How to sync two Google calendars (or merge them into one view)

Most people with two Google calendars have two Google accounts: a work Google Workspace account and a personal Gmail, or two client Workspaces. Google gives you two free ways to bring them together. Neither one makes the second account show you as busy.

If you only want to see both calendars in one place, sharing is enough and costs nothing. If colleagues or clients book you in either account, you need a sync.

Method 1: Share one calendar with your other account (free)

This is what most people mean by "merge Google calendars". The events stay in their own account, and you see both calendars in one view.

1. On a computer, open Google Calendar in the account you want to share from.
2. Under "My calendars", point at the calendar, click More and then "Settings and sharing".
3. Click "Shared with", then "Add people and groups".
4. Enter the address of your other Google account and pick a permission. "See only free/busy (hide details)" shows the time only. "See event details" shows everything.
5. Click Send.
6. In the other account, open the email from Google and click the link in it. The calendar appears under "Other calendars".

Repeat in the other direction if you want both calendars visible in both accounts.

A work Workspace account may not let you share outside the organization. That is a setting your admin controls.

What sharing does not do

Sharing puts the other calendar next to yours on your screen. It does not add anything to your own calendar. When a colleague checks your availability, or someone sends you an invite, they see only the events in your own account. A dentist appointment in your personal Gmail still looks like free time at work.

Method 2: Copy events with export and import (free, one-time)

Google Calendar can export a calendar as an .ics file and import it into another account.

1. On a computer, sign in to the account you are copying from and export the calendar. You get an .ics file. Google says you can only export from a computer, not a phone or tablet.
2. Sign in to the other account and open Settings, then "Import & export".
3. Click "Select file from your computer" and choose the .ics file.
4. Choose which calendar the events go into, then click Import.

Google's help page says it plainly: "Imported events don't stay in sync between your 2 accounts." New events, moved meetings and cancellations after the import stay behind. Use this to move a calendar you are retiring, not to keep two active calendars in step.

Method 3: Two-way sync with Caltsu

Caltsu watches both accounts. When an event is added, moved or cancelled in one, it adds, moves or removes a Busy block in the other.

1. Start a trial. It runs 14 days and does not ask for a card.
2. Connect your first Google account.
3. Connect your second Google account.
4. Put both calendars in one sync group.

Each account now shows a Busy block for every event in the other. The block has the start and end time, the title Busy, which you can change, and a note naming the source calendar. The event title, attendees, location and notes stay where they were. Changes arrive through Google push notifications, usually within seconds.

Caltsu syncs the primary calendar of each Google account you connect. It does not sync secondary calendars you created inside one account. There is no limit on how many accounts you connect, and you can add Microsoft 365 or Outlook.com accounts to the same group. See how to sync Google Calendar with Outlook for that setup.

If one of the accounts belongs to a company Google Workspace, an admin may have to allow Caltsu first. See how to allow Caltsu in Google Workspace.

Common questions

Can I merge two Google calendars into one?

Not as a live merge. You can show both in one view by sharing, as in method 1, or copy events once with import, as in method 2. Google has no setting that keeps two calendars as one. A sync tool keeps them in step by writing into each calendar.

Why don't my shared calendar's events block my time?

Because they are not in your calendar. A shared calendar is a view of someone else's calendar, even when that someone is your other account. Availability checks only read your own calendar. To block the time, the event or a Busy block has to be in the calendar people book you in.

Can I add a second calendar on my phone?

Google says you have to subscribe from a web browser on a computer. You cannot do it in the Google Calendar app for Android, iPhone or iPad. Once it is added, the calendar shows up in the app.

Will my work account see my personal event titles?

With sharing, that depends on the permission you pick. With Caltsu, no. The other calendar receives the time, the word Busy or your own text, and the name of the source calendar, and there is no setting that copies more. Caltsu's database is in Frankfurt, Germany. See security for what it stores.