Side by side
| Shared mailbox | Distribution list | |
|---|---|---|
| Where mail goes | One shared inbox | A copy into each member’s inbox |
| See what colleagues have handled | Yes | No |
| Reply from the shared address | Yes | Only with extra permissions |
| Its own calendar | Yes | No |
| Good for | info@, sales@, accounts@, support@ | Announcements, all-staff, project teams |
Typical choices
- info@ or sales@ — a shared mailbox, so two people do not answer the same enquiry.
- accounts@ — a shared mailbox, so invoices are not lost in one person’s inbox when they are off.
- allstaff@ — a distribution list.
- A board or management team — a distribution list, so each person keeps their own copy.
Microsoft 365 also offers Microsoft 365 groups, which combine a shared inbox and calendar with Teams and file storage, and are better than shared mailboxes for large teams. On Exchange Server and hosted Exchange, shared mailboxes and distribution lists are the standard tools. If a shared mailbox is misbehaving, see shared mailbox not showing in Outlook.