How to Add Outlook Calendar to Google Calendar in 2026

To add an Outlook calendar to Google Calendar, publish it in Outlook on the web (Settings, Shared calendars, Publish a calendar), copy the ICS link, then in Google Calendar on a computer click Add other calendars, From URL and paste it. Google keeps it updated on its own. For a one-time copy instead, export an .ics file and import it.

Living in two calendars is how double bookings happen. A work account on Microsoft 365 and a personal or client calendar on Google each look half empty, and you only find out about the clash when two invites start at 10 a.m. This guide covers the three reliable ways to get Outlook events into Google Calendar, which one stays in sync, and the fixes for events that refuse to appear.

Which method should you use?

Subscribe with an ICS link if you want Outlook changes to keep flowing into Google Calendar. Import an .ics file if you only need a snapshot, such as moving off Outlook for good. Use an automation tool like Zapier if you need the events to be real, editable events in your own Google calendar rather than a read-only overlay.

For most people, subscribing is the right answer. It takes five minutes, it costs nothing, and you don't have to remember to redo it.

How to subscribe to an Outlook calendar in Google Calendar

Subscribing means Outlook publishes your calendar at a private web address and Google Calendar reads from it. You do it in two halves: publish in Outlook on the web, then add the link in Google Calendar on a computer.

Step 1: Publish the calendar in Outlook on the web

These are the steps in Microsoft's guide to sharing and publishing a calendar in Outlook on the web:

1. Sign in to Outlook on the web (or Outlook.com) and open Calendar.
2. Select Settings, then Shared calendars.
3. Under Publish a calendar, choose the calendar you want to add to Google.
4. Choose how much detail people with the link can see, from free and busy times only up to every detail of each event.
5. Select Publish. Outlook shows an HTML link and an ICS link.
6. Copy the ICS link. The HTML one only opens the calendar in a browser.

If you're on classic Outlook on the web, the path is Settings, Calendar, Shared calendars, Calendar publishing, then pick the calendar and permission and select Save. Microsoft's page notes that on work or school accounts, sharing may be unavailable or limited to your organization, depending on your company's settings.

Step 2: Add the ICS link in Google Calendar

Google's help page on subscribing by URL lists these steps, and they only work in a web browser on a computer:

1. Open Google Calendar at calendar.google.com.
2. On the left, next to Other calendars, click Add other calendars.
3. Click From URL.
4. Paste the ICS link from Outlook.
5. Click Add calendar.

The Outlook calendar now appears under Other calendars on the left, and you can hide it, rename it or change its color like any other calendar. I give a subscribed work calendar a muted gray, so my own plans stay the loud color and the overlay reads as background.

Google says you can't subscribe to a calendar from the Google Calendar app for Android, iPhone or iPad, so add it on a computer first. New to Google Calendar's sidebar and settings? The Google Calendar basics walk-through covers them.

How often a subscribed Outlook calendar updates

A subscribed calendar doesn't update instantly. Microsoft's page says how often an ICS calendar syncs depends on the recipient's calendar provider, and Google's help page doesn't give a refresh interval. In practice, a meeting moved this morning may still show its old time for a while.

That lag is the main reason I don't use a subscription for anything booked the same day. When a client reschedules at short notice, I check the change in Outlook itself rather than trusting the Google overlay.

How to import Outlook events into Google Calendar (one-time copy)

Importing copies every event in an .ics file into a Google calendar of your choice. The events become normal Google events you can edit, but nothing you change in Outlook afterwards will follow them, as Microsoft's export guide points out.

Export the calendar from classic Outlook

Microsoft lists these steps for Outlook for Microsoft 365, Outlook 2024 and Outlook 2021:

1. In Outlook, go to Calendar and select the calendar you want to export.
2. Click File, then Save Calendar.
3. Keep the suggested file name or type a new one.
4. Click More Options to set the Date Range (a preset, Whole calendar or Specify dates) and how much detail to include.
5. Click OK, then Save.

Large date ranges take a while to generate, Microsoft notes. If you're moving for good, choose Whole calendar; if you only need upcoming meetings, a few months forward keeps the file small and the import clean.

Import the file into Google Calendar

Google's import guide lists the steps on a computer:

1. Open Google Calendar, click the gear icon at the top right and choose Settings.
2. In the left menu, click Import & export.
3. Click Select file from your computer and choose the .ics file.
4. Pick the Google calendar the events should go into. By default it's your primary calendar.
5. Click Import.

When I've done a one-time move, I've imported into a new, separate calendar rather than my main one. If the import brings in duplicates or old recurring meetings, I can delete that whole calendar and start again instead of picking events out one by one.

How to copy new Outlook events to Google Calendar with Zapier

An automation tool can create a real Google Calendar event every time one appears in Outlook, which helps when you want work meetings to block your main Google calendar for booking pages and free-busy checks. Zapier's Outlook and Google Calendar page lists the pieces you need:

1. Create a Zap with Microsoft Outlook as the trigger app and New Calendar Event as the event, then sign in and choose the calendar to watch.
2. Add a Google Calendar action with Create Detailed Event, sign in and choose the target calendar.
3. Map the Outlook event's title, start, end, location and description into the matching Google fields.
4. Test it with a sample event, then publish the Zap.

The catch is that this copies new events only. Outlook also has Updated Calendar Event and Cancelled Calendar Event triggers, and Google Calendar has Update Event and Delete Event actions, but keeping a moved or canceled meeting in step means matching each Outlook event to the Google copy you made. That's more setup than most people want. Cost is the other thing to check: each copied event uses one Zapier task, since triggers don't use tasks, and Zapier's Free plan includes 100 tasks a month. For a calendar whose times change often, the ICS subscription is easier to live with.

I'd still build the Zap in one case: when a booking page tied to my main Google calendar needs to treat Outlook meetings as busy. Before going that far, I check the booking tool's settings, because some can look at extra calendars for conflicts on their own.

If your company uses Google Workspace with Outlook

This one runs the other way: it puts a Google Workspace calendar inside Outlook. If your work account is on Google Workspace and you just prefer the Outlook desktop app, you don't need any of the above. Google Workspace Sync for Microsoft Outlook (GWSMO) syncs email, calendar events and contacts between your Workspace account and Outlook, per Google's GWSMO guide. It's for accounts provided through work, school or another organization, so ask your IT team whether it's set up for you.

Outlook calendar not showing in Google Calendar? Fixes to try

Most problems come down to the wrong link, a work account that blocks publishing, or impatience with the refresh. Work through these in order:

• You pasted the HTML link. Google needs the ICS link, the one ending in .ics. Go back to Shared calendars in Outlook and copy the other one.
• You tried on your phone. Google's app can't add a calendar by URL. Use calendar.google.com on a computer.
• The Publish option is missing or greyed out. If your Outlook account comes from an employer or school, the organization may limit sharing outside the company. Ask IT, or use the export and import route if a snapshot is enough.
• Changes aren't showing yet. Subscriptions refresh on Google's schedule, not instantly. Check Outlook for anything time-sensitive.
• The calendar is hidden. Under Other calendars, make sure the box next to the Outlook calendar is ticked.
• Times look off by an hour or more. Check that Google Calendar's time zone in Settings matches the one you use in Outlook.
• You only see Busy blocks. You published with free and busy times only. Publish again with titles and locations if you need them.

How to stop sharing your Outlook calendar

To stop Google Calendar (and anyone else with the link) from seeing your Outlook calendar, unpublish it. In Outlook on the web, go to Settings, Shared calendars, and under Publish a calendar select Unpublish, per Microsoft's publishing guide. Then remove the old Outlook calendar from Other calendars in Google Calendar, since it will stop updating.

I unpublish the link whenever I leave a client engagement or change jobs. An old ICS link still sitting in a calendar somewhere is an easy thing to forget, and it shows your meetings to whoever has it. Microsoft's introduction to publishing is a good refresher on what a published calendar exposes.

Before you rely on it: a quick checklist

1. Publish with the lowest detail level you can work with.
2. Subscribe from a computer, not the phone app.
3. Color the Outlook calendar so you can tell it apart at a glance.
4. Check same-day changes in Outlook, not in the overlay.
5. Unpublish the link when you no longer need it.

If you also share your Google calendar with family or an assistant, our guide to sharing a Google Calendar from an iPhone covers the permission choices.