In 2024, 1 out of every 6 marketing emails never reached the recipient's inbox. 10.5% were delivered directly to spam. (Source: Validity, 2025 Email Deliverability Benchmark)
This outcome is not inevitable. In many cases, it reflects an infrastructure configuration that was poorly calibrated from the start. The sending IP address is one of the first links in that chain. It partly determines whether your campaigns land in the primary inbox or disappear into spam, and it directly affects the long-term stability of your performance.
Choosing the right setup from the beginning can prevent months of troubleshooting later. Here is how to approach the decision.
What a sending IP is
Every email is sent from a server identified by a unique IP address. Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, and other inbox providers use this address as one of the signals to evaluate your sender reputation and determine whether your messages deserve inbox placement.
That reputation takes into account your sending domain (for example, hello.yourdomain.com), the IP address itself, and a wide range of signals such as:
Email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC)
Sending volume and frequency
Historical performance
Content quality
Recipient engagement: open rates, clicks, unsubscribes, and spam complaints
Since early 2024, Gmail and Yahoo require full SPF/DKIM/DMARC authentication for any sender exceeding 5,000 emails per day. The tolerance threshold for spam complaints is 0.3% maximum. A poorly configured or insufficiently warmed-up IP can severely impact your campaigns—even if your content and segmentation are well executed.
Shared IP vs dedicated IP: two models, two approaches
Shared IP: simplicity and fast onboarding
With a shared IP, your emails are sent through an address used by multiple senders. At Batch, these IPs are pre-warmed: they benefit from an existing sending history, which makes it easier to start sending and reduces deliverability risks during the first weeks.
A shared IP is typically appropriate when:
Volumes are below 500,000 emails per month
Sending is irregular or seasonal, with less than 5,000 emails per day on average
Your email program is in its early stages
You need to migrate quickly without managing the complexity of IP warm-up
The trade-off: reputation is shared. If other senders using the same IP adopt poor sending practices, this can affect overall performance.
Good to know: Batch shared IPs are managed under strict quality standards designed to limit the impact of low-performing senders on the entire pool. They are monitored daily by Batch deliverability specialists to maintain their health.
Dedicated IP: full control, higher requirements
A dedicated IP is assigned exclusively to you. You fully control your reputation. This setup is typically preferred by high-volume senders who need precise control over their email performance.
However, a dedicated IP starts without any history. It requires a structured IP warm-up, with gradually increasing volumes over several weeks to build reputation with inbox providers. Without this phase, the risk of landing in spam is significantly higher.
A dedicated IP is generally appropriate when:
Volumes exceed 500,000 emails per month, with at least 5,000–10,000 emails per day sent consistently
Email is a critical business channel (e-commerce, fintech, high-impact CRM programs)
Sending patterns are predictable and stable
Your company wants to isolate its reputation from other senders
Important: a dedicated IP with volumes that are too low or too irregular will quickly see its reputation degrade. Consistency is essential.
The four criteria to make the right choice
1. Sending volume
Beyond 500,000 emails per month with a daily volume of at least 5,000–10,000 emails, a dedicated IP becomes relevant. Below that threshold, a shared IP is generally sufficient to maintain strong performance.
2. Current performance metrics
High bounce rates or spam complaint rates above 0.1%?
Dedicated IP: review your list hygiene, segmentation, and messaging before migrating. A successful IP warm-up requires a strong baseline.
Shared IP: a review of your practices is still necessary, but pre-warmed shared IPs are generally more tolerant of temporary performance issues.
Good to know: in both scenarios, before any migration, Batch customer and deliverability teams review your sending practices, identify potential issues, and help you prepare the migration properly.
3. Importance of email for your business
Does email represent a critical part of your revenue—order confirmations, payment notifications, media newsletters, loyalty programs? A dedicated IP provides full isolation of your reputation and greater control over events that could impact your sending (for example message throttling or spam placement).
4. Sending consistency
A stable and predictable sending schedule? A dedicated IP will gradually build a strong reputation.
Occasional or seasonal sending? A shared IP handles inactivity periods better without risking reputation decay due to lack of activity.
Large promotional spikes? Shared IPs can easily absorb temporary volume surges. With dedicated IPs, volumes must increase progressively to avoid damaging your reputation over time.
How to decide
You send more than 500k emails per month, more than 5k emails per day consistently, email resilience is critical for your business, and your sending cadence is stable → Dedicated IP
In all other cases → Shared IP, managed and monitored by Batch deliverability teams
This decision is not permanent. Many companies start with a shared IP and migrate to a dedicated IP as their email program matures and volumes grow.
In some cases, a hybrid configuration also makes sense: marketing emails on shared IPs, and critical transactional messages on dedicated IPs.
The key is aligning the configuration with your operational reality and sending volumes.
Deliverability: a lever, not a constraint
61% of marketing teams report that maintaining good deliverability is becoming increasingly difficult. (Source: Validity, 2025 Email Deliverability Benchmark)
This is largely due to evolving requirements from Gmail, Microsoft, and Yahoo, which influence the broader ecosystem of inbox providers. Spam filtering has become more sophisticated, and user engagement signals now play a central role in reputation algorithms.
As a result, even legitimate senders cannot assume their emails will automatically reach the inbox.
In this environment, deliverability becomes a direct driver of marketing performance and business resilience. A few points of reputation can determine whether a campaign generates revenue—or never reaches the inbox.
At Batch, our objective is straightforward: help our customers maintain deliverability performance consistently above market benchmarks.
Our teams support every email migration project end-to-end:
Email program audit
Sending architecture design
IP warm-up planning
Continuous monitoring of deliverability metrics and ongoing optimization
Beyond infrastructure, we also help customers improve their sending practices to maximize engagement and protect their reputation in an ecosystem that has changed significantly over the past five years.
If you would like to assess your sending infrastructure or identify opportunities to improve your email practices, our teams can help.
Joanna Masorz
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