How To Sync Google Calendar to Outlook - Updated 2024 Guide

If you're finding it hard to sync Google Calendar with Outlook, we have good news. In this article, we'll explain how to sync Google Calendar to Outlook, the pros and cons of each method, and our recommendations.

Prefer video? Here is our step-by-step tutorial on syncing Google Calendar to Outlook.

The Issues Caused by Managing Google and Outlook Calendars

The main pain point of managing multiple Google and Outlook Calendars is that your availability is scattered across multiple calendars, leading to double bookings and confusion.

Suppose you have an Outlook Calendar for your work company, Acme Inc., and a personal Google Calendar. Coworkers from Acme Inc. can’t see your full availability, as some busy slots are on your Google Calendar.

Example: James from Acme Inc. wants to book a meeting with you on Tuesday, 1 PM, through your work Outlook Calendar. On his side, he sees that you’re free at 1 PM and completes the booking. James didn’t know that you had a personal appointment at the same time because that time slot was blocked on your personal Google Calendar.

If your Google Calendar were synced with your Outlook Calendar, James would see that you’re busy on Tuesday, 1 PM, and would find another slot to book time with you.

How to Sync Google Calendar to Outlook Calendars via Calendar Sharing Feature

If you search ‘How to sync Google Calendar with Outlook’ on Google, most results suggest using Outlook's built-in Calendar sharing.

While you can import a Google Calendar into an Outlook account, it doesn’t mean that the Google Calendar is synced with Outlook.

Importing a Google Calendar into Outlook allows you to see the Google Calendar in your Outlook Account, but the issue remains the same. The Google Calendar is still a separate calendar in your Outlook account, and coworkers can’t see its availability, leading to scheduling conflicts.

Pros of sharing the Outlook Calendar with Google Calendar

The only benefit of importing the Google Calendar into the Outlook account is the ability to view Outlook and Google Calendars simultaneously. Note that no one else in your Outlook Account can view your Google Calendar.

Downfalls of sharing the Outlook Calendar with Google Calendar

1. It doesn’t sync the Google Calendar with Outlook: Importing a Google Calendar into an Outlook account doesn’t mean the calendars are synced. All this does is for you to view Outlook and Google Calendar in one view, but the calendars are ultimately separate and not synced.
2. No privacy controls: You will have very little control over the privacy of imported calendars. Workspace administrators may be able to see events and details for those events from imported calendars. This is a deal-breaker for a lot of people.
3. Updates are delayed by 24+ hours: New changes take 24 hours or longer to update in Google Calendar. Often, new events are not synchronized, so you must follow the same steps as above.

How to Sync Google Calendar with Outlook Calendar Automatically?

With the use of calendar sync tools, such as OneCal, you can sync multiple Google and Outlook Calendars, in real-time, according to your preferences. You can easily configure how events are cloned, adjust privacy settings, and enjoy many other features, all in under a minute.

To sync Google Calendar with Outlook, follow these steps:

1. Create a Free OneCal Account

You can sign up for OneCal for free; no credit card is required. You should be able to finish the account creation and onboarding in seconds.

2. Connect your Google and Outlook Calendars

With OneCal, you are not limited to syncing one Google Calendar to an Outlook Calendar. Instead, you can sync multiple Google and Outlook Calendars in real-time.

3. Choose The Calendar Sync Direction

OneCal supports one-way or multi-way calendar sync directions.

One-way: Allows you to sync events from a calendar to another calendar. If you sync a Google Calendar to an Outlook Calendar (Google Calendar → Outlook), the events are cloned from Google Calendar to Outlook, but not vice versa.

Multi-way: Allows you to sync calendars both ways; calendars will mirror each other. If you sync a Google Calendar to an Outlook Calendar (Google Calendar → Outlook), the events are cloned from Google Calendar to Outlook, and vice versa.

For this example, we’ll select the one-way direction, as we want Google Calendar events to be synced to our Outlook Calendar.

4. Choose which calendars to sync

As mentioned, you can sync more than two calendars using OneCal. For this example, let’s choose Google Calendar as the source and Outlook as the target, so Google Calendar is synced with Outlook.

If we choose the multi-way direction, we can select multiple Google and Outlook Calendars, and OneCal will automatically keep them in sync.

5. Configure how events are copied

Opposed to sharing calendars, aside from the fact that OneCal truly syncs Google Calendars to Outlook, it also allows you to choose what event properties are synced from one calendar to another.

With OneCal, you don’t need to publish the Google Calendar or make it available to Google Search. You are in control of the meeting details that go over to your Outlook Calendar.

For this example, given that we’re syncing our personal Google Calendar to Outlook, we’ll just block the time in Outlook. To do so, we’ll unselect all properties, give the clones a title of ‘Busy’, and start the sync.

We'll also select the color 'Purple' for the clone events, so we can distinguish them better on Outlook

6. Your Calendars are synced!

In a matter of seconds, OneCal synced the Google Calendar to Outlook. You can open the Google Calendar and Outlook side by side and see that Google Calendar events are in Outlook.

Not only that but as soon as you create a meeting in Google Calendar, it’s automatically picked up by OneCal and synced to Outlook.

You can also leverage the OneCal Calendar View to view Google and Outlook Calendars in one view. Furthermore, you can hide the clone events created by OneCal.

Benefits of using OneCal to sync Google Calendar and Outlook.

1. Real-time, automatic sync. Outlook and Google Calendar can be seamlessly synchronized in real-time. Once the sync is set up, you can rest assured that your events will consistently and reliably sync without any concerns.
2. You have control over your privacy. With this synchronization, you will retain complete control over the privacy of your synced calendars. Rest assured that workspace administrators won't have access to view events or details for calendars cloned by OneCal.
3. Effortlessly sync multiple Outlook and Google Calendars in under a minute. OneCal supports one-way and multi-way syncs. You can sync a Google Calendar to an Outlook Calendar, or multiple Google and Outlook Calendars in real-time.

Automatically Sync Your Google Calendar With Outlook Using OneCal

Importing a Google Calendar into an Outlook account is useful for viewing both calendars in one view, but it doesn’t sync Google Calendar with Outlook.

OneCal offers a reliable Google Calendar and Outlook Calendar sync with plenty of privacy customizations.

Sign up for OneCal for free (no credit card needed) to effortlessly sync Google Calendar with Outlook.