Gmail Multiple Inboxes: How to Set Up and Customize the Feature (2026)

Gmail’s Multiple Inboxes feature lets you split your inbox into custom sections — each filtered by a search query you define. Instead of one long list of emails, you can see your starred messages, emails from specific people, or anything matching a label, all organized side by side.

It’s one of Gmail’s five inbox types, and it’s the most customizable option available. Here’s how to set it up, configure it with search queries, and get the most out of it — whether you’re managing your own email or trying to keep a team organized.

What Is Gmail’s Multiple Inboxes Feature?

Multiple Inboxes is a built-in Gmail inbox type that creates up to five additional sections alongside your primary inbox. Each section displays emails matching a search query you choose — like label:urgent, is:starred, or from:yourmanager@company.com.

Think of it as custom email views that live right on your main inbox screen. Unlike Gmail’s other inbox types (which sort by importance or read status), Multiple Inboxes gives you full control over what appears where.

This feature is available in both personal Gmail accounts and Google Workspace accounts. It works in the Gmail web app on desktop — it’s not available in the Gmail mobile app (more on that below).

Important distinction: Multiple Inboxes is about organizing one Gmail account into sections. If you’re looking to manage multiple Gmail accounts from a single inbox, that’s a different setup — see our guide on Gmail aliases or the different accounts section below.

How to Enable Multiple Inboxes in Gmail

Setting up Multiple Inboxes takes about 30 seconds. Here’s how to turn it on:

1. Open Gmail on your desktop browser and click the gear icon (⚙️) in the top-right corner.
2. Click “See all settings” to open the full settings page.
3. Go to the “Inbox” tab.
4. Find the “Inbox type” dropdown and select “Multiple Inboxes.”
5. A new “Multiple Inboxes” section will appear below the inbox type setting. This is where you’ll configure your sections (covered next).
6. Scroll down and click “Save Changes.”

Quick method: You can also click the gear icon → under “Inbox type” in the Quick Settings panel on the right, select “Multiple Inboxes.” But you’ll need to go into full settings to customize your sections.

Once enabled, you’ll see your regular inbox plus the additional sections. By default, they might show starred messages or drafts — but the real power comes from customizing them with your own search queries.

How to Customize Multiple Inboxes with Search Queries

This is where Multiple Inboxes gets powerful. Each section is defined by a Gmail search query — the same syntax you’d type into Gmail’s search bar. You can create up to five sections, each with its own query and label.

To configure your sections:

1. Go to Settings → Inbox → Multiple Inboxes section.
2. For each section, enter a search query in the “Search query” field.
3. Give it a section name (this appears as the section header in your inbox).
4. Click “Save Changes” when done.

Search Query Examples

Here are the most useful search queries for Multiple Inboxes sections:

Search Query	What It Shows	Good For
is:starred	All starred messages	Quick access to flagged items
is:unread	Unread messages only	Seeing what needs attention
label:urgent	Emails with the “urgent” label	Priority sorting by label
label:clients	Emails labeled “clients”	Separating client work
from:boss@company.com	Emails from a specific person	VIP sender tracking
to:support@company.com	Emails sent to a specific address	Monitoring a shared address
has:attachment	Emails with attachments	Finding files quickly
newer_than:1d	Emails from the last 24 hours	Today’s inbox view
in:drafts	Draft messages	Keeping drafts visible
is:unread label:support	Unread support emails	Combining filters
from:(@clientdomain.com)	Emails from an entire domain	All emails from one company
subject:(invoice OR payment)	Emails with specific subject words	Topic-based sections

Combining Search Queries

You can combine queries using standard Gmail search operators:

• AND (implicit — just add a space): label:support is:unread shows unread support emails
• OR: from:alice@co.com OR from:bob@co.com shows emails from either person
• NOT / minus (-): label:support -is:starred shows support emails that aren’t starred
• Grouping: label:support (is:unread OR is:starred) shows unread or starred support emails

Pro tip: Test your search query in Gmail’s search bar first to make sure it returns the right emails before adding it to a Multiple Inboxes section. If a section appears empty, the query likely has a syntax issue.

Position and Layout Options

Gmail lets you choose where your Multiple Inboxes sections appear relative to your main inbox. You’ll find this setting in Settings → Inbox → Multiple Inboxes under “Multiple inbox position.”

There are three layout options:

Right of the Inbox

Your sections appear as columns to the right of your main inbox. This is the most popular layout because it gives you a side-by-side view — your primary inbox on the left, custom sections on the right. It works best on wider screens and is ideal for monitoring specific email categories while keeping your main inbox visible.

Above the Inbox

Sections stack on top of your primary inbox. Your custom sections appear first when you open Gmail, with the regular inbox below. This layout works well if your sections contain high-priority items you want to see immediately.

Below the Inbox

Sections appear below your primary inbox. This keeps your standard inbox experience unchanged at the top, with supplementary sections available as you scroll down. Good if you want sections for reference but don’t need them front and center.

Section limits: You can have a maximum of 5 sections in addition to your primary inbox. You can also set how many emails show per section (default is usually 10-25). Keep the number manageable — too many sections defeat the purpose of organizing your inbox.

Gmail Inbox Types Compared

Multiple Inboxes is one of five inbox types available in Gmail. Here’s how they compare:

Inbox Type	How It Works	Customizable?	Best For
Default	Emails in chronological order with Primary, Social, Promotions, and Updates tabs	Can toggle tabs on/off	Personal email with tab categories
Important First	Gmail’s AI puts “important” emails at the top, everything else below	No — Gmail decides	Trusting Gmail’s priority sorting
Unread First	Unread emails at top, read emails below	No	Simple inbox zero workflow
Starred First	Starred emails at top, everything else below	No	Manual priority flagging
Multiple Inboxes	Up to 5 custom sections defined by search queries	Fully customizable	Power users, specific workflows, team email monitoring

If you need more than simple sorting, Multiple Inboxes is the clear choice. It’s the only inbox type that lets you define exactly what goes where using search queries.

Using Multiple Inboxes for Different Email Accounts

One popular use for Multiple Inboxes is viewing emails from different accounts in one place. For example, if you manage a personal Gmail and a work email, you can create a section for each.

Here’s how to set it up:

1. Add the other account to Gmail: Go to Settings → Accounts and Import → “Check mail from other accounts” and add the email address. Gmail will fetch emails from that account into your inbox. (Alternatively, set up email forwarding from the other account.)
2. Create a label for the imported emails using a Gmail filter: filter by to:yourotheraccount@gmail.com and apply a label like “Work Email.”
3. Add a Multiple Inboxes section with the query label:work-email (or to:yourotheraccount@gmail.com directly).

This works well for two or three accounts. But it has real limitations:

• You’re still limited to 5 sections total
• Replying sends from your primary Gmail address unless you manually switch the “From” field each time (see Settings → Accounts and Import → “Send mail as” to add alternate addresses)
• There’s no way to assign emails to teammates or track who’s handling what
• Everyone sees their own inbox — there’s no shared view across a team

For managing one or two extra personal accounts, Multiple Inboxes is a solid free option. For anything involving a team — like a shared support@ or info@ address — you’ll hit the walls quickly. That’s where a purpose-built tool like Keeping makes more sense, turning your Gmail shared mailbox into a proper helpdesk without leaving Gmail.

When Teams Outgrow Multiple Inboxes

Multiple Inboxes works great for individuals organizing their own email. But teams managing shared email addresses — like support@, sales@, or info@ — run into problems fast:

• No shared visibility: Each person’s Multiple Inboxes are private. You can’t see if a teammate already has an email in their section or is working on a reply.
• No assignment: There’s no way to assign an email to a specific person. Emails either get answered twice or not at all.
• No collision detection: Two people can start replying to the same email without knowing it.
• No status tracking: You can’t mark an email as “open,” “pending,” or “resolved.” Once it’s read, it just sits there.
• No metrics: No response time tracking, no resolution metrics, no way to spot bottlenecks.

If your team is using Multiple Inboxes, Google Groups, or a shared Gmail login to manage customer email, you’re duct-taping a workflow that a proper tool handles natively.

Keeping turns your existing Gmail into a shared inbox with assignment, status tracking, collision detection, and analytics — all inside Gmail. No new interface to learn, no forwarding to set up. Your team keeps working in Gmail, but with the tools they actually need. Try it free.

Troubleshooting Multiple Inboxes

Running into issues? Here are the most common problems and how to fix them:

Multiple Inboxes Not Showing Up

• Check your inbox type: Go to Settings → Inbox and confirm “Multiple Inboxes” is selected as the inbox type. If it still shows “Default,” your change may not have saved.
• Hard refresh: Press Ctrl+Shift+R (or Cmd+Shift+R on Mac) to force a full reload. Gmail sometimes caches the old layout.
• Browser extensions: Some Gmail extensions can interfere with inbox type settings. Try disabling extensions temporarily.
• Google Workspace restrictions: If your organization’s admin has locked inbox settings, you may not be able to change the inbox type. Check with your IT admin.

Sections Showing Wrong or No Emails

• Test the search query: Copy your section’s search query and paste it into Gmail’s search bar. If it returns no results there, the query is the issue — not the section.
• Check query syntax: Common mistakes include spaces after label: (wrong: label: urgent, right: label:urgent), using label names with spaces without quotes, or misspelling label names.
• Labels are case-sensitive: label:Urgent and label:urgent may return different results depending on how the label was created.

Multiple Inboxes on Mobile

Gmail’s Multiple Inboxes feature is desktop-only. The Gmail mobile app (iOS and Android) does not support the Multiple Inboxes inbox type. On mobile, you’ll see your emails in the standard view regardless of your desktop inbox type setting.

If you need organized email views on mobile, your best options are using Gmail’s labels (which are accessible on mobile) or filters to auto-sort incoming mail.

Sections Not Updating

Multiple Inboxes sections refresh when Gmail refreshes your inbox. If sections seem stale, click the refresh button or reload the page. There can be a short delay (a few seconds to a minute) between an email arriving and it appearing in the correct section.

Hit the 5-Section Limit

Gmail caps Multiple Inboxes at 5 sections. If you need more, consider combining related queries into one section using OR operators (e.g., label:billing OR label:invoices) or rethinking your label structure to use fewer, broader categories.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Multiple Inboxes feature in Gmail?

Multiple Inboxes is one of Gmail’s five inbox types. It lets you create up to five additional sections in your inbox, each defined by a search query. For example, you could have sections for starred emails, emails from a specific sender, or emails with a particular label — all visible alongside your main inbox.

How do I enable Multiple Inboxes in Gmail?

Click the gear icon in Gmail → “See all settings” → Inbox tab → change “Inbox type” to “Multiple Inboxes” → Save Changes. You’ll then see the configuration options to set up your custom sections with search queries.

Can I use Multiple Inboxes on the Gmail mobile app?

No. Gmail’s Multiple Inboxes feature is only available in the web version on desktop. The Gmail mobile app (iOS and Android) doesn’t support this inbox type. On mobile, you’ll see the standard inbox view. You can use labels and filters as an alternative way to organize emails on mobile.

How many sections can I have in Gmail Multiple Inboxes?

You can have up to 5 custom sections in addition to your primary inbox. Each section is defined by its own search query. If you need more than 5, try combining related filters into a single section using OR operators in your search query.

What search queries work in Gmail Multiple Inboxes?

Any valid Gmail search query works. Common ones include is:starred, is:unread, label:name, from:email@example.com, has:attachment, and newer_than:1d. You can combine queries with AND (space), OR, and NOT (-) operators.

How do I put Multiple Inboxes to the right of my inbox?

Go to Settings → Inbox → Multiple Inboxes section → “Multiple inbox position” → select “Right of the inbox.” This creates a side-by-side layout with your primary inbox on the left and your custom sections as columns on the right.

Can I use Multiple Inboxes to view different Gmail accounts?

Yes, with some setup. First, add the other account via Settings → Accounts and Import → “Check mail from other accounts.” Then create a Multiple Inboxes section with the query to:yourotheraccount@gmail.com. This works for a couple of accounts, but for managing a shared team email address, a tool like Keeping is a better fit — it adds assignment, tracking, and collaboration features directly inside Gmail.

What’s the difference between Multiple Inboxes and labels?

Labels are tags you apply to emails for categorization. Multiple Inboxes are views — live-filtered sections of your inbox that can use labels (and other search criteria) to decide which emails to display. You can think of labels as the organizing system and Multiple Inboxes as the way to surface labeled emails on your main screen without having to click into each label separately.

For more on getting the most out of Gmail labels, including sharing them across a team, see our Gmail label sharing guide.