How to Import an .ics File Into Google Calendar, Outlook and Apple Calendar

An .ics file is how calendars send events to each other: a conference organiser emails one, a booking site offers an "add to calendar" download, an app exports one. Opening it should put the events in your calendar, and it does, if you know which menu to use. This guide gives the steps for Google Calendar, Outlook and Apple Calendar, what the file contains, and the difference between importing a file and subscribing to a calendar.

The steps come from each provider's own help pages, read on 3 November 2026, and I say where a page does not cover something. I did not test the imports on every version of every app, because menus change.

The short answer

• Google Calendar: on a computer, Settings, then Import & Export, then Select file from your computer, choose the calendar, and click Import.
• Apple Calendar on a Mac: File, then Import, choose the file, pick the calendar and click OK. You can also drag the file into the Calendar window.
• Outlook on the web and Outlook.com: Calendar, then Add calendar, then Upload from file, choose the file and pick the calendar to import into.
• Classic Outlook on Windows: File, Open & Export, Import/Export, then the iCalendar (.ics) option.
• Outlook for Mac: drag the .ics file onto the Calendar grid or list, then click Import.
• An import is a one-time copy. If the source keeps changing, subscribe to it instead.

What an .ics file is

The format is called iCalendar and is defined in RFC 5545. Its media type is text/calendar and its file extension is ics. It is plain text. Google Calendar's help page describes the structure: the first line must be BEGIN:VCALENDAR, each event sits between BEGIN:VEVENT and END:VEVENT, and the file ends with END:VCALENDAR.

Times in the file are either local times with a named zone, such as DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:19980119T020000, or UTC times ending in a Z. A time with neither is "floating" and shows up as whatever local time your calendar is in, which is a common cause of an event landing at the wrong hour. See how events get into your calendar for the standards behind this.

Google Calendar

1. Open Google Calendar on a computer. Import is not available from the phone app.
2. Click Settings (top right), then Settings.
3. In the menu on the left, click Import & Export.
4. Click Select file from your computer and choose the .ics file. A .csv file also works.
5. Choose which calendar receives the events. By default they go to your primary calendar.
6. Click Import.

Google's page lists the limits. Guests and conference data in the file are not imported, repeating events from a .csv arrive as separate one-time events, and imported events do not stay in sync with the source. A .zip file has to be extracted first, and each .ics inside imported on its own. The page does not say what happens if you import the same file twice, so import into a new calendar first if you want to be able to delete the result in one go. That tip is my advice, not Google's.

Apple Calendar on a Mac

1. Open the Calendar app.
2. If you want the events kept apart, create a new calendar for them first.
3. Drag the .ics file into Calendar, or choose File, then Import, select the file and click Import.
4. Select the calendar to add the events to, then click OK.

Apple's page adds that importing a calendar file removes each event's previous custom colour, and that Calendar can export to an .ics file only. I could not confirm the iPhone steps from Apple's pages, so I do not describe them here.

Outlook

Microsoft gives a different route for each version of Outlook, so check which one you have first.

Outlook on the web and Outlook.com

1. Save the calendar to your computer as an .ics file.
2. Sign in, choose Calendar in the navigation pane and click Add calendar.
3. Choose Upload from file, click Browse, select the .ics file and click Open.
4. Pick the calendar to import into, then click Import (and Save, on the Outlook on the web version of the page).

Microsoft says an imported file is a snapshot taken at the moment of import. The same page covers subscribing from a web address: Add calendar, then Subscribe from web, paste the address and click Import. It says a subscribed calendar can take more than 24 hours to update, and gives refresh times of about 3 hours in one place and about 6 hours in another, without explaining the difference.

Classic Outlook on Windows

Microsoft's page on importing calendars gives this route: extract the file if it is zipped, go to File, then Open & Export, then Import/Export, choose the iCalendar (.ics) option, select your file and open it as a new calendar. The calendar opens beside your own and appears under Other Calendars in the navigation pane.

Outlook for Mac

Microsoft's page for Outlook for Mac says to open Calendar at the bottom of the navigation pane, find the .ics file in the Finder and drag it onto the Outlook Calendar grid or list, then click Import in the Add Event menu. Outlook can only import the .ics export format and not the iCal Archive (.icbu) format. If you have several accounts set up, select the correct calendar when importing.

I did not test these steps myself, and Microsoft's pages carry no last-updated date, so the menus may have changed.

Import or subscribe

Microsoft's page states the difference clearly: an imported calendar is "a static snapshot" that does not update itself, and the only way to refresh it is to import a newer snapshot. Subscribing keeps the calendar current. Use import for a one-off schedule such as a conference programme or a flight. Use subscribe, when the source offers a calendar address, for something that changes, such as a school or club calendar. In Google Calendar, adding a calendar by address works only for public calendars and needs a computer browser, according to Google's page.

When an import goes wrong

• Events at the wrong hour. The file probably holds floating times or the wrong zone. Check the event's time zone after import. Calendar time zones explained shows how.
• Nothing happens. Check that the file really ends in .ics and is not still zipped.
• Guests are missing. Google does not import them from a file.
• The same events twice. You imported the file twice. Delete the extra copy, or import into a separate calendar next time.

When you do not need a file at all

A file is the right tool when someone sends you one. When the event arrives as a message, a PDF or a screenshot, there is no file to import, and the choice is to type it or read it from the screen. See adding events from a PDF for the file routes. Yotei, the app I made, reads the event from the part of your screen you select and adds it to Google Calendar, Outlook or iCloud after you confirm. It runs on Windows and Mac and has no free plan, though every account can try 5 screenshots free. See pricing.

How I made this guide

The Google steps and limits come from Google Calendar's help page on importing events, and the Apple steps from Apple's Calendar guide for Mac, both read on 3 November 2026. The Outlook details come from three Microsoft pages: importing calendars into Outlook, importing or subscribing to a calendar in Outlook.com or Outlook on the web, and importing iCal items into Outlook for Mac. The file format facts come from RFC 5545. I used no affiliate links. If a menu has changed, email support@yotei.win and I will correct it.

FAQ

How do I open an .ics file?

Import it into your calendar app: in Google Calendar through Settings and Import & Export, in Apple Calendar through File and Import, in Outlook on the web through Calendar, Add calendar and Upload from file, in classic Outlook through File, Open & Export, Import/Export, and in Outlook for Mac by dragging the file onto the Calendar.

Can I import an .ics file into Google Calendar from my phone?

Google's page describes the steps for a computer. I did not find a phone route on that page.

What is the difference between importing and subscribing?

An import is a one-time copy. Subscribing keeps the calendar up to date as the source changes.

Why are the guests missing after I import?

Google says guests and conference data in the file are not imported.

What does an .ics file contain?

Plain text in the iCalendar format: events between BEGIN:VEVENT and END:VEVENT lines, with start and end times that are local with a zone, in UTC, or floating.