Google Takeout Metadata Tools Compared (2026)
exiftool, GooglePhotosTakeoutHelper, GPTH Neo, immich-go, MetadataFixer.com and Takeout JSON Metadata Fixer in one table, with a plain recommendation for each situation.
Every tool on this page solves the same problem: Google Takeout gives you photos dated to the download day, with the real date and location sitting in a .json file beside each one. They differ in how much they ask of you, what else they do on the way, and where the photos end up. This is the one-table version. Each pairing has its own longer page, linked below.
The six tools in one line each
exiftool is the free, command-line reference tool for reading and writing metadata in hundreds of formats. It knows nothing about Takeout; you write the matching yourself. Full comparison.
GooglePhotosTakeoutHelper (GPTH), the original by TheLastGimbus, is free and open source, last released in September 2023. It sorts the export into folders and sets file dates, then tells you to run exiftool to write EXIF. Full comparison.
GPTH Neo is the actively maintained fork by Xentraxx. Free and open source, writes EXIF by default, handles truncated names and duplicates, needs exiftool installed alongside it. Covered on the same page as the original.
immich-go is the free, open-source uploader for Immich. It matches the JSON and hands the metadata to your Immich server rather than writing it into the files. Full comparison.
MetadataFixer.com is a paid desktop app for Windows, Mac and Linux. It restores a long list of metadata fields into the files, processes on your machine, and costs USD 39 once with a 100-file demo. Full comparison.
Takeout JSON Metadata Fixer is our app. It writes date, time and place into the files, then renames and sorts them, converts HEIC and old videos, and lets you fix photos by hand. Desktop app, no command line, offline, first 1000 photos free, Premium USD 19.99 once.
Side by side
| exiftool | GPTH (original) | GPTH Neo | immich-go | MetadataFixer.com | Takeout JSON Metadata Fixer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free, open source | Free, open source | Free, open source | USD 39 once; 100-file demo | First 1000 photos free; USD 19.99 once |
| Install | Zip, .pkg or Perl | Download executable, plus exiftool | Download executable, plus exiftool and 7-Zip | Download binary, plus an Immich server | Download from their site | Mac App Store, Microsoft Store, Windows installer, .deb / .rpm |
| Needs the command line | Yes | Mac and Linux: yes | Mac and Linux: yes | Yes | No | No |
| Runs offline, photos stay on your computer | Yes | Yes | Yes | Uploads to your own Immich server | Processed locally; app contacts their servers for licensing and updates | Yes, no account |
Truncated sidecar names and (1) duplicates | You write the rules | Not stated | Yes | Puzzle solver for edited, burst and duplicate names; truncated not named | (1) yes; truncated not stated | Yes |
| Edited copies with no sidecar | You script it | Not stated | Skipped on request | Matched | Not stated | Yes |
| Writes date and GPS into the file | Yes | No; file date only | Yes | No; into Immich | Yes | Yes |
| HEIC to JPG with metadata kept | No | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| Renames with the place | Scriptable | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| Folders by place | Scriptable | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| Sets date and place by hand | Per file, by command | No | No | No | Not offered | Yes |
| Languages | English CLI | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Site in English and German | 9 languages |
| Windows / Mac / Linux | All three | All three | All three | All three plus FreeBSD | All three | All three |
"Scriptable" for exiftool means it can be done, and you will be writing the expression. "Not stated" means the project's own README or site does not claim it; it may still work.
Which one for you
You just want the dates back
Your photos are in a folder, they all show one date, and you want the real one in each file so any photo app reads it. The free route is GPTH Neo if you are on Windows, or exiftool if you are happy in a terminal on any platform. The no-terminal route on any platform is Takeout JSON Metadata Fixer, whose first 1000 photos are free. If your library is under 1000 photos, that is the whole job for nothing. MetadataFixer.com does the same core fix for USD 39.
You are moving to Immich
Use immich-go. It creates your albums and people tags on the server and matches the awkward filenames itself. The one thing to think about is that immich-go does not describe writing anything into the files, so a backup of your raw files would still have the wrong dates. If you want the files to carry their own metadata as insurance, run Takeout JSON Metadata Fixer first and upload the result with immich-go's from-folder. When you need which walks through both orders.
You are moving to a Synology or other NAS
Synology Photos and other NAS indexers read the date out of the file, so the metadata has to be written in, not held in a database. That rules out immich-go and the original GPTH on its own. GPTH Neo, exiftool, MetadataFixer.com and Takeout JSON Metadata Fixer all write EXIF. What separates them for a NAS is the folder structure you end up with: NAS photo apps index whatever folder tree you give them, so year/month or place folders with dated filenames make the library browsable in the file manager too. Only Takeout JSON Metadata Fixer does place-based folders and renaming without scripting; GPTH Neo does year, month and day folders. Google Photos to a Synology NAS has the full route.
You are on a Mac
Every free tool here is a terminal on macOS. GPTH's README walks you through chmod, xattr and Rosetta on Apple Silicon; exiftool is a Homebrew install and a long command; immich-go is a binary you run by hand. Both paid apps have a normal Mac build. Takeout JSON Metadata Fixer is on the Mac App Store, which means Apple has reviewed and signed it, and it converts HEIC and keeps Live Photo pairs together, which matters if the destination is Apple Photos. Fixing Takeout dates on a Mac is the step-by-step.
You do not want a command line at all
Two choices: MetadataFixer.com and Takeout JSON Metadata Fixer. Both are desktop apps on all three platforms and both process on your own computer. MetadataFixer.com restores more metadata fields and supports camera RAW. Takeout JSON Metadata Fixer costs about half, gives you 1000 free photos instead of 100, and goes on to rename, sort, convert and let you fix stragglers by hand. On Windows, GPTH's double-click interactive mode is a third option, if you are willing to install exiftool beside it. Fix Takeout dates without the command line covers that path in detail.
What none of them do
None of them can recover a date Google never stored. If a photo has no JSON and no EXIF, every tool here either skips it or guesses from the filename. Only the two paid apps let you deal with those by hand, and only Takeout JSON Metadata Fixer lets you set the place as well as the date. Photos with no date anywhere explains what your options are then.
Checked on 18 September 2026: exiftool from exiftool.org; GPTH from the READMEs and latest releases of TheLastGimbus/GooglePhotosTakeoutHelper (v3.4.3) and Xentraxx/GooglePhotosTakeoutHelper (v6.3.0) on GitHub; immich-go from the README and docs of simulot/immich-go; MetadataFixer.com from its home, pricing, download, FAQ and privacy pages. Takeout JSON Metadata Fixer from our own listing copy for version 1.5.1.