Reference
Email alias against Google Group
A Google Workspace email alias is an extra address delivered to one existing mailbox and costs nothing, while a Google Group is its own addressable object with members, an archive and posting permissions. A user account supports up to 30 aliases.
| Alias | Extra address on one existing mailbox, no separate licence |
|---|---|
| Aliases per user | Up to 30 |
| Group | Own address, multiple members, optional archive and moderation |
| Group cost | No licence required for the group itself |
| Leaver behaviour | An alias leaves with its mailbox; a group survives membership changes |
The test that decides it
If more than one person must see the mail now or later, use a group. Groups keep the address stable while the people behind it change, which is exactly what shared addresses such as accounts or support need.
If a single person needs a second address for a role they hold personally, an alias is simpler and free. Converting later is disruptive, so guess towards the group when the answer is genuinely unclear.
What each does with replies
Mail to an alias lands in the owner's inbox and replies come from the owner's primary address unless a send-as identity is configured. That mismatch is the most common complaint about aliases.
A group can be configured so replies go back to the group, keeping the thread visible to everyone who needs it. That behaviour is what makes groups the correct choice for shared responsibility.
What we see that others don't say
Paying for a full seat purely to hold a shared address such as info or accounts is a recurring finding in seat audits, and moving those addresses to groups removes the licence entirely.
What this doesn't cover
- Aliases are not shared mailboxes; two people cannot manage the same alias inbox independently.
- Group archives are retained under Vault rules only where the edition includes Vault.
Questions we get asked
- Does a Google Group need its own licence?
- No. A group is not a user account and does not consume a Workspace seat, which is why converting shared mailbox habits into groups usually reduces licence spend rather than increasing it.
- How many aliases can one Google Workspace user have?
- Up to 30 alias addresses on a single user account. Beyond that, the requirement is almost always better served by a group or a set of role-based addresses.
How this page is verified
Reviewed by Pearl Lemon Cloud migrations desk, Google Workspace migration engineers. Last checked .
- Alias limits verified against Google's user alias documentation at the review date.
- Group behaviour confirmed in the Admin console on a live tenant at the review date.
Sources you can check
Related pages
Paying for mailboxes that should be groups?
We review every billed seat against how the address is actually used and convert the ones that only exist to hold a shared address.