How to Sync iCloud and Google Calendars - Updated for 2026

Are you juggling iCloud Calendar and Google Calendar, and wondering if there’s a better way to manage both Calendars?

Sometimes, people use Google Calendar as their work calendar and Apple Calendar for their day-to-day planning. In such cases, it is necessary to keep the two in sync and have all meetings in one place, avoiding back-and-forths between platforms.

In this article, we’ll do a thorough step-by-step explanation of how to sync an iCloud Calendar with a Google Calendar, in both directions, the benefits and issues with each method, and our recommendation.

How to manually sync iCloud Calendar with Google Calendar by importing

The manual method of syncing an iCloud Calendar with a Google Calendar is by sharing the Apple Calendar and importing it into the Google Calendar.

By following this step-by-step guide, you can sync one Apple Calendar with another Google Calendar.

1. Open your iCloud calendar. You can open the iCloud Calendar by visiting https://www.icloud.com/calendar/.
2. Hover over the iCloud Calendar you want to sync with Google Calendar. The calendars are located on the sidebar on the left, below the Calendar section.
3. Click the Profile Picture Icon on the right of the iCloud Calendar you want to share. After clicking the icon, a modal with the title Calendar Sharing will pop up.
4. Toggle the Public Calendar (switch it on). This will make the iCloud Calendar public, and generate a new Webcal URL.
5. Copy the Webcal URL generated when toggling the Public Calendar toggle. You can copy the link by clicking the Copy button provided by Apple Calendar.
6. Open Google Calendar. You can open Google Calendar by visiting https://calendar.google.com/
7. Find the Other Calendars section. The Other Calendars section is located on the left side of the page, on the sidebar.
8. Click the + Icon. The plus icon is located on the right of the Other Calendars section.
9. Click From URL. After you click the plus icon, a modal pops up. You should click the option that reads From URL.
10. Paste the URL we copied from Apple Calendar. In step 5, we copied the Webcal URL that we generated from the Apple Calendar, by enabling Calendar Sharing. We should now paste that URL inside the From URL field in Google Calendar.
11. Click Add Calendar. Your iCloud Calendar is synced with your Google Calendar.

Your iCloud Calendar is now synced with your Google Calendar. You should be able to see all the iCloud Calendar events in your Google Calendar.

With the use of Calendar Automation tools, you are able to sync multiple calendars in real-time, without a need to share the calendars and make them public.

Pros of syncing iCloud Calendar with Google Calendar by importing

1. Meeting transparency: Your iCloud/Apple Calendar events sync with Google Calendar, providing you with the visibility of your schedule. This helps you have an overview of your schedule, and saves time, as you won’t have to check multiple calendars to see your availability.
2. The service is free of charge. You don’t have to pay for the service, as it’s provided by Apple Calendar and Google Calendar.

Downfalls of syncing iCloud Calendar with Google Calendar by importing

1. Not secure, with no privacy controls. When you sync your iCloud Calendar with Google Calendar by sharing, you’re basically making the iCloud Calendar public. If that’s not bad, workspace administrators can also see your private events along with their details.
2. The sync is not in real-time: Note that Google Calendar will not automatically sync with iCloud Calendar. You will notice a considerable delay in your events (up to 24 hours).
3. Leads meeting conflicts. Another significant downfall is that if your team members use the Find a Time feature in Google Calendar, they won’t be able to see events outside your Primary Google Calendar. Given that the iCloud Calendar we imported is a Shared Calendar, they won’t be able to see the busy slots in it, leading to scheduling conflicts.
4. Takes time to set up: Note that you can sync one iCloud Calendar at a time. If you want to sync more calendars, you’ll have to go through the same steps again.

How to sync Google Calendar with Apple Calendar through the Apple Calendar App

The steps above add your iCloud Calendar into Google Calendar. If you want to go the other way and view your Google Calendar inside Apple Calendar, here is how to do it.

Unlike Google Calendar or Outlook, Apple Calendar does not allow for importing via iCal or any other formats. Due to this restriction, a ‘real’ sync between Google Calendar and Apple Calendar is not possible using the Apple Calendar.

A workaround is to use the Apple Calendar on macOS, which can natively import other calendars, such as Google Calendar or Outlook. By leveraging this feature, we can add Google Calendar to Apple Calendar, making it easy to view all Google Calendar events in Apple Calendar.

Note that this is not a ‘real’ sync. It’s just adding a Google Calendar into the Apple Calendar app, making it so you can view Google Calendars and Apple Calendars separately. This does not clone your Google Calendar events into Apple Calendars or defend your time.

Cloning events from one calendar to another can be achieved using a Calendar Sync Tool built to keep calendars in sync, automatically.

Following these steps, you can sync Google Calendar with Apple Calendar using the macOS Calendar app:

1. Open the Calendar App on your Mac: You can directly search the calendar by clicking Command + Space and typing Calendar.
2. Click ‘Calendar’ on the toolbar: After opening the Calendar app, you should be able to see the Calendar button on the toolbar.
3. Click ‘Add Account’: Clicking ‘Add Account’ allows you to add different calendar providers, such as Google Calendar, Outlook, etc.
4. Click ‘Google’: This option lets you connect your Google Calendar to your macOS Calendar app.
5. Click Continue.
6. Sign In with Google. The Sign-in pages use the Google OAuth flow and are secure. You should enter the email and password of the Google account you want to connect to the macOS Calendar.
7. Select ‘Calendars’ as the app to connect. You can import Google Contacts, Mail, or Calendar, but we’ll choose Calendar for the purpose of this article, as we only need the Google Calendar.
8. Your Google Calendar can now be accessed via your macOS Calendar app.

Downfalls of syncing Google Calendar with Apple Calendar through the macOS Calendar app

• It does not block time in your Apple Calendar for Google Calendar events: Given that we’re just importing the Google Calendar into the macOS Calendar app, the Google Calendar is separate from the Apple Calendar. You have the ability to view all the events in one calendar, but Apple Calendar and Google Calendar are effectively not synced together.
• It only works for the macOS device you add the Google Calendar to: If you open the calendar app on your iPhone (or any other platform), you won’t be able to see your Google Calendar, as the import is per device (thus, we called it ‘not a real sync’ above). The Google Calendar import does not affect the Apple Calendar.

Is there an automated way to sync Apple Calendar with Google Calendar?

Calendar automation tools such as OneCal have made it easy to automatically sync calendars, in less than a couple of minutes.

OneCal integrates with Google Calendar, Outlook, and iCloud Calendars, making it one of the few calendar platforms that support all major calendar providers.

The difference between a Calendar Sync Tool and importing a calendar manually is that Calendar Sync Tools use official APIs from calendar providers (Google Calendar, Outlook, etc) to sync calendars in real-time. They clone events from one calendar to another, so you can consolidate all calendars.

How to automatically sync iCloud and Google Calendar

1. Sign up for OneCal for free: OneCal offers a 2-week free trial, no credit card is required. You can sign up for OneCal by visiting the Onecal signup page.
2. Connect your Google and iCloud Calendars. OneCal allows you to connect as many calendars as you’d like. For this example, we’ll connect iCloud and Google Calendars.
3. Start syncing your calendars. After you connect your calendars, you have to click the ‘Start new Sync’ button, which takes you to the flow that enables calendar syncing.
4. Select the sync direction. OneCal has one-way and multi-way syncs. One-way syncs sync from a calendar to one or more calendars. Multi-way keeps multiple calendars in sync. You can sync iCloud to Google, Google to iCloud, or keep both in sync at the same time.
5. Select the iCloud and Google calendars you want to sync. Depending on the direction you choose, select your source and target calendars. For a one-way sync from iCloud to Google, you’ll select an iCloud Calendar as a source, and a Google Calendar as the target.
6. Configure how events are synced. This is the feature that makes OneCal powerful, as it allows you to keep your privacy intact by deciding what is synced between iCloud and Google Calendar. You can choose to only sync the time, by marking all events with a ‘Busy’ title, or sync event properties like titles, descriptions, and more.

Your iCloud and Google Calendars are now synced!

OneCal works in the background, making sure events are synced between iCloud and Google Calendars as soon as they’re created or updated.

Use OneCal to sync iCloud Calendar with Google Calendar

OneCal is the go-to calendar syncing platform, used by thousands of professionals to streamline their schedule across all major calendar providers. Use OneCal to seamlessly sync Apple iCloud Calendar with Google Calendar.

To try OneCal, you can sign up for a 14-day free trial, no credit card is required.

FAQ

Does sharing an iCloud Calendar with Google Calendar create a real-time sync?

No. Sharing only imports a static copy in the form of a secondary calendar, and Google may take up to 24 hours to refresh, so changes are not instant.

Why do I have to turn on “Public Calendar” in iCloud when importing to Google?

Because iCloud only generates a shareable Webcal URL when a calendar is made public, and Google Calendar needs that URL to import.

Why can’t I import Google Calendar into Apple Calendar with an iCal file?

Apple Calendar doesn’t accept iCal or other file imports, so you can’t import Google Calendar events that way.

Is adding Google Calendar to the macOS Calendar app a true sync?

No. The Google calendar just appears alongside Apple calendars, and events aren’t copied between them, so busy time isn’t protected.

What limits come with viewing Google Calendar in Apple Calendar via macOS?

The link is device-specific and keeps Google and Apple calendars separate, so Google events won’t show on your iPhone, and you can’t block time in an Apple calendar.

Will my coworkers see busy times from the imported iCloud Calendar in Google’s “Find a time” view?

No. Google treats the imported calendar as secondary, so its busy slots aren’t taken into account when others schedule meetings with you.

Is importing iCloud to Google Calendar secure?

Not really. Making a calendar public exposes your events, and administrators can view the full details.

Can I sync iCloud and Google calendars automatically without making them public?

Yes. A calendar sync tool such as OneCal connects both accounts via secure APIs and keeps them in sync privately.

Does OneCal update iCloud and Google calendars in real time?

Yes. Once set up, OneCal watches for changes and pushes them to the other calendar immediately, and it mirrors event deletions as well as new events.

Can I choose what information is copied when syncing with OneCal?

Yes. You can opt to sync only busy status or include titles, descriptions, and other fields as needed.

Is there a free way to test OneCal’s iCloud Calendar-Google Calendar sync?

Yes. OneCal offers a 14-day free trial so you can verify that real-time sync works for your calendars before paying.