How to Sync Outlook Calendar With Google Calendar

To sync your Outlook calendar with Google Calendar, publish your Outlook calendar to get its ICS link, then subscribe to that link in Google Calendar using the From URL option. Google reads the feed automatically and your Outlook events appear inside Google Calendar, read-only, refreshing on Google's own schedule. The same approach works in reverse: grab Google's secret iCal address and subscribe to it in Outlook. Below are the exact steps for both directions, the import method when you only need a one-time copy, and the point at which the free ICS approach stops being enough and you need a true two-way sync tool.

One thing to set expectations on first: subscribing by ICS is a one-way, read-only feed. You'll see one calendar's events inside the other, but you can't edit or delete them from the borrowed view, and updates are not instant. Google typically refreshes subscribed calendars every several hours (sometimes up to 24), and Outlook does the same. That delay is the single biggest gotcha, so it's covered in detail below.

Add Outlook calendar to Google (the ICS subscribe method)

To add your Outlook calendar to Google, you first publish the Outlook calendar to generate a public ICS link, then point Google at it.

Step 1 - Publish your Outlook calendar and copy the ICS link. In Outlook on the web or outlook.com:

1. Select the Settings gear, then Calendar, then Shared calendars (in some builds this is under Calendar > Share at the top of the page).
2. Under Publish a calendar, choose the calendar you want to share from the dropdown.
3. Set permissions to Can view all details.
4. Select Publish.
5. Two links appear, HTML and ICS. Copy the ICS link (it looks like https://outlook.live.com/owa/calendar/.../calendar.ics).

Step 2 - Subscribe to that link in Google Calendar. On the web at calendar.google.com:

1. In the left sidebar, find Other calendars and click the + (Add other calendars) icon.
2. Choose From URL.
3. Paste the Outlook ICS link.
4. Click Add calendar.

Your Outlook events now appear under Other calendars in Google. They're read-only here, edits still have to happen in Outlook. Google polls the feed periodically, so a meeting you just added in Outlook may take a few hours to show up in Google. There is no button to force an immediate refresh of a subscribed calendar; that limitation is built into how ICS feeds work.

If typing through publish settings feels like a lot just to get events from one place to another, there's a shortcut for the everyday case of capturing a single event. Highlight the date and details anywhere in your browser, right-click, and the Text to Google Calendar extension creates the event in Google Calendar instantly, with the time, location, and description parsed for you. There's a companion Text to Outlook Calendar extension that does the same for Outlook, so whichever calendar you live in, you can add an event in one click instead of retyping it.

Sync Google Calendar to Outlook (the reverse direction)

To go the other way and see Google events in Outlook, you grab Google's private iCal feed and subscribe to it inside Outlook.

Step 1 - Copy the secret iCal address from Google Calendar. On calendar.google.com:

1. Under My calendars on the left, hover over the calendar, click the three dots (⋮), and choose Settings and sharing.
2. Scroll to the Integrate calendar section.
3. Find Secret address in iCal format and click the copy icon.

Treat that secret address like a password, anyone with the link can see your calendar.

Step 2 - Subscribe in Outlook. In Outlook on the web or outlook.com:

1. Select Calendar in the navigation pane.
2. Click Add calendar.
3. Select Subscribe from web.
4. Paste the Google secret iCal URL and give the calendar a name.
5. Click Import.

If you use classic Outlook for Windows instead, the path differs: subscribing to a live internet calendar there is done through account settings, while a one-time file import uses File > Open & Export > Import/Export > Import an iCalendar (.ics) file. The new Outlook for Windows mirrors the web steps above.

Same caveat as before: this is a read-only view that refreshes on Outlook's schedule, not in real time.

Import method: a one-time copy instead of a live feed

Subscribing keeps a calendar updating. Importing does the opposite, it drops a one-time snapshot of events into your calendar as fully editable entries, with no ongoing connection. Use import when you're migrating events once (say, moving off Outlook for good) rather than keeping two calendars in step.

To import a file into Google Calendar, first export from Outlook (or save any .ics file), then:

1. In Google Calendar, click the Settings gear, then Settings.
2. In the left menu choose Import & export.
3. Click Select file from your computer, pick the .ics file, choose the destination calendar, and click Import.

To import a file into Outlook on the web: click Add calendar, choose Upload from file, Browse to your .ics file, pick the destination calendar, and select Import. (If you need to generate an ICS file from scratch, our free ICS generator builds one you can import anywhere.) For the Google-side details, our add ICS to Google Calendar guide walks through both subscribe and import in depth.

The key difference to remember: an imported event is yours to edit and won't ever update from the source; a subscribed event updates from the source but can't be edited locally.

When you need a real two-way sync tool

Everything above is one-way and read-only. That's fine if you just want to see the other calendar to avoid double-booking. It breaks down the moment you need changes to flow both ways, for example, accepting a meeting in Google and having it reflected in Outlook, or editing an event once and trusting both calendars to match.

Reach for a dedicated two-way sync service (CalendarBridge, OneCal, Reclaim, and similar) when:

• You need create, edit, and delete to propagate in both directions.
• You want near-real-time updates instead of a multi-hour ICS delay.
• You're managing availability across both calendars for scheduling and don't want stale free/busy data.
• You need to hide event details but still block time (busy-only sync), which ICS feeds can't selectively do.

These tools run a server-side connection between the two accounts and poll far more frequently than a public ICS feed, which is why they can offer two-way editing and minute-level freshness, at the cost of a subscription and granting them access to both calendars.

For most people who just want their work Outlook schedule visible next to their personal Google calendar, the free ICS subscribe method in the first two sections is enough. Set it up once in each direction and you'll see both sets of events side by side. And when you need to add something to either calendar fast, skip the manual entry: the Text to Google Calendar extension and the matching Outlook version turn any highlighted text, an email, a confirmation, a message, into a calendar event in one right-click. See our roundup of the best Google Calendar Chrome extensions for more, or learn how to create a calendar event from an email in Outlook.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I sync my Outlook calendar with Google Calendar for free?

Publish your Outlook calendar (Settings > Calendar > Shared calendars > Publish a calendar > Can view all details) and copy the ICS link. Then in Google Calendar, click the + next to Other calendars, choose From URL, paste the link, and click Add calendar. Your Outlook events appear in Google as a read-only feed. It's free but one-way, and updates can take several hours to refresh.

Why is there a delay when syncing Outlook and Google Calendar with ICS?

ICS subscriptions are pull-based: the receiving calendar polls the published feed on its own schedule rather than getting instant pushes. Google and Outlook typically refresh subscribed calendars every few hours, sometimes up to 24, and neither offers a force-refresh button. If you need near-real-time updates, you need a dedicated two-way sync tool instead of an ICS feed.

Can I make a two-way sync between Outlook and Google Calendar?

Not with the built-in ICS subscribe method, which is one-way and read-only. To have edits, additions, and deletions flow in both directions, you need a third-party two-way sync service like CalendarBridge, OneCal, or Reclaim. These connect both accounts server-side and update far more frequently than a public ICS feed, usually for a subscription fee.

What's the difference between subscribing to and importing a calendar?

Subscribing creates a live, read-only feed that keeps updating from the source but can't be edited where it appears. Importing drops a one-time snapshot of editable events with no ongoing connection, so later changes at the source won't appear. Subscribe to monitor another calendar; import when you're migrating events once.

Why can't I edit Outlook events inside Google Calendar?

When you add an Outlook calendar to Google via the From URL subscribe method, Google displays it as a read-only feed. Editing, deleting, and creating must happen in Outlook, where the events actually live. To edit events from either app, you'd need a two-way sync tool or you simply manage each event in its native calendar.