---
title: "Gmail plus-addressing vs test inboxes for QA · Proxy Mail QA"
description: "Gmail's name+test@gmail.com trick is free, but every test email lands in one inbox, some apps reject or strip the tag, and sharing it means sharing a Google account. Here's when to switch."
url: https://proxymail.qa/compare/gmail-plus-addressing
---

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# Gmail plus-addressing vs Proxy Mail QA

Adding +test1 to a Gmail address is the oldest QA trick: mail to janedoe+test1@gmail.com reaches janedoe@gmail.com. It's free and works for a while. Here's where it stops working, and what a test inbox does differently.

Updated October 12, 2026

## At a glance

|                                    | Gmail plus-addressing                                | Proxy Mail QA                                                     |
| ---------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Cost                               | Free                                                 | Free plan, under fair use                                         |
| Where mail goes                    | Every test email into one personal or shared mailbox | One private inbox per test address                                |
| Sharing with a team                | Share the Google account’s password, or forward      | Organisations with per-project access (Team plan, coming soon)    |
| New accounts in the app under test | Some apps reject the + or strip the tag              | Each address is a separate, ordinary-looking address              |
| Codes and links                    | Open the email and find them                         | On the account’s row, ready to copy or click                      |
| Test account details               | Kept in a spreadsheet, if anywhere                   | Persona, encrypted saved password, notes and tags on each address |
| Clean-up                           | Test mail piles up in a real inbox                   | Addresses and their mail are deleted when they expire             |
| Risk                               | Test sites hold a real person’s address              | Test sites only ever see disposable addresses                     |

## Where plus-addressing is fine

- **A one-off check** of a single sign-up on your own app.
- **Mail you want to keep,** such as a receipt from a real purchase.

## Where it stops working

- **The inbox fills up.** Dozens of verification emails a day bury the one you need, and filters only go so far.
- **The app knows it’s you.** Apps that strip the tag see one person, so the “new user” test isn’t one.
- **Sharing means sharing a login.** Handing a team the password to a Google account, with its two-step codes, is a security problem of its own.
- **Real addresses on test sites.** Staging environments and third-party sandboxes end up with a real person’s email address, and so can their mailing lists.

## What to use instead

Create one Proxy Mail QA address per test account. The code or link appears on its row as the email lands, the persona and password you signed up with stay next to it, and the address and its mail disappear when it expires. [Moving a team off a shared Gmail inbox](https://proxymail.qa/solve/shared-test-inbox) has the step-by-step version.

## Try it on your next sign-up test

Free plan, no credit card. Create an address and watch the code or link arrive.

[Create a free account](https://app.proxymail.qa/?mode=signup)

## Questions

### Does Gmail support plus-addressing?

Yes. Google's help says mail sent to janedoe+anything@gmail.com goes to janedoe@gmail.com, and you can filter it by the alias.

### Why do some sites reject plus addresses?

Some sign-up forms treat the + as invalid, and some apps strip the tag to stop people creating several accounts with one inbox. Either way, your second test account isn't really new.

### Does Proxy Mail QA support plus addresses too?

Yes. Mail to name+run2@mailclub.dev arrives in name@mailclub.dev with the tag shown. But you rarely need it: creating a new address takes one click, so each test account can have its own.

## Related guides

- [Proxy Mail QA vs MailinatorPrivate inboxes for manual QA, against the best-known public inbox and its automation plans.](https://proxymail.qa/compare/mailinator)
- [Proxy Mail QA vs MailosaurA free tool for testers working by hand, against a paid platform built for automated email and SMS tests.](https://proxymail.qa/compare/mailosaur)
- [Proxy Mail QA vs MailSlurpReady-made test accounts in a web app, against an API for creating inboxes, sending and SMS.](https://proxymail.qa/compare/mailslurp)
- [Proxy Mail QA vs testmail.appAddresses that last up to 30 days with codes on the row, against a low-cost API for test pipelines.](https://proxymail.qa/compare/testmail)

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