If you are using Notion to Calendar with Google Calendar, you might notice that changes in Notion do not appear immediately. You update an event title in Notion, but Google Calendar still shows the old name hours later.
This is how Google Calendar handles external calendar subscriptions. Premium users now have another option: direct Google Calendar sync writes Notion events through the official API and bypasses the external-feed polling delay. This article still explains the behavior of the free and shareable iCal option.
Connect Google Calendar directly
Direct sync sends your Notion events through the Google Calendar API, without waiting for Google to fetch an iCal subscription.
How external calendar sync works
When you subscribe to a calendar URL in Google Calendar (or any calendar app), the app periodically fetches the calendar data from that URL. Notion to Calendar serves the feed using a server cache. Free uses a six-hour cache; Premium uses a shorter cache.
The calendar app decides when to fetch the subscription URL. That schedule is separate from how long Notion to Calendar caches the feed.
Why an iCal update may be delayed
A change has to pass through both the server cache and Google's next fetch. A shorter server cache does not make Google check the URL sooner. There is no guaranteed end-to-end update interval for a subscription.
For example, if you move a Notion date and Google has not fetched the feed again, the subscribed event can still show the old time. Deleting a source event also reaches the subscribed calendar only after Google fetches updated data.
What Premium changes
Premium uses a shorter feed cache, so Notion changes become available sooner for the next fetch. It does not control Google's subscription schedule.
Premium also includes a separate direct connection. This creates and updates events through the Google Calendar API instead of relying on a subscribed URL.
Use direct Google sync if you need faster updates
Open your calendar link in the Notion to Calendar dashboard, connect Google, and start direct sync. We create a dedicated Google calendar and reconcile mapped events through Google鈥檚 official Calendar API instead of waiting for Google to request your .ics URL.
With two-way sync enabled, supported title and date edits to linked, non-recurring Google events can update Notion too. Location and description edits require supported writable properties. Older observation-only connections need two-way sync enabled first. Keep the old subscription while you verify the dedicated calendar, then hide or remove it to avoid duplicates.
Follow the Google two-way sync setup guide. The supported edits guide explains recurrence, deletion, and description limits. Direct sync is asynchronous and does not guarantee instant updates.
If you prefer a universal URL or need to share the same calendar with several apps, keep using iCal. Google still controls that subscription鈥檚 refresh schedule.
How to check when Google Calendar last refreshed
Unfortunately, Google Calendar does not show when it last synced an external calendar. You can only observe it indirectly by making a change in Notion and waiting to see when it appears.
If you add a test event in Notion and want to know when Google Calendar picks it up, that is the only reliable method.
Choose the connection that fits your workflow
Use direct two-way sync when you want to reschedule linked Notion events in Google Calendar. Use the iCal feed when you want a portable, read-only subscription you can share across compatible apps.
An iCal subscription never sends Google edits back to Notion. Direct sync updates supported events already linked to Notion pages; it does not import new Google-only events or delete a Notion page when a Google event is removed.