An email alias is an additional email address that delivers into a mailbox you already have. It has no inbox, storage or password of its own. Mail sent to the alias is routed by the mail server to one or more real mailboxes, so support@yourcompany.com can reach whoever is on support duty this week without anyone publishing a personal address.
That is the whole idea. The rest of this guide covers what people actually get wrong: the difference between an alias, a mailbox, a group and a domain alias; what happens when you reply; the limits each platform puts on aliases; and how to create one in Google Workspace, Microsoft 365 and XgenPlus.
Alias, mailbox, group, domain alias: which is which
| Email alias | Mailbox | Group or distribution list | Domain alias | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | An extra address that points at a mailbox | A real account with storage and a login | A managed list that expands to many mailboxes | A whole second domain that mirrors the first |
| Has its own inbox | No | Yes | No (some platforms give it a shared archive) | No |
| Needs a licence | No | Yes | Usually no | No |
| Who can send to it | Anyone | Anyone | Controlled by membership and moderation rules | Anyone |
| Typical use | support@, sales@, billing@, a founder receiving press@ | One person's daily mail | Announcements, team lists with join and post rules | company.co.in receiving mail for company.com |
| Cost of change | Seconds; repoint it when the owner changes | A migration if the person leaves | Edit membership | A DNS change |
The confusion usually comes from groups. A group also fans mail out to several people, so from the outside it looks like an alias. The difference is administrative: a group is a membership object with rules about who may post and who moderates, while an alias is a plain routing rule with none of that. If you need a public address that anyone can write to and one team should see, you want an alias that delivers to several mailboxes, not a group.
How an email alias works, step by step
- An administrator adds the alias address in the mail platform's admin console and points it at one or more existing mailboxes.
- The mail server publishes nothing new in DNS. The domain's MX, SPF, DKIM and DMARC records already cover every address on the domain, aliases included.
- Mail arrives addressed to the alias. The server rewrites the delivery to the target mailbox or mailboxes. The message keeps the alias in its To: header, which is how the recipient knows it came through support@ and not their own address.
- The person replies. By default the reply goes out from their own address. To reply as the alias, the platform needs a separate outbound identity, usually called "send as" or "send mail as", configured in the client or the admin console. The alias itself only handles inbound routing.
What aliases are for
- Department addresses. support@, sales@, billing@, hr@, careers@. The public sees a stable address; the team behind it changes freely.
- Continuity through staff changes. When the person handling sales@ leaves, repoint the alias. Nothing external has to update, and no mail is lost in the handover.
- One person, several identities. A founder can receive name@company.com and press@company.com in one inbox, and choose which identity to reply from.
- Shared team addresses without a shared login. One alias delivering to four mailboxes means four people see support@ mail in their own inbox, with their own password and their own device.
- Catching the old address. After a rename or a merger, the old address becomes an alias of the new mailbox so nothing bounces.
How many aliases can you have?
This is where platforms differ, and where a growing company hits a wall.
| Platform | Aliases per user | Where you create them |
|---|---|---|
| Google Workspace | 30 per user | Admin console, Users, the user, Add alternate emails |
| Microsoft 365 | A few hundred proxy addresses per mailbox (Microsoft has moved the cap between 200 and 400 over the years) | Microsoft 365 admin center, Users, Manage username and email |
| XgenPlus | No per-user limit; aliases are part of domain administration, not a licensed item | Admin console, Users, Aliases; a partner can manage them for a customer domain |
Thirty sounds like plenty until a company with regional offices, product lines and a long list of legacy addresses needs city@, product@ and old-brand@ on a handful of mailboxes. Check the limit before you design your addressing scheme, not after.
How to create an email alias
In Google Workspace: Admin console, Users, open the user, User information, Alternate email addresses, add the alias, save. To reply from it, the user adds it under Settings, Accounts, Send mail as, in Gmail.
In Microsoft 365: Admin center, Users, Active users, select the user, Manage username and email, Add an alias. To reply from it, enable Send from aliases in the organisation settings, then the user picks it in Outlook's From field.
In XgenPlus: Admin console, Users, choose the user, Aliases, add the address, and tick every mailbox it should deliver to if more than one. The alias is live immediately. The send-as identity is set in the same place, so a support@ reply shows support@ without a separate client setup. Partners managing a customer's domain do the same from the partner panel.
In every case there is no new licence, no new password, no migration, and removing or repointing the alias is as quick as creating it.
What an alias is not
- Not a disposable address. Aliases are stable, published identities. If you want throwaway addresses for sign-ups, that is a different feature (masked or relay addresses).
- Not a forwarder to another domain. An alias routes within your own mail system. Forwarding to an outside address is a mailbox rule, and it can break SPF and DMARC for the receiving side.
- Not a security boundary. Anyone who can send to your domain can send to the alias. Put spam filtering and DMARC on the domain, not on the alias.
Aliases on your own domain with XgenPlus
XgenPlus treats aliases as ordinary domain administration: unlimited aliases per user, fan-out to several mailboxes, send-as configured in the same screen, and the same SPF, DKIM and DMARC coverage as every other address on the domain. Business email on your own domain starts at ₹21 per user per month, hosted in India, with department aliases set up on the day you go live. See plans and prices, see the admin console, or ask us to set up your department addresses as part of onboarding.
Frequently asked questions
What is an email alias in plain terms?
An additional email address that delivers into an existing mailbox instead of having its own inbox, storage or login. Mail sent to the alias is routed to the real mailbox or mailboxes behind it.
What is the difference between an alias and a mailbox?
A mailbox has its own storage and login. An alias is a routing rule with no storage; mail addressed to it lands in someone else's mailbox. A mailbox usually needs a licence, an alias does not.
Can I reply from an email alias?
Yes, if a send-as identity is set up for it. The alias only handles inbound mail; the outbound identity is configured separately in the mail client or, on XgenPlus, in the same admin screen as the alias.
Can one alias deliver to several people?
Yes. An alias can fan out to several mailboxes, which is the normal pattern for support@ or sales@ when a small team needs to see the same mail without sharing a login.
Is an email alias the same as a distribution list?
No. Both expand to several mailboxes, but a distribution list is a membership object with rules about who may post and who moderates. An alias is a plain routing rule with no membership layer.
How many email aliases can a user have?
Google Workspace allows 30 per user. Microsoft 365 allows a few hundred proxy addresses per mailbox. XgenPlus has no per-user limit.
