

Common Yandex Disk transfer scenarios

Migrate Yandex Disk → Google Drive when leaving the Russian-language ecosystem

Many users who relocated abroad after 2022 still have years of personal documents and photos in Yandex Disk but no longer have reliable access to make local downloads. CloudsLinker connects via OAuth (which works regardless of your current location) and copies your entire Yandex Disk to Google Drive or OneDrive server-to-server, even when your home internet is slow or sporadic.

Stay under the 2× monthly upload quota

If you have 1 TB on Yandex 360 Premium, your monthly upload cap is 2 TB — enough for normal use but easy to exhaust during a one-shot migration. CloudsLinker's incremental mode copies only what changed since the last run, splitting a multi-TB migration across multiple monthly windows automatically.

3-2-1 backup of Yandex Disk to Wasabi or B2

Yandex's deleted-file recovery window is 30 days. For real disaster recovery, schedule a CloudsLinker nightly incremental from Yandex Disk to Wasabi ($6.99/TB) or Backblaze B2 ($6/TB). Geopolitical events and account access risks make off-region backup particularly valuable for Yandex users.

Consolidate family Yandex accounts into shared OneDrive Family

Many CIS-region households have multiple personal Yandex accounts that grew organically. CloudsLinker connects each account separately and copies selected folders into a shared Microsoft 365 Family OneDrive (1 TB × 6 users) for centralized access from outside the Yandex ecosystem.

Cold-archive old Yandex Disk content to S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval

If most of your Yandex Disk data hasn't been touched in a year, archive it to S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval (~$0.004/GB) and downsize your Yandex 360 plan. CloudsLinker filters by modification date to identify cold content automatically.

How to connect Yandex Disk to CloudsLinker

Yandex Disk uses standard OAuth 2.0 through Yandex’s central ID system (passport.yandex.com).

Connection steps

Open CloudsLinker and click Add Cloud → choose Yandex Disk.
The browser redirects to Yandex’s official authorization page (oauth.yandex.com or passport.yandex.com). Verify the domain before entering credentials.
Sign in with your Yandex ID — the same account that owns Yandex Mail, Yandex Disk and any Yandex 360 subscription.
Review the requested scopes — CloudsLinker asks for read/write access to your Yandex Disk files. Click Permit.
You’re redirected back to CloudsLinker with the connection active. Yandex Disk appears in your cloud list, ready to use as source or destination.

Working from outside Russia

The OAuth flow works from most countries. If oauth.yandex.com is blocked on your local network, try a different DNS resolver or run the OAuth handshake from a mobile network — the access token is portable once issued.

Revoke access

To revoke CloudsLinker’s access later: https://id.yandex.com/security/applications → find CloudsLinker → Revoke.

Yandex Disk upload & download limits you should know

Yandex’s quota model is unusual among cloud providers — pay attention to the monthly upload cap, which is the limit most likely to interrupt a large migration:

Storage: 5 GB free; Yandex 360 Plus (200 GB), Premium (1 TB / 2 TB / 3 TB).
Maximum single file size: 1 GB on Free, 50 GB on paid plans. Files exceeding the cap can’t be uploaded by any client (CloudsLinker, web, desktop, or mobile).
Monthly upload quota: 2× your storage capacity. Free accounts → 10 GB/month upload max. Hit the cap and the account becomes read-only for the rest of the 30-day window.
Web browser upload recommendation: keep individual files under 2 GB to avoid timeouts. CloudsLinker uses the chunked REST API, not the browser uploader, so it handles larger files reliably.
Bandwidth: Yandex does not publish a hard download bandwidth cap. CloudsLinker observes throttling on aggressive patterns and applies back-off.
Trash retention: 30 days, then permanently deleted.
Version history: Yandex Disk does not maintain explicit file version history — once overwritten, the previous version is gone. CloudsLinker delta backup to a versioning destination (S3, B2, Wasabi) provides true version control.
Mobile photo upload bonus: photos uploaded via the Yandex Disk mobile app on free accounts do not count against the 5 GB storage cap.

Sources: Yandex Disk: Storage space, Yandex Disk: Upload files and folders, Yandex 360 plans, Yandex Disk FAQ.

Yandex Disk + CloudsLinker — Frequently Asked Questions

Does CloudsLinker work with Yandex Disk if I'm outside Russia?

Yes. CloudsLinker's transfer infrastructure connects to Yandex's public OAuth and REST API endpoints, which are reachable from most countries. The transfer doesn't depend on your local connection to Yandex's servers — only on the OAuth handshake during initial connection, which works from a standard browser anywhere.

What's the largest file I can transfer from Yandex Disk?

Free accounts: 1 GB per file. Yandex 360 Premium: 50 GB per file. Files larger than 1 GB on a free account need a Premium upgrade first; CloudsLinker can't bypass Yandex's per-file API limit.

What is the monthly upload quota?

Yandex limits monthly uploads to twice your storage capacity. With 5 GB free → 10 GB/month upload cap. With 1 TB Premium → 2 TB/month. After hitting the limit, the account is read-only for the remaining 30-day cycle. CloudsLinker detects this and pauses; transfers resume automatically when the quota resets.

Does Yandex Disk apply bandwidth or rate limits to API access?

Yandex doesn't publish exact API rate limits, but applies throttling on aggressive patterns. CloudsLinker uses exponential back-off on any rate-limit response and resumes automatically. Typical sustained throughput is 100–300 GB/day per Yandex Disk connection.

Can I migrate between two Yandex Disk accounts?

Yes. Connect both accounts as separate clouds in CloudsLinker, then run an account-to-account copy. Folder structure and modification times carry across; sharing links don't (they're tied to the source account).

Does Yandex 360 Premium let me transfer faster?

Indirectly — the higher monthly upload quota lets you push more data per cycle, and the 50 GB per-file cap removes the 1 GB free-tier ceiling. Per-call API throughput is similar across tiers.

What about Yandex Mail attachments and photos uploaded via mobile?

Mail attachments stored in Yandex Disk are accessible to CloudsLinker via the standard API. Mobile-app photo uploads (which don't count against storage on free accounts) are accessible through a separate /Photos folder.

Are my Yandex credentials safe with CloudsLinker?

Yes. CloudsLinker uses OAuth 2.0 — your Yandex password never leaves Yandex's own login page (passport.yandex.com). CloudsLinker only receives a revocable access token. You can disconnect anytime from your Yandex ID settings.

How do I migrate when Yandex 360 payments aren't accepted from my country?

If you can't renew Yandex 360 from outside Russia, your account may revert to Free tier (5 GB) and lock your data above that limit. CloudsLinker can connect with read access even on a downgraded account — letting you pull all data out before the access window closes.

Is this an official Yandex partnership?

No. CloudsLinker is a third-party tool that uses Yandex Disk's public OAuth and REST API. You can revoke access anytime from id.yandex.com → Connected services.

Yandex Disk transfer guides

Step-by-step walkthroughs for moving data to and from Yandex Disk.

Yandex Disk to Drime: Move Files out of Russian Jurisdiction to GDPR Hosting

Transfer Yandex Disk files to Drime for European, GDPR-aligned storage. Step-by-step guide covering browser export and cloud-to-cloud …

Easy File Transfer from Yandex Disk to Proton Drive

Discover the secure way to migrate your files from Yandex Disk to Proton Drive with our expert guide. Enhance your data privacy and …

Conclusion

Yandex Disk's combination of regional dominance, generous free photo backup, and unusual monthly upload quotas makes it both attractive and tricky to integrate with the rest of the cloud ecosystem. CloudsLinker handles the integration end-to-end — connecting via OAuth from anywhere, working around the 2× monthly quota with incremental sync, and supporting migrations in either direction between Yandex Disk and 140+ other clouds.

Start Your Free Yandex Disk Transfer