Email aliases vs groups vs delegation in Google Workspace

An email alias is a second address landing in one person’s existing mailbox. A Google group is its own address with many members, and a shared archive when conversation history is on. Gmail delegation gives named people access to someone else’s actual mailbox. All three route mail. Only one survives the owner leaving.

Why admins keep mixing these up

None of the three bills you directly, so the cost signal that would force a decision isn’t there. Google’s setup FAQ says alias and group addresses “are free and don’t count towards your Google Workspace user licenses.” The difference shows up on a last day.

How an email alias works

An alias is an alternate address bolted onto a real user account. In the Google Admin console, go to Menu > Directory > Users, pick the user, then Add Alternate Emails. Google’s Admin Help states, “You can add up to 30 email aliases for each user at no extra cost.” Sending as the alias is separate, set in Gmail with a custom “From” address.

How a Google group works

A group is a standalone address with members, not a mailbox owned by a person. Google’s setup FAQ says a team needing “a business address like sales@your-company or support@your-company” can “create these addresses as groups.” Groups scale to 500,000 members. Turn on Collaborative Inbox and members can assign conversations, mark them complete, and apply labels: the closest Google Workspace gets to a shared mailbox.

The shared archive is a setting, not a guarantee. It needs Groups for Business on and conversation history on. With history on, Google says members “can read and respond to posts using Google Groups online, email, or both.” With it off, new posts aren’t added to the history, and members are back to whatever landed in their own inbox.

How Gmail delegation works

Delegation hands named people the keys to one inbox. An admin enables it at Apps > Google Workspace > Gmail > User settings, then the owner adds delegates in Gmail. Google allows 1,000 delegates per account, about 40 at once. Three points get overstated, so be exact:

• Delegates must be users or groups in your own domain.
• You can’t delegate an alias. Gmail Help: “You can’t add delegates to an alternate email address or alias because it’s not a Google Account.”
• Turning on delegation adds no license to an existing employee’s mailbox. Only a dedicated mailbox account, created to be delegated, needs one of its own.

On attribution, Gmail Help says “When a delegate sends a message from your account, their email address appears.” That’s the default. Admins can set sender information to show the account owner only.

Alias vs group vs delegation: the comparison

	Email alias	Google group	Gmail delegation
Cost	Free	Free	No new license on an existing employee’s mailbox. A dedicated mailbox account needs its own
Who can send as it	The owner, via custom “From”	Members can post to it. Sending as it from Gmail is a separate “Send mail as” setup needing verification and posting permission	Any delegate. Their address usually shows, unless an admin sets sender information to owner only
Who reads the history	The owner	All members, if Groups for Business and conversation history are on	Every current delegate
When the owner leaves	Dies with the account	Survives, domain-owned	Ends with it
Key limits	30 per user	500,000 members	1,000 delegates, 40 at once, same domain, no alias

Best for

• Alias: one person, alternate address.
• Group: team address that survives turnover.
• Delegation: assistant and executive mailbox access.

The decision rule

One question: does this address need to outlive any individual?

• No, it’s another name for one person (jsmith@ and john.smith@): alias.
• Yes, and several people answer it (sales@, support@): group.
• Yes, but it’s one person’s mailbox others help run (an executive’s inbox): delegation, with a removal step in offboarding.

The offboarding consequence nobody plans for

This is the part that costs money. An alias belongs to a user account, so when the account goes, so does the alias. Google’s Admin Help offers the workaround only after the fact: once “you deleted their account,” you can “add their previous email address as an email alias to a current user.”

So admins hedge, keeping the account alive purely so the alias and history stay reachable. That’s a paid license doing archive duty, and Google is clear: “Google Workspace license fees for the account holding the transferred data are still necessary. This includes AU licenses.” A deleted user is restorable for 20 days, so waiting is not a plan.

That’s the trade Patronum Archive removes: keep the mail, drop the license.

Common misconceptions

• “An alias is a separate mailbox.” Mail lands in the same inbox, no new history.
• “Delegation is a shared mailbox.” The mailbox is one person’s, and dies with them.
• “Delegation costs a license.” Only if you built a dedicated account to delegate.

Frequently asked questions

How many email aliases can a Google Workspace user have?

Up to 30 per user at no extra cost, per Google’s Admin Help. Add them under Directory > Users > the user. Changes take up to 24 hours.

Does a Google group email address use up a license?

No. Google’s setup FAQ states group and alias addresses “are free and don’t count towards your Google Workspace user licenses.” Only user accounts consume licenses.

Should I use an alias or a group for info@ or sales@?

Use a group. More than one person will eventually answer it, and the address survives turnover.

What happens to an alias when I delete the user?

It goes with the account. Google’s documented fix is to add that old address as an alias on a current user, so mail keeps arriving.

Getting the leaver path right

This bites at offboarding, where a checklist beats memory. Read Patronum’s offboarding checklist, then see how Patronum’s lifecycle automation makes it a policy that runs itself.

Sources

• Google Workspace setup FAQ – alias and group addresses are free
• Google: Add or delete an email alias – 30 per user, reusing a leaver’s address
• Google: Groups policies and limits – 500,000 members
• Google: Let users delegate Gmail access – 1,000 delegates, 40 at once
• Gmail Help: Delegate and collaborate on email – sender attribution, same-organization delegates, no delegation of an alias
• Google: Use a group as a Collaborative Inbox – assigning, labeling
• Google: Turn conversation history on or off – whether a group keeps a readable shared archive
• Gmail Help: Send emails from a different address or alias – verification, sending from a group alias
• Google: Preserve former employee data – license fees still apply
• Google: Delete or remove a user – 20 day restore
• Patronum Archive – keeping leaver mail without keeping the license