The basic app
GCal’s Basic experience gives you Google Calendar in a dedicated Mac window. You can use the familiar Google Calendar interface with your Google account. Additional Mac integrations and customization depend on your access.
Features that require Premium
These features require Premium, including for customers with Classic access:
- Native Google account connections for calendar events and Google Tasks.
- Calendar Sets and macOS Focus filters.
- Calendar backgrounds, including your own images.
- New calendar enhancements in Settings → Extensions: Highlight Today, Current Time Label, Hover Time Guide, Show Tags in Event Titles, and Show Availability from Other Accounts.
- The browser extension.
- Upcoming-event text in the menu bar.
- GCal actions in Apple Shortcuts and the local AI tools integration.
- Additional task reminders, fallback reminders for all-day events, and their grouped summaries.
- The option to free memory when the calendar window closes.
Premium also includes the established Mac features below.
Established Mac features
Classic access belongs to customers who purchased GCal before version 3.0, when the app was sold as a paid-up-front purchase. These customers keep access to the established paid features without needing to upgrade to Premium.
Menu-bar access, Dock themes, widgets, meeting links, native event alarms, accent colors, established calendar enhancements, keyboard shortcuts, and launch options are available with Premium or existing Classic access. Native Google API connections still require Premium; existing Classic calendar features can use the supported Mac-calendar sources.
Classic includes the established options in Settings → Extensions, such as Highlight Weekends, Hide Past Events, and Quick Duplicate. The five newer enhancements listed above require Premium. See Use Google Calendar enhancements for what each option does.
If you previously bought GCal, read Upgrade from Classic to Premium for how your existing access is recognized.
View purchase options or restore access
- Open GCal Settings and choose Go Premium, or Unlock New Features if you have Classic access.
- Review the yearly subscription or lifetime option shown in the app. Current prices and any eligible trial terms are shown before you buy.
- If a purchase is missing, choose Restore Purchases from the purchase or access-recovery screen and use the Apple Account associated with the purchase.
Subscription management is available through your Apple Account. A lifetime purchase does not have a recurring subscription renewal.