Shared Mailbox vs Alias email account

Have you ever needed to create another email address but was not sure if it should go under a shared mailbox or an alias email accountThis post should help you with those determining factors.

You should use a Shared mailbox when you want multiple users managing an email account.
Generally, this is good for Help Desk where there are many team members watching the queue. If you are a small business and it is yourself, you may want to offload this responsibility to someone else when your business grows. Whereas an Alias Email Account gives one user the capability to have multiple email addresses and receive messages in the primary inbox. You don’t have to navigate to a separate inbox for that email address.

Shareable Email Account

  • No License Required
    Can create up to 300 aliases
  • Mailbox Size: 50 GB not require a license; 100 GB requires a Exchange Plan 
  • Mailbox sharing up to 25 internal users; external users are prohibited
  • Incoming / Outgoing Messages
  • No dedicated username/password
  • Login to your primary account instead

Multiple Email Addresses assigned to one user

  • No License Required
    Can create up to 300 aliases
  • Mailbox Size:
    Part of your primary mailbox
  • Mailbox designated to Primary
    User Only
  • Incoming Messages Only
  • Assigned username/password
  • Login to your primary account

More Resources

Check out a series of blog posts that discusses what is an alias account, how to create it, and covers the guidelines for an alias account.
more information

Shared Mailbox in Outlook Online

Learn how to create a shared mailbox and add it to the Outlook Online Folders
more information

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *