How-to
How to add a domain alias
A domain alias in Google Workspace gives every existing user a second address at no extra licence cost, while a secondary domain hosts separate users who each need their own licence. Both require DNS verification, and a tenant supports up to 600 domains and aliases in total.
| Domain alias | Mirrors every existing user; no additional licences |
|---|---|
| Secondary domain | Hosts separate users, each needing a licence |
| Verification | TXT record at the domain root for both types |
| Mail delivery | Alias needs Google MX records to receive mail |
| Limit | Up to 600 domains and aliases per tenant |
The click path and DNS steps
Open Account, then Domains, then Manage domains, and add the domain as an alias. Publish the verification TXT record, wait for verification, then publish Google's MX records if the alias should receive mail rather than only send.
DNS propagation is the variable, not the console step. Plan on the published time to live of the existing records rather than assuming the change is instant, and verify with an external lookup rather than from inside the network.
Choose the right type before you add it
If the second domain represents the same people under a different brand, an alias is correct and free. If it represents a different set of people who need their own mailboxes, it must be a secondary domain and each user carries a licence.
Adding an alias when you needed a secondary domain is easy to undo. Doing the reverse, after users and files exist on the wrong domain, is a migration, which is why this decision belongs at the start.
- Verify with an external DNS lookup, not from inside the office network.
- Publish MX records only for aliases that should receive mail.
- Update SPF and DKIM for every new sending domain.
What we see that others don't say
The expensive version of this mistake is adding a secondary domain when an alias was needed: every mirrored user becomes a separately licensed account, and the correction is a migration rather than a setting change.
What this doesn't cover
- We publish and verify records where we have DNS access; registrar-side changes may need the domain owner.
- An alias cannot host users of its own; that requires a secondary domain.
Questions we get asked
- Does a domain alias cost extra?
- No. An alias mirrors your existing users at no additional licence cost. A secondary domain is different: its users are separate accounts and each one consumes a licence.
- Will mail to the alias arrive automatically?
- Only once Google's MX records are published for that domain. Verification alone lets the tenant claim the domain; delivery needs the mail exchange records as well.
How this page is verified
Reviewed by Pearl Lemon Cloud migrations desk, Google Workspace migration engineers. Last checked .
- Click path and domain limits checked in the current Google Admin console at the review date.
- Delivery behaviour confirmed on alias domains added for client tenants.
Sources you can check
Related pages
Adding a brand, a merger or a second domain?
We map which addresses need aliases and which need licensed accounts, then publish the DNS and mail records on a dated cutover plan.