Notion Calendar starts with a limited color palette, but you can expand it by creating multiple calendars
Notion Calendar comes with about six default colors — blue, purple, pink, red, orange, and gray. If you want more colors for different projects or categories, the direct approach is to create separate calendars, each with its own color. This works because Notion assigns a different color to each calendar you make, giving you access to the full color range without needing a settings menu that doesn't exist.
The process is straightforward: open Notion, go to your calendar view, and create a new calendar. Name it for what you want to track — "Personal," "Work," "important date," "Client A" — and Notion will assign it a color automatically. You can then toggle calendars on and off to see only what you need, and events from each calendar will display in their assigned color.
Key Takeaways
- Notion Calendar does not have a color picker for individual events; instead, colors are tied to which calendar an event belongs to.
- Creating multiple calendars is the only way to use more than the default six colors in a single view.
- Each new calendar you create gets assigned a color from Notion's palette automatically.
- You can hide or show calendars by toggling them on and off in the left sidebar without deleting them.
Creating a new calendar for each color you need
To add a new calendar, open Notion and navigate to your calendar view. In the left sidebar, you will see a list of existing calendars. Below that list, look for a plus icon or "Add a calendar" option. Click it, then type a name for the new calendar. Notion will create it and assign it a color from its palette.
The color assignment is automatic and sequential — Notion cycles through its available colors as you create calendars. If you create ten calendars, you will cycle through the palette more than once, so some colors will repeat. This is a limitation of the system, but it means you can still organize by color even if you have many categories.
Name your calendars in a way that makes sense for your workflow. Instead of "Calendar 1" and "Calendar 2," use names like "Meetings," "important date," "Personal," or "Client Work." This way, when you see an event in the calendar view, the calendar name in the sidebar tells you when ready what the color represents.
Moving events between calendars to change their color
If you have an event already created in one calendar and want to change its color, you move it to a different calendar. Open the event, and you will see a field showing which calendar it belongs to. Click that field and select a different calendar from the dropdown. The event will move and its color will change to match the new calendar's color.
This is useful if you create an event quickly without thinking about color, then later decide it should be grouped differently. It also means you can reorganize your calendar structure without losing any events — just move them to the calendars that now make more sense.
Toggling calendars on and off to reduce visual clutter
Once you have created multiple calendars, you can show or hide them by clicking the eye icon next to each calendar name in the left sidebar. This lets you focus on specific categories without deleting anything. For example, you might hide your personal calendar during work hours and show only work-related calendars, then toggle it back on in the evening.
Toggling is faster than creating and deleting calendars repeatedly, and it preserves your color organization. If you have a project that is temporarily on hold, you can hide its calendar and bring it back later without any setup.
Why Notion Calendar does not have a direct color picker
Notion Calendar's design ties colors to calendars rather than to individual events. This is a deliberate choice that makes the interface simpler but less flexible than some other calendar apps. The trade-off is that you get a cleaner, faster experience — you do not have to pick a color for every single event. Instead, you decide once what color a category should be, and every event in that calendar inherits it automatically.
If you need very fine-grained color control — for example, coloring individual events within the same project differently based on priority — Notion Calendar may not be the right tool. In that case, you might use a different calendar app or use Notion's database view instead of the calendar view, where you have more customization options.
Using database properties to add color without creating more calendars
If you want to avoid creating too many calendars, you can use Notion's database view with color-coded properties. Create a database with a date field, then add a "Status" or "Priority" property with options like "High," "Medium," and "Low." Assign each option a different color. When you switch to calendar view, events will still be grouped by date, but you can see the property colors in the database itself.
This approach works best if you are comfortable switching between database and calendar views. The calendar view will not show the property colors directly, but the database view will, giving you a second way to organize and see your information with color coding.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I change the color of a single event without moving it to a different calendar?
No. Notion Calendar assigns colors at the calendar level, not the event level. To change an event's color, you must move it to a different calendar. If you need per-event color control, consider using Notion's database view instead, where you can color-code individual rows.
What happens to events if I delete a calendar?
Deleting a calendar in Notion does not delete the events in it — they move to a default calendar or remain in the database. Before you delete a calendar, move its events to another calendar if you want to keep them visible in your calendar view.
Can I rename a calendar after I create it?
Yes. Click on the calendar name in the left sidebar, and you should see an option to edit it. The color stays the same when you rename it.
How many calendars can I create?
Notion does not publish a hard limit, but creating dozens of calendars will make your sidebar crowded and harder to navigate. Most users find that five to ten calendars cover their needs. If you need more organization, use database properties or tags within events instead.
Do colors sync across devices if I use Notion on my phone and computer?
Yes. Calendar colors are part of your Notion workspace and sync across all devices. A calendar you create on your computer will have the same color on your phone.