Ya, aliasing is certainly not a replacement - particularly for non-tech savvy family members.
I've also been around long enough to know not to try running my own email server anymore... been there, done that (Zimbra & Exchange). While possible, it will consume more of your time than you want.
It's just beyond me why the likes of Google and Microsoft have not come up with a Family plan for bringing your own domain name... one that doesn't cost $5-6+ per month per user.
I understand, but forwarding in my experience is brittle and rife with it's own problems.
The point of paying an email service is to make me not have to worry about it anymore. Gmail is free, and Workspace is $6 per user, Fastmail is $5 per user, etc.
If I'm anywhere near $20 monthly, I'd rather pay it to someone to have proper email and no "hacks". I just think it's absurd there is no "family & personal" option for any of these services... particularly Google where they could hoover up everyone's inbox like they already do in Gmail, plus make a few bucks monthly for the privilege of allowing me to use my own domain name.
That's literally all everyone wants here... GMail + Custom Domain Name. Google One should have this an a paid option and support X number of other users you can invite (family members with their own Gmail accounts). Families don't need retention policies, GDPR accreditation, etc.
I've also been around long enough to know not to try running my own email server anymore... been there, done that (Zimbra & Exchange). While possible, it will consume more of your time than you want.
It's just beyond me why the likes of Google and Microsoft have not come up with a Family plan for bringing your own domain name... one that doesn't cost $5-6+ per month per user.