There are several ways to share a calendar by link, and they are not the same: some need every viewer to have an account with that provider, some are view-only with no way to RSVP, and only a few let someone answer an event without signing up for anything.
This page covers the real routes in one place: Google Calendar, iCloud, Teamup, BCalendar and Junto, what each one asks of the person you’re sharing with, and where each one stops short.
This is the right choice when everyone you’re sharing with already has a Google account and you want them to see your calendar inside their own Google Calendar, with edit permissions if you choose to grant them.
1. Open Google Calendar on the web and find the calendar in the left sidebar. 2. Hover over it, click the three-dot menu, and choose Settings and sharing. 3. Under Share with specific people, click Add people and enter their email address. 4. Choose a permission level (see and change events, or just see free/busy). 5. Send the invite; they get access inside their own Google account (support.google.com/calendar/answer/37082).
The limit: every viewer needs a Google account, and they need to accept the share before it shows up for them. This is not a link you can drop in a group chat and have it just work for everyone.
This is the right choice for a read-only calendar you want to publish widely, for example a public events calendar, where nobody needs to sign in to see it.
1. In Settings and sharing for the calendar, turn on Make available to public. 2. Scroll to Integrate calendar and copy either the Public URL (opens in a browser) or the Secret address in iCal format (subscribes in another calendar app). 3. Share that link (support.google.com/calendar/answer/37083).
The limit: this is view-only, no RSVP. Anyone with the link can see events, but there is no way for them to answer Going or Maybe on anything.
This is the right choice inside a family or friend group that is already on Apple devices and wants a calendar that behaves like a native iOS or macOS calendar for everyone.
1. Open Calendar on iPhone, iPad or Mac and select the calendar to share. 2. Choose Share Calendar (or Add Person) and enter the invitee by name, email or phone number. 3. Set their permission to view-only or edit. 4. Send the invite.
The limit: Apple’s own support documentation states that invitees "must have an Apple Account and use iCloud" to accept a private calendar share (support.apple.com/guide/icloud/share-a-calendar-mm6b1a9479). If someone in your group is on Android or doesn’t use iCloud, this route doesn’t reach them.
This is the right choice when you want to publish a read-only iCloud calendar to people who aren’t on Apple devices, similar to Google’s public URL.
1. From the same Share Calendar screen, turn on Public Calendar. 2. Copy the generated link. 3. Share it; anyone who opens it can view the calendar, and it can also be subscribed to in most calendar apps.
The limit: view-only, no RSVP, the same ceiling as Google’s public feed.
This is the right choice for a group calendar that needs different link permissions for different people (view-only for some, edit for others) without anyone making an account.
Teamup calendars work by link and permission level: "no signup, no login" is required to view or use a shared calendar link. The free plan covers 5 sub-calendars and 5 users, with 1 year of history (teamup.com/pricing).
The limit: Teamup’s own knowledge base states plainly that "Teamup does not currently offer an RSVP system" (calendar.teamup.com/kb/teamup-calendar-invite-rsvp-system, as of September 2026). It’s a shared grid people can view and sometimes edit, not a place to collect Going / Maybe / Can’t answers.
This is the right choice for the simplest possible shared grid: no account to create, no account for viewers either, and no cost, described on its own site as "100% Free Forever" (bcalendar.com, bcalendar.com/pricing).
The limit: no RSVP, no attendance and no named members. It’s a calendar anyone with the link can see and, depending on settings, edit, but there’s no way to know who is coming to anything.
This is the right choice when the group needs to actually answer events, not just see them, and you don’t want to ask anyone to make an account or install an app.
The admin creates a calendar and shares one link with an invite code built in. Anyone who opens it types just a first name and can RSVP Going, Maybe or Can’t on any event. A private calendar is free for up to 8 members; past that, a one-time $4.99 plus tax unlock removes the limit for that calendar, no subscription. A public calendar has no member limit and is free.
The limit: Junto has no two-way sync with your personal Google or Apple calendar, only a .ics download per event, and no availability overlay across everyone’s existing schedules.
Seven routes, one table. This is the whole picture: what the viewer needs, whether they can RSVP, and what it costs.
Ways to share a calendar by link
| Route | Viewer needs an account | Viewers can RSVP | Cost | Best when |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Calendar (private share) | Yes, a Google account | No | Free | Everyone already uses Google Calendar |
| Google Calendar (public URL / iCal) | No | No | Free | You want a read-only calendar anyone can view |
| iCloud Calendar (private share) | Yes, an Apple Account with iCloud | No | Free | A group that’s all on Apple devices |
| iCloud Calendar (public link) | No | No | Free | A read-only iCloud calendar for a mixed-device audience |
| Teamup (link permissions) | No | No | Free to 5 users; Plus $12/mo billed yearly, $15 monthly | Different view/edit permissions per person, no RSVP needed |
| BCalendar | No | No | Free | The simplest possible shared grid, no attendance tracking needed |
| Junto | No, a name only | Yes, Going / Maybe / Can’t | Free to 8 members; $4.99 one time plus tax past that | The group needs to actually RSVP without installing anything |
Prices and features checked against each vendor’s own site or documentation, 2026-09-23.
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BCalendar and Teamup both work by link with no account for the viewer, but neither lets that viewer RSVP. If you only need people to see events, BCalendar or a public Google/iCloud link is enough. If you also need to know who’s coming, share a Junto link instead: no account, and each viewer can answer Going, Maybe or Can’t with just a first name.
Only the public URL or iCal feed route works without an account, and it is view-only with no RSVP. Google’s private sharing (Settings and sharing > Add people) requires the invitee to have a Google account to accept it. If you need people without Google accounts to actually answer events, a link-based tool like Junto covers that gap instead.
Not for private sharing. Apple’s support documentation states invitees need an Apple Account and iCloud to accept a shared calendar. iCloud’s public calendar link is viewable by anyone, Apple device or not, but it’s view-only. For a mixed-device group that needs to RSVP, Junto works the same in any browser regardless of device.
No. Teamup’s own knowledge base states it "does not currently offer an RSVP system," as of September 2026. It’s built for viewing and editing a shared schedule by link permission, not for collecting Going/Maybe/Can’t answers. If RSVP is the actual requirement, Junto is built around that instead of scheduling alone.
BCalendar describes itself as "100% Free Forever" with no account needed to create or view a calendar. What it doesn’t have is any way to track who’s coming: no RSVP, no attendance, no named members, just a shared grid. Junto is not free at every size (private calendars are free to 8 members, then a one-time $4.99 plus tax), but it does add RSVP and named attendees.
A public link (Google, iCloud, or a public calendar on Junto) can be opened by anyone who has it, with no gate. A private link asks for something first: a Google or Apple account sign-in for Google or iCloud, or an invite code and a name on the other end. Pick public for something anyone should see, private when you want to control who joins.
Open the calendar’s Settings and sharing page, turn on "Make available to public," then copy either the public URL or the secret iCal address under Integrate calendar. That link is view-only, so if you also need viewers to RSVP without a Google account, a purpose-built RSVP calendar like Junto is the better fit for that half of the job.
Of the routes on this page, only one has RSVP built into the link itself, and that’s Junto: Going, Maybe or Can’t, per event, visible to the whole group. Google, iCloud, Teamup and BCalendar links are for viewing (and sometimes editing) a schedule, not for collecting individual answers. If RSVP is the point, that’s the route to pick.
For Google and iCloud public links, no app is required, a browser is enough, though private sharing usually opens inside the Google Calendar or Apple Calendar app once accepted. Teamup and BCalendar also work fully in a browser with no install, and so does Junto, on both sides: the admin and every viewer just use the link.
Skip it if your group already lives inside Google Workspace or Apple’s ecosystem and you want the shared calendar to sync two-way with everyone’s personal calendar app, since it only offers a per-event .ics download, not live sync. Junto is built for the opposite case: a group that doesn’t share one calendar platform and needs a link that just works for RSVP.
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Last updated 2026-09-23