What is the difference between a contact group and a distribution list in Outlook?

For everyday use, nothing. Microsoft calls them contact lists in new Outlook and contact groups in classic Outlook, and uses distribution list as another name. They are personal, live in your own contacts and only you can use them. An admin-created distribution group is a separate, shared object in your organization's address book.

How do I send an email to an Outlook group?

Start a new message and type the group's name in the To line, then pick it from the suggestions. In classic Outlook you can also select To, type the name in the Search box, double-click the group and select OK. Everyone in the list becomes a recipient. If you want to hide the addresses, put the group in Bcc.

Should I use a contact list or a Microsoft 365 group?

Use a contact list when you just need to send the same message to the same people and you manage it alone. Use a Microsoft 365 group when the people need a shared inbox, calendar and files. Microsoft describes the group as a collaboration space for people inside and outside your company, managed in the admin center.

How to Make an Email Group in Outlook (Contact List Steps)

By Mirko Peters · 2026-11-12

How to make an email group in Outlook with a contact list or contact group: steps for new Outlook, classic, web and Mac, and when a Microsoft 365 group fits.

To make an email group in Outlook, create a contact list: open People, choose New contact list, name it, add the email addresses of your members and save it. In classic Outlook the same thing is called a contact group, and it lives under People, Home, New Contact Group. After that, you type the group's name in the To line and Outlook fills in everyone. This article is for Outlook users who write to the same people again and again, and for the admins who get asked "can you make me a group for the team?" It explains the steps in each version and how to pick between a personal list and a shared group.

Key points

A personal email group in Outlook is called a contact list in new Outlook and a contact group in classic Outlook. It's the same feature, and some people call it a distribution list.
In new Outlook, select People, open the arrow next to New contact, choose New contact list, name it, add recipients and select Create.
In classic Outlook, open People, select New Contact Group on the Home tab, add members and select Save & Close.
To send to the group, type its name in the To line of a new message. Deleting a list removes only the list, and the contacts stay.
A Microsoft 365 group is a different thing: it shares an inbox, calendar and files, and it is created and managed in the admin center.

Contact list, contact group, distribution list: the same thing?

The terms cause most of the confusion, so start there. Microsoft's page on creating, editing and deleting a contact list states that contact lists are formerly referred to as contact groups in classic Outlook. It also describes contact groups, or distribution lists, as a quick way to message people you contact repeatedly. So three names, one personal feature.

A distribution list in the admin sense is something else. It's a mail-enabled group that an admin creates, and everyone in the organization can use it. Your personal list is a collection of email addresses saved in your own contacts. Nobody else sees it.

Which one do you need? If you're managing a list for your own use, make a contact list. If the whole company needs to write to "People in Building A", ask your admin for a distribution group. If a team needs a shared inbox, calendar and files, that's a Microsoft 365 group, covered further down.

How to make an email group in new Outlook for Windows

Select People on the side panel.
Open the drop-down beside New contact, then choose New contact list.
Enter a name, add recipients by name or email address and, if you like, a description.
Select Create.

To add contacts later, select People, then Your contact lists, hover over the list and select the Edit pencil. Enter names or email addresses under Add recipients, then select Save. To remove someone, open the same edit view, select the X beside the contact and select Save. To rename a list, edit it and change the name.

To delete a list, select People, then Your contact lists, hover over the list and select the Delete trash button. To delete several at once, check their boxes and choose Delete on the ribbon. Confirm with Delete again. Deleting a list removes only the list. The contacts stay.

Classic Outlook for Windows

Microsoft's training page on creating a contact group gives these steps.

Open People from the navigation bar.
On the Home tab, select New Contact Group.
Enter a name in the Contact Group box.
Select Contact Group, then Add Members, and choose From Outlook Contacts, From Address Book or New E-mail Contact.
Pick the people you want. Hold Ctrl to select several, then select OK.
Select Save & Close.

That's it. The group now sits in your contacts. To email it, go to Home, select New Email, then To, type the group's name in the Search box, double-click the group name to add it to the To box and select OK.

Outlook on the web and Outlook.com

Microsoft's page on contact lists in Outlook.com describes the web steps.

Select the People icon at the lower left.
On the toolbar, select the arrow next to New contact, then New contact list.
Enter a name and add names or email addresses.
Select Create.

There are two ways to add people later. In the first, select All contact lists, pick the list, select Edit, enter names or addresses and select Save. In the second, select the contacts first, select Add to list on the toolbar and choose the list with the plus sign. To remove someone, open the list, select Edit, select the x next to the person and Save.

Notes from the same page: a contact list is a collection of email addresses, so only contacts with an email address can be added. Lists are saved in your default Contacts folder and appear under All contact lists. If you want to group contacts for something other than email, Microsoft suggests creating a folder instead. To use a different folder for the list, select that folder before you choose New contact list.

Outlook for Mac

Microsoft's Mac article says:

Select the People button on the side navigation bar.
Select the Contacts folder under the account where you want the list. Hover over New Contact, then select New Contact List.
Type a name.
Under Add members, type a contact's email address and select Add. Repeat for each contact.
Select Save.

To remove a member, select the trash button next to that contact and select Save. Syncing contact lists from the server works only with Microsoft 365 and Outlook.com accounts. For a POP or IMAP account, use the Contacts folder under On My Computer. If New Contact List is grayed out, turn on those folders: select Outlook, Settings, then under Quick Settings select Display, and under Sidebar turn on Show On my Computer folders. Support for legacy Outlook for Mac ends in October 2026.

Using your group

To send a message to the group, start a new message and type the group's name in the To line. Outlook expands it to the members. A message sent to a contact list goes to all recipients in the list. You can also add a contact list to meeting requests and to other contact lists.

Two things to think about before you click Send.

First, privacy. In a normal To-line send, every recipient sees the others. If the list is large, mixes people who don't know each other, or includes outside addresses, put the group in Bcc. Microsoft warns about a side effect: putting a distribution list in Bcc can break recipients' rules that sort mail by the list name in To or Cc. Our guide on how to BCC in Outlook goes through the details.

Second, limits. In Exchange Online, a distribution group in the shared address book counts as one recipient for the per-message limit, but members of a group in your personal Contacts folder count individually. So a personal contact list with 400 names uses 400 of the recipients allowed per message. That matters if you send to big lists.

When to use a Microsoft 365 group instead

Microsoft's page on comparing types of groups in Microsoft 365 lays out the options. In short:

Microsoft 365 Groups are for collaboration between users inside and outside your company. Each group gets a group email, a shared workspace for conversations, files and calendar events, and can connect to Teams.
Distribution groups send email notifications to a fixed set of people, such as "People in Building A".
Dynamic distribution groups send mail to people matching attributes such as department or location, with membership worked out at send time.
Mail-enabled security groups grant access to resources and email notifications to the same users.
Shared mailboxes give several people access to one mailbox, such as a support address or reception desk.

Microsoft's page on contact lists also warns not to confuse them with Microsoft 365 Groups, which it presents as the stronger option that can share an inbox, calendar and files.

A few limits from the comparison page are worth knowing. Microsoft 365 Groups can't be members of distribution groups or security groups. External users can join Microsoft 365 Groups and send email to them only if the administrator enables those features. Shared mailboxes can't be migrated to Microsoft 365 Groups. And a distribution group added to a Teams team adds only its members, not the group.

My rule: personal list for your own mailing, distribution group for company-wide announcements, Microsoft 365 group when people need to work together.

Keeping a group healthy

Name it clearly. "Project Kickoff team" beats "Group 1". Follow your company's naming style if it has one.
Review membership. Remove people who left, and check addresses. A typo in one address bounces back to you.
Check the account. Lists in a Microsoft 365 or Outlook.com account are stored on the server, so they show up in other Outlook clients. On a Mac with a POP or IMAP account, lists stay in On My Computer.
Don't paste member lists into messages. Sending the names of a whole list to outsiders is exactly the leak you wanted to avoid.
Ask IT first for a company-wide list. A list everyone must use isn't a personal contact list.

Common mistakes

Looking for the command in Mail. The command is in People, not in the Mail view.
Calling every group the same thing. A contact list, a distribution group and a Microsoft 365 group behave differently.
Adding a person without an email address. A contact list is a collection of email addresses, so those contacts can't be added.
Sending a big list in To. Everyone sees everyone. Use Bcc.
Forgetting that deleting a list is not deleting the contacts. Only the list goes. That's good news, but the members also stay in your address book.
Expecting a personal list to be shared. Your colleagues can't use it unless you send them the addresses.

Next step

Open People in your Outlook, create a contact list with two of your own addresses and send a test message to it. Once you've seen how a message to the group lands, you'll know how to make an email group in Outlook that behaves the way you expect.