What is the recommended daily sending limit for an IP address?
Michael Ko
Co-founder & CEO, Suped
Published 29 May 2025
Updated 15 Aug 2025
8 min read
The question of a recommended daily sending limit for an IP address is one I hear frequently. Many people mistakenly believe there's a simple, universally applicable number, perhaps a million emails a day, that an IP can handle. However, the reality is far more nuanced. There isn't a single, fixed daily sending limit that applies to all IP addresses, or even across all mailbox providers.
Instead, the effective daily sending capacity of an IP address is dynamic and depends heavily on a complex interplay of factors. These include the IP's reputation, its sending history, the specific policies of recipient mailbox providers (like Google and Microsoft), and even the content and engagement metrics of your emails.
For some well-established senders with pristine reputations, sending millions of emails a day from a single IP address is indeed achievable. However, for most, especially those starting with new IPs or lower sending volumes, this is not a realistic starting point. Understanding these underlying factors is key to managing your email program effectively and ensuring your messages reach the inbox.
Understanding the variables that affect sending limits
One of the primary determinants of your daily sending capacity is your IP's reputation. This is like a credit score for your email address. A strong, positive reputation built over time through consistent sending of engaging, non-spammy content allows for higher volumes. Conversely, a poor reputation, often resulting from high bounce rates, spam complaints, or sending to invalid addresses, will severely restrict your limits, potentially leading to your IP being placed on a blocklist (or blacklist).
Mailbox providers maintain their own internal systems to evaluate incoming mail. While they might not publish explicit daily IP limits, they certainly throttle or even reject mail from IPs that exhibit suspicious sending patterns or poor reputation. For example, Google provides guidelines for email senders that indirectly impact how much volume they'll accept from a given IP. These guidelines emphasize consistent sending to engaged recipients and adherence to best practices.
The type of IP you use also plays a role. With shared IPs, your sending reputation is influenced by other senders using the same IP, which means you have less control over the daily limits. Dedicated IPs, on the other hand, offer full control over your reputation and, once warmed up, can handle much higher volumes. However, this comes with the responsibility of maintaining that reputation solely yourself.
Why IP warming is crucial for high-volume sending
For any new or recently dormant IP address, IP warming is an absolutely critical step. It’s the process of gradually increasing your email sending volume over a period of weeks or even months. This slow ramp-up allows mailbox providers to recognize your IP as a legitimate sender, not a spambot suddenly blasting out millions of messages. Skipping this step is one of the quickest ways to hit severe daily sending limits, have your emails sent to the spam folder, or even get your IP placed on a blocklist.
A proper IP warming schedule involves sending small volumes initially, then steadily increasing the volume day by day, carefully monitoring your deliverability metrics. This helps build a positive sending history with each major mailbox provider. You can find more detailed guidance on recommended initial email sending volumes for new IPs to guide your ramp-up process.
Many email service providers (ESPs) offer automated IP warming features or provide clear guidelines for their dedicated IP users. This support is invaluable in navigating the complexities of volume ramp-up, helping ensure your IP builds a strong sender reputation without hitting unexpected sending limits or blockages. For more information, explore email sending volume limits and best practices.
Gradual increase for optimal reputation
Start small: Begin with a low volume, perhaps 200-500 emails per day, focusing on your most engaged recipients.
Consistent ramp-up: Gradually increase daily volume by 10-20% each day, depending on performance.
Monitor engagement: Closely watch open rates, click-through rates, and especially spam complaints and bounce rates.
Pause and adjust: If you see an increase in complaints or bounces, reduce volume and investigate the issue.
What volume can an IP realistically handle?
While some senders may indeed push millions of emails from a single IP address, this is typically reserved for highly reputable organizations with extremely clean lists and sophisticated sending infrastructures. For most businesses, a more realistic and sustainable daily volume for a well-warmed, dedicated IP address might be in the hundreds of thousands to a few million, depending on the recipient mix.
It's important to differentiate between an IP's theoretical capacity and the practical limits imposed by mailbox providers. For instance, Salesforce suggests a guideline of 2 million emails per day per IP for fully warmed-up IPs. Consumer-grade providers like Gmail have limits around 500 emails per day for free accounts, while Google Workspace accounts might extend to 2,000 or more, though these are typically per *user* or *domain* rather than strict IP limits.
Remember, the goal isn't just to send a lot of emails, but to send them effectively so they reach the inbox. Pushing volume too aggressively can lead to deliverability issues, including your emails being routed to spam folders or even your IP being placed on a blocklist (or blacklist). Monitoring your blocklist status is crucial in this regard.
Provider
Typical Daily Limit (Approx.)
Notes
Gmail
500 (personal), 2,000+ (Workspace)
Per user/domain, not strict IP limits. Higher for reputable senders.
Outlook.com
300 (personal), 10,000 (Office 365)
Limits vary based on account reputation and type.
Rackspace
10,000
Per recipient, per day, for hosted email systems.
Salesforce (Marketing Cloud)
2,000,000
A guideline for fully warmed-up dedicated IP addresses.
Strategies for managing email volume effectively
To maximize your email deliverability and safely increase your sending volume, a strategic approach is essential. Begin by segmenting your email lists, ensuring you're sending highly relevant content to engaged recipients. This practice reduces the likelihood of spam complaints and boosts positive engagement metrics, which are crucial for maintaining a healthy sender reputation. Remember, engagement signals are a primary factor in how mailbox providers view your IP.
Continual monitoring of your deliverability is also non-negotiable. Pay close attention to metrics such as bounce rates, spam complaint rates, and overall inbox placement. Utilizing tools like DMARC monitoring and blocklist monitoring can provide valuable insights into your sending performance and help you identify potential issues before they escalate. Early detection of problems, like being added to a blacklist, allows for quicker remediation.
Finally, choosing a reputable email service provider (ESP) and leveraging their expertise is crucial. A good ESP will handle the complexities of IP management, including warm-up schedules, throttling, and maintaining robust infrastructure, so you can focus on your email campaigns. They should provide tools and support to help you achieve optimal email deliverability rates.
Common problems
Hitting unstated limits: Emails are throttled or rejected without clear error messages due to suspicious volume.
IP blocklisting: IP addresses get added to public or private blocklists (blacklists) for sending too much, too fast, or to unengaged recipients.
Poor inbox placement: Even if not fully blocked, emails land in spam or junk folders, severely impacting campaign effectiveness.
Damaged sender reputation: Long-term harm to your domain and IP's trustworthiness with mailbox providers.
Start new IP addresses with a very low volume and gradually increase it daily.
Segment your email lists and send to your most engaged recipients during the IP warming phase.
Prioritize list hygiene to reduce bounces and spam complaints, which hurt reputation.
Continuously monitor your sender reputation using postmaster tools and deliverability platforms.
Ensure all email authentication protocols like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are correctly implemented.
Common pitfalls
Sending large volumes from a new IP without proper warming will lead to blocklisting.
Ignoring bounce rates and spam complaint metrics can quickly damage your sender reputation.
Using purchased or old, unverified email lists that contain spam traps.
Assuming a shared IP offers the same volume capacity or reputation as a dedicated IP.
Not monitoring for blocklists (blacklists) or reputation dips after increasing volume.
Expert tips
The technical capacity of an IP to send emails is vast, but reputation limits the practical volume.
Always consult your Email Service Provider (ESP) regarding their specific IP pool limitations.
Focus on domain reputation as much as IP reputation, as they are interconnected.
Higher engagement rates (opens, clicks) allow for greater sending volumes over time.
Diversify your sending across multiple IPs if you have very high, consistent email volumes.
Marketer view
A marketer from Email Geeks says that while there's no fixed global recommendation for daily IP sending limits, some clients can successfully send millions of emails per hour on a single IP address.
2020-07-28 - Email Geeks
Expert view
An expert from Email Geeks says that every recipient mailbox provider has unique ways of profiling traffic, and some will throttle new IP addresses. They add that a good ESP should handle this intelligence, so users typically shouldn't have to worry about these limits themselves. If migrating ESPs with high volumes, the migration plan should address multiple dedicated IPs.
2020-07-28 - Email Geeks
Optimizing your email sending strategy
Ultimately, the optimal daily sending limit for an IP address is not a fixed number but rather a moving target. It is heavily influenced by your IP's reputation, your sending patterns, the quality of your recipient list, and how effectively you manage your email program. The theoretical capacity of an IP is immense, but its practical capacity is constrained by these critical factors.
Focusing on building and maintaining a strong sender reputation through consistent warming, meticulous list hygiene, proper email authentication, and continuous monitoring will allow you to maximize your IP's sending capacity. This proactive approach ensures not only higher sending volumes but also better inbox placement, leading to more successful email campaigns.
Partnering with a knowledgeable ESP that provides robust tools and guidance for deliverability is your best bet for navigating these complexities. They can help you achieve and sustain high sending volumes while keeping your IP off blocklists (or blacklists) and your emails consistently landing in the inbox.
Google and 
Microsoft), and even the content and engagement metrics of your emails.
Salesforce suggests a guideline of 2 million emails per day per IP for fully warmed-up IPs. Consumer-grade providers like 
Gmail have limits around 500 emails per day for free accounts, while Google Workspace accounts might extend to 2,000 or more, though these are typically per *user* or *domain* rather than strict IP limits.
Outlook.com
Rackspace
