Home » Internet » How to Sync Outlook Calendar to Google Calendar

How to Sync Outlook Calendar to Google Calendar

by Ravi Teja KNTS

While my personal email account is on Gmail, I also have a work account on Outlook. Both Google and Microsoft have calendar apps built into their email apps making it inconvenient for me to check and schedule two different calendars. One way to fix this problem is to sync the Outlook calendar with Google Calendar. That way, I can just check Google Calendar and find all my personal and work events right in one place.

Here’s how you can sync Outlook Calendar to Google Calendar.

Sync Outlook Calendar to Google Calendar

There are a few ways to sync these two calendar apps, but let me start with the default option — one I implemented in my workflow.

1. Subscribe to Outlook Calendar on Google Calendar

Most calendar apps allow subscribing to third-party calendars apps. Here’s how you can subscribe to an Outlook Calendar from Google Calendar app.

1. First, open Outlook web app in your favorite browser and select Calendar in the sidebar to open Outlook Calendar.

Calendar option on Outlook

2. Now, click on the cog icon at the top right corner to open Outlook Settings.

Opening Outlook settings

3. This will open settings in the right sidebar. Scroll down and click on View all Outlook settings.

click on View all Outlook settings option

4. This will open Outlook settings in a pop-up window. Select the Shared Calendars option under Calendar menu.

Opening Shared Calendars settings on Outlook

5. Again, scroll down to Publish a Calendar section and select the Calendar you want to sync.

Publishing a calendar on Outlook

6. Now click on Select permissions and select Can view all details and then click on Publish.

Managing permissions for publishing calendar in Outlook

7. Here you shall find two links. Select the ICS link option and then click on Copy link in the pop-up menu.

Copying ICS link to Publish Calendar on Outlook

8. Once copied, open Google Calendar on the web browser and in the left sidebar, click on the Plus (+) icon beside Other calendars.

Adding new calendar on Google Calendar

9. Now select From URL in the pop-up menu.

Adding calendar with URL on Google Calendar

10. Now paste the ICS link you copied in step 7 above and then click on Add Calendar button.

Paste the ICS link in the URL section to add on Google Calendar

That’s it. You have successfully added Outlook calendar to Google Calendar app. Now close settings and you will find the Outlook calendar under the Other calendars section in Google Calendar by the same name that you gave it in the Outlook app. Click on the three-dot menu icon to customize the look of the calendar.

The sync can take anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes. The only con is that you can view your Outlook calendar events in Google Calendar, but you cannot edit them or add a new event directly from here. For that, you will need to open the Outlook app.

2. Export and Import the Calendar

Though you have an in-built subscription option, it only offers the ability to view your Outlook calendar events in Google Calendar. You cannot edit existing or add new events. It works great when you only want a birds-eye view of your events in one place, but if you want to switch completely to Google Calendar and make it a one-stop solution for your event planning, you need to import all your Outlook Calendar data to Google Calendar.

Note: There is no way to export Outlook Calendar data from the official Outlook.com website. You will need the desktop app for that.

1. In Outlook’s desktop app, click on the Calendar icon in the bottom left corner.

Opening Calendar option on Outlook

2. Now, click on the File menu that is located in the top left corner.

Opening File option on Outlooik

3. On the next page, click on Save Calendar to save all the calendar data in an iCal file format.

Saving Outlook Calendar

4. Use the default name or give a name to the iCal file. Once done, click on Save.

Saving Outlook Calendar on Windows

5. Now open Google Calendar, click on the Cog icon at the top right corner, and select Settings.

Opening Google Calendar Settings

6. In the settings, click on the Imports and exports option, then click on Select file from your computer to upload the iCal file you just downloaded from Outlook.

Importing Outlook Calendar to Google Calendar

7. Now click on Add to calendar option and select the calendar that you want to add Outlook entries. If you want to add these Outlook details to a new calendar, you need to go back and create a new calendar first. Once the calendar is created and selected, click on the Import button.

Importing iCal Calendar on Google Calendar

All the Outlook Calendar details will be available in your Google Calendar instantly once the iCal file is imported.

Now you can use Google Calendar for all your day planning, events, reminders, etc. Note that this will not sync both the services and any new events you add to the Outlook app won’t appear in Google Calendar. You will need to export and import every now and then for that. The two calendar apps are not in sync via the cloud.

If you are looking to sync Outlook with Google calendar with the ability to edit entries on both the services, check out Zapier.

3. Use Zapier to Sync Outlook With Google Calendar

The in-built subscription option syncs both the calendars, but you can only view Outlook calendar events and not edit them. Exporting and importing calendars solve this problem, but new Outlook events won’t sync to Google Calendar. Enter Zapier.

While there are other tools like Calendar bridge that do the same job, they are paid. Zapier offers a freemium model where you can create up to three zaps for free. Zaps is what you need to connect two apps and make them work together.

1. First, open Zapier and click on Sign-up to create a Zapier account or you can directly log in with your Google Microsoft or Facebook account.

Logging into Zapier

2. Once logged in, open Microsoft Outlook to Google Calendar zap. Click on the Sign in to Microsoft Outlook button and Sign in to Google account to log in to these accounts.

Syncing Outlook Calendar with Google Calendar using Zapier

4. Once done, you will find a third option below — Calendar. Click on the Choose Value option below it and select a calendar from your Google Calendar. All the Microsoft Outlook Calendar details will be synced to the selected Calendar. Create a new calendar beforehand in Google Calendar if you want to keep things organized and clean.

Selecting the Calendar on Google Calendar

5. Once done, click on the Turn on Zap button at the bottom right corner. This will enable the Zap and all events from Outlook will begin syncing to Google Calendar.

Turning on Zap to Sync Outlook and Google Calendar

If you are using the free version of Zapier, it may take around 15-20 mins to sync Outlook events. But Zapier has multiple premium plans to decrease the sync time that also provides additional features and more Zaps for you to add later.

Wrap Up: Sync Outlook Calendar to Google Calendar

If all you need is to view all your events under one roof, use the in-built subscribe option. You can also export and import Outlook calendars to make changes to the existing events. But if you want to sync both the calendar apps with the ability to edit your events live, use Zapier. It is free and offers advanced features in the premium plans including a reduction in the sync duration.

Also Read:

You may also like