This article will explore the differences between Office 365 Groups, Shared Mailboxes, and Distribution Lists offered through Microsoft.

 

Distribution List:

  • Used to send an e-mail to 2 or more people, both inside and outside the organization. Each Distribution list has a dedicated e-mail address, to which you can add members to. By sending an e-mail to the specified e-mail address, all members of the distribution list will receive a copy of the e-mail.

Office 365 Group:

  • Office 365 Groups are distribution lists plus more. Office 365 groups make collaboration easier by creating a SharePoint site, OneDrive storage, and a dedicated OneNote notebook. They have a dedicated shared calendar that can be accessed by members of the group. In addition, there’s a shared mailbox accessible by all members of the group.

Shared Mailbox:

  • A mailbox that’s accessible by multiple users. Every member can read and send email messages to and from the shared mailbox itself. They have many of the functionalities as Office 365 groups, but don’t offer the same opportunities for collaboration in the form of SharePoint sites, OneDrive storage, and OneNote notebooks.



 

Office 365 Group:

Shared Mailbox

Distribution List

Regular mailbox

Shared Calendar

x

x

 

x

Accessible via Outlook mobile app

x

 

X (from distribution lists they’re a part of)

x

Shared inbox

x

x

 

 

Mail Merge

 

x (Have to create a separate outlook profile)

 

x

“Send As” and “Send on Behalf”

x

x

 

x

Subfolders

 

x

 

x

Associated SharePoint Team Site, OneDrive Documents, OneNote notebooks

x

 

 

 

Sent items folder

 

x

 

 

Receive copy of group email in inbox

x

 

 

x

Can send e-mails to external users

x(Option to add external users has to be requested)

 x

x

x

Can log-in to account (has related credentials)


x