How to Share a Calendar Between iPhone and Android

Sharing a calendar between an iPhone and an Android phone is more annoying than it should be. Apple Calendar is built around iCloud, which Android doesn't support. Google Calendar works on both platforms, but getting an iPhone user to fully switch over isn't always realistic. Here's what actually works.

Why this is tricky

Apple Calendar uses iCloud as its backend. When you share a calendar from an iPhone, the invitation goes through iCloud, and the recipient needs an iCloud account to accept it. Android devices don't have iCloud support built in.

Google Calendar, on the other hand, works on both platforms — it has a native Android app and a good iPhone app. The catch is that iPhone users often have years of events in Apple Calendar and don't want to start over.

The practical solution depends on what you're trying to share.

Option 1: Use Google Calendar on both devices

This is the most reliable long-term solution. Google Calendar is free, works on iPhone and Android, and syncing is near-instant.

Setting it up on iPhone:

1. Download Google Calendar from the App Store if you haven't already
2. Sign in with a Google account (or create one at google.com)
3. In Google Calendar on your computer, create the calendar you want to share or use an existing one
4. Hover over it in the sidebar, click the three-dot menu, and select Settings and sharing
5. Under Share with specific people, add the other person's Google account
6. They'll get an email — once they accept, the calendar appears in their Google Calendar on Android

Both of you now see the same calendar and can add or edit events from either device.

The trade-off: The iPhone user is working in Google Calendar, not Apple Calendar. Events added here won't automatically appear in the built-in iPhone Calendar app unless you also connect the Google account to iOS (Settings → Calendar → Accounts → Add Account → Google).

Option 2: Subscribe to an iCal feed

An iCal feed (.ics URL) is a universal calendar format that both Google Calendar and Apple Calendar understand. If one person publishes a calendar as an iCal feed, the other can subscribe to it regardless of what device or app they're using.

This works especially well when one person is distributing a schedule that others just need to view — not edit.

How to subscribe on Android (Google Calendar):

1. Get the iCal URL from whoever is sharing
2. Open Google Calendar on your computer (not the app — this step requires the browser)
3. Click the + next to "Other calendars"
4. Select From URL
5. Paste the iCal URL and click Add calendar
6. The calendar syncs to your Android phone automatically

How to subscribe on iPhone (Apple Calendar):

1. Get the iCal URL
2. Go to Settings on your iPhone
3. Tap Calendar → Accounts → Add Account → Other
4. Tap Add Subscribed Calendar
5. Paste the URL and tap Next, then Save

The calendar now appears in the iPhone's Calendar app and updates when the source updates.

One limitation: Subscribed calendars are read-only. The subscriber sees events but can't add or edit them. This is fine for shared schedules (sports, school events) but not for a calendar where both people need to add their own events.

Option 3: Share a CalHelper feed for specific schedules

If what you're actually trying to share is a schedule from somewhere else — a sports team's game schedule, a class schedule, a club's event list — there's a faster approach that bypasses the iPhone/Android compatibility issue entirely.

CalHelper lets you take a schedule from any source (a photo, a PDF, a text) and turn it into a shareable iCal feed. You get one URL that works in every calendar app: Google Calendar on Android, Apple Calendar on iPhone, Outlook on Windows — all of it.

How to share a schedule to both iPhone and Android

1. Go to CalHelper and create a free account
2. Click Import and upload your schedule — take a photo of the paper schedule, upload a PDF, or paste in event details as text
3. AI extracts the events and creates a calendar feed
4. Copy the share link CalHelper generates

Now share that link with anyone who needs the schedule:

• Android users subscribe in Google Calendar (From URL)
• iPhone users subscribe in Apple Calendar (Settings → Calendar → Add Subscribed Calendar)
• Outlook users subscribe via Add calendar → Subscribe from web

Everyone gets the same events in their preferred app. This is how families with a mix of iPhones and Android phones handle shared schedules — no one has to switch apps, no one needs to create an account.

Which option works best?

For a true two-way shared calendar where both people contribute events, Google Calendar is the answer — install it on the iPhone, connect the Google account, and you're set. For distributing a schedule where only one person manages the events, an iCal feed subscription works on any device with no account requirements for the people subscribing.

Try CalHelper free →