Tutorial

How to create Gmail aliases using dots, plus tags, and the generator.

Gmail gives every account unlimited aliases for free. You can insert dots anywhere in your username or add a +tag before the @ sign. This guide walks through every method with concrete examples so you can start organizing your inbox in minutes.

What are Gmail aliases?

A Gmail alias is an alternate version of your email address that still delivers to the same inbox. Google ignores dots in the local part of personal Gmail addresses, and it routes anything after a + sign straight to your account. That means you can hand out dozens of unique-looking addresses without creating a single new account.

For example, if your address is janedoe@gmail.com, all of these arrive in the same inbox:

jane.doe@gmail.com
j.a.n.e.d.o.e@gmail.com
janedoe+receipts@gmail.com

This behavior is specific to personal @gmail.com and @googlemail.com accounts. Google Workspace administrators can configure whether dots and plus tags are significant for their domains.

Method 1: Dot variations (the Gmail dot trick)

The simplest way to create an alias is to place dots between any letters of your username. Gmail strips them on delivery, so every combination reaches the same mailbox.

Starting from alexsmith@gmail.com, you could use:

a.lexsmith@gmail.com — single dot near the start
alex.smith@gmail.com — natural first/last split
al.ex.sm.ith@gmail.com — multiple dots

Dot aliases are ideal when you need a unique address but the receiving site blocks the + character. They look like ordinary email addresses, so they rarely trigger form validation errors.

The drawback is that dot aliases are harder to filter inside Gmail. You cannot write a filter rule that matches a.lexsmith@gmail.com but not alex.smith@gmail.com because Gmail treats both as identical. For filtering, plus aliases are a much better fit.

Method 2: Plus addressing (+tag aliases)

Plus addressing lets you append a + sign and any text before the @ symbol. The tag can be as descriptive as you like, and Gmail ignores it for delivery purposes but preserves it in the message headers.

Examples using janedoe@gmail.com:

janedoe+shopping@gmail.com — for online stores
janedoe+newsletters@gmail.com — for mailing lists
janedoe+bankofamerica@gmail.com — per-service tracking

Because the tag is visible in the To header, you can create Gmail filter rules that match to:janedoe+shopping and auto-label or archive those messages. This makes plus aliases the best choice for inbox organization.

The only limitation is that some websites reject email addresses containing a + sign. If you encounter that, switch to a dot variation instead.

Method 3: Use the generator tool

Manually inserting dots or inventing tags works fine for a handful of aliases. When you need a larger batch, the Gmail Dot Variations Generator does the heavy lifting for you:

Enter your Gmail address in the generator input.
The tool normalizes it and shows every dot combination grouped by the number of inserted dots.
Switch to the plus alias tab to browse preset tags like +newsletter, +shopping, and +trial, or type your own custom tag.
Copy individual aliases with one click or export a full batch as TXT or CSV.

Everything runs in your browser. Your address is never sent to a server.

Which method should you choose?

The right approach depends on what you need the alias for:

Filtering and labeling mail — use plus addressing. The tag survives in message headers and works perfectly with Gmail filters.
Bypassing form validation — use a dot variation. Most forms accept dotted addresses without complaint.
Tracking signups — use a unique +servicename alias for every site you register with. If spam arrives at that alias, you know exactly who shared your address.
Maximum flexibility — combine both. A dotted address with a plus tag (e.g., jane.doe+amazon@gmail.com) gives you a natural-looking address that is still easy to filter.

Frequently asked questions

Do dots really not matter in Gmail?

Correct for personal @gmail.com accounts. Google has confirmed that dots in the local part are ignored. Read the full explanation on our do dots matter in Gmail page.

Can I receive mail at an alias I never created?

Yes. Gmail aliases do not need to be registered or activated. Any combination of dots or any plus tag will automatically arrive in your inbox as soon as someone sends to it.

Is there a limit on the number of aliases?

There is no hard limit. The number of possible dot variations depends on the length of your username, and plus tags can be any string. In practice, you will never run out.