Google Calendar Adds 200 Custom Colors and a Full RGB Picker

Color-coding enthusiasts have a real reason to celebrate. Google is finally retiring Calendar’s long-standing limit of 11 preset colors per event. Soon, users will be able to choose from up to 200 custom colors, ending the need to double up on shades just to keep a busy week organized.

What’s Changing

Google announced a major expansion to Calendar’s color system. The update introduces two main improvements.

First, the default color palette grows from 11 to 24 options. This expanded set appears across both the web and mobile apps, on iOS and Android alike.

Second, web and Calendar API users gain access to a full RGB color picker. Users can type in a specific hex code or drag a slider to mix their own shade. With this tool, a single event can now display any one of up to 200 custom colors.

Mobile Gets the Bigger Palette, Not the Picker

The expanded 24-color default set works the same way on phones as it does on desktop. The full RGB picker, however, remains limited to the web version and the API for now.

This split makes practical sense for most users. Heavy schedulers tend to do their primary planning and color organization on a desktop browser. They mostly use their phone for checking and lightly adjusting events. For that workflow, the gap between platforms is unlikely to cause much friction. Colors created on the web also sync and display correctly across mobile devices, even though they cannot be created there directly.

A Gradual Rollout for Everyone

The feature is rolling out with default settings already turned on, so no manual setup is required. Google is releasing it in stages. Rapid Release domains began receiving the update on June 17. Scheduled Release domains will start seeing it on June 29.

Given the sheer size of Calendar’s global user base, full rollout could take several weeks to reach every account. There is good news on pricing, though: this update carries no paywall. Every Google Workspace customer, Workspace Individual subscriber, and free personal Google account holder will get full access to the new color options.

Part of a Broader Calendar Overhaul

This visual refresh is just one piece of a larger wave of updates to the world’s most widely used calendar app. Google Calendar has recently added the ability to schedule personal Tasks directly alongside events. The app has also picked up AI-assisted scheduling tools that automatically scan attendee availability and suggest the best time slots for a meeting or event.

A Small Change With an Outsized Impact for Power Users

To casual users, this update might look like a minor cosmetic tweak. Some people rely heavily on their calendar to manage a packed life. They juggle work projects, family obligations, fitness routines, and side projects. For that group, this has been a long-awaited fix.

Under the old 11-color limit, many power users resorted to creating a dozen or more separate “ghost calendars.” Their only real purpose was borrowing each calendar’s distinct default color. This let users label different types of events despite the official limit. With up to 200 custom colors and a full RGB picker now available, users finally have the visual range to organize their schedules in a way that actually matches how they think.