OnlyBusy
An ICS feed vs OnlyBusy
Last updated 3 October 2026
An ICS subscription and OnlyBusy answer different questions. The feed lets someone glance at a copy of your calendar. OnlyBusy writes a private Busy event on the calendar their scheduler already trusts.
At a glance
| Comparison | Other approach | OnlyBusy |
|---|---|---|
| What it is for | A subscribed copy of a calendar, refreshed on a poll. | A private Busy event written onto each connected calendar. |
| Scheduling Assistant | A subscription is often an overlay. Scheduling Assistant and Find a time often ignore it. | The event is native and marked Busy, so those tools treat the hour as taken. |
| Event details | The feed contains whatever the published calendar contains. | The other calendar gets the label you set. The source title is not stored or copied. |
| How you connect | Someone adds the ICS URL as a calendar subscription. | Personal sign-in for Google Calendar and Microsoft 365. Push updates carry the change. |
What they are for
An ICS subscription is a copy the other calendar polls. Refresh is typically every 6 to 24 hours, so a meeting you just accepted can still look open.
Use a feed when a person wants to glance at your calendar. The explanation of why that poll does not count as Busy is on the ICS guide.
What OnlyBusy writes
OnlyBusy writes the block as a native event, marked Busy and private. Their existing scheduling tools pick it up without a new subscription to manage.
Push notifications from Google and Microsoft carry the change. The block is the label you set for that calendar, with no guests, description, or location.
Who should stay with them
Stay with a subscribed feed when someone wants a read-only glance and does not need Scheduling Assistant to treat the time as taken.
A feed is also the file you hand someone so they can import one event. That download is a different job from a live subscription.
Who should add OnlyBusy
Add OnlyBusy when a colleague books from Outlook or Google and must see the hour as taken.
OnlyBusy reads a title so you can see your own event. It does not store that title or copy it onto another calendar.
Price
A subscribed ICS feed is a calendar feature. Publishing one does not have a separate product price on this page.
As of 3 October 2026, OnlyBusy lists Free at $0 with up to 2 calendars and no scheduling links, Standard at $6 a month or $50 a year with up to 4 calendars and 4 scheduling links, and Premium at $12 a month or $99 a year with unlimited calendars and scheduling links. Teams is arranged by email at privacy@onlybusy.com.
Questions
Is OnlyBusy an ICS feed alternative?
When the goal is a Busy event inside the other calendar. Keep the feed when someone only needs to look at a subscription.
Why compare a feed with a product?
People try the feed first, because it is already in Google and Outlook. This page is the product comparison. The guide explains why the subscription is left out of free/busy.
How often does a feed refresh?
A subscribed ICS feed typically refreshes every 6 to 24 hours. OnlyBusy writes the event, and Google and Microsoft push the change.