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Email Deliverability · Dedicated vs shared IPs

Dedicated IP addresses checklist for 2026

Short answer

A complete dedicated IP addresses checklist has 4 setup items and 2 things to audit against. Work through setup in order, then schedule a quarterly review.

Setup checklist#

  • ☐ Estimate steady daily volume; below roughly 50,000 per day, shared pools usually perform better.
  • ☐ If dedicated, warm up over 4 to 6 weeks and keep volume consistent.
  • ☐ Separate transactional and marketing onto different IPs or pools.
  • ☐ Monitor SNDS and Postmaster Tools per IP.

Audit checklist#

  • ☐ Confirm you are not: buying a dedicated IP for a small list and letting it go cold.
  • ☐ Confirm you are not: one dedicated IP for everything, so a promo blast delays receipts.

Ongoing monitoring#

  • ☐ Weekly: review provider dashboards (Postmaster Tools, SNDS) and bounce logs
  • ☐ Monthly: re-run the setup verification after any vendor or DNS change
  • ☐ Quarterly: full audit against this checklist

Frequently asked questions#

Do I need a dedicated IP for good deliverability?

No. Domain reputation dominates. Dedicated IPs are for high-volume senders who want isolation.

Analyse your own setup

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Email header analyser

Read authentication, DMARC alignment, and hop-by-hop delays from raw headers.

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Technical analysis

Warm-up schedule planner

Build a day-by-day ramp that respects per-mailbox ceilings.

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