How to change Google Calendar color

Recolor a whole calendar, a single event, or pick a custom shade, on desktop and on your phone.

To change a whole calendar’s color, open Google Calendar on the web, hover over the calendar’s name in the left sidebar, click the three-dot menu, and pick a swatch. To recolor a single event, open it, click the edit (pencil) icon, and click the colored dot next to its title.

Color is the fastest way to read a week at a glance. Work in one shade, errands in another, and you can tell what kind of day you have before you read a single word.

Change a whole calendar’s color on the web

This sets the color for every event on that calendar at once.

1. Open Google Calendar in a browser and sign in.
2. In the left sidebar under “My calendars,” hover over the calendar you want to recolor.
3. Click the three-dot menu (Options) that appears to its right.
4. Click any swatch in the grid that opens.

The change is instant and syncs to your other devices. If you keep separate calendars for work, personal, and a side project, this is where you set their base colors.

Use a custom hex color on the web

The preset grid is small, so Google lets you mix your own shade for a whole calendar on desktop. Open that same three-dot menu, then click the plus icon at the bottom of the swatch grid (it reads “Add custom color” on hover). A picker opens where you can drag to mix a shade or type an exact hex code, for example #2E7D32.

Custom color is no longer just for whole calendars. As of a June 2026 rollout, you can set custom colors on individual events too. On the web (or via the API) the event color picker now offers 24 default colors plus a full RGB picker, with up to 200 custom colors per user. The mobile apps can pick from those colors but cannot define new custom ones, so to create a brand new shade you still need a desktop browser or the API.

Change one event’s color

Recoloring a single event overrides the calendar’s default for that event only, which is handy for flagging one important meeting in a sea of identical blocks.

1. Click the event to open its preview popup.
2. Click the edit (pencil) icon.
3. Click the colored dot next to the event title.
4. Pick a color from the palette.
5. Click Save.

The rest of the calendar keeps its default color. Only this event changes.

Change colors on iPhone and Android

The mobile apps work a little differently, and they do not offer custom hex codes.

To recolor a whole calendar. Open the Google Calendar app, tap the menu (three lines) at the top left, tap Settings, tap the calendar’s name, then tap Color and choose a preset.

To recolor one event. Open the event, tap the edit (pencil) icon, tap the color row, pick a shade, then save.

If you need to create a brand new custom shade, set it from a desktop browser first, since the mobile apps can pick existing colors but cannot define new ones. The color then syncs back to your phone, usually within a few minutes.

A color system worth keeping

Colors only help if they mean something. Pick three or four categories you actually plan around, give each a distinct shade, and hold the line. A common setup: deep work in one color, meetings in another, admin and errands in a third, personal in a fourth. If you want a starting structure, our time-blocking template pairs well with a tight color scheme, and the guide to planning your day covers how to fill those blocks.

Color tells you what kind of block something is. It does not decide what fits in your day, and that is where ClaroCal helps: it syncs with your Google Calendar both ways and turns your task list into a realistic time-blocked plan, reflowing it when a meeting runs long. Your color coding stays exactly as you set it. See how it stacks up on our best AI calendar apps roundup, or check the pricing page.

Last reviewed June 2026.