Sharing calendars lets coworkers see your availability, lets family coordinate schedules, and lets you subscribe to public calendars like holidays or sports schedules. This guide covers how to share and subscribe across the three major calendar platforms.

Share a Google Calendar

You need to do this from a browser at calendar.google.com. The mobile app can't manage sharing settings.

Share with specific people:

1. In the left sidebar under My calendars, hover over the calendar you want to share
2. Click the three-dot menu and select Settings and sharing
3. Scroll to Share with specific people or groups
4. Click Add people and groups
5. Enter the email address of the person or group
6. Choose their permission level:
   • See only free/busy (hide details) – they see when you're busy but not what the events are
   • See all event details – they can read your events but can't change anything
   • Make changes to events – they can add, edit, and delete events
   • Make changes and manage sharing – full control, including sharing with others
7. Click Send

The recipient gets an email invitation. Once they accept, your calendar appears in their Other calendars list.

Make a calendar public:

1. Go to Settings and sharing for the calendar (same three-dot menu)
2. Under Access permissions for events, check Make available to public
3. Choose whether outsiders see only free/busy or all event details
4. Click Get shareable link to copy a URL you can send to anyone

Public calendars are visible to anyone with the link. Use this for team schedules or event calendars, not personal calendars.

Get an ICS link (for subscribing in other apps):

1. In the same Settings and sharing page, scroll down to Integrate calendar
2. You'll see two useful links:
   • Public address in iCal format – works if the calendar is public. Anyone with this link can subscribe
   • Secret address in iCal format – works even if the calendar is private. Treat this like a password; anyone with it can see your calendar
3. Copy the link and share it or paste it into another calendar app

short

1. calendar.google.com – hover calendar in sidebar, three-dot menu > Settings and sharing
2. Share with specific people: add email, pick permission level, click Send
3. Make public: check Make available to public under Access permissions
4. ICS link: scroll to Integrate calendar, copy the iCal format URL

Share an Outlook / Microsoft 365 Calendar

This works from Outlook on the web at outlook.office.com or the new Outlook app. Sharing options may be limited by your organization's admin settings.

Share with specific people:

1. Open Calendar from the left navigation
2. Right-click the calendar you want to share under My calendars and select Sharing and permissions (or click the Share button in the toolbar)
3. Enter the person's email address
4. Choose their permission level:
   • Can view when I'm busy – sees free/busy blocks only, no details
   • Can view titles and locations – sees event names and locations but not full descriptions
   • Can view all details – sees everything including descriptions and attendees
   • Can edit – can create, edit, and delete events on your calendar
   • Delegate – can manage meetings on your behalf (accept/decline invites, send as delegate)
5. Click Share

The recipient gets an email with a link to add your calendar. For people outside your organization, sharing availability may be restricted by your admin.

Publish a calendar (public link):

1. Go to Settings (gear icon) and search for Shared calendars or navigate to Calendar > Shared calendars
2. Under Publish a calendar, select the calendar and choose the detail level
3. Click Publish
4. Copy the ICS link to share with others

Not all Microsoft 365 organizations allow calendar publishing. If you don't see this option, check with your IT team.

short

1. In Outlook Calendar, right-click your calendar and choose Sharing and permissions
2. Enter the person's email, pick permission level (busy only, titles, all details, edit, or delegate)
3. Click Share – they get an email to add your calendar
4. For a public link: Settings > Shared calendars > Publish a calendar, copy the ICS link

Share an Apple Calendar

Apple Calendar sharing works through iCloud. You can share with specific people (Apple ecosystem) or create a public link anyone can subscribe to.

Share with specific people:

1. In the Calendar app on Mac, right-click (or Control-click) the calendar in the sidebar
2. Select Share Calendar
3. Enter the email addresses of the people you want to share with (they need an Apple Account)
4. Choose whether they can View only or View & Edit
5. Click Done

They'll get a notification and can accept the shared calendar. This only works with people who use Apple Calendar and iCloud.

Create a public link (ICS):

For sharing with non-Apple users (like someone using Outlook or Google Calendar):

1. Go to iCloud.com/calendar in a browser
2. Hover over the calendar name in the sidebar and click the share icon
3. Check Public Calendar
4. Copy the URL that appears – this is an ICS link

Anyone with this link can subscribe to your calendar in any calendar app. It's read-only and updates automatically. This is how you share an Apple calendar with Outlook or Google Calendar users.

short

1. Apple users: right-click calendar in sidebar, Share Calendar, add email addresses
2. Non-Apple users: go to iCloud.com/calendar, enable Public Calendar on the calendar, copy the ICS link
3. Share the ICS link – they can subscribe in any calendar app

Subscribe to an external calendar

ICS links let you subscribe to calendars from other services – holiday calendars, sports schedules, school calendars, or a coworker's shared calendar from a different platform.

In Google Calendar:

1. In the left sidebar, click the + next to Other calendars
2. Select From URL
3. Paste the ICS link
4. Click Add calendar

In Outlook (web or new Outlook):

1. Open Calendar
2. Click Add calendar
3. Select Subscribe from web (may also appear as "From internet")
4. Paste the ICS link
5. Give the calendar a name and pick a color
6. Click Import or Add

In Apple Calendar (Mac):

1. In the menu bar, click File > New Calendar Subscription
2. Paste the ICS link
3. Click Subscribe
4. Choose refresh frequency (every 5 minutes, every hour, every day, every week)
5. Click OK

Subscribed calendars are read-only – you can see events but can't edit them. Changes made by the calendar owner show up automatically, though refresh timing varies. Google and Outlook can be slow to update (sometimes hours). Apple Calendar lets you set the refresh interval.

short

1. Google: click + next to Other calendars > From URL, paste ICS link
2. Outlook: Add calendar > Subscribe from web, paste ICS link
3. Apple Calendar: File > New Calendar Subscription, paste ICS link

Cross-platform sharing

When you need to share calendars between different platforms (Google to Outlook, Apple to Google, etc.), ICS links are the universal connector.

• Google Calendar in Outlook: Get the ICS link from Google Calendar's Integrate calendar settings, subscribe to it in Outlook using Add calendar > Subscribe from web
• Outlook in Google Calendar: Publish your Outlook calendar to get an ICS link, subscribe in Google using Other calendars > From URL
• Apple Calendar in Outlook or Google: Make the calendar public on iCloud.com and copy the ICS link, subscribe in the other app
• Any calendar in Apple Calendar: Use File > New Calendar Subscription with any ICS link

Cross-platform subscriptions are always read-only and one-way. If you need two-way sync (editable from both sides), both people need to be on the same platform, or you'll need a third-party sync tool.

Room and resource calendars

If your organization uses Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, you may have room calendars (conference rooms) and resource calendars (projectors, vehicles, equipment) available.

• Google Workspace: Room calendars appear when you add a location to a meeting. You can also browse rooms under Other calendars > Browse resources
• Microsoft 365: When scheduling a meeting in Outlook, use the Room Finder to search for available rooms. Your admin configures which rooms and resources are available

Room calendars show availability so you can book rooms without double-booking. If you don't see any rooms or resources, your IT admin needs to set them up.