What is the best Metadata Fixer alternative for Google Takeout?

Metadata Fixer is a paid desktop app for Windows, macOS and Linux built for one problem: a Google Takeout export arrives with the capture time, GPS and descriptions stored in separate .json files instead of inside the photos. It pairs each photo or video with its JSON file and merges the two, using ExifTool under the hood, according to its own FAQ.

Per its site, it restores the original capture date along with the file creation and file-system dates; GPS latitude, longitude and altitude; city names derived from the coordinates; a timezone adjusted from the GPS position; descriptions, captions, comments and keywords; and the names of people tagged in Google Photos. Videos get their recording date and QuickTime metadata, including GPS. It matches numbered "(1)" copies to the right JSON file, accepts Takeout ZIP files or extracted folders, checks ZIP archives for corruption first, and can set aside files that have no JSON in a folder of their own.

Metadata Fixer is not free. The demo has full functionality but stops at 100 photos and videos. The Core App is $39 one-time (listed as down from $49) for unlimited files on one computer; moving the licence to another computer means e-mailing them for a code. The "Silver Bullet" bundle is $59 and adds Corrupted Image Fixer, Video Encoder and Duplicate Finder plugins. The pricing page advertises a 30-day money-back guarantee. The app is available in English, German and French, and the same company offers Snapback, a free Chrome extension that downloads a Google Photos library without Takeout.

The finish line its site describes is an import: the repaired folder is meant to go into Apple Photos, iCloud, a Synology NAS or another library app. Sorting the files into folders, and searching them, are not things its site says it does.

The repair is free, with no file limit. FolioSort reads every .json sidecar and writes the real capture time into DateTimeOriginal, the coordinates into the GPS tags, favourites as a five-star XMP rating, tagged people as XMP:Subject keywords and captions into the description fields. It matches the filenames Google truncates to their sidecars, counts Matched and Orphan files before writing anything, and ends with an Archive Report: what was recovered, and what is still loose. The field-by-field detail is on the Takeout import page and in the help guide.

Then it organizes. With the dates right, the same screen files the library into {YYYY}/{MM} folders, into city and country folders from the restored GPS, or into one folder per person using the names Google already knew. The output is ordinary folders that Finder, Explorer, a NAS or any other app can open, with no catalog and no import. Folder organization is part of Pro.

Then it removes the album copies. Takeout exports a photo into its year folder and again into every album, so one photo can land four times. The Archive Report hands the result to Duplicates, which compares the actual bytes (and can also catch visually similar copies) and moves the extras to the Trash or Recycle Bin, never a permanent delete.

Then it searches, and keeps up. On Elite, AI Photo Search finds "kids at the beach" or the text on a receipt, entirely on-device. Takeout Auto-Sync watches the folder where scheduled Takeout deliveries land and merges only what is new, and the Exit Kit recognizes WhatsApp and iCloud exports too. For the whole move, start with the migration guides.

FolioSort is made by an independent developer, Tiago Trindade, who answers the support e-mail himself. FolioSort is used in 80+ countries by 1,000+ users, with 12M+ files processed; the current version is 4.9.9. Paid plans are one-time, with a 14-day full refund, no conditions and no questionnaire, even after the licence key is activated.