Google Calendar
Worth it
Confidence: Low
Evidence is thin . sources are mostly forum mentions, not reviews . so confidence is low.
Comparison
Google Calendar vs iCloud
Google Calendar lands on Worth it, and iCloud lands on Depends.
iCloud
Depends
Confidence: High
Buy it if your devices are all Apple . it's the default, simple, and cheap.
| Compare | Google Calendar | iCloud |
|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Worth it | Depends |
| Best for | Gmail and Workspace users | All-Apple households |
| Who it's not for | Microsoft 365 shops . Outlook Calendar is already native there | Android or Windows-only users |
| Privacy | No known public vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.³ | Strong infrastructure with a CVE history; default encryption is good but full end-to-end protection is opt-in. |
| Support quality | No usable evidence in sources | No support evidence in sources |
| Public sentiment | Public sources contain troubleshooting threads (sync, embedding, sign-in) rather than ratings, so no review consensus emerges.⁵ | Long-time Apple users mostly find iCloud worth it for simplicity, but a vocal minority reports sync, reliability, and account frustrations. |
| Biggest gotcha | Escape hatch is hard: leaving means exporting events and rebuilding schedules elsewhere⁷ | UK class action claims ~40M users overcharged on storage since 2018 (£2.2B claim) |
Pick Google Calendar when
- Gmail and Workspace users
- Small teams sharing a calendar
- Schools, clubs, community groups
- Anyone wanting a free default calendar
When Google Calendar is not a fit
- Microsoft 365 shops . Outlook Calendar is already native there
- Anyone refusing a Google account . sign-in is mandatory
- Privacy-maximalists avoiding Google's data ecosystem
Pick iCloud when
- All-Apple households
- iPhone photo and backup sync
- Light cross-device document sync
- Budget buyers (from $0.99/mo)
When iCloud is not a fit
- Android or Windows-only users
- Privacy purists wanting default E2E encryption
- Teams needing admin controls or granular sharing
- Anyone avoiding Apple account lock-in
Sources
- Google Calendar official sitecalendar.google.comofficial
- Google Calendar sign-in pageaccounts.google.comofficial
- Privacy basics in Google Calendarsupport.google.comofficial
- Calendar log events . Workspace admin reportsknowledge.workspace.google.comofficial
- iCal conflict with Google Calendarcommunity.spiceworks.comreview
- Google Calendar SaaS training library entry (mentions G2 scores)understandbusinesslikeai.comreview
- Can You Actually Escape Google Calendar?youtube.comreview
review
- Google Calendars plugin access-control CVEwp-firewall.comsecurity
- Plain old calendar for Windows 11 discussionelevenforum.comreview
review
- iCloud Drive Review 2026 . Cloudwardscloudwards.netreview
- Apple iCloud Drive Review 2025 . CloudStorageInfocloudstorageinfo.orgreview
- iCloud.com Trustpilot reviewstrustpilot.comreview
- iCloud+ . Apple officialapple.comofficial
- iCloud+ plans and pricing . Apple Supportsupport.apple.comofficial