What Is an Email Alias? How It Works and Why You’d Use One
An email alias is an extra address that delivers to your existing inbox. Learn how aliases work, how they differ from new accounts and forwarding, and how to use them in Gmail and Outlook.
3 min read
Quick answer
An email alias is an additional email address that delivers to the same inbox as your main address. You don’t need a separate login or mailbox. Aliases are useful for sign-ups, separating roles (like sales@ or support@), and filtering mail without creating new accounts.
An email alias gives you an extra email address without creating a new account. Mail sent to the alias lands in your normal inbox.
How an email alias works
Think of an alias as a nickname for your mailbox:
- Your main address: jordan.lee@company.com
- An alias: jordan@company.com or sales@company.com
Mail sent to either address arrives in the same inbox. You log in once and manage everything in one place.
Alias vs. new account vs. forwarding
| Alias | Separate account | Forwarding | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Separate inbox | No | Yes | Yes (original) |
| Separate password | No | Yes | Yes |
| Mail arrives in | Your main inbox | Its own inbox | Copied to another inbox |
| Good for | Extra addresses, filtering | Fully separate identities | Moving mail between accounts |
Why use an email alias?
- Sign-ups and shopping: use a different alias for newsletters so you can filter or block them later.
- Spotting who sold your address: if spam arrives at the alias you only gave one company, you know where it came from.
- Role addresses: small businesses use aliases like info@, sales@ or support@ without paying for extra mailboxes.
- A shorter or nicer address: e.g. jordan@ instead of jordan.lee.marketing@.
- Privacy: keep your main address private.
Email aliases in Gmail
Plus addressing (instant, no setup) Add a plus sign and any word before the @:
- jordan.lee**+news**@gmail.com
- jordan.lee**+shopping**@gmail.com
Both arrive in jordan.lee@gmail.com. You can create a Gmail filter to label or archive them automatically.
Dots don’t matter For personal Gmail addresses, jordanlee@gmail.com and jordan.lee@gmail.com are the same inbox.
Sending from another address In Gmail, go to Settings → See all settings → Accounts and Import → Send mail as to add another address you own.
Email aliases in Outlook
Outlook.com (personal accounts) lets you add aliases to your Microsoft account, so you can sign in with and receive mail at a different address that shares the same inbox.
Work accounts (Microsoft 365) aliases are usually set up by your IT administrator.
Is an alias secure?
An alias is as secure as the account it belongs to. It doesn’t have its own password, so protect your main account with a strong password and two-step verification.
Frequently asked questions
What is an email alias?
An extra email address that sends mail to your existing inbox. It’s not a separate account and doesn’t need its own password.
Is an email alias the same as forwarding?
Not quite. An alias is another name for the same mailbox. Forwarding copies email from one mailbox to a different one.
Can I send emails from an alias?
Usually yes. Gmail (“Send mail as”) and Outlook let you choose an alias in the From field once it’s set up.
What is a Gmail plus alias?
Adding +anything before the @ in a Gmail address, like name+shopping@gmail.com. Emails still arrive in your inbox, and you can filter them by the alias.