Email addresses
Mailboxes and aliases
A mailbox has its own inbox. An alias forwards into one. Here is when to use each.
A mailbox is an address with its own inbox. An alias is an address that delivers into another mailbox instead of holding mail itself.
Both are free and unlimited. The difference is whether the address gets its own place in your inbox list.
When to use a mailbox
Create a mailbox when the address represents a distinct stream of conversation you want to see separately.
thomas@launchpanda.devfor your own correspondence.support@learnfarsi.appfor customer questions.billing@when invoices should not sit among support requests.
Each mailbox appears as its own filter in the inbox, so you can read one project at a time.
When to use an alias
Create an alias when you want an address to exist, but not a separate inbox to check.
- Catch common misspellings of your name.
- Give a one off address to a supplier, so you can see where mail came from.
- Keep an old address working after you have moved on from it.
Aliases keep your inbox list short. Ten aliases pointing into one mailbox still show as one place to look.
Which to choose
| You want | Use |
|---|---|
| A separate view of these conversations | Mailbox |
| Someone else to handle this address | Mailbox, then grant them access |
| The mail to land somewhere you already read | Alias |
| An address that only exists to be forwarded | Alias |
Things worth knowing
- Deleting a mailbox deletes the conversations in it. Deleting an alias does not, because the mail lives in the mailbox it forwarded to.
- You can reply from a mailbox address. Replies always come from the address the message was sent to, so conversations stay consistent.
- Aliases follow the domain they are on. If you disconnect a domain, its addresses stop receiving.
Related
Last updated 2026-08-20