Difference Between Forwarding and Redirecting

This article explains the difference between email forwarding and redirecting. With forwarding, a copy of the email is kept in the original mailbox, whereas with redirecting, the email is sent directly to the new address without remaining in the original mailbox. Redirecting is useful when the original mailbox is rarely checked to avoid overfilling. The article also provides a link to a guide on setting up forwarding and redirecting.

An email address can be forwarded or redirected to an external email address. The difference between forwarding and redirecting is: with forwarding, a copy of the message is kept in the mailbox of the forwarded email address; with redirecting, it is not, since the mailbox is disabled.

Forwarding
Redirecting

Forwarding

For the email address [e-mail], a forwarding to [e-mail] is set up. When an email is sent to [e-mail], the email is visible in both the mailbox of [e-mail] and [e-mail]:

Redirecting

With a redirecting from [e-mail] to [e-mail], emails sent to [e-mail] are only visible in the mailbox of [e-mail]:

Redirecting is recommended if the email address, here [e-mail], is not checked or is checked irregularly, thus posing the risk that the mailbox will become full and no more emails can be received.

You can find assistance for setup in our article Setting Up Email Forwarding / Email Redirecting