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Email aliases vs separate mailboxes vs shared inboxes
Choose the right setup for founder@, hello@, and support@: an alias, a separate mailbox, or an inbox shared by a team.
Choose the right setup for founder@, hello@, and support@: an alias, a separate mailbox, or an inbox shared by a team.
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Use an alias when one person needs another address but not another inbox. Use a separate mailbox when the address needs its own private history or identity. Use a shared mailbox when several people need to read and reply from the same address.
A sensible small-company setup might use founder@yourcompany.com as a private mailbox,
hello@yourcompany.com as an alias for the founder while enquiries are rare, and
support@yourcompany.com as a shared mailbox once several people answer customers.
| Question | Email alias | Separate mailbox | Shared mailbox |
|---|---|---|---|
| Is it a new address? | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Has its own stored inbox? | No | Yes | Yes |
| Has its own login? | Usually no | Often | Usually accessed by permitted members |
| Keeps separate history? | No, mail joins the target inbox | Yes | Yes |
| Best number of readers | One | One owner | Two or more |
| Typical use | Extra role or spelling for one person | Private identity | Team role |
| Example | hello@ routes to founder@ | founder@ | support@ |
Providers use these terms differently. Some call any extra address an alias. Some call a group or distribution address a shared inbox even when it only sends copies to members. Check where messages are stored, who can reply, and whether everyone sees the same sent history.
An alias is another address attached to an existing mailbox. It does not create a separate inbox.
Suppose Lena signs in as lena@yourcompany.com. The administrator adds hello@yourcompany.com as
an alias. Mail sent to either address arrives in Lena's mailbox. If Lena leaves, the company must
move the alias and decide how to transfer the earlier conversations stored in her account.
Google Workspace defines an alias this way: messages sent to the alias route to one user's primary inbox. The alias is not a Google Account, and several users cannot share it. Google currently allows up to 30 aliases per user without an extra charge.
Microsoft Exchange Online uses the term “proxy address” for an additional address on a mailbox. Messages sent to it arrive at the mailbox's primary address. One address remains the default reply address.
Aliases work well for:
hello@, billing@, and press@ aloneAn alias is a poor fit when different people need different permissions, when the role needs its own archive, or when anyone must sign in as the alias. It can also become messy when filters are the only way to distinguish several roles inside one crowded inbox.
Sending needs a separate check. Receiving mail at an alias does not always mean a user can select it as the From address. Provider and administrator settings control that behavior.
A separate mailbox stores its own messages and represents its own email identity. It can have an owner, credentials, access grants, retention rules, and a sending history distinct from other addresses.
Use one for founder@yourcompany.com when its messages should remain private from the wider team. A
separate mailbox also suits finance, legal, or account-recovery mail that should not flow into a
general employee inbox.
Separate mailboxes give cleaner boundaries:
The cost and administration depend on the provider. Traditional office suites often tie a user mailbox to a licensed user. Developer mailbox services may price by mailbox, message volume, or both. Do not count addresses alone. Count the inboxes, people, storage, and access controls you actually need.
Startup Mail charges per workspace rather than per address: $12 per year includes 1,000 email events each month, shared across the workspace. Every receiving address still needs an explicit mailbox. Mailbox, domain, and seat allowances are not published as contractual limits, so do not assume they are unlimited.
Avoid a separate mailbox for every spelling or campaign code. Ten nearly empty inboxes are harder to monitor than one mailbox with well-chosen aliases, if your provider offers them.
A shared mailbox is one stored inbox that several authorized people can use. Everyone works from the same address and, in a proper shared-mailbox setup, can see the same conversation history.
This is a natural home for support@yourcompany.com, accounts@yourcompany.com, or
hello@yourcompany.com after the company grows beyond one reader.
Microsoft recommends shared mailboxes for support, reception, and company information addresses. Members with the right permissions can send as the shared mailbox or send on its behalf. Microsoft also notes that an unlicensed shared mailbox can store up to 50 GB, although the people accessing it still need appropriate Exchange Online licences and larger or advanced uses can require a mailbox licence.
Google offers a different route through Google Groups. A group can distribute mail to several members, and its Collaborative Inbox features let members assign conversations and mark them complete. That is not the same object as a Gmail user alias.
A shared mailbox should answer these questions clearly:
Some products call a distribution list a shared inbox. A distribution list sends a copy to each member but may not keep shared read state or sent history. If two people can unknowingly answer the same customer, you have distribution, not a complete collaboration workflow.
Startup Mail provides shared and private mailboxes. It does not currently offer aliases or catch-all delivery.
Each receiving address must be an explicit mailbox. A private mailbox has an owner and can grant
other people read-only or read-and-send access. A shared mailbox is available to workspace members
and suits addresses such as hello@ or support@. API keys can also be limited to a tenant or one
mailbox, then narrowed by operation scope and permissions.
This gives each address its own stored history and access boundary. It also means you cannot create
hi@, contact@, and info@ as free aliases that all collapse into hello@. You would need to
create separate mailboxes or choose another provider if alias-heavy routing is important.
Startup Mail's shared mailbox is intentionally lighter than a help desk. It stores shared threads and lets permitted users read and send, but it does not currently provide ticket queues, service-level agreements, or advanced agent assignment. Use a help desk when support operations need those tools.
List who reads, replies, and needs retained history for each address.
founder@yourcompany.com: primary or private mailboxhello@yourcompany.com: alias to the founder, if the provider supports aliasesbilling@yourcompany.com: alias if the same founder handles every invoiceWith Startup Mail, each of these would be a mailbox because aliases are not available. If you do not want that, create only the addresses you will publish and use.
founder@yourcompany.com: private mailboxemployee@yourcompany.com: private mailboxhello@yourcompany.com: shared mailboxbilling@yourcompany.com: private mailbox with explicit access for the person handling financeThis keeps personal conversations separate while giving both people a common place for general enquiries.
support@yourcompany.com: shared mailbox or help desksecurity@yourcompany.com: separate mailbox with a small, named access groupDo not use a catch-all as a substitute for planning. It accepts typos and arbitrary local parts, which can attract spam and hide configuration mistakes. A catch-all can be useful for disposable addresses or broad routing, but explicit mailboxes make ownership easier to audit.
Ask who owns the message after it arrives.
One address can change type as the company grows. hello@ may begin as an alias and later become a
shared mailbox. Plan the change before several years of company mail are trapped inside one person's
account.
Not always. Some providers include aliases at no extra cost, and some have special rules for shared mailboxes. A separate user mailbox is more likely to need a licence or mailbox charge. Compare the provider's current pricing and limits rather than assuming every visible address costs the same.
An alias normally belongs to one mailbox. Use a group, delegation, distribution list, or shared mailbox for several readers. Google explicitly says one email alias cannot be shared by multiple users.
support@ better as an alias or a shared mailbox?Use an alias when one person handles every request and no separate record is needed. Use a private or separate mailbox when one owner or restricted function needs its own history. Use a shared mailbox when several people need the same threads and sent record. Use a help desk when the work needs assignment, response targets, or reporting.
Usually not. Members sign in with their own accounts and receive permission to the shared mailbox. This preserves individual access control and makes offboarding safer than sharing one password.
No. Every address that receives mail must have a matching shared or private mailbox. Unknown recipients are rejected rather than routed to a catch-all.
To decide whether those mailboxes should forward elsewhere, read email forwarding vs a real mailbox. For a broader comparison of address types and providers, see custom-domain email without an office suite.