The short answer: on desktop, open Settings → Time zone and tick Display secondary time zone to show two clocks down the left edge. The right-hand world clock adds a few more reference cities. But all of it is display-only, capping at roughly three zones, and it never re-shows an event in another zone.
If you work with people in other countries, you have probably wished Google Calendar would just show their local time next to yours. It can, partly. There are two separate features for this, both useful, both limited in the same quiet way. Here is exactly how to turn them on, and where they run out of road.
How do I add a secondary time zone in Google Calendar?
Google Calendar lets you display a second clock alongside your primary one. It only works in a desktop browser, not the mobile apps. The steps:
- Open Google Calendar in a desktop browser and click the gear icon in the top right, then choose Settings.
- In the General menu on the left, select Time zone.
- Tick Display secondary time zone, then pick the zone you want from the dropdown.
- Add a short label for each zone (for example "London" and "New York") so they are easy to read.
- Changes save automatically. Go back to the calendar and you will see both clocks running down the left edge of the day and week views.
That is the whole setup. Your appointments do not move; you simply gain a second column of hour markings to read across.
What about the world clock for more cities?
There is a second feature for adding more zones. In the same Settings screen, open World clock under the General menu and tick Show world clock. You can then add several cities, which appear as a small list of current times in the left sidebar of the main calendar view.
The world clock is purely a glance-able reference. It tells you what time it is right now in each city. It does not line those cities up against a specific meeting, and it does not change the day or week grid the way the secondary time zone does.
How many time zones can Google Calendar show at once?
In effect, you get your primary zone plus one secondary zone on the grid, and a short list of extra cities in the world clock. The two grid columns are the part most people mean when they say "multiple time zones", and that caps at two. Practically, you are working with around three displayed zones before it becomes cluttered. Mobile shows only your primary zone.
| Feature | What it shows | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Primary time zone | Your main clock on the grid | 1 |
| Secondary time zone | A second clock down the left edge | 1 |
| World clock | Current time in extra cities (sidebar list) | A handful |
| Mobile apps | Primary zone only | 1 |
The catch: it is display-only
This is the part that trips people up. Both the secondary time zone and the world clock are display-only. They put extra clocks on screen so you can do the conversion in your head faster. They do not convert an individual event into another zone, and they do not show you a meeting's time as your colleague will see it.
A secondary clock helps you read across, but it will not catch an event saved in the wrong zone in the first place. If your events keep landing at odd hours, see why Google Calendar shows the wrong time zone.
When two or three clocks is not enough
For a single overseas colleague, the secondary time zone is genuinely useful. The trouble starts when a meeting involves four or five people spread across the Americas, Europe and Asia, and that is increasingly the norm: in Buffer's 2023 State of Remote Work report, 74 percent of respondents said their company operates across multiple time zones. Now you need to compare everyone's working hours at once, find the slot where nobody is asleep, and book it so the time is correct for each person. Google Calendar's display clocks cannot do that part; you are still counting on your fingers.
This is where a dedicated tool earns its place. Atlas is a native macOS menu-bar app that pins your teammates and cities on a world map and shows each person's current local time at a glance. It shades everyone's working hours, so the overlap where a meeting actually fits is obvious, then suggests the best time. With one tap it adds the meeting to your calendar in everyone's correct local time, with daylight saving handled for you.
Because it lives in the menu bar, you can summon its Quick Check mode with a keyboard shortcut to test a time or add a meeting without leaving what you are doing. There is no account and nothing leaves your Mac. It is the part Google Calendar leaves out: not just reading across zones, but turning that into a booked meeting that is right for everyone.
Quick recap
- Secondary clock: Settings → Time zone → Display secondary time zone. Desktop only, adds one extra column.
- World clock: Settings → World clock → Show world clock. A sidebar list of current city times.
- The limit: roughly three zones, all display-only, no per-event conversion.
- The fix for many zones: a menu-bar app that compares working hours and books the meeting correctly. See more on the Atlas blog.
Frequently asked
How many time zones can Google Calendar display?
Does Google Calendar's world clock change my event times?
How do I add a secondary time zone in Google Calendar?
Can I see more than three time zones at once for a meeting?
Stop doing timezone math
Atlas finds the time everyone's awake and adds it to your calendar in one tap.
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