Is a dedicated IP address suitable for low volume email senders, and what is the minimum volume needed?
Matthew Whittaker
Co-founder & CTO, Suped
Published 16 Apr 2025
Updated 16 Aug 2025
9 min read
The question of whether a dedicated IP address is suitable for low-volume email senders is a common one, and it often leads to misconceptions. Many assume that having a dedicated IP gives them more control and therefore better deliverability, regardless of their sending volume. However, the reality is more nuanced.
Email deliverability relies heavily on sender reputation, which internet service providers (ISPs) like Outlook.com and Gmail meticulously track for every sending IP address. This reputation is built over time based on various factors, including the volume of email sent, bounce rates, complaint rates, and engagement metrics like open and click-through rates. For low-volume senders, establishing and maintaining a positive reputation on a dedicated IP can be a significant challenge.
The core issue stems from the need for consistent, significant email traffic to keep an IP address 'warm' and demonstrate reliable sending behavior. Without sufficient volume, an IP can go 'cold,' making it harder for ISPs to assess its trustworthiness, often leading to emails being flagged as spam or outright rejected. This can be especially detrimental when each email holds high value for the sender, such as critical transactional messages.
Shared versus dedicated IP addresses
When you use a shared IP address, you are sending emails from an IP that is also used by other senders. The reputation of a shared IP is an aggregate of all senders using it. This can be beneficial for low-volume senders because the larger collective volume helps maintain a consistent reputation, even if individual sending volumes are low. The shared IP is continuously active and 'warmed' by the combined activity of all users.
Conversely, a dedicated IP address is exclusively yours. While this offers full control over your sending reputation, it also means you are solely responsible for building and maintaining that reputation. If you send too little email, or if your sending is inconsistent, the IP's reputation can quickly decay, leading to deliverability problems.
IP warming is a critical process for new dedicated IPs, where email volume is gradually increased over time to establish a positive sender reputation with ISPs. For low-volume senders, this process is difficult to execute effectively because they simply do not have enough email to send consistently during the warm-up period, or to maintain the warmth afterward. An IP that isn't sufficiently warmed or kept active can be perceived as suspicious by ISPs, making it more likely for your emails to land in spam folders or be blocked entirely.
The risks of low volume on dedicated IPs
The primary risk for low-volume senders on a dedicated IP is the inability to maintain a stable and positive sender reputation. ISPs look for consistent sending patterns and good engagement metrics from an IP address to deem it trustworthy. When volume is low, especially if it's sporadic, the data points for ISPs to evaluate your reputation are scarce or inconsistent. This can lead to a quickly deteriorating reputation or prevent it from building up at all.
If an IP goes 'cold,' ISPs might throttle your sending, meaning your emails are delivered very slowly, or they might outright reject your messages. Furthermore, a dedicated IP with low volume and poor engagement is highly susceptible to being placed on an email blocklist (or blacklist). Even a small number of spam complaints or bounces can have a disproportionately large impact on your reputation when your sending volume is minimal.
A negative reputation on your dedicated IP could lead to all your emails, even important transactional ones, being sent to the spam folder, or worse, being rejected. This is a significant concern for businesses where each email carries high individual value, as even a minor dip in deliverability can translate to substantial lost revenue.
Risks of a dedicated IP for low volume
Reputation decay: Insufficient volume prevents ISPs from building trust in your IP, leading to a poor or non-existent sender reputation.
Difficulty warming: The IP warming process requires consistent, increasing volume, which low-volume senders cannot sustain.
Increased spam filtering: Emails from cold IPs are more likely to be flagged as spam, directly impacting your deliverability.
Higher blocklist risk:Even minimal complaints can lead to a blacklist or blocklist inclusion due to low comparative positive sending.
For transactional emails, where deliverability is absolutely crucial and each email can have high value, the risk of a dedicated IP going cold and affecting deliverability is particularly problematic. It is generally advised to avoid dedicated IPs if you don't have the volume to support them consistently.
Minimum volume recommendations
The consensus among email experts and service providers is that a dedicated IP address requires a substantial and consistent sending volume to maintain a healthy sender reputation. While exact figures vary, most recommendations start in the range of tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of emails per month.
For instance, Salesforce Marketing Cloud suggests dedicated IPs for volumes above 100,000 emails per month, with optimal performance often seen beyond 250,000 emails monthly. Similarly, Mailjet recommends a minimum of 150,000 emails per month for a dedicated IP, or at least 5,000 emails per day. Twilio SendGrid also advises a dedicated IP only if you're sending more than 50,000 emails monthly.
Microsoft.com (and many other ISPs) use sophisticated filtering algorithms that analyze sending patterns. An IP with erratic or insufficient volume won't build the necessary trust. A common informal threshold cited by deliverability professionals is around 100,000 emails per month as a bare minimum, with 200,000 or more being ideal to truly establish a robust reputation across most major mailbox providers.
1,000,000+ messages (to be eligible for dedicated IP request)
These figures highlight that for anything significantly below 100,000 emails per month, a dedicated IP is generally not recommended due to the inherent difficulty in maintaining a strong sending reputation. The volume of email is critical for a dedicated IP's success. You can review more about minimum volumes for dedicated IPs in this resource.
When a dedicated IP might still make sense
While shared IPs are generally the preferred choice for low-volume senders, there are very specific scenarios where a dedicated IP might still be considered, even with lower volumes. These are typically situations where the value of each email is exceptionally high, and control over every aspect of deliverability is paramount.
For example, a business sending a limited number of highly valuable transactional emails (e.g., account alerts, financial statements) where even a single missed email could have severe consequences might opt for a dedicated IP. In such cases, the sender accepts the inherent risks and commits to meticulous monitoring and quick remediation of any deliverability issues. However, this strategy still demands an understanding of the ongoing commitment to IP management.
Another rare instance could be for highly regulated industries with strict compliance requirements, where even shared IP risks are deemed unacceptable, regardless of volume. These are exceptions, not the rule, and require deep expertise in email deliverability to manage effectively.
Considerations for choosing a dedicated IP
High email value: If each email translates to significant revenue or critical information, justifying the risk.
Consistent sending: Ability to maintain a regular sending cadence, even if the volume is on the lower end of the recommended scale.
Excellent engagement: Very high open and click rates, and low bounce/complaint rates, indicating a highly engaged audience.
Proactive monitoring: Capability to constantly monitor IP reputation and quickly react to issues.
Optimizing deliverability without a dedicated IP
For the vast majority of low-volume senders, optimizing deliverability means focusing on strategies that make the most of shared IP environments. This involves prioritizing list hygiene, engagement, and proper email authentication. A clean list ensures you are only sending to engaged recipients, which boosts your sender reputation regardless of the IP type.
Implementing strong email authentication protocols like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC is non-negotiable, regardless of your IP strategy. These protocols verify your sending legitimacy and are fundamental for good deliverability. Regular monitoring of your deliverability metrics and feedback loops will also provide crucial insights into your email program's health.
If issues arise on a shared IP, it's often more effective to address them by improving your sending practices or working with your Email Service Provider (ESP) to resolve the underlying problem with the shared pool. Sometimes, advocating for a move to a better performing shared IP pool can be a more viable solution than attempting to sustain a dedicated IP with insufficient volume.
Shared IP advantages for low volume
Pre-warmed: Shared IPs are already active and have an established reputation.
Cost-effective: Usually included in basic ESP plans.
Reputation support: Other senders' volume helps maintain the IP's overall reputation.
Dedicated IP challenges for low volume
Reputation decay: Low volume leads to poor or inconsistent IP reputation.
IP warming: Difficult to execute with insufficient and inconsistent email volume.
Higher risk: More susceptible to blocklisting (or blacklisting) from minor issues.
Views from the trenches
Best practices
Ensure excellent email engagement and low complaint rates, as this provides a positive signal to ISPs.
Maintain consistent sending patterns even with lower volumes to establish a reliable reputation.
Segment your audience and send highly relevant content to improve engagement metrics.
Prioritize transactional emails on separate IPs if possible, especially if their value is high.
Routinely clean your email lists to remove inactive or invalid addresses, reducing bounces and complaints.
Common pitfalls
Opting for a dedicated IP when sending fewer than 100,000 emails per month, leading to reputation issues.
Expecting a dedicated IP to solve underlying deliverability problems caused by poor list hygiene or content.
Sending inconsistent email volumes, causing your dedicated IP to go 'cold' and lose its reputation.
Failing to adequately warm up a new dedicated IP, resulting in immediate deliverability challenges.
Not actively monitoring IP reputation and feedback loop data, delaying detection of issues.
Expert tips
Leverage shared IP pools for low-volume sending, especially for marketing emails, to benefit from aggregate reputation.
If using a dedicated IP for crucial, high-value emails at low volumes, accept the necessity for constant monitoring.
Push your ESP for a better shared IP pool if you face deliverability issues, rather than prematurely switching to dedicated.
Focus on email quality and recipient engagement as primary drivers of deliverability, regardless of IP type.
Understand that IP reputation takes time to build and is fragile at lower, inconsistent sending volumes.
Marketer view
A marketer from Email Geeks says that sending 30,000 emails per month is enough to create a sending reputation, but it leaves no room for errors and insufficient volume to absorb deliverability issues.
2022-04-20 - Email Geeks
Expert view
An expert from Email Geeks warns that low volume senders are likely to struggle on a dedicated IP but it can work if emails are wanted and metrics (bounces, complaints) are good.
2022-04-20 - Email Geeks
The right IP for your email volume
For low-volume email senders, a dedicated IP address is generally not the most suitable choice. The primary reason is the difficulty in building and sustaining a robust sender reputation without consistent and significant email traffic. Shared IP addresses typically offer better deliverability for these senders, as they benefit from the collective sending volume and established reputation of multiple users.
While there are exceptions, particularly for high-value transactional emails or highly regulated industries, these scenarios demand a deep understanding of email deliverability and a commitment to rigorous monitoring and management. For most businesses, focusing on best practices like list hygiene, email authentication, and content quality on a shared IP will yield better and more consistent inbox placement. Before considering a dedicated IP, assess your average monthly volume against the industry-recommended minimums, which generally start at 50,000 to 100,000 emails per month and ideally much higher for optimal performance.
Outlook.com and 
Gmail meticulously track for every sending IP address. This reputation is built over time based on various factors, including the volume of email sent, bounce rates, complaint rates, and engagement metrics like open and click-through rates. For low-volume senders, establishing and maintaining a positive reputation on a dedicated IP can be a significant challenge.
.com (and many other ISPs) use sophisticated filtering algorithms that analyze sending patterns. An IP with erratic or insufficient volume won't build the necessary trust. A common informal threshold cited by deliverability professionals is around 100,000 emails per month as a bare minimum, with 200,000 or more being ideal to truly establish a robust reputation across most major mailbox providers.
