When you connect a domain for inbound email, you choose how addresses behave. Two patterns cover almost every case: explicit aliases and catch-all (wildcard) addresses. They are not competitors — they are tools for different jobs.
Explicit aliases
An alias is a named address you define on purpose: invoices@, support@, careers@. Each maps to a known workflow. Because the set of valid addresses is finite and intentional, aliases are predictable and easy to audit.
- Best when addresses map to distinct, stable workflows.
- Easy to attach a specific routing rule to each one.
- Unknown recipients can be safely rejected, which cuts noise.
Catch-all addresses
A catch-all accepts any address at a domain — *@acme.com — and routes it with rules. This shines when you cannot enumerate addresses in advance.
- Per-customer or per-campaign addresses like
order-8821@generated on the fly. - Agencies receiving mail for many client domains.
- Capturing typos and legacy addresses so nothing is silently lost.
Catch-alls trade a little noise for never missing a message. Aliases trade flexibility for precision.
A practical hybrid
Most teams do not choose one. They define explicit aliases for the workflows they know, then enable a catch-all to sweep up everything else into a triage queue. New patterns surface in triage, get promoted to named aliases, and the system grows with the business.
Choosing quickly
If you can list the addresses, use aliases. If addresses are generated, unpredictable, or you simply cannot afford to drop mail, add a catch-all. With a rules engine in front, you can run both on the same domain and route by recipient, sender, or content.