KKeito Priya Shah17:47
Hi Priya,
You're right, those two seats shouldn't be there: they were added when your trial became a paid plan. I've removed them, and you'll get a corrected invoice today.
Kei
Microsoft 365 vs Inbox Works
Sharing one mailbox in Microsoft 365
A shared mailbox is one address that several people open in Outlook. A shared inbox adds what a team needs on top: who is replying, private comments, and follow-ups.
Which fits
Outlook shared mailboxA few of you share one address in Outlook and rarely answer the same email at once.
Inbox WorksSeveral of you answer at once and need to see who is replying. Try it in the demo now; early access is open to teams on Microsoft 365, by approval.
A shared mailbox and Inbox Works, side by side
| Outlook shared mailbox | Inbox Works | |
|---|---|---|
| Where you work | Outlook, where the mailbox appears for each member an admin adds24 | One inbox in the browser |
| On a phone | Outlook for iOS and Android can add it, when your mailbox and the shared one are both in Exchange Online3 | Phone browser |
| Replying as the address | With Send As or Send on Behalf, granted by an admin4. Send As shows only the mailbox as the sender; Send on Behalf also shows who sent it8 | From the shared mailbox |
| Replies the team can see | Saved in the sender’s own Sent Items by default; an admin can keep a copy in the shared mailbox5 | Every reply in the conversation |
| Who is replying now | Microsoft’s help pages 1–7 don’t describe showing who is replying | Shown while they write; Send warns you without sending |
| Team comments | Microsoft’s help pages 1–7 don’t describe notes the customer can’t see; Share to Teams doesn’t support shared mailboxes6 | Beside the email; the customer never sees them |
| Giving an email to someone | Microsoft’s help pages 1–7 don’t describe assigning an email | Chosen by hand, with Hand off (an Add-on) |
| Read and unread | Shared by everyone, according to answers on Microsoft Q&A, not Microsoft’s documentation7 | Reading doesn’t mark an email Done |
| When they don’t reply | Microsoft’s help pages 1–7 don’t describe returning an email to the shared Inbox when a customer hasn’t replied | Follow up brings the email back to the Inbox |
| Cost | No licence for the shared mailbox up to 50 GB; each member needs a licensed mailbox; up to 25 members. Some archiving and compliance features need an additional licence1 | Planned Free for a team of up to three; Team, US$29 a month for the whole team (pricing). Early access is free |
| Moving to or from it | Microsoft’s help pages 1–7 don’t describe exporting a shared mailbox on its own. Check with your admin | Your own and shared mailboxes today; aliases and distribution groups after a two-week check. A copy of your email on request; everything deleted within 31 days when you leave |
In the app for early-access teams on Google Workspace and Microsoft 365, and in the demo for everyone.
Sources and how this was read
The shared mailbox’s column is from Microsoft’s own pages, read 2026-10-13 (source 5 again and source 8 on 2026-10-30); the read-and-unread row is from answers on Microsoft Q&A. “Check with your admin” marks what Microsoft’s pages don’t answer.
Sources
- About shared mailboxes in Microsoft 365 — Microsoft 365 admin
- Open and use a shared mailbox in Outlook — Microsoft Support
- Add a shared mailbox to Outlook mobile — Microsoft Support
- Create a shared mailbox — Microsoft 365 admin
- Messages sent from a shared mailbox aren’t saved to the Sent Items folder — Exchange troubleshooting
- Share to Teams — Microsoft Teams admin
- Can each person mark mail as read for themselves? — Microsoft Q&A
- Manage permissions for recipients in Exchange Online — Exchange Online
What Inbox Works does differently
See who’s replying, before a second answer.
While a teammate writes a reply, the email shows who is replying. Press Send as well, and Inbox Works warns you without sending; Send anyway sends it. Microsoft’s help pages on shared mailboxes don’t describe showing who is replying.
Try the demoSources
Microsoft’s help pages on shared mailboxes, sources 1–7 under the table, read 13 October 2026.
Every reply in the conversation.
By default, a reply sent from an Outlook shared mailbox is saved in the sender’s own Sent Items, not the shared mailbox’s, unless an admin changes that. In Inbox Works, every reply your team sends appears in the email’s conversation.
Try the demoSources
Messages sent from a shared mailbox aren’t saved to the Sent Items folder, Exchange troubleshooting, read 30 October 2026 (source 5 under the table).
When a shared mailbox fits better
- A few of you share one address and rarely answer the same email at once.
- You want nothing beyond your Microsoft 365 licences.
- Your team wants to stay in Outlook.
Questions
How can everyone see replies sent from a shared mailbox?
Ask an admin to also save a copy in the shared mailbox’s Sent Items, for Send As, Send on Behalf, or both.
Can we try Inbox Works with our Microsoft address?
Yes, by approval: early access is open to teams on Microsoft 365. Ask for early access and we write when your team can start; an Admin then signs in once, and Inbox Works reads only that mailbox and sends from it.