How to get Google Calendar on your Mac, and into the menu bar

There’s no Google Calendar app for Mac

Google’s own help says you can’t download and install Calendar on a computer. On a Mac you have two choices:

• calendar.google.com in a browser. You can turn on offline access, but only in Chrome.
• The Mac Calendar app, synced with your Google account. Once your events are in Calendar, widgets and menu bar apps with calendar access can see them too.

Many people don’t realise the second one isn’t set up. Being signed in to Google in a browser doesn’t count: Calendar only shows accounts added on the Mac itself.

Add your Google account to macOS

1. Open System Settings and click Internet Accounts in the sidebar (you may need to scroll down).
2. Click Add Account, then choose Google from the list (or type your Gmail address).
3. Enter your Google account details when asked.
4. When macOS asks which apps should use the account, make sure Calendars is on. If the account was already there, click it and turn Calendars on.

You can also start from the Calendar app: choose Calendar → Add Account, pick Google and click Continue. Each account then appears separately in Calendar’s sidebar.

Choose which Google calendars sync

By default, only the calendars under My Calendars in Google Calendar sync to the Mac, plus Birthdays. Shared and team calendars don’t appear until you pick them:

1. Go to google.com/calendar/syncselect and sign in with the same Google account.
2. Tick the calendars you want on your Mac and untick the ones you don’t.
3. Click Save, then refresh Calendar on your Mac (View → Refresh Calendars).

Google’s help article still links to that page. To hide a calendar on the Mac without changing what syncs, untick it in Calendar’s sidebar instead.

When Google events don’t show up

Work through these in order.

1. Check the account is really connected. In System Settings → Internet Accounts, click your Google account and make sure Calendars is on.
2. Check the calendar is ticked. Each calendar’s checkbox in Calendar’s sidebar shows or hides its events (choose View → Show Calendar List if the sidebar is hidden).
3. Check shared calendars at syncselect. If your own events show but a shared calendar doesn’t, tick it on Google’s sync page.
4. Refresh. Choose View → Refresh Calendars. To change how often it happens, go to Calendar → Settings → Accounts, select the Google account and pick a Refresh Calendars option.
5. Turn off the old Delegation setting. Google says that if you once synced using the Delegation tool in Apple Calendar, you need to uncheck all calendars there for sync to work. It’s on the Delegation tab of the account in Calendar’s settings.
6. Check the app has calendar access. If Calendar shows your events but a third-party app doesn’t, go to System Settings → Privacy & Security → Calendars and make sure that app is on, with full access.

Some things don’t carry over: Google says email notifications for events, creating new Google calendars and Room Scheduler don’t work in Apple Calendar.

Getting your events into the menu bar

macOS doesn’t have a calendar menu bar item. The closest built-in option is a widget: click the date and time in the menu bar to open Notification Center, click Edit Widgets, and add Calendar’s Up Next or List widget. It only shows when you open it. To keep the next event in view, use one of these:

Itsycal: the simple free choice

Itsycal, by Mowglii, is a small menu bar calendar. Click it for a month view with your Calendar events underneath, and you can create events from there. It can replace the system clock with a date and time format you choose. It’s free and its source code is on GitHub.

MeetingBar: if your day is mostly calls

MeetingBar puts the current or next meeting in the menu bar with a countdown, and joins it in one click. It’s free and open source, needs macOS 12 or later, and can read Google Calendar directly as well as through the Mac Calendar app.

Dato: a calendar and world clock

Dato, by Sindre Sorhus, shows the date, time and world clocks in the menu bar, and can show your upcoming event. It uses the calendars already in the Calendar app, including Google, and can join the next video call with a keyboard shortcut. It costs $18 once. The current version needs macOS 26 or later; older builds are available for earlier systems.

Fantastical: a full calendar app with a menu bar window

Fantastical connects to Google, Microsoft 365, iCloud and others itself, without Internet Accounts. Its Mini Window opens from the menu bar icon, and a setting shows your upcoming event next to that icon. There’s a free version and a Premium subscription.

NotchDesk: your next event beside the notch

This is our app, so weigh this section accordingly. NotchDesk reads the calendars already on your Mac, including Google accounts you’ve added in Internet Accounts, and shows your next event beside the MacBook notch with a live countdown as it gets close. A menu bar item shows the time until your next event (optionally its title), or one item per account. Hover the notch for your agenda; Google Meet, Zoom and Teams links become a Join button. Macs without a notch get a small island at the top of the screen. It needs macOS 14 or later. More on the calendar features, or see how to join meetings in one click.

Since many people don’t realise their Google calendar isn’t connected to macOS, NotchDesk’s first-launch tour now checks for it. If no Google, Outlook or iCloud calendar is on the Mac, the tour shows a step with an Add an Account button that opens Internet Accounts, and it updates as soon as the account appears. If accounts are connected, it lists them. You sign in through macOS, so NotchDesk never sees your Google password.

Which one should you pick?

• You want a free month view and today’s events: Itsycal.
• You want a free countdown to your next call: MeetingBar.
• You work across time zones: Dato, for its world clocks.
• You want a full calendar app that also lives in the menu bar: Fantastical.
• You have a MacBook with a notch and want the next event there, plus a clipboard history: NotchDesk. Our roundup of the best notch apps compares it with the others.

Whichever you choose, connect Google in Internet Accounts first: apart from MeetingBar and Fantastical, these apps only show what the Mac Calendar app has.

Questions people ask

Is there a Google Calendar app for Mac?

No. Google says you can’t download and install Calendar on a computer. Use calendar.google.com in a browser (it can work offline in Chrome), or add your Google account to the Mac Calendar app in System Settings → Internet Accounts.

How do I add Google Calendar to the Mac Calendar app?

Open System Settings → Internet Accounts, click Add Account, choose Google and sign in, then make sure Calendars is turned on for that account. You can also start from the Calendar app with Calendar → Add Account.

Why is my Google calendar not showing on my Mac?

Usually Calendars is off for the account in Internet Accounts, the calendar is unticked in Calendar’s sidebar, a shared calendar isn’t ticked at google.com/calendar/syncselect, or Calendar hasn’t refreshed (View → Refresh Calendars).

Why don’t my shared Google calendars sync to my Mac?

By default, only the calendars under My Calendars (plus Birthdays) sync. Go to google.com/calendar/syncselect, tick the shared calendars you want, click Save, then refresh Calendar on your Mac.

How do I show Google Calendar events in the Mac menu bar?

macOS can’t do it alone; the closest is Calendar’s Up Next widget in Notification Center. Use Itsycal or MeetingBar (free), Dato, Fantastical or NotchDesk.

Does a menu bar calendar app need my Google password?

Not if it reads the Mac Calendar app, as Itsycal, Dato and NotchDesk do. You sign in to Google in System Settings, and the app only asks for calendar access, which you can review in Privacy & Security → Calendars.

Sources

• Google: Add Google Calendar events to Apple Calendar
• Google: Use Google Calendar offline
• Apple: Use your internet accounts on Mac
• Apple: Add or delete calendar accounts on Mac
• Apple: Refresh calendars on Mac
• Apple: Show or hide a calendar on Mac
• Apple: Control access to your calendars on Mac
• Apple: Add and customize widgets on Mac
• Itsycal by Mowglii
• Itsycal on GitHub
• MeetingBar on GitHub
• Dato by Sindre Sorhus
• Fantastical
• Fantastical help: Settings

We make NotchDesk, so we have a stake in this topic. We’ve tried to be fair to every app mentioned, and checked prices and features on each maker’s own site on the date above. Spotted something out of date? Email hello@notchdesk.com and we’ll fix it.