What is the ideal email volume per IP address per day?
Matthew Whittaker
Co-founder & CTO, Suped
Published 18 Jul 2025
Updated 16 Aug 2025
7 min read
Determining the ideal email volume per IP address per day is one of the most common questions in email deliverability, and it's a critical one for maintaining a strong sender reputation. There isn't a single magic number that applies to every sender, as the optimal volume depends on a complex interplay of factors including your sending consistency, email content quality, recipient engagement, and the specific policies of different internet service providers (ISPs).
The distinction between using a shared IP and a dedicated IP plays a significant role in setting your daily volume expectations. Shared IPs, by their nature, spread the reputation risk across many senders, which typically means lower individual sending limits but less personal management. Dedicated IPs, on the other hand, give you full control over your sending reputation, but they demand consistent, substantial volume to build and maintain that positive standing.
My goal here is to demystify these considerations and provide practical guidance on how to gauge and manage your email volume effectively to ensure your messages consistently reach the inbox.
The key factors influencing your sending volume
When we talk about email volume per IP, we're really talking about sender reputation. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) track your IP's sending behavior very closely. They look for consistent, predictable patterns, high engagement rates, and low complaint rates. Sending too much, too little, or with erratic patterns can trigger spam filters and lead to your emails being delivered to the junk folder or even blocked (blacklisted) entirely. It's a delicate balance that requires careful monitoring.
The type of emails you're sending also significantly influences what constitutes an ideal volume. Transactional emails, like password resets or order confirmations, generally have much higher engagement rates and are less likely to be marked as spam. This higher engagement allows for greater sending volumes. Marketing or promotional emails, however, often have lower engagement and higher complaint rates, meaning you'll need to be more conservative with your daily volumes to protect your IP's reputation.
Keep in mind that each recipient ISP (like Gmail, Microsoft, or Yahoo Mail) has its own internal algorithms and thresholds for acceptable email volume from a single IP. These are rarely public, but they are constantly evaluating your sender behavior. What works for one ISP might not work for another. This variability necessitates a flexible and observant approach to your daily sending limits.
Shared versus dedicated IP addresses
For senders with lower volumes, a shared IP address is often the most practical choice. These IPs are used by multiple senders, and the email service provider (ESP) manages the IP's reputation collectively. While this offers less control, it also means you don't have to build a reputation from scratch. Typically, if you're sending less than 5,000 emails per day, a shared IP is suitable, as noted by Mailgun.
Dedicated IP addresses, however, are reserved for your exclusive use. This means your sending reputation is solely your responsibility. To justify a dedicated IP and maintain a good reputation, you need to send a consistent, substantial volume of email. Many providers suggest a minimum of 50,000 to 100,000 emails per month, or a consistent daily volume of 3,000 to 5,000 emails. If your volume is below this, or highly irregular, a dedicated IP might actually harm your deliverability more than it helps. For more on this, consider reading what email volume justifies a dedicated IP address.
A crucial step for any new dedicated IP is IP warming. This involves gradually increasing your sending volume over several days or weeks, starting with a low volume of highly engaged recipients. This slow ramp-up allows ISPs to recognize your IP as a legitimate sender. Skipping this process or sending too much too soon can quickly land your IP on a blocklist (or blacklist), severely impacting your deliverability. Learn more about the process in email sending volume limits and IP warming.
Practical daily volume recommendations
Once an IP is properly warmed, what's a realistic daily volume? For high-volume senders, the recommended range can be anywhere from 200,000 to 5 million emails per day from a single IP. SparkPost, for instance, suggests 2 to 5 million per day for most senders after proper warm-up. However, it's not just about the raw number, but how consistently that volume is sent.
The key to maintaining a good reputation at higher volumes is consistency. Avoid dramatic, sudden increases in your sending volume, as these spikes can flag your activity as suspicious and lead to blocks (or blocklistings). ISPs prefer a predictable sending cadence. If you anticipate a large campaign, it's generally better to spread the volume over a few days or use multiple dedicated IPs. You can find more insights on managing spikes in recommended email send volume increases.
For extremely high volumes, such as sending over a million emails daily, you will almost certainly need multiple dedicated IPs. Distributing your volume across several IPs can help distribute the reputation load and prevent any single IP from becoming overwhelmed or flagged. It also provides a buffer, so if one IP experiences issues, your entire sending operation isn't halted. Consult how many IPs are needed per million emails for further guidance.
Key considerations for daily volume
Engagement first: Always prioritize sending to your most engaged subscribers, especially during IP warming or when testing new volume levels. This sends positive signals to ISPs.
Monitor closely: Track your deliverability metrics, including inbox placement, open rates, click-through rates, and complaint rates. These indicators will tell you if your volume is acceptable.
Audience segmentation: Segment your audience based on engagement and send higher volumes to highly engaged segments. This helps distribute risk and maintain positive reputation.
Cadence matters: Maintain a consistent sending schedule. ISPs prefer a steady flow of emails over unpredictable bursts or long periods of inactivity followed by high volume sends.
Views from the trenches
Best practices
Maintain a consistent sending volume and schedule to build a strong, predictable sender reputation.
Segment your email lists and prioritize sending to your most engaged subscribers first, especially for new IPs.
Actively monitor your deliverability metrics, including bounce rates, complaint rates, and inbox placement.
Gradually increase email volume over time, following a structured IP warming plan for new dedicated IPs.
Common pitfalls
Sending large, sudden bursts of email traffic from a new or cold IP address can quickly trigger spam filters.
Not maintaining a consistent daily or weekly sending volume on a dedicated IP can cause reputation decay.
Ignoring low engagement or high bounce rates, which are critical signals to ISPs about your sending quality.
Failing to segment lists and sending to unengaged recipients, leading to spam complaints and blocklistings.
Expert tips
For very high volumes, consider load balancing across multiple dedicated IP addresses to distribute reputation risk.
Prioritize the quality of your recipient list over raw quantity; clean lists yield better deliverability results.
Use transactional emails for IP warming, as they typically have higher engagement and lower complaint rates.
Continuously adapt your sending strategy based on real-time feedback from ISP postmaster tools and DMARC reports.
Marketer view
Marketer from Email Geeks says a sustained pattern of being busy sending mail for 10+ hours a day makes a big difference compared to short bursts. If you don't see issues at 12 million emails per day, that's a good benchmark, but for breathing room, a 10 million per day limit might be better.
2022-11-03 - Email Geeks
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks says their rough guidance for email volume per IP is between 2-3 million emails per day. Higher numbers can work, but lower numbers offer more flexibility regarding scheduling, bursts, and potential per-domain overload causing delays.
2022-11-03 - Email Geeks
Maintaining optimal email volume
There's no single, static ideal email volume per IP address per day. Instead, it's a dynamic target that requires continuous monitoring and adaptation. Focus on building and maintaining a strong sender reputation through consistent sending, high engagement, and careful list management.
Whether you use shared or dedicated IPs, understanding your audience and their engagement patterns is paramount. Align your sending volume with what your subscribers expect and interact with. This user-centric approach will naturally lead to better deliverability outcomes and help you stay out of the spam folder.
Finally, regularly check your IP for any blocklist (or blacklist) appearances using a reliable blocklist monitoring tool. Early detection of issues allows for quicker remediation, minimizing any potential impact on your email deliverability. For more in-depth information, you can read an in-depth guide to email blocklists.
Gmail, 
Microsoft, or 
Yahoo Mail) has its own internal algorithms and thresholds for acceptable email volume from a single IP. These are rarely public, but they are constantly evaluating your sender behavior. What works for one ISP might not work for another. This variability necessitates a flexible and observant approach to your daily sending limits.
