How to make a calendar in Google Sheets

Two ways to build a monthly calendar in Sheets: grab a template in about 30 seconds, or build one from scratch with a formula that fills the dates for you.

To make a calendar in Google Sheets, open a blank sheet, then either pick the Annual calendar template from the Template gallery, or lay out a 7-column grid and use a date formula like =startcell+1 to fill the days automatically. The template route takes about a minute. Building from scratch gives you full control over the layout.

Here are both methods, plus an honest note on when a spreadsheet is the wrong tool.

Use the built-in template (fastest)

Google ships a built-in Annual calendar template, and it is the quickest way to a finished grid.

1. Go to sheets.google.com and sign in.
2. On the home screen, click Template gallery near the top right. If you do not see it, look for a control to expand or show the templates first.
3. Scroll to the Personal section and choose Annual calendar.
4. The template opens as a new file. Change the year in the top cell, and every month renumbers and recolors itself.

The annual template has a small settings tab where you can switch the starting day of the week and the year. That is usually all you need to touch.

Build a monthly calendar from scratch

Want a layout the template does not give you? Build it in a few minutes. This version auto-fills the dates from a single start cell.

Set up the header and weekday row. In cell A1, type the month and year. In row 2, label seven columns Sunday through Saturday, or start with Monday, your call.

Anchor the first date. In the cell under the correct weekday for the 1st, type the date, for example 6/1/2026. If June 1 is a Monday, put it in the Monday column.

Fill the rest with a formula. In the next cell to the right, type =, click the first-date cell, and add +1, so it reads like =B3+1. Drag that across the week. For the next week, reference the last cell of the row above and add 1 the same way. Sheets does the counting.

Show only the day number. If you want clean numbers instead of full dates, select the date cells, open Format > Number > Custom number format, and enter d. The underlying value stays a real date, so it still sorts and calculates correctly.

Make the month name dynamic. In A1, use =TEXT(B3,"mmmm yyyy") pointed at your first-date cell. Change the start date and the title updates itself.

From here, widen the rows, add borders with the Borders icon in the toolbar, and type notes under each date. For a printable version, set File > Print to Landscape and “Fit to page.”

Color-code and reuse it

A few touches make the grid usable week after week.

Use Format > Conditional formatting to highlight weekends, or to flag any cell containing a word like “deadline.” To reuse the calendar next month, duplicate the tab (right-click the tab, then Duplicate) and change the single start-date cell. Everything else recalculates.

If you are building this calendar to actually plan your days, not just display them, a time-blocked layout works better than open boxes. Our time-blocking template and the guide on how to plan your day cover that approach.

When a spreadsheet is the wrong tool

A Sheets calendar is static. Nothing reminds you, nothing reschedules itself, and a typed-in date does not become a real event with a time zone or an alert. For a printable wall planner or a shared content tracker, that is fine. For running your actual week, it falls short the moment plans move.

If you live in Google Calendar and want your task list turned into a realistic, time-blocked day, that is what ClaroCal does. It syncs two ways with Google Calendar and reflows your plan when things shift, so you are not redragging cells by hand. If you are comparing options first, see the best AI calendar apps.

Last reviewed June 2026.