Shared Mailbox Guide: What It Is and When to Use One

A shared mailbox is a single mailbox, such as support@example.com or orders@example.com, that several people can open, read and reply from using their own accounts. Nobody needs a shared password: team members get access, see the same messages and folders, and send as the shared address. It's the standard way to run team addresses for support, sales, billing or bookings.

What a shared mailbox is (and isn't)

Think of a shared mailbox as a team inbox with its own address and storage, but no person attached to it. It has its own folders, its own sent items and its own history. People who are members open it alongside their personal mailbox.

What it isn't:

Not a shared password. The old habit of giving five people the login to info@ is exactly what a shared mailbox replaces. With shared passwords you can't tell who did what, you can't turn on proper two-factor authentication, and when one person leaves you have to change the password for everyone.
Not a group (distribution list). A group copies each message into every member's own inbox. A shared mailbox keeps one copy that everyone works from.
Not an alias. An alias is just an extra address that delivers to one existing mailbox.

Shared mailbox vs alias vs group vs delegation

	Alias	Group (distribution list)	Shared mailbox	Delegation
What it is	Extra address for one mailbox	One address delivering to many people	A separate mailbox several people open	Letting a colleague into your mailbox
Copies of each message	One, in the owner's inbox	One per member	One, shared	One, in your inbox
Replies sent from	The owner's mailbox	Each member's own mailbox	The shared address	Your mailbox (on your behalf)
Who sees others' replies	Only the owner	Usually nobody (unless cc'd)	Everyone with access	You and the delegate
Good for	info@ for a one-person business, a former name	team@, all-staff@, announcements	support@, orders@, billing@, careers@	Assistants, holiday cover

A quick rule of thumb:

If one person handles the address, use an alias.
If several people need to be informed but each acts separately, use a group.
If several people work the same conversations and need to see what colleagues replied, use a shared mailbox.
If someone needs to help with your personal inbox, use delegation.

When a shared mailbox makes sense

Shared mailboxes shine for addresses that customers write to and that a team answers together:

Customer support (support@): everyone sees new requests, replies are visible to the whole team, nothing gets answered twice.
Sales enquiries (sales@, quotes@): leads stay with the company when a salesperson leaves.
Accounts and billing (billing@, invoices@): suppliers' invoices land in one place your bookkeeper and finance lead both see.
Orders and bookings (orders@, bookings@): a front-desk team works from one queue.
Recruitment (careers@): CVs stay together and access can be limited to the people hiring.

They're also useful for continuity. When "Anna in accounts" goes on leave, the billing@ history isn't locked in her personal inbox.

How to set up a shared mailbox

The exact screens depend on your provider, but the flow is nearly always:

Create the shared mailbox in the admin console. Choose the address (support@example.com), a display name ("Example Support") and a storage size.
Add members — the colleagues who should be able to read and reply.
Have members open it. In most webmail apps it appears in the account menu or the folder list after you sign in again.
Send a test message from outside and reply from the shared address to confirm everything works.
Update your website and signatures to point to the new address.

If you're replacing an existing info@ mailbox that people logged into with a shared password, migrate its old mail into the new shared mailbox first, then change or retire the old password.

Good habits for team inboxes

A shared mailbox works best with a few simple rules:

Agree on ownership signals. Decide how someone "claims" a message: moving it to a folder, applying a label, or replying with a short "I've got this". Without a rule, two people answer the same customer, or nobody does.
Use folders or labels for status. For example To do, Waiting on customer, Done.
Use templates for common answers so replies are consistent and fast.
Set a shared signature that names the team, not one person, so customers know to keep writing to the shared address.
Use server-side filters to sort incoming mail (for example, invoices into an Invoices folder) before anyone looks at it.
Review membership regularly. When someone changes role or leaves, remove their access the same day.
Watch the storage. Shared mailboxes collect attachments quickly; archive or clean old threads periodically.

Security and accountability

Shared mailboxes are an improvement over shared passwords, mainly because every action is tied to a real person:

Individual logins mean each member's own two-factor authentication protects access to the shared mailbox.
Audit logging (where your provider offers it) records who was added, who opened the mailbox and who sent on its behalf.
Instant removal: taking someone out of the member list cuts their access without disturbing anyone else.
Forwarding policies stop someone from quietly auto-forwarding a team inbox to a personal account.

Public addresses like support@ also attract more phishing than personal ones. Make sure the team knows how to report suspicious mail, and that your provider tags external senders and checks links. Our anti-spam and phishing settings guide explains what to switch on.

How the big providers handle it

Most business email platforms have some version of team mail, though the model differs. Microsoft 365 has long offered shared mailboxes that, within a storage limit, don't need their own paid licence, and they work well inside Outlook. Google Workspace typically handles this with collaborative inboxes in Google Groups or with mail delegation. Specialist providers vary, so check three things when comparing: whether a shared mailbox costs a full user seat, which apps can open it (webmail, mobile, desktop), and whether actions are logged.

Shared mailboxes in Zomail

In Zomail, admins create shared mailboxes such as support@ under delegation and shared mailboxes in the admin console, add members by email, and set the storage size. A shared mailbox has no password of its own and doesn't use an extra licence seat. Members open it from the account menu in webmail or in the Zomail mobile app and can read and send as the shared address; desktop IMAP apps like Outlook and Thunderbird can't open shared mailboxes yet, so members use webmail or the app for those. Inviting, opening, sending on behalf and revoking are all recorded in the audit log, and an organisation policy controls whether users may delegate their own mailbox or forward mail outside. The admin basics guide shows the screens, and pricing is per mailbox per month.

FAQ

Does a shared mailbox need its own licence?

It depends on the provider. Some charge a full user seat, others include shared mailboxes free up to a storage limit. In Zomail, a shared mailbox counts towards your storage but not towards your mailbox seats.

Can I open a shared mailbox in Outlook or on my phone?

With some providers, yes. In Zomail, shared mailboxes are available in webmail and the Zomail app for iOS and Android, but not yet in IMAP apps like Outlook, Apple Mail or Thunderbird. See phones and the mobile app.

What's the difference between a shared mailbox and a group email?

A group sends a separate copy to each member, who replies from their own address. A shared mailbox keeps one copy everyone works from, and replies go out from the shared address so the whole team sees them.

Can I log into a shared mailbox with a username and password?

Usually not, and that's intentional. Members sign in with their own accounts and open the shared mailbox from there, so access is protected by each person's own password and two-factor authentication.

How many people can use one shared mailbox?

Providers set their own limits, but for most small and mid-sized teams the practical limit is coordination, not technology. If more than a handful of people answer the same inbox, agree on clear ownership rules. For broader context, read email for small business.