Dedicated IP vs Shared IP

What is Dedicated vs Shared IP?

A dedicated IP is an address used only by your account to send email, meaning its reputation reflects only your behavior. A shared IP is part of a pool used by many customers of the same provider, so reputation is built and consumed collectively. The choice between them shapes deliverability, cost, and operational overhead.

Why it matters

Picking the wrong IP model can quietly cap your growth. Shared pools benefit low-volume senders because the pool is already warm and the provider polices bad actors. Dedicated IPs benefit high-volume senders who need control over reputation and isolation from noisy neighbors. Founders and ops teams should revisit the choice as sending volume scales.

How it works

On a shared pool, your messages go out alongside other customers on the same IP. The provider enforces rules to keep the pool clean, and new senders benefit from accumulated positive reputation. On a dedicated IP, only your mail flows through the address, giving you full control and full responsibility. Dedicated IPs require warmup and a minimum volume (typically 50,000-100,000 messages per month) to maintain reputation; too little volume makes the IP look suspicious.

Examples

• A SaaS sending 8,000 emails per month comfortably on a shared pool
• A high-growth ecommerce brand moving to a dedicated IP at 500,000 sends per month
• A marketer splitting transactional and marketing across two dedicated IPs to isolate reputation

Best practices

• Stay on shared until you consistently hit 100k+ monthly volume
• Warm up a dedicated IP over at least 30 days before using it at full capacity
• Use separate IPs for transactional and marketing streams once volume justifies it
• Let Sendkit manage the shared pool automatically if you are not ready for dedicated

FAQs

Can I switch from shared to dedicated later?

Yes. Plan a warmup window of about 30 days where you route a growing share of traffic to the new IP while keeping some on the shared pool.

Is dedicated always better for deliverability?

Only if you maintain enough volume and clean sending practices. Below the volume floor, a dedicated IP underperforms a well-run shared pool.

How many dedicated IPs should I use?

Most senders need one or two. Three or more is justified when you want to isolate distinct sending streams or serve multiple regions.