Forwarder, alias or catch-all? Which to use

All three let one address receive mail meant for another, without creating a separate mailbox.

	Forwarder	Alias	Catch-all
What it does	Sends a copy of incoming mail to another address, on any domain	A second address for the same mailbox	Collects mail sent to any address on your domain that doesn’t exist
Example	sales@yourdomain.com → ada@gmail.com	info@yourdomain.com delivers to ada@yourdomain.com	typo@yourdomain.com → admin@yourdomain.com
Can you send from it?	No (unless set up separately)	Yes, in most apps	No
Best for	Sharing a role address with several people, or sending mail to an outside account	One person with several addresses	Not missing mail sent to misspelled addresses

Forwarder

Use a forwarder to send mail to someone else, or to several people at once, for example support@ to three team members. See Setting up email forwarders in cPanel.

Forwarding to Gmail or Outlook.com can fail if spam is forwarded too. Turn on spam filters first.

Alias

Use an alias when one person handles several addresses and wants to read them all in one inbox. In cPanel email, create a forwarder from the alias address to the main mailbox (for example info@ → ada@). To reply as the alias, add it as a sending identity in your email app or webmail. In Ruachost Business Email, aliases are created in the control panel.

Catch-all

A catch-all (default address) receives anything sent to a non-existent address on your domain. It means you never miss a misspelled address, but it also collects a lot of spam, so use it with care. See Using a catch-all email address.

Need several people to share one inbox?

Create a single mailbox (for example support@) and give each person its login, or add it to their email app. With Business Email, you can also share calendars and address books.