Guide
How to share an Outlook calendar
Sharing an Outlook calendar with a coworker takes about a minute. Sharing it with people outside your organisation - a team, a club, families, anyone on Apple or Google Calendar - is where it gets fiddly. Here is how to do both, and the cleanest way when Outlook's own sharing runs out.
- 1
Share with people inside your organisation
In new Outlook or Outlook on the web, open Calendar and click Share near the top right. Type the person's name, choose how much they see (availability only, titles and locations, or full details, and whether they can edit), and click Share. They accept from their email and your calendar appears alongside theirs in Outlook. In classic Outlook for Windows it is Home then Share Calendar.
- 2
Set the right permission level
Match the permission to the need. "Can view when I'm busy" is enough for scheduling around you; "Can view all details" suits a shared team calendar; "Can edit" is for someone who manages it with you. You can change or remove anyone's access later from the same Sharing and permissions panel.
- 3
Share from Outlook for Mac
In Outlook for Mac, open Calendar, right-click the calendar in the left sidebar, and choose Sharing Permissions. Add the person by email and set their level: Availability only, Limited details, or Full details, with a separate checkbox to allow editing. The permission set is narrower than the web version, so for finer control over an outside collaborator, share from outlook.office.com instead.
- 4
Share from Outlook mobile (iOS and Android)
In the Outlook app, tap Calendar, tap the menu icon, tap the three dots next to the calendar you want to share, and tap Share Calendar. Enter the person's email and choose view or edit access. It mirrors the same permission model as the web and desktop versions, just from the phone.
- 5
Re-share a calendar someone shared with you
Outlook usually will not let you forward someone else's calendar to a third person from your own view. If you have edit-plus-manage-sharing access, you can add the new person from the same Sharing panel the owner used. Otherwise, ask the owner to add them directly, or forward the original sharing invitation email so the new person accepts it themselves. For a calendar shared under a team or group mailbox, anyone with edit access there can typically add more people the same way the owner did.
- 6
Create a brand-new shared calendar
Sharing your personal calendar is not always the right move; a team, class, or project usually wants its own. Right-click My Calendars in the left pane, choose Add calendar then Create blank calendar, and name it. It appears as its own item you can share exactly like a personal calendar, without exposing your own schedule to the group.
- 7
Share with people outside your organisation
This is where it gets restrictive. External sharing is often turned off by your Microsoft 365 administrator, and even when it is on, the recipient generally needs a Microsoft account and gets a limited view. There is no simple public link you can hand out. If everyone you are sharing with is on your company's tenant, you are set; if not, read on.
- 8
Publish the calendar to get a link
To reach people outside your organisation, Outlook lets you Publish a calendar (Calendar settings, then Shared calendars, then Publish). You get an ICS link others can subscribe to and an HTML link they can view. It works, but it is read-only, and it refreshes on the same delay as any subscribed feed, typically checking every few hours rather than updating instantly. The setup is buried too, fine in a pinch, awkward as the way a group stays in sync.
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Or share a calendar anyone can open, in any app
When you are sharing beyond your company - a sports team, a church, a PTO, families on every kind of phone - a tool built for that is simpler. TangoHive gives a calendar one subscribe link that anyone opens with no account and adds to Apple Calendar, Google Calendar, or Outlook itself. You can even point it at an existing Outlook calendar's published link to pull those events in, then share the one clean link everywhere.
How to create a shared calendar in Outlook (step by step)
To create a brand-new shared calendar (rather than share your personal one), make a blank calendar first, then share that. This keeps your own schedule private while the team gets its own calendar.
- 1In the left pane, right-click My Calendars (in new Outlook and Outlook on the web, right-click your account under Calendar).
- 2Choose "Add calendar," then "Create blank calendar."
- 3Name the calendar (for example, your team or project) and click Save.
- 4Find the new calendar in the left pane, right-click it, and choose Share (or Sharing and permissions).
- 5Enter the email addresses of the people who should see it, set each one's permission level, and click Share. They accept from their email and the calendar appears alongside their own.
How to share an existing calendar, by Outlook version
The button names differ across versions. Use the numbered path that matches the Outlook you are on.
New Outlook and Outlook on the web
- 1Open Calendar from the left navigation bar.
- 2Click "Share" near the top right (or the Settings gear, then "View all Outlook settings," then Calendar, then "Shared calendars").
- 3Pick the calendar you want to share.
- 4Type the person's email address.
- 5Choose their permission level from the dropdown (see the table below).
- 6Click "Share." To reach people outside your organisation, use "Publish a calendar" on the same Shared calendars screen to get an ICS link instead.
Classic Outlook for Windows
- 1Open Calendar and select the calendar you want to share in the left pane.
- 2On the Home tab, click the "Share Calendar" button and pick the calendar.
- 3In the sharing invitation, click "Add" and enter the person's email address.
- 4Set how much they can see with the "Details" dropdown (Availability only, Limited details, or Full details).
- 5Click Send, then Yes to confirm. The person accepts from the emailed invitation.
Outlook.com (personal accounts)
- 1Open Calendar at outlook.com.
- 2Click the "Share" icon at the top right and choose the calendar.
- 3Enter the email address of the person you want to share with.
- 4Choose whether they can view or edit.
- 5Click Share. For anyone without a Microsoft account, use Publish instead to get a link they can view or subscribe to.
Outlook calendar permission levels, explained
When you share, Outlook asks how much the other person sees. In new Outlook and Outlook on the web the labels are below; classic Outlook for Windows shows the same idea under a Details dropdown.
| Permission level | What the person sees | Use it when |
|---|---|---|
| Can view when I'm busy | Free/busy blocks only, no titles or details | Someone just needs to schedule around you |
| Can view titles and locations | Free/busy plus each event's title and location | A colleague needs context but not full details |
| Can view all details | Everything on each event, including notes | A shared team calendar everyone should read in full |
| Can edit | Full details, and can add or change events | Someone co-manages the calendar with you |
| Delegate | Full details, can edit, and can manage sharing and meeting invites on your behalf | An assistant runs the calendar for you |
Classic Outlook for Windows maps these to Availability only, Limited details, and Full details, plus roles like Reviewer, Editor, and Delegate under Sharing permissions.
Short version: for coworkers inside one company, Outlook's built-in sharing is the right tool. For a group that includes anyone outside it, a subscribe link that works in every calendar app - with no Microsoft account - saves everyone the friction.
Common questions
Can I share an Outlook calendar with someone outside my company?
Sometimes. External sharing is often disabled by your Microsoft 365 administrator, and when it is allowed the recipient usually needs a Microsoft account and sees a limited view. To reach people outside your organisation reliably, publish the calendar for an ICS link, or use a tool like TangoHive that gives one subscribe link anyone can open with no account.
How do I share an Outlook calendar with someone who uses Google or Apple Calendar?
Outlook's direct sharing is built for other Outlook users, so the cross-platform route is to publish the calendar and share the resulting ICS link, which Google and Apple can subscribe to. A simpler option is TangoHive: one subscribe link that adds the calendar to Outlook, Google, or Apple alike, and updates on every device automatically.
Why can't people see my shared Outlook calendar?
The usual reasons are that the person is outside your Microsoft 365 organisation, that external sharing is turned off by your admin, or that they have not accepted the sharing invitation yet. Publishing the calendar to a link, or sharing a link-based calendar that needs no account, avoids all three.
Is there a free way to share a calendar with a whole group?
Yes. TangoHive is free while we are in early access: create or import a calendar, share one link, and everyone subscribes on their own phone - Apple, Google, or Outlook - with no account and nothing to install. It is built for sharing with a group, not just coworkers in one company.
How do I re-share a calendar that was already shared with me in Outlook?
In most cases you cannot forward someone else's calendar to a third person from your own view. If you have edit-plus-manage-sharing access you can add the new person from the same Sharing panel the owner used; otherwise ask the owner to add them, or forward the sharing invitation email so they accept it directly.
How do I create a new shared calendar in Outlook, not just share my own?
Right-click My Calendars in the left pane, choose Add calendar then Create blank calendar, and name it. It becomes its own calendar you can share with a team the same way you would share a personal one, without exposing your own schedule.