How to copy or duplicate events in Google Calendar

Sooner or later, everyone needs a second copy of a Google Calendar event.

Maybe you want another event just like last week’s meeting. Maybe a work event should also appear on your personal calendar. Maybe you want to repeat an entire week of events.

Google Calendar can do most of this, but the options are spread across menus named “Duplicate”, “Copy to”, and “Change calendar”, and it is easy to pick the wrong one.

This article walks through each way to copy or duplicate events in Google Calendar, organized by what you are trying to do.

Duplicate, copy, and move are different things

Start with the vocabulary, because Google Calendar uses distinct names for similar-looking actions.

Action	Meaning
Duplicate	Create another event with the same content on the same calendar
Copy to another calendar	Keep the original and create the same event on a different calendar
Move (change calendar)	Transfer the event to another calendar; it disappears from the original
Transfer (export and import)	Export a whole calendar and load it into another calendar or account

If you want the same event visible on several calendars, you want copy. If you want the event to belong to a different calendar, you want move. Mixing these up makes events look like they vanished.

Method 1: Duplicate an event on the same calendar

When you need another event similar to an existing one, use Duplicate.

1. Open Google Calendar in a desktop browser.
2. Click the event to open its details.
3. Open the options menu (three dots) and choose “Duplicate”.
4. Adjust the date, time, or title in the edit screen and save.

The duplicated event is independent from the original. Guests, description, and notification settings carry over, which makes this handy for “same meeting, same people, next week” situations.

The Google Calendar mobile app can also duplicate an event from the event’s menu.

If the event actually repeats on a regular pattern, a recurring event is easier to manage than repeated duplication.

Method 2: Copy an event to another calendar

To keep the original event and create the same event on another calendar, use “Copy to”.

Google’s help article on transferring calendars or events covers this operation.

1. Open Google Calendar in a desktop browser.
2. Open the event you want to copy.
3. From the options menu, choose “Copy to” and select the destination calendar.
4. Review the details in the edit screen and save.

You need write access to the destination calendar. To copy into another account’s calendar, have that calendar shared with you first with “Make changes to events” permission.

The copied event is not linked to the original. If the original moves to a new time, the copy keeps the old one. This is the root of the “manual copying breaks down” problem covered later.

Method 3: Show the same event on multiple calendars

If the goal is one event visible on several calendars, you have three realistic options.

1. Copy the event to each calendar

Repeat Method 2 for every calendar that should show the event. Fine for one-off events.

2. Invite your other account as a guest

If the second calendar belongs to another account of yours, add that account’s email address as a guest. Once accepted, the event appears on both calendars.

Unlike copying, the event stays a single event. When the organizer changes the time, both calendars update. Between two of your own accounts, this is the most robust manual option.

3. Use a calendar sync tool

If future events should keep flowing to other calendars automatically, automatic sync is the practical answer — more on that below.

Method 4: Copy a whole week of events

“Copy last week into this week” is a common wish, but Google Calendar has no multi-select or week-level copy.

The realistic options are:

• If the week repeats, make each event a weekly recurring event.
• For a handful of events, duplicate them one by one (Method 1).
• For large volumes, export the calendar, edit the dates inside the .ics file, and re-import it — an advanced move that can flood your calendar with duplicates if it goes wrong.

Whenever a recurring event can express the pattern, use it. It is the safest and least tedious option.

Method 5: Duplicate or migrate an entire calendar

To clone a whole calendar or move it to another account, use export and import.

1. Export the calendar from Google Calendar settings (an .ics file).
2. Create a new calendar at the destination.
3. Use “Import & export” in settings to load the file into the new calendar.

Google’s help article on importing events into Google Calendar has the full steps.

Imported events are a snapshot. They do not stay in sync with the source calendar, so treat this as a migration or bulk-load tool.

The limit of manual copying: copies do not follow the original

Every method above takes a picture of the event as it is right now. The shared weakness: copies do not track later changes.

• Time changes on the original never reach the copy.
• Cancelling the original leaves the copy behind.
• Weekly copy routines eventually miss an event or leave a stale one.

For one-off copies this does not matter. But for ongoing routines — “reflect my work events on my personal calendar every week” — the copying itself becomes the source of double bookings.

We compare copy, move, import, and automation in more depth in How to auto-copy Google Calendar events to another calendar.

For ongoing reflection, sync instead of copy

Chronock, a scheduling and calendar-sync tool, includes automatic sync between Google Calendars.

Chronock lets you create and manage calendar sync rules from the app.

Create a sync rule once, and the destination calendar follows event creation, changes, and deletions on the source calendar. No more copies stuck at the old time.

Destination visibility is configurable, so personal events can appear on a work calendar as busy-only blocks without exposing details.

Situation	Best fit
You need another similar event	Duplicate
A one-off event should appear on another calendar	Copy to another calendar
The same event should appear on two of your accounts	Guest invitation
The events repeat on a pattern	Recurring events
You are moving a whole calendar	Export and import
Future events should keep appearing on another calendar	Calendar sync tool

The Free plan includes one one-way, busy-only calendar sync rule. Multiple rules, two-way sync, and title or description visibility are available on Pro (7-day free trial). Multi-calendar availability detection is also available from the Free plan.

Start using Chronock for free →