# Dedicated IP Is a dedicated IP address really indispensable for **best-possible website hosting**? And are dedicated IPs really the ultimate when it comes to the **reliable sending of emails**? When searching for the answers online, it becomes clear that opinions on the matter diverge heavily. --- ### Tip If you’re unsure of the IP address of your device, you can easily [find the IP address](https://www.ionos.ca/digitalguide/hosting/technical-matters/finding-your-ip-address/) using our step-by-step guide. --- In the following, we’ll explain what a dedicated IP address is and how it differs from its shared counterpart. Subsequently, we’ll explore whether a dedicated IP is indispensable for modern Internet working, as is often claimed. ## What’s an IP address? Before we take a look at the differences between dedicated and shared addresses, we should clarify what an IP address is. An IP address is a **uniquely identifiable device address in a computer network**. IP stands for [Internet Protocol](https://www.ionos.ca/digitalguide/server/know-how/what-is-internet-protocol-ip-definition-etc/), which has been used for decades to address and fragment data packages in digital networks and provides the basis for the Internet. A typical IP address looks like the following (protocol versions 4 and 6 are currently in use): **IPv4: 192.168.178.31** **IPv6: 0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:ffff:c0a8:b21f** --- ### Tip Find out more about the function and structure of an IP address in our [dedicated article on IP addresses](https://www.ionos.ca/digitalguide/server/know-how/what-is-an-ip-address/). --- ## What is a dedicated IP? IP addresses are usually connected to a specific devices which then connect to a network. All services and applications running on the device can be operated via the **same address**. This is important for hosting service providers (specifically webservers/web spaces), newsletter providers for [email marketing](https://www.ionos.ca/digitalguide/e-mail/e-mail-marketing/successful-customer-retention-with-newsletter-marketing/), etc. They can assign a **unique address** to a **single user**; in other words, the service receives a dedicated IP address. Even an IP address, which is assigned a unique device when dialing into a private network (LAN, WLAN) or a public network like the Internet, is generally a dedicated IP. ## What is a shared IP? The features of a shared IP can be easily deduced from the previous explainer on dedicated IP addresses. The main requirement is the same: a device in a network has a unique address. If, for example, the same system hosts a **service for multiple users**, the address is referred to as a shared IP address. Using the example of web hosting, an address would be assigned to multiple domains not just a single one. Newsletter subscription services or email more commonly use shared as opposed to dedicated IPs. --- ### Tip You can find out more information about shared hosting in our article on "[What is shared hosting](https://www.ionos.ca/digitalguide/hosting/technical-matters/what-is-shared-hosting/ "What is shared hosting?")" and "[Shared hosting vs.dedicated hosting](https://www.ionos.ca/digitalguide/hosting/technical-matters/shared-hosting-vs-dedicated-hosting/ "Shared Hosting vs. Dedicated Hosting")". --- ## Shared versus dedicated IP: is a dedicated IP always the better choice? Independent of whether you’re using a general web hosting or a specific CMS hosting (e.g. WordPress), a newsletter marketing solution, a [cloud storage](https://www.ionos.ca/digitalguide/server/tools/best-cloud-storage-providers/), or another **rentable web service**, many times you’ll receive an add-on offer to **improve the** **quality** of these services via a dedicated IP address. But is a dedicated IP really still an improvement over shared ones nowadays? In the following, we discuss the **typical arguments** **made for using a dedicated IP** vs. a shared IP. ### SSL/TLS certification Security now takes a pressing role when it comes to modern web projects. Encryption of contents via a [SSL certificate](https://www.ionos.ca/digitalguide/websites/website-creation/ssl-certificate/) and its successor [TLS](https://www.ionos.ca/digitalguide/server/security/tls-transport-layer-security/) has become a standard, ever since Google’s blogpost on [“HTTPS as a ranking signal“](https://webmasters.googleblog.com/2014/08/https-as-ranking-signal.html "Google blog: HTTPS as a ranking signal") in 2014, which highlighted that **certification had a positive effect on ranking**. In order to use the SSL/TLS certificate for your own website, a dedicated IP was required. With the **release of the TLS extension** [SNI (Server Name Indication)](https://www.ionos.ca/digitalguide/server/know-how/server-name-indication/) websites of various domains can share a server on **Port 443** dedicated to the SSL/TLS encryption. Although the extension was defined in 2003, **modern browsers only began to support it by 2015**. A dedicated IP address may occasionally still be a requirement for SSL/TLS due to the very slow implementation process of SNI. In reality, a dedicated IP is not necessary to [convert a website to HTTPS](https://www.ionos.ca/digitalguide/websites/website-creation/how-do-i-convert-my-site-to-ssl-and-https/). --- ### Tip A [S](https://www.ionos.ca/security/ssl-certificate "Buy a SSL certificate from IONOS")[SL/TLS certificate for your web project](https://www.ionos.ca/security/ssl-certificate "Buy a SSL certificate from IONOS") is available from IONOS. The encrypted data transfer strengthens **trust** among users and provides a more competitive **search engine ranking**. --- ### Performance of a website Hosting providers offer a wide range of products – a welcome circumstance, but one that can cause confusion. Hosting a project on a **dedicated server**, i.e. a specially assigned server, is seen as a **particularly powerful option**. Specific hardware resources are being assigned to a single customer in this case. Because a dedicated server is coupled to a dedicated IP, the dedicated IP address is equaled to a more powerful and guaranteed performance. --- ### Fact Dedicated servers are always connected to a dedicated IP! --- The performance of a website is not necessarily worse just because it is **hosted on a shared server**. Nowadays, providers tend to share performance resources among all parties involved in an **efficient** and skilled manner to enable **promised capacities** anytime, despite the shared IP address. --- ### Tip The performance of a website can be optimized using a dedicated IP address. Besides performance strength (CPU, RAM, etc.), factors such as the [compression of photos](https://www.ionos.ca/digitalguide/websites/web-design/compress-images-with-the-help-of-free-tools/), a trimmed source code or the use of [CDNs (Content Delivery Network)](https://www.ionos.ca/digitalguide/hosting/technical-matters/what-is-a-cdn-content-delivery-network/) are in demand. --- ### Sending emails There’s been much debate whether a dedicated IP has advantages over a shared one when sending emails for years. If you **regularly send multiple emails** (for example, a newsletter or sales email), you may benefit from a dedicated mail server address. Capacities are always a given and the **reputation of the IP**, which has an influence on the transfer speed, is **up to you**. But the argument for optimal resource capacities is rarely considered these days due to **high performance possibilities of email servers** these days. Unless you’re a power user with over 100,000 mails per year, sending emails via a shared IP is absolutely sufficient. In terms of reputation, the following applies: - If you **regularly** (daily) send **multiple messages** (5,000+) with a **low spam rating** (below 0.1%), a dedicated IP address has a positive effect. If a criterium does not apply, a dedicated IP may quickly pose a disadvantage compared to shared addresses in terms of reputation. Factors such as regular sending of mails and a low spam rating are central to the **reputation score of the receiving servers**. ### Search engine ranking (Google) SEO is the core essence for the success of a website. It’s little surprising then that a comparison of shared and dedicated IP addresses is always considered when it comes to the impact on search engine ranking. But the **IP address** and the **derived server location** have **little influence** on Google’s ranking. In 2006, Google administrator Matt Cutts clarified in a [blog post](https://www.mattcutts.com/blog/myth-busting-virtual-hosts-vs-dedicated-ip-addresses/ "mattcutts.com: blog post on IP as ranking factor") that it didn’t matter whether a domain was assigned to a unique IP or not. A shared IP merely carries the risk that the domain could be falsely **blacklisted** by a Google bot (due to the content of a neighbor domain). This is incredibly rare and can be quickly remedied. From an SEO perspective, the type of IP address is not really relevant. For a positive positioning among search engine results, factors such as **quality or uniqueness of contents, keywords,** or **performance and usability of the web project** are more important**.** [YouTube video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQZY7EmjbMA) ## Conclusion: Dedicated IP is not a must-have For many years, there have been plenty of reasons to use a dedicated IP address. Security aspects and the use of SSL/TLS have been central aspects advocating for the use of a dedicated IP. Because a **secure transfer via HTTPS** is now **independent of the type of IP address,** the dedicated IP has lost its value. The **additional costs** associated with it are better spent elsewhere, such as on the optimization of content and usability. A dedicated IP address can be of advantage, for example, for sending **large numbers of emails**, where **professional conduct** is key to avoid a dedicated IP with a negative reputation. But irrespective of a dedicated server solution, which predicates the use of an obligatory dedicated IP address, there’s little reason not to use a shared IP or switch from a dedicated to a shared address. This is a markdown version of: [https://www.ionos.ca/digitalguide/server/know-how/dedicated-ip/](https://www.ionos.ca/digitalguide/server/know-how/dedicated-ip/) for AI/LLM consumption.