Life would be so much easier if you only had one calendar with all your appointments and meetings. You’ll be able to see your free time easily, just like anyone else who has access to your schedule and wants to book time with you. double booked and missed meetings just wouldn’t happen.
Unfortunately, the reality is that you probably have multiple calendars, and as you’re reading this, both Google and Microsoft calendars don’t communicate with each other.
It is for this reason that calendar synchronization tools exist and there are many. here we’ll outline all the options you have, including workarounds, as well as the best tools we’ve found to get the job done.
The best option for you will depend on exactly what you need to have happen and how much you’re willing to spend.
can i sync google and outlook calendars?
first ask yourself if you really need to sync google and outlook calendars. you might think so, but there are several alternative approaches that might solve your problem.
for example, if you have an iphone or android phone, you should be able to add multiple accounts and thus multiple calendars.
this approach usually means that google and outlook calendars appear together in the same application. this doesn’t sync, but it does mean you can see two or more calendars in the same app and in the same view.
If you’re using a PC or laptop with the Outlook app on Windows, it might be time to ditch it and move to the online version, Outlook.com, which supports multiple calendars.
There are several other advantages to using an online email/calendar service: you can log in from any computer with an internet connection, and you don’t have any syncing issues since everything is stored online.
Just be aware of the drawbacks of these approaches. The main one is that in a business environment, anyone checking to see if you’re available at a given time won’t see all of your calendars—they’ll just see, say, the microsoft or google one you use for work. that’s where proper timing becomes important.
best tools & applications to synchronize outlook and google calendars
If you don’t want to use any of the solutions below, you can use an app or service that syncs your google and outlook calendars. some are free, but may have limitations that turn out to be a deal breaker. however, since they are free, you can at least try them out to see if they are good enough.
synchronized gene
syncgene can automatically sync contacts, calendars and tasks across iphone, android, outlook, gmail and apps. there’s a free version that’s limited to two data sources and doesn’t offer automatic syncing, but a paid subscription costs $4.95 per month. if you subscribe, please note that there is a 14 day refund policy, so make sure you’re happy before your time runs out.
calendar bridge
calendarbridge is a new online service that can not only sync up to 10 of your microsoft and google calendars, but also offers some very useful options. One is that you can choose to sync only your busy or free hours, which can ensure that personal events don’t get synced with your work calendar. You can also choose not to show information about events synced from another calendar, so it will only show the time as busy.
Because all syncing happens in the cloud, it doesn’t matter if you’re using Windows 10, MacOS, iOS, or Android, or which calendar app you choose to use. everything is supported, as long as you can see outlook or google calendar.
The service does not see or store your Google or Microsoft logins and works directly on cloud servers, so your synced calendars are viewable and available on any of your devices. it costs $4 per month, but this is a 50 percent discount from the usual $8 per month per user. There’s also a helpful seven-day trial that doesn’t ask for credit card details.
synchronize2
sync2 (image below) syncs outlook with google calendar and does a lot more plus $59.95 per year (discounts available). it can be synchronized on a schedule or whenever a change in perspective is detected.
other options
oggsync does a similar job and is now at version 10 and costs $29.95 per year per user.
gsyncit v5 is a $19.99 outlook plugin that enables one-way and two-way synchronization between outlook and google calendar and is highly recommended by those who use it.
yet another option is to scan outlook4gmail, which syncs your outlook calendar with your google calendar. it can also sync contacts and a single license costs $28.98.
free apps to sync google and outlook calendars
calendar sync seems to be the perfect replacement for the old google sync tool for outlook users. Please note, however, that the free version will only sync events within 30 days of the sync date, so if you need to sync recurring events, you need calendar sync pro, which costs $9.99.
some people like the calendar sync, while others say it causes problems.
another option is outlook google calendar sync, which is free and is updated regularly. you can sync events, including attendees and reminders. does not have to be installed and works behind web proxies. definitely worth a try.
just use a calendar
This may not be an option for you if you have personal and work calendars that need to be on different platforms, but it’s worth considering if you can manage but using only one calendar, if possible. It’s helpful to use multiple email providers, but when it comes to your calendar, why not pick one and use it?
Simplifies the scheduling of appointments and events and solves the synchronization problem instantly. Both Google and Microsoft support multiple calendars, such as work and personal, and offer a single calendar or combined views. (By the way, this applies whether you’re using a mobile device or a PC/Laptop).
When adding a new event, you can choose which calendar to add it to. this is the only complication, as it is too easy to add an event to the wrong calendar. but at least you won’t have problems with synchronization.
If this sounds like a good idea, you may want to export data from one calendar to another instead of manually replicating existing events and appointments. here’s how.
how to import & export google calendars
To export events from Google Calendar, you’ll need to use the web version on a PC or Mac.
click the gear icon at the top right of the interface and then click settings.
Now click on the corresponding calendar in the my calendar settings section on the left. On the right you should see a button marked export calendar. it downloads as a zip, so copy the .ics file.
An alternative method is to click the three dots to the right of one of your calendars and then click settings and sharing. This takes you to the same screen with the export option.
On the same setup screen, you’ll notice an import & export option (down arrow). click here and you’ll find the options to import a calendar, as well as another button to export all your calendars at once.
how to import & export outlook calendars
To import google calendar to outlook windows app, go to file>open and export>import and export. select the option to import an icalendar (.ics) file.
You can also check out 11 Ways to Use Google Calendar Like a Pro.
To export your outlook calendar (from the outlook app), go to file>open and export>import and export. select export to a file and save it to a .csv file.
how to import a calendar using outlook.com
If you use the calendar section of outlook.com, you can’t export, but you can import.
To do so, click add calendar, then choose from file from the menu and navigate to your google calendar .ics file to import it.
how to view outlook and google calendars together
android
On an android phone or tablet, install the free microsoft outlook app from the google play store. (Unfortunately, you can’t just add a microsoft or outlook account in android’s “add account” settings. You can try adding an exchange account, but it doesn’t work with all microsoft accounts.)
When you first install it on your phone, a message appears asking if you want to link it to another account, including gmail. choose this and your calendars will sync.
iphone and amp; iPad
The calendar app on an iphone and ipad can also display a combined google and outlook calendar. go to settings, mail, contacts, calendars and touch add account.
use the options to add google and outlook.com accounts. Accept the offer to sync calendars and voila. Events added to Google Calendar, Outlook.com Calendar, or Outlook if synced with Outlook.com, automatically appear in the iOS Calendar app.
use invitations
One way to make an appointment appear on your google and outlook calendars simultaneously is to simply invite yourself by entering your email address when creating a new event. Basically, you create a meeting with yourself, so in google calendar you would invite yourself by adding your outlook or outlook.com email address.
outlook adds a google calendar invite as an unconfirmed event. you can leave it like this or click the accept button in the email to confirm it. outlook.com does not automatically add invitations to your calendar, and you must click accept in the email.
You can manually accept invitations sent by email from outlook/outlook.com to google calendar in gmail, but there is a better way. click the gear icon in google calendar and click settings. Click general at the top of the left column and scroll down until you see the event settings section.
In these there is an option to add invitations automatically. use the dropdown menu to chooseyes.
