Business email and mailboxes Explained and Compared

How do you set up an inbox on your own domain?

Choose a provider to hold your mail, then create the addresses people need. Your domain is the part after the @ in an address. Its mail settings tell other services where to deliver messages. Decide who will answer from each address before changing those settings.

Do you need a work inbox or a sender for your app?

Use a work inbox when someone needs to read and answer messages, such as questions sent to hello@. The mail provider stores the messages. A mail app displays the messages so you can read and reply. If you already have an inbox, forwarding can deliver a second address there.

When your app sends a reset link or receipt, it needs a way to send that message when the right event happens and to find out if delivery fails. Give customers a reply address someone actually reads.

Set up the first email your app sends

Should hello@ go to one person or the whole team?

Start with who needs their own login and who should see the same conversation. If Maya answers all the questions, hello@ can deliver to Maya’s inbox. When a second person starts answering, decide whether they both need to see what has already been sent.

Choose an address setup by who needs to read and reply
What you need	What to set up	What to check
Each person has private work mail	A separate mailbox and login for each person.	A teammate can sign in with their own account and sees only the mail they should have.
One person receives mail at a second address	An alias, which is an extra address for an existing inbox.	Messages arrive in that inbox. Check whether replies can show the extra address.
Several people each need a copy	A group address or forwarding that delivers to the intended inboxes.	Each person receives a copy. Decide who replies so two people do not answer the same question.
Several people need the same work history	A shared mailbox or a shared folder, depending on the provider.	Each person uses their own login. Check who can see the received message and any sent reply.

On a small screen, scroll the table sideways to read every column.

Compare tools

Scroll the table sideways to read every column.

Compare who can answer from a work address, what you pay for and what happens when you move
Tool	Who can answerWhat one person or a team uses to read and reply.	Connecting your domainWhat needs to be ready and how you can test separately.	What changes the billWhich people or mailbox features affect what you pay.	What to check before leavingWhich part of the old account needs its own copy.
Google Workspace	Give each person a work Gmail inbox. An alias receives into one inbox. Set up a custom From address to send from it. For a common inbox, use Gmail delegation if the Shared inbox option is unavailable.	Verify the domain and prepare the addresses. Change the MX records and activate Gmail when ready. For practice, use an already configured Workspace mailbox on a separate test domain.	Per licensed user. Compare the Flexible monthly plan with the annual commitment, especially if you expect the team size to change.	Choose the migration method for the old provider. Move calendars and contacts separately if it copies only mail. Start and verify your Gmail export while the subscription is active.
Microsoft 365 Business	Exchange Online holds the mail and Outlook opens it. Teammates use their own licensed accounts for a shared mailbox. Check whether sent replies also appear in the shared history.	Prepare mailboxes before changing MX. An existing test inbox on the setup’s initial onmicrosoft.com address can rehearse sending and receiving separately.	Per licensed user. A shared mailbox can store up to 50 GB without its own license. More storage or features such as archiving can require one.	A mail-only import leaves calendars and contacts to move separately. In classic Outlook with Cached Exchange Mode on, the export includes only items Outlook has stored on that computer. Check that expected older mail arrives.
Fastmail	Each user has a mailbox. Check which teammates can use a shared address to receive or reply. Use a shared folder when they need to see the same saved messages.	The mail-only setup keeps your existing website records in place. You can rehearse with an already configured test address on a Fastmail-owned domain.	Choose a plan for each person. A custom domain needs at least one administrator on Standard or Professional. People who use third-party mail apps need an eligible plan of their own.	The mail export works one folder at a time. Export contacts and calendars separately and save a list of addresses and rules to recreate.

What should you check before connecting your domain?

Find the account that renews the domain, the account where its records are edited and the account that manages the mailboxes. One company can handle several of these jobs. Confirm which person has authority to make changes in each account.

Your new provider may ask you to add a record to prove you control the domain. MX records do a different job. They tell outside services where to deliver new mail. Before changing MX, make a list of every address that still needs to work and confirm that each destination is ready.

Outgoing mail has its own checks. List the services that already send from your domain, including the app’s receipt or reset sender. Use your provider’s setup guidance to keep those services authorized when you update the records. Leave the website records alone if you are only moving mail.

Before changing delivery, confirm the owner can reach a recovery contact outside the mailbox being moved. If you have a backup administrator, verify they can sign in to the appropriate accounts.

Find which account holds your domain records

Can you check mail before changing the company domain?

Use two already approved test inboxes at different services. Before sending, confirm both exact addresses, that any forwarding, rules and automatic replies stay inside the test setup, and that both inboxes are ready with the current settings. Leave company DNS unchanged. Use fictional text and only the intended test recipients. If you can’t confirm the setup, write out the expected result for each step on paper.

Record where the message arrived, which address the reply showed and who could see it. The result applies to the test addresses you used. When you eventually change the company domain, check delivery there separately.

Send one fictional message
From the outside test inbox, send a note titled ‘Practice order’ to the work test address. Check the inbox and spam folder. If it is missing, compare the address and time with any bounce notice.
See the reply the other person sees
Reply from the work test inbox to the outside one. In that inbox, check the From address. Open a reply draft to see where a further reply would go, then close it without sending.
Check a teammate’s access if you need it
Use an existing approved shared inbox or folder only. If the test address delivers to a shared inbox, the sample should already be there. If the setup shares a folder, move just the fictional message into the approved test folder with an account allowed to add mail. Have the authorized teammate find it from their own test account. Finish after the reply check if no shared test setup is available.

What should you verify before closing the old inbox?

Treat copying old messages and routing new ones as separate jobs. Set up the people and addresses at the new provider. Copy a sample mailbox and open it in the destination before you switch delivery.

Keep the old service open while other mail systems start using the new routing. Check both providers for late messages, copy anything that still arrives at the old inbox and check that the new inbox has it. Close the old account only after the checks below pass for the work you need to keep.

Look for these items in the new service
What to keep	How to check it
Old mail and folders	Find an older message, an important attachment and a sent reply in the folders where you expect them.
Contacts and calendars	Open a saved contact and a calendar event. A method that copies mail may require separate imports for both.
Addresses and team access	Keep a list of aliases, forwards, rules and shared access. Recreate what you need and check a reply and a teammate’s view.