The dedicated-IP-vs-shared-IP debate is one of the most misunderstood decisions in ecommerce email. The short answer: most brands under 250k sends/month should stay shared. Most brands over 1M/month should be dedicated. Everything in the middle requires nuance.
When dedicated helps
You're sending consistent, predictable volume above 250k/month.
You have a deliverability team or partner managing warmup, throttling, and reputation in real time.
Your business model depends on transactional + marketing isolation (high-AOV brands, subscription).
When dedicated hurts
Inconsistent volume. Cold IPs need consistent send patterns; sporadic sending kills reputation.
No warmup discipline. Going dedicated without 30–45 days of structured warmup is worse than staying shared.
Small list, big aspirations. A 50k list cannot generate the engagement signal a dedicated IP needs to stay healthy.
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