What is the process and difficulty of switching from a shared IP to a dedicated IP address?
Matthew Whittaker
Co-founder & CTO, Suped
Published 9 May 2025
Updated 19 Aug 2025
7 min read
Moving from a shared IP address to a dedicated IP address for email sending is a significant step that many businesses consider as their email volume grows or their deliverability becomes a concern. While a shared IP can be a good starting point, offering a managed reputation and simpler setup, a dedicated IP provides more control over your sending reputation.
The decision to switch often comes with questions about the complexity involved. It's not just a matter of flipping a switch, as there are technical configurations and strategic considerations that need careful planning. I'll walk you through the typical process and highlight what makes it difficult, or surprisingly straightforward, depending on your situation.
Understanding what is involved can help you prepare and ensure a smooth transition, minimizing any potential impact on your email deliverability.
The decision to switch
Before diving into the mechanics, it's essential to understand why you might switch. A dedicated IP gives you sole control over your sending reputation. If you're on a shared IP, your deliverability is influenced by other senders using the same IP address. If one of them sends spam or has poor practices, it can negatively impact your emails, leading to blocklisting (or blacklisting) or delivery to the spam folder. With a dedicated IP, your reputation is entirely in your hands.
This control is particularly crucial for senders with high email volumes. If you send below a certain threshold, typically around 100,000 to 150,000 emails per month (as advised by Mailgun and others), it might be challenging to maintain a consistent sending reputation on a dedicated IP, as mail servers prefer consistent, high-volume sending to build trust. If your volume is too low or inconsistent, a shared IP might actually be beneficial because the combined volume of multiple senders helps maintain a baseline reputation.
The main benefit of a dedicated IP is the direct correlation between your sending practices and your reputation. Good sending hygiene, such as sending wanted emails to engaged recipients, will directly lead to better inbox placement. Conversely, poor practices will immediately impact only your sending, making it easier to identify and rectify issues.
Shared IP
Reputation shared: Your sender reputation is influenced by other users on the same IP.
Lower volume suitability: Ideal for low-volume or inconsistent senders, as the ESP manages reputation.
Simpler management: Less direct responsibility for IP reputation and warm-up.
Dedicated IP
Full control: Your sending reputation is solely based on your sending behavior.
High volume requirement: Requires a consistent, high volume of emails to build and maintain trust.
Active management: Demands active management of IP warm-up and monitoring of sending metrics.
The technical transition
The technical process of switching IPs largely depends on your Email Service Provider (ESP). Most ESPs facilitate this change, but the level of automation varies. Typically, you'll need to contact your ESP to request a dedicated IP address. They will then assign one to your account.
Once assigned, you'll need to update your DNS records to reflect the new IP. This usually involves modifying SPF, DKIM, and potentially DMARC records to authorize the new IP address to send emails on behalf of your domain. This ensures that your emails continue to pass authentication checks, which are crucial for deliverability. Incorrectly configured DNS records can lead to emails being rejected or sent to spam.
The difficulty here often lies in coordinating with your ESP and your DNS provider. Some ESPs provide detailed instructions or even automate parts of this setup, while others might require more manual intervention on your end. It's always a good idea to validate your email authentication after making these changes to prevent issues like SPF SOFTFAIL errors.
Example SPF record for a dedicated IPDNS
v=spf1 ip4:192.0.2.1 include:esp.com ~all
The importance of IP warming
The most critical and often most challenging aspect of switching to a dedicated IP is the IP warm-up process. When you get a new dedicated IP, it has no prior sending history, making it a cold IP. Mailbox providers are wary of new, unestablished IPs to prevent spam, so they limit the volume of email they will accept from them initially. You need to gradually increase your sending volume to build a positive reputation over time. This process is detailed in guides like Twilio's SendGrid documentation on warming up an IP address.
A typical warm-up schedule involves starting with a low volume of highly engaged recipients and slowly increasing the volume daily or weekly, focusing on specific mailbox providers. This can take anywhere from a few weeks to several months, depending on your total sending volume and the responsiveness of your recipients. It’s crucial to send highly engaging content during this phase to establish a good reputation.
The difficulty of IP warming hinges on your ability to control your sending volume and target audience precisely. For senders with complex automation flows or large, unsegmented lists, managing this gradual increase can be challenging. Some ESPs offer automated warm-up programs, which can significantly reduce the manual effort, but not all do.
It's vital to have a clear IP warming strategy in place, especially if you're migrating from a shared IP with established campaigns. Without it, you risk higher bounce rates, increased spam complaints, and even getting your new dedicated IP on an email blocklist or blacklist (which can be difficult to remove yourself from), severely impacting your deliverability. You can refer to AWS SES documentation on dedicated IP warming for more insights into typical warming strategies.
Managing your new IP reputation
After the initial warm-up, the ongoing difficulty of managing a dedicated IP depends entirely on your sending practices and list quality. You are now solely responsible for maintaining your IP's reputation. This means consistently sending valuable content, managing bounces, handling spam complaints promptly, and regularly cleaning your email lists. Failing to do so can quickly degrade your IP's standing with mailbox providers, leading to emails landing in spam folders.
Monitoring your deliverability metrics becomes even more critical with a dedicated IP. You'll need to pay close attention to open rates, click-through rates, unsubscribe rates, and spam complaint rates. Tools like Google Postmaster Tools and other analytics dashboards provided by your ESP are invaluable for this. If you notice a sudden drop in deliverability or an increase in complaints, you'll need to investigate and address the root cause quickly.
While there are many benefits to a dedicated IP, it also comes with increased responsibility. For low volume senders, the downsides can outweigh the benefits due to the difficulty of maintaining a consistent sending pattern. However, for high-volume, consistent senders with good list hygiene, the control and improved deliverability make the effort worthwhile.
Key takeaways
Switching to a dedicated IP is a strategic move that can significantly improve your email deliverability, provided you have the volume and practices to support it. The difficulty isn't in the initial setup, but in the disciplined execution of the IP warm-up and ongoing reputation management.
Views from the trenches
Best practices
Maintain exceptional data quality and sending practices, as your IP's reputation directly depends on them.
Work closely with your Email Service Provider (ESP) to understand their specific process for IP assignment and DNS record updates.
Implement a gradual and well-planned IP warm-up schedule, prioritizing highly engaged segments of your audience.
Continuously monitor key deliverability metrics such as open rates, click-throughs, and spam complaints.
Ensure all email authentication protocols, including SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, are correctly configured for the new IP.
Common pitfalls
Failing to warm up the new dedicated IP gradually, leading to immediate blocklisting or low inbox placement.
Not updating DNS records correctly, resulting in email authentication failures and rejections.
Sending inconsistent volumes after warm-up, which can cause reputation degradation.
Ignoring spam complaints or high bounce rates, as these directly hurt your dedicated IP's reputation.
Attempting to switch to a dedicated IP without sufficient email volume to maintain a healthy sending profile.
Expert tips
The difficulty of this transition is directly tied to the quality of your email list and sending habits.
If your ESP offers automated warm-up programs, leverage them to streamline the process.
A clean and engaged email list is your best asset for a successful dedicated IP migration.
Always validate your email authentication after making any DNS changes to catch errors early.
Don't expect instant results, a dedicated IP warm-up can take several weeks to a month to show decent results.
Marketer view
Marketer from Email Geeks says the difficulty of switching is directly proportional to your data quality and sending practices.
2020-01-08 - Email Geeks
Marketer view
Marketer from Email Geeks says you'll need to warm up the new IP, and if your ESP can manage the warm-up programmatically, it removes a lot of manual effort.
2020-01-08 - Email Geeks
Final thoughts on IP transition
Switching from a shared IP to a dedicated IP address is a strategic decision that offers greater control over your email sending reputation. The process itself involves coordinating with your ESP, updating DNS records, and most importantly, executing a careful IP warm-up strategy.
While the technical steps are manageable, the primary difficulty lies in the discipline required for IP warming and ongoing reputation management. It demands consistent sending volume and excellent list hygiene to build and maintain a strong relationship with mailbox providers. If executed correctly, the long-term benefits of enhanced deliverability and brand reputation make the effort worthwhile.
What is the process and difficulty of switching from a shared IP to a dedicated IP address? - Sender reputation - Email deliverability - Knowledge base - Suped
(as advised by Mailgun and others), it might be challenging to maintain a consistent sending reputation on a dedicated IP, as mail servers prefer consistent, high-volume sending to build trust. If your volume is too low or inconsistent, a shared IP might actually be beneficial because the combined volume of multiple senders helps maintain a baseline reputation.
Google Postmaster Tools and other analytics dashboards provided by your ESP are invaluable for this. If you notice a sudden drop in deliverability or an increase in complaints, you'll need to investigate and address the root cause quickly.
