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How to Sync Google Calendar With Outlook

By Justin Pot · July 16, 2019
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You would think, by now, that Microsoft Outlook for Windows could sync with Google Calendar. For one thing, Google Calendar is the most popular online calendar in the world. For another, the macOS and mobile versions of Outlook already offer Google Calendar syncing.

Outlook for Windows, however, is another matter: Syncing isn't offered out-of-the-box. But it is possible. In this article we'll go over a few options:

  • Sync Google Calendar with Outlook using G Suite Sync. This method only works for paid G Suite accounts.

  • Subscribe to any Google Calendar in Outlook. This method offers a one-way subscription, meaning you can't add or edit Google Calendar appointments from inside Outlook.

  • Sync Google Calendar and Outlook events using Zapier. This method adds every new Google Calendar appointment directly to Outlook. You can also do this the other way around, adding new Outlook appointments to Google Calendar.

This tutorial is primarily geared toward Outlook for Windows. Why? Because Outlook for Android, macOS, iPhone, and iPad can all natively sync with Google Calendar. Just add your Google account to Outlook and you'll have two-way syncing for all of your calendars, along with your email, tasks, and contacts. (Why doesn't Outlook for Windows work this way? Great question. I wish I had an answer.)

Learn how to have Google Calendar events appear in the web version of Outlook.

Sync Google Calendar with Outlook Using G Suite Sync

Google offers a syncing tool for Microsoft Outlook for Windows, called G Suite Sync for Microsoft Outlook. This tool makes it easy to sync Gmail, Google Contacts, and Google Calendar with Outlook. But there's a catch: It's only available for paid G Suite users. This means you can't use it to sync with a free Google account (skip to the next section if that's you).

If you're a paid G Suite user, however, you can download G Suite Sync and install it on your PC. Close Outlook before installing. Eventually, you will be asked to sign in to your Google account.

G Suite Sync log in

Do that and you'll be prompted to give the application permission to access your data. After that, the application is installed and you can configure a few settings.

G Suite Sync settings

Enable the Import data from an existing profile option if you have email, contacts, and calendar appointments in Outlook that you'd like to move over to your Google account. Click Create profile once everything is configured to your liking, and the application will start running in the background.

G Suite Sync after installing

Open Outlook, and you will see a progress window, which shows you the syncing process.

G-Suite Sync shows this window while syncing, but you can close it

You can close this window without stopping the sync process. Head to the Calendar section in Outlook, and you should see you Google calendars there. (Note that appointments might take a while to sync over.)

Google Calendar synced over to Microsoft Outlook

You now have a true two-way sync set up between Google Calendar and Microsoft Outlook. Every new appointment added to Google Calendar will show up here, and every appointment you add to a relevant calendar in Outlook will show up in Google Calendar.

Subscribe to a Single Google Calendar in Outlook (Read Only)

The above tool doesn't work if you're using a free Google account, but that doesn't mean you can't see your Google Calendar appointments in Outlook. It just means you'll need to do a little more work settings things up, and you won't be able to add or edit events to Google Calendar from inside Outlook.

To get started, open Google Calendar. In the sidebar, hover over the calendar you'd like to add to Outlook. Three vertical dots will appear.

Find the settings for your calendar in Google Calendar

Click these dots, then click Settings and Sharing.

Settings and Sharing in Google Calendar

The settings for your calendar will open. Scroll down to the Integrate calendar section and you'll see the Secret address in iCal format.

The secret iCal address for your Google Calendar

Copy this URL. Next, open Outlook and head to the Calendar section. Click Open Calendar > From Internet.

Subscribe to online calendars in Outlook

A window will open.

Paste your iCal URL to subscribe to a calendar in Outlook

Paste the URL you copied earlier, then click OK. Your calendar will now show up in Outlook.

Want to add multiple calendars? Repeat the above steps for every calendar you'd like to add.

Remember: this is a read-only integration. Any appointments you add in Google Calendar will show up in Outlook, but you cannot add or edit your appointments in Outlook.

Add Google Calendar Events to Outlook (and Vice Versa) Using Zapier

Neither of the above approaches is perfect. The first only works if you have a paid G Suite account. The second amounts to a one-way subscription, which lets you see appointments from Google Calendar but not edit them.

There's a third way you can sync over appointments, however, and that's using Zapier. We offer integrations that connect thousands of apps, including Google Calendar and Microsoft Outlook. You could, for example, add every new appointment from a Google Calendar to an Outlook calendar. Here's a quick way to do just that:

Add Microsoft Outlook events from new Google Calendar events

Add Microsoft Outlook events from new Google Calendar events
  • Google Calendar logo
  • Microsoft Outlook logo
Google Calendar + Microsoft Outlook

This is great if you just want your Google Calendar appointments to show up in one of your Outlook calendars. You can set up as many integrations as you want, pulling in appointments from multiple calendars. You will be able to edit appointments after they make the jump over to Outlook, though you should note that changes made in Outlook won't be reflected in Google Calendar.

You can also do this the other way around, if you want, allowing you to copy all new events from an Outlook calendar to Google Calendar:

Once this is set up, you won't have to think about it: Your appointments will be sent over in the background without you having to do anything. And these are a just a couple examples of what you can set up. You can build your own integrations that work however you like, including filtering for certain event types; click here to get started.

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