GooglePhotosTakeoutHelper (GPTH) vs Takeout JSON Metadata Fixer, Head to Head
GPTH is free, open source and has two versions that behave very differently. A row-by-row comparison of the original, the Neo fork and Takeout JSON Metadata Fixer, and which to pick.
GooglePhotosTakeoutHelper, usually just GPTH, is the best-known free answer to the Takeout mess. It is open source under the Apache 2.0 licence and it has fixed a great many libraries. Before comparing it with anything, you need to know there are two of it.
The original, by TheLastGimbus, last shipped version 3.4.3 in September 2023. Its README still lists "Writing data from .jsons back to EXIF data" as a to-do, and notes that GPS from JSON to EXIF "is now missing in the Dart version." Its last step tells you to run exiftool afterwards. Then there is GooglePhotosTakeoutHelper Neo, a fork by Xentraxx that is actively maintained, at version 6.3.0 as of August 2026. Neo writes dates and GPS into EXIF by default, handles truncated filenames, and is a very different tool. When people say "GPTH" today they may mean either. This page covers both.
We wrote a shorter piece on why people look for an alternative to GPTH. This one is the full comparison.
What the original GPTH does
It "organizes and cleans up your Takeout": finds all photos across the export's folders, sets their "file last modified" date from the JSON, and puts them in one big folder or folders by month. On Windows you double-click the .exe. On Mac or Linux you open a terminal, run chmod +x, clear the quarantine flag with xattr, and on Apple Silicon install Rosetta first. It moves files rather than copying them; in the README's words, "if anything goes wrong mid-way, re-export the zips again." It offers several ways to represent albums. It does not write EXIF. That is what the exiftool step at the end is for.
What GPTH Neo does
Neo keeps the shape of the original and adds most of what was missing. --write-exif is on by default and writes GPS coordinates and dates into the file. It handles "truncated file names" and other edge cases explicitly, works with non-English exports, removes duplicates by content hash, can skip -edited extras or keep duplicates in a subfolder, sorts by year, year/month or year/month/day, separates partner-shared media, converts Pixel Motion Photos, fixes wrong file extensions, resumes an interrupted run, and has a --fix mode for dates in any folder, not just Takeout. It can extract the zips itself.
The prerequisites grew with it. Neo needs exiftool installed for EXIF writing to anything other than JPEG, and recommends 7-Zip for faster extraction. It still moves files by default, with a --keep-input flag that works on a temporary copy. Interactive mode is a double-click on Windows and a terminal command on Mac and Linux.
What Takeout JSON Metadata Fixer does
It is a desktop app on all three platforms, installed from the Mac App Store, the Microsoft Store, a Windows installer or a Linux package. It reads every sidecar and writes date, time and location into JPG, HEIC, PNG and videos, with the truncated names, (1) duplicates, edited copies and UTC timestamps handled. It renames with date and place, sorts into year/month or place folders, converts HEIC to JPG with metadata kept, keeps Live Photo pairs together, converts old AVI and MOV to MP4, and lets you set date and place by hand. It needs nothing else installed. It runs offline with no account. The first 1000 photos are free; Premium is USD 19.99 once.
Side by side
| GPTH (original, v3.4.3) | GPTH Neo (v6.3.0) | Takeout JSON Metadata Fixer | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, Apache 2.0 | Free, Apache 2.0 | First 1000 photos free; Premium USD 19.99 once |
| Install | Download executable; exiftool separately for the EXIF step | Download executable; exiftool required for non-JPEG EXIF, 7-Zip recommended | Mac App Store, Microsoft Store, Windows installer, .deb / .rpm; nothing else |
| Needs the command line | Windows: no. Mac and Linux: yes (chmod, xattr, Rosetta on Apple Silicon) | Windows: no. Mac and Linux: terminal to run | No |
| Runs offline, photos stay on your computer | Yes | Yes | Yes, no account |
Truncated sidecar names and (1) duplicates | Not stated | Truncated names handled; duplicates removed by content hash | Both built in |
| Edited copies with no sidecar of their own | Not stated | --skip-extras drops them | Built in |
| Writes date and GPS into the file | No; sets file modified date, then exiftool | Yes, by default | Yes |
| HEIC to JPG with metadata kept | No | No (fixes wrong extensions, does not convert) | Yes |
| Renames with the place | No | No | Yes |
| Folders by place | No; one folder or by month | No; year, month or day folders | Yes: year/month, year, or by place |
| Sets date and place by hand | No | No | Yes, per photo or folder |
| Moves or copies your files | Moves by default | Moves by default; --keep-input uses a temporary copy | Writes to an output folder you choose |
| Languages | Not stated | Handles non-English exports; interface language not stated | English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Japanese, Korean, Chinese (Simplified) |
| Windows / Mac / Linux | All three | All three | All three |
Where GPTH wins
It is free and open. You can read the code, file an issue, or fix it yourself. For a one-off migration on a budget that is a real argument, and for anyone who distrusts closed software with their family photos it is the whole argument.
Neo's album handling is more flexible than anything the app offers: shortcuts, hard links, reverse shortcuts, a JSON manifest, or real copies. If album structure matters to you more than folder-by-date, Neo has thought about it harder.
Neo is scriptable. It runs headless on a NAS, it resumes, and its --fix mode repairs dates in a folder that never came from Google. It can extract the zips itself. And it supports Pixel Motion Photo conversion, which the app does not do.
The original GPTH is simpler. If you only want one big folder with sensible modified dates, and you will run exiftool at the end anyway, it still works.
Where Takeout JSON Metadata Fixer wins
No terminal on Mac or Linux, and nothing to install beside it. GPTH on a Mac is chmod, xattr, maybe Rosetta, then exiftool via Homebrew. The app is one install from the store.
It does not move your files. GPTH's own README says to keep the zips because you may need to re-export. The app writes into an output folder you choose.
It goes past dates. Renaming with the place, folders by place, HEIC to JPG with metadata kept, Live Photo pairing, AVI and MOV to MP4, and manual date and place for the photos with no JSON. GPTH stops at organised folders with correct metadata, which is its stated scope.
Nine interface languages, and a window with a progress bar rather than a log.
Which one for you
Pick GPTH Neo if you are comfortable installing exiftool, you want it free and open, or you need its album options, headless operation or Pixel Motion Photo handling. Do not pick the original GPTH for a new migration unless you already have exiftool ready for the second step.
Pick Takeout JSON Metadata Fixer if you want the whole thing done in one run without a terminal, you care about the files being named and sorted, or you have a Mac and no wish to type xattr. You can compare directly: run the free 1000 photos through it and run Neo on the same sample.
For all five tools in one table see Google Takeout metadata tools compared. If Immich is the destination, immich-go vs Takeout JSON Metadata Fixer is the page you want instead.
Checked on 18 September 2026: original GPTH claims are from the README and latest release (v3.4.3) of TheLastGimbus/GooglePhotosTakeoutHelper on GitHub; GPTH Neo claims are from the README and latest release (v6.3.0) of Xentraxx/GooglePhotosTakeoutHelper. Licences from the repository listings. Takeout JSON Metadata Fixer claims are from our own listing copy for version 1.5.1.