Mailbox vs alias vs forwarding vs catch-all
These words sound similar, but they answer different questions. Use this guide when you are deciding what to create for addresses like hello@, support@, or billing@.
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The short version
Create a mailbox when someone needs a real inbox and can reply from that address. Use an alias when another address should land in an existing mailbox. Use forwarding when mail should be copied somewhere else. Use catch-all when you want one mailbox to receive messages sent to addresses you have not created yet.
What each one means
Mailbox
A real inbox with its own password, storage, sent mail, and IMAP/SMTP access.
Example: hello@yourdomain.com
Use when: Use a mailbox for addresses people actively read and reply from, like hello@, support@, or billing@.
Alias
An extra address name that delivers into an existing mailbox. It does not have its own inbox or password.
Example: hi@yourdomain.com delivers to hello@yourdomain.com
Use when: Use an alias when two public names should land in the same place, like hello@ and hi@ for the same founder inbox.
Forwarding
A delivery rule that sends incoming mail to another address, usually outside the mailbox itself.
Example: billing@yourdomain.com forwards to jane@gmail.com
Use when: Use forwarding when someone only needs to receive copies somewhere else. Use a mailbox instead when they need reliable sending from that domain address.
Catch-all
A fallback mailbox for addresses on your domain that you have not created yet.
Example: anything@yourdomain.com lands in hello@yourdomain.com
Use when: Use catch-all early on if you do not want to miss typoed or one-off addresses. Turn it off later if it attracts too much spam.
How to choose
Solo founder starting out
Create hello@ as a mailbox. Add support@ or billing@ as aliases if the same person handles them all.
Team with separate responsibilities
Create support@ and billing@ as mailboxes when different people or workflows need separate inboxes.
Need to send mail to an outside address
Use forwarding for receive-only copies. If the person needs to reply as billing@, create a mailbox instead.
Not sure which addresses people will use yet
Enable catch-all on hello@ so random or typoed addresses do not bounce while you learn what customers use.
A simple starting setup
For most new domains, start with hello@as a mailbox. If the same person answers customers and invoices, make support@ and billing@ aliases that deliver to hello@. When support or billing becomes a real workflow, turn each one into its own mailbox.
If you are still testing names, enable catch-all on hello@ for a while. You can disable it later once you know which addresses customers actually use.