Email Alias vs Mailbox vs Shared Inbox: What Should Your Business Use?
info@, sales@ and accounts@ look similar to customers, but they can be implemented as aliases, individual mailboxes, shared mailboxes or forwarding rules. The right choice affects who can read and reply, whether history is retained and what happens when an employee leaves.
Mailbox
A mailbox stores messages and normally has its own account or is attached to a named user. Use one for a real person who needs independent storage, calendar, authentication and recovery. Avoid sharing a named user’s password with a team.
Email alias
An alias is an additional address that routes to an existing mailbox. It usually has no separate inbox, password or storage. It works well for alternate spellings, name changes and a simple role address handled by one accountable person.
Sending from an alias depends on provider configuration. Test the visible From address, replies and authentication; receiving an alias does not always mean users can send as it.
Shared mailbox or shared inbox
A shared mailbox keeps one team-visible history while authorised members use their own identities. It fits accounts@, bookings@ or support@ when several people need to process messages. Permissions can allow read, send-as or send-on-behalf without sharing a password.
Features and licensing vary by platform. Confirm storage, archiving, mobile access, audit logs and whether direct sign-in is disabled.
Forwarder or distribution group
A forwarder sends incoming mail elsewhere; a group distributes a message to members. They are useful for announcements but do not automatically provide a central history, ownership or protection from duplicate replies. External forwarding can also complicate spam authentication and data control.
Choose by workflow
- One employee, second address: alias.
- One accountable employee, private archive: named mailbox.
- Several people handling a queue: shared mailbox or ticket system.
- Announcements to a known group: distribution group.
- Formal support with status and SLA: ticket system, even if email creates tickets.
Why shared passwords fail
They prevent individual MFA and accountability, spread when staff change and make lockout recovery dangerous. Use delegated access or a purpose-built team tool. Every human should authenticate as themselves.
Plan role addresses
Use addresses customers can predict, but assign an owner and handling rule. Define expected response time, absence cover and escalation. Keep mandatory security, billing and registrar alerts routed to a monitored address that cannot disappear with one employee.
Replies and customer experience
Decide whether replies should come from the role address or a named person. Ensure the sent item is visible to colleagues where required. Prevent duplicate responses with assignment or status. For sensitive departments, restrict membership and review it periodically.
When email should become a ticket
A shared mailbox becomes difficult when messages need priority, ownership, due dates, internal notes and reporting. A support system can accept email while adding workflow controls. Keep the customer reply path simple, but do not pretend a distribution list provides case management.
Catch-all addresses
A catch-all receives mail for any unrecognised local address. It can capture typos but attracts spam and hides address-management mistakes. Prefer intentional aliases. If a catch-all is used during migration, monitor it and set an end date.
Plus addressing
Some providers support addresses such as name+project@example.ie for filtering. This helps organisation but is not a security boundary because sites may strip or reject the suffix. Provider-created aliases are better for public identities needing continuity.
DNS and deliverability
Aliases do not require separate MX records; MX applies to the domain. Sending platforms must be covered by SPF, sign with DKIM and align with DMARC. Avoid forwarding chains that hide failures. See the DNS email guide.
Staff joiners and leavers
Create the person’s mailbox under a controlled naming standard. Give access to shared resources by group or delegation. On departure, revoke sessions, preserve business records according to policy, transfer ownership and remove forwarding after a defined period. Never simply rename a former employee’s mailbox for a new person.
Privacy and retention
Access to shared mail should match job need. Document retention, legal holds and deletion. Do not use a broad shared inbox for sensitive HR, medical or identity documents without appropriate controls. Minimise exports and local copies.
Estimate the plan correctly
Count named people who require mailboxes, then list aliases and team addresses separately. Identify which team addresses need shared history. Compare storage and delegation, not merely address count. Hoster’s email plans list current mailbox and alias features; ask Hoster about a specific shared workflow before purchase.