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Summary

Determining the exact number of IP addresses needed to send a million emails daily is not straightforward, as it depends heavily on several critical factors beyond mere volume. While some highly reputable senders can manage millions on a single dedicated IP, the consensus among email experts suggests that for a daily volume of one million emails, most senders will require multiple dedicated IP addresses, typically ranging from 2 to 4, or sometimes more for initial warming. The practical capacity of an IP is profoundly influenced by the sender's reputation, sending practices, and consistent IP warm-up. Mailbox providers' varying limitations and a sender's engagement rates also play a significant role. It's crucial for senders to prioritize reputation management over simply adding IPs, as a strong sending reputation allows for higher throughput per IP and is key to successful deliverability.

Key findings

  • Variable Estimates: The number of IP addresses recommended per million emails sent daily varies significantly among experts, ranging from as few as one (for highly optimized senders) to up to a dozen for initial warming or standard operations. Common recommendations often fall between 2 to 4 dedicated IPs.
  • Reputation Drives Volume: A strong sender reputation and impeccable sending practices are the most critical factors. Senders with high quality mailstreams can achieve significantly higher volumes per IP, potentially sending millions daily on a single IP, while poor reputation drastically reduces this capacity.
  • Multiple IPs for High Volume: While a single dedicated IP can theoretically handle millions of emails per day with excellent sending quality, most high-volume senders, especially those consistently sending over 100,000 emails daily and certainly for a million, opt for multiple dedicated IP addresses. This strategy helps distribute the load, manage risk, and optimize deliverability.
  • Dedicated IP Thresholds: Dedicated IP addresses are generally recommended for senders exceeding 100,000 to 250,000 emails per day. For volumes reaching a million emails daily, the use of multiple dedicated IPs or a managed IP pool becomes essential to maintain performance and reputation.

Key considerations

  • IP Warm-up: Properly warming up new IP addresses is crucial for deliverability, and attempting to manage too many IPs can make consistent warming difficult. Each IP needs a gradual, consistent increase in sending volume to build its reputation.
  • Mailbox Provider Limits: Mailbox Providers (MBPs) enforce limits on connections, emails, and resources per sender to manage their systems. While major MBPs like Google may not strictly limit volume based on IP, some smaller providers might. Reputation, not just IP count, dictates acceptance.
  • Reputation is Paramount: Adding more IP addresses should never be a substitute for addressing underlying sender reputation issues. Responsible senders focus on improving their sending quality and engagement, as simply increasing IPs to bypass limits is a tactic often associated with spammers.
  • Strategic Distribution: For optimal deliverability and risk management, it is often advisable to spread multiple IP addresses across different Internet Service Providers (ISPs).
  • Engagement's Role: The effective volume an IP can handle is also influenced by a sender's engagement rates. High engagement contributes to a stronger reputation, enabling higher throughput per IP.

What email marketers say

10 marketer opinions

For those sending a million emails each day, the optimal number of IP addresses is not a fixed figure, but rather a dynamic one influenced by several key factors. While some elite senders with pristine reputations have demonstrated the capacity to deliver millions of emails daily from a single IP, the more common and widely recommended approach for handling such high volumes involves utilizing multiple dedicated IP addresses, often between two and four. This strategy helps manage load and maintain a robust sender reputation. The true capacity of an IP address is profoundly shaped by the sender's reputation, adherence to best practices, and the consistent process of IP warming. Furthermore, the varying policies of mailbox providers and the sender's engagement metrics significantly impact deliverability and the effective throughput of each IP. Therefore, effective reputation management and quality sending practices are paramount, often outweighing the simple addition of more IPs.

Key opinions

  • Varied Recommendations: Expert opinions on IP capacity range from over 4 million sends per day on a single, high-quality IP to a practical recommendation of one IP per 250,000-500,000 emails daily, leading to 2-4 IPs for a million daily sends.
  • Multiple IPs for Million-Scale Sending: For senders consistently distributing a million emails per day, employing multiple dedicated IP addresses is widely considered necessary for effective volume distribution, risk management, and optimal deliverability.
  • Reputation and Engagement Drive Throughput: The ability of an individual IP address to handle high volumes, even millions daily, is directly correlated with a sender's established reputation and the level of engagement from their recipients.
  • Dedicated IP as a Baseline: Dedicated IPs are generally advised once daily sending volumes exceed 100,000 to 250,000 emails, with the need for multiple IPs escalating as volumes reach millions.

Key considerations

  • IP Warming Complexity: Acquiring too many IP addresses can complicate the essential process of warming each IP, potentially hindering its reputation and subsequent deliverability.
  • Mailbox Provider Specifics: While major Mailbox Providers may not impose strict IP-based volume limits, some smaller providers might, making overall sender reputation, rather than just IP count, the primary determinant of acceptance.
  • Holistic Deliverability Strategy: Adding IP addresses should be part of a broader deliverability strategy and not a substitute for addressing fundamental issues in sender reputation, list hygiene, or content quality.
  • Geographic and ISP Diversity: Spreading multiple IP addresses across different Internet Service Providers can offer added resilience and improve deliverability by diversifying the sending infrastructure.

Marketer view

Email marketer from Email Geeks shares that one IP can typically handle up to 2 million sends in a day, based on sender-side limitations.

27 Mar 2023 - Email Geeks

Marketer view

Email marketer from Email Geeks explains there is no hard limit for sends per IP, but the practical limit is often considered 2 million sends per day before adding a new IP. They have seen senders achieve over 4 million sends per day on a single IP with high sending quality.

3 Mar 2023 - Email Geeks

What the experts say

3 expert opinions

Mailbox providers implement limitations on connections and resources, meaning the capacity of an IP address for daily email volume is less about a hard numerical rule and more about the sender's reputation. While an empirical guideline suggests a million emails per day per IP, experts agree that this can be significantly exceeded by senders with excellent reputations, or conversely, be far lower for those with poor standing. For high-volume senders aiming for a million emails daily, the actual number of IPs required can vary widely, from a few highly optimized ones to as many as a dozen during the warm-up phase, underscoring that mailstream quality is the paramount determinant. It is critical for deliverability to resolve any underlying reputation issues rather than simply adding more IP addresses, a practice often associated with spammers.

Key opinions

  • Reputation Governs IP Throughput: The volume an IP can handle is directly tied to sender reputation; good standing allows for significantly higher volumes per IP, while poor standing drastically reduces this capacity.
  • Multiple IPs for Million-Scale: Sending a million emails daily typically necessitates multiple IP addresses, with estimates for initial warm-up or sustained volume ranging from a few well-optimized IPs to a dozen.
  • Empirical Rule, Not Hard Limit: The concept of 1 million emails per day per IP is more of an empirical guideline than a strict rule, heavily influenced by the sender's reputation and the overall quality of the mailstream.

Key considerations

  • Reputation Remediation Over IP Addition: Responsible senders prioritize fixing underlying reputation issues rather than simply adding more IP addresses, as using additional IPs to circumvent limits is characteristic of spammers and not a sustainable strategy.
  • Mailbox Provider Resource Management: Mailbox providers implement limits on connections, emails, and resources, which are less about a fixed IP volume and more about managing their systems based on sender behavior and established reputation.
  • Initial IP Warm-up Strategy: For high daily volumes like a million emails, senders may need to strategically warm up a significant number of IPs, potentially as many as a dozen concurrently, to establish initial trust and capacity with various providers.

Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks explains that limits on the number of connections, emails, or resources a single sender can use are implemented by Mailbox Providers to manage their available TCP sockets and other resources. They state that the 1 million emails per day per IP rule is mostly empirical and can be exceeded with good reputation, or significantly less if reputation is poor. They also emphasize that responsible senders fix underlying reputation issues rather than simply adding more IPs to circumvent limits, as adding IPs to work around limits is a characteristic of spammers.

26 Nov 2023 - Email Geeks

Expert view

Expert from Spam Resource explains that if you send a million messages a day, you will probably need to warm up a dozen IPs at once.

30 Jul 2022 - Spam Resource

What the documentation says

4 technical articles

Achieving a daily send volume of one million emails necessitates a strategic approach to IP allocation, where the precise number of dedicated IP addresses required is not fixed but rather depends on several critical factors. While it's theoretically possible for senders with exceptional reputation and flawless practices to deliver millions from a single IP, industry experts and major email service providers widely indicate that high-volume operations, particularly those exceeding 100,000 emails daily and reaching into the millions, generally require multiple dedicated IP addresses or a managed pool. The emphasis remains firmly on building and maintaining a robust sender reputation and meticulously warming up any new IPs, as these elements are far more influential on deliverability and effective throughput than simply scaling the number of IP addresses.

Key findings

  • Elite Senders & Single IP: Highly reputable senders with impeccable practices can theoretically send millions of emails daily from a single dedicated IP address.
  • Multiple IPs for High Volume: For most high-volume senders routinely distributing a million emails per day, leveraging multiple dedicated IP addresses or a managed pool is considered essential for optimal deliverability and load management.
  • Dedicated IP Threshold: Email service providers generally recommend dedicated IP addresses for daily sending volumes exceeding 100,000 emails, underscoring the need for multiple IPs at the million-email mark.
  • Reputation Drives Capacity: An IP address's true sending capacity, regardless of the number of emails, is primarily governed by the sender's established reputation and consistent adherence to best practices.

Key considerations

  • IP Warm-up is Vital: Thorough and gradual warming of each new IP address is critical for establishing trust with mailbox providers and ensuring high deliverability rates, especially when scaling to millions of emails daily.
  • Beyond Volume-Based Limits: Mailbox providers prioritize sender reputation over a strict numerical limit of emails per IP, meaning effective deliverability at high volumes depends more on the quality of the mailstream than just the quantity of IPs.
  • Strategic IP Management: Employing multiple IPs for a million daily sends requires careful management to ensure consistent reputation building across all addresses and to distribute sending load efficiently.

Technical article

Documentation from SparkPost Blog explains that while a single dedicated IP address can handle millions of emails per day, this is only true if the sender's reputation is strong and sending practices are impeccable. For most high-volume senders, multiple IPs are used.

3 May 2025 - SparkPost Blog

Technical article

Documentation from SendGrid explains that most customers sending less than 100,000 emails per day do not benefit from a dedicated IP, implying that volumes exceeding this, such as a million emails daily, typically require dedicated IP addresses and a robust sending strategy that often involves more than one.

11 Oct 2024 - SendGrid Documentation

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