# Email aliases vs mailboxes vs forwarding: which one you need

> Mailboxes, aliases and forwarding all route mail on your domain. Learn what each one does, when to use it, and the traps that break replies and SPF.

Published 2026-10-28. Source: https://mailions.com/blog/aliases-vs-mailboxes-vs-forwarding

You own `yourcompany.com` and want `info@`, `sales@`, `support@` and an address for each person. Do you need ten mailboxes? Almost certainly not. Mailboxes, aliases and forwarding solve different problems, and picking the right one saves money, passwords and confusion.

## Mailbox: a place that stores mail

A mailbox has its own password and storage. You sign in to it, in the browser or in an email app over IMAP and SMTP, and mail sits there until you delete it. It can send mail as itself.

Use a mailbox for anyone who needs to read and answer mail personally. A person who works for you gets one. So does any address that receives a lot of mail and needs a history.

## Alias: another name for an existing mailbox

An alias is an extra address that delivers into a mailbox you already have. Mail sent to `info@yourcompany.com` lands in, say, `maria@yourcompany.com`. There's no second inbox, no second password and no storage of its own.

Use aliases for role and campaign addresses:

- `info@`, `hello@`, `contact@`
- `billing@`, `sales@`, `support@`
- `jobs@` for a hiring push you'll shut down in three months
- `press@` and `legal@`

An alias costs nothing to make and nothing to delete. That makes it the right tool whenever you aren't sure an address will last. An alias can also deliver to several mailboxes at once, so `support@` can reach both of the people covering support.

## Forwarding: send a copy somewhere else

Forwarding sends mail arriving at one mailbox on to another address. The other address can be on the same domain or somewhere else entirely, like a personal Gmail account.

On Mailions, domain owners manage aliases and forwarding from the domain's Mailboxes tab. A mailbox can forward to other addresses and optionally keep a copy. Destinations on this server must exist, an alias can deliver to a handful of addresses, and a domain has a cap on aliases, so check the current limits in the panel. Deleting a mailbox also cleans up aliases and forwards that pointed at it.

## How they compare

| | Mailbox | Alias | Forwarding |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Has its own password | Yes | No | No (set on a mailbox) |
| Stores mail | Yes | No | Optional copy |
| Sends mail as itself | Yes | Only with extra setup | No |
| Typical use | A person | A role | Mail to an outside address |

## A sensible setup for a small team

Say there are three of you. Create three mailboxes: one per person. Then add aliases:

- `info@` and `hello@` deliver to whoever answers general enquiries
- `billing@` delivers to the person who does the books
- `support@` delivers to two people

Nobody manages extra passwords, and when someone leaves, you repoint the alias and delete their mailbox.

## Traps to avoid

### Replying from an alias

Receiving through an alias is simple. Replying *as* the alias is the hard part, because your email app sends from the mailbox address by default. Customers then see a reply from `maria@` to a message they sent to `support@`, and some will be confused. Fix it in your email app by adding the alias as an extra "From" identity. In Gmail that's the **Send mail as** setting, covered in [using a custom domain email in Gmail](/blog/use-custom-domain-email-in-gmail). Only do it for aliases you control.

### Forwarding to a free provider

If you forward business mail to a Gmail address, the forwarded message arrives from a server that isn't in the original sender's SPF record. If the sender publishes a strict DMARC policy, Gmail may flag or reject it. Forwarding that rewrites the sender, or that is signed on the way, avoids the problem; plain forwarding doesn't always. If you forward important mail to a third party, test it with a message from a domain that has a strict DMARC policy. The reason is in [what is SPF](/blog/what-is-spf-record).

### Forwarding loops

Alias A forwards to B, which forwards back to A, and the message circles until something drops it. Keep a simple map of where each address goes.

### Silent failures

An alias that points at a deleted mailbox delivers nowhere, and senders get a bounce. Review aliases when people leave.

## What about a shared inbox?

Teams often ask for a "shared inbox" where everyone sees the same mail. There are two simple ways to get close without extra software. One is a mailbox whose password the team shares and that everyone opens in webmail. It works, but you lose track of who did what, and you share a password, which is a habit worth avoiding. The other is an alias that delivers to everyone on the team, so each person gets a copy. That keeps individual accounts separate, but everyone has to decide who replies, or two people will answer the same customer. For a team of two or three, the alias with a clear rule about who answers is usually enough.

## Rules of thumb

- Person: mailbox.
- Role: alias.
- Outside address: forwarding.
- Not sure: alias. You can promote it to a mailbox later.

## Setting it up

If you're starting from scratch, [professional email on your own domain](/blog/setup-professional-email-own-domain) walks through the domain and DNS side. To get mailboxes and aliases on your domain, [contact us](/contact).

## Frequently asked questions

### What is the difference between an email alias and a mailbox?

A mailbox stores mail and has its own password, so someone can sign in and read it. An alias is only an extra address: mail sent to it is delivered to one or more existing mailboxes, and it has no inbox or password of its own.

### Can I reply from an alias address?

Receiving works automatically, but sending as an alias depends on your email app and provider. Many apps let you add the alias as an extra identity that sends through your mailbox's SMTP login. Without that, replies come from the mailbox's own address.

### Does forwarding email hurt deliverability?

It can. Forwarded mail often fails SPF at the final destination because your server is now the one passing it on, and forwarding spam onward can harm your server's reputation. DKIM signatures usually survive forwarding, which is why DKIM matters so much here.