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February 24, 2025

What is a Shared IP Address?

Each user has a unique IP address that has significant importance; it connects your device to the internet and helps your device to transmit data on different devices. Your IP address contains information like your location, zip code, and region. An IP address is in the form of numbers that a computer can understand. DNS, Domain Name Server, acts like a translator when you enter the domain of any website you are searching. Since computers do not understand alphabets straightaway, DNS comes here to translate your domain into an IP address to connect with the website you are looking for. But do you know there is another type of IP address, which is a shared IP? How does it work, and what is the difference between a real IP and a shared IP? Also, what is dedicated IP vs Shared IP? Let’s uncover all these types and terms in this blog.

Moreover, we will know if IP sharing is or is not, and, importantly, if it is safe. However, using an unsafe network, your IP address can be revealed to anyone, including the online attacker who is ready to get your personal information to blackmail you to cause your financial loss. Using iProVPN IP makes your connection secure.

What is Shared IP?

An IP address is assigned by your internet service provider when he sets up your router. If that IP address is static, then it remains the same. However, the dynamic can be changed when you reconnect your router device. A shared IP address uses the same IP address on several domains. Most hosting companies usually use IP-sharing techniques to save costs. Different start-up businesses and websites make use of IP sharing at the personal level, as they are pocket-friendly and simple to manage. IP sharing makes web hosting efficient. You can also make a series of iProVPN IPs to increase the security of your website.

But how does a web server direct users to the correct domain if IP sharing is used? For this, there’s a method of name-based virtual hosting that allows users to host websites on one IP address. When a user enters the domain of the website, which has the same IP address. By the name of the website, entered servers identify the site. IP sharing makes web hosting efficient.

How IP sharing works in different scenarios?

  • IP sharing with Internet Provider

IPv4 recognizes devices on the network; it is version 4 of Internet Protocol. It allows a unique address for your device. However, there’s a limit of these addresses to about 4.3 billion addresses. A method ISPs usually use is CGNAT (Carrier-Grade Network Address Translation), which allows users to share the same IP to keep up the public IP addresses. Sometimes IP sharing can cause issues of blocking websites when other users are accessing from the same IP address.

  • IP Sharing with VPN

When you are sharing an IP address with a VPN for distinct purposes, virtual private networks (VPNs) also use IP sharing. Many users connect to a VPN server using the same public IP address. IP sharing increases security and improves resources. Shared IP combines your activity with other users so it’s difficult to track online activities.

  • IP sharing in hosting

Normally, IP addresses are shared in hosting, which saves a lot of hosting costs. In this, several domains are shared under one IP address. It is beneficial for small-scale websites. IP sharing is common in cloud hosting companies and WordPress hosting.

  • What is a dedicated IP?

Dedicated IP is used by solely one user or an individual organization. Dedicated IPs are dedicated to one use and can’t be shared with other users on the shared network. If you need a dedicated IP address to use at an individual level, then you have to pay extra to your internet service provider. Dedicated IP allows you to configure your security settings according to your needs. Organizations can control their network by adding strict rules on IP addresses.

Static-Dynamic-IP-Image

To decide quickly whether to use a dedicated IP or a shared IP, you must know the differences between both. Here are some of the comparisons for Dedicated IP vs. Shared IP so it will become easier for you to decide which one to use on top when.

The main distinction between dedicated IP and shared IP addresses is that they are private. All users have unrestricted access to shared IP addresses, and control is switched. Dedicated IP addresses, on the other hand, are set aside for a single organization.

In a lot of situations, a shared IP address is inexpensive and maintenance-free. In commercial settings, however, it makes far more sense to have a dedicated IP address.

  • Performance of Dedicated IP vs. Shared IP

Performance is great for dedicated IP as compared to shared IP. The performance of other websites won’t have an impact on yours because you are the only one utilizing the IP address. When using a shared IP, your site may become slower if one site receives a lot of traffic.

  • Security of Dedicated IP vs. Shared IP

A dedicated IP address vs. a shared IP address might have important safety measures. The best in terms of security is Dedicated IP because it is not shared with other websites. With a shared IP, however, your site may also be affected if another website is blocked due to spam or hacking. Whether you are using any of these, iProVPN IP increases the security of your internet surfing.

  • Cost of Dedicated IP vs. Shared IP

When choosing between a dedicated IP and a shared IP, cost is frequently an issue. While most basic hosting plans offer a shared IP, dedicated IPs are usually more expensive. In contrast, shared IP is more economical for personal blogs or tiny websites. However, for companies, the increased performance and security of a dedicated IP may make the additional expense worthwhile.

  • Reliability of Dedicated IP vs. Shared IP

A dedicated IP is more reliable. If one website has an issue with a shared IP, it might impact all of the sites on that IP. However, a dedicated IP makes sure that no one else may interfere with the stability of your website.

Advantages of shared IP

There are several advantages to shared IP addresses that allow you to:

  • Secure

By making it more difficult to monitor specific users, a shared IP address protects privacy. It becomes difficult for sites to identify you since several users share the same address. To enhance the security of your browsing, you can use iProVPN IP by connecting effortlessly.

  • Economical

By enabling web hosting companies and VPN services to assign a single public IP address to several users, shared IPs assist in saving costs by eliminating the need for individual IP addresses for every user.

  • Easy Configuration

Shared IPs are easy to set up and do not require any high technical knowledge. The technicalities for the setup are managed by the hosting platform itself. The user just has to click the options shown up on an email tool for hosting the admin panel.

  • The Choice for Low Scale Businesses

Shared IP is best when you have to send emails at low volume; it will not overload your server and is perfect for your websites. With iProVPN shared IP addresses, you can make your emails secure from malicious attacks.

  • Getting Around Geo-Restrictions

You can get around geo-restrictions and access material from other countries with the use of iProVpn IP Share IP. Websites find it more difficult to identify or prohibit certain users when several users seem to share the same IP address.

Disadvantages of Shared IP

  • Negative Reputation

Shared IP addresses have drawbacks, including the possibility of a negative reputation.
Anyone using the same IP address may be harmed if someone uses it maliciously, as by hacking or phishing. The entire IP address may be blocked by websites; however, if you use an iProVPN IP, then you can avoid all the hassle of using a shared IP.

  • Performance Issues

As multiple website users are using a shared IP, the server’s performance will be affected, and you will have to wait for a few minutes to open the site. If any user spammed emails from the shared IP, then that IP can be blacklisted or flagged. It can impact email delivery and performance for users using the same IP. Moreover, you can use an iProVPN IP to access your website without facing any performance issues.

  • Effect on SEO

Slow-performance sites can impact the overall SEO of your website. Search engines like Google and others are friendly to websites that have reliable SEO strategies. If your shared IP is blacklisted or flagged, then Google or any other search engine will show your website at the end of searches.

  • Less Customization

Since all the customization for the configuration of the shared IP is managed by the hosting provider or your internet service provider. You will not get full control over the DNS settings as it is only accessible from the control panel.

  • Difficult to Detect Issues

If one user on a shared IP is using it for spamming purposes, then all other websites will be negatively impacted. Your website on search engines can be ranked low, and the performance and credibility of the website will be highly affected.

Advantages of Dedicated IP

  • Avoids Spam

Dedicated IP avoids spam. Email platforms like Gmail and others look for the authenticity and reliability of an IP address. These email platforms check the history of an IP address to see if it is used to send spam or scam emails. Moreover, email platforms directly send emails to the receiver if the email is sent from a reliable IP address.

  • Instant Access

Dedicated IP improves the loading and doesn’t make you wait for long. Usually when you update the DNS settings, it takes about two days to get a whole update effective, and your website gets disconnected from the internet. However, iProVPN IP makes your online tasks more secure while DNS updates are going on. Using iProVPN IP allows you to connect with your website instantly without waiting for DNS updates. iProVPN IP will make the performance of your website faster.

  • Security with SSL

SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) encrypts data between the website and the user accessing the site. It keeps all the users. It is crucial in e-commerce sites to protect the user’s transactions and credit card details while maintaining trust.

  • Better Application Performance

Running third-party applications on a website through a shared IP can make your server space limited, so there may be a performance issue. Using a dedicated IP prevents you from performance issues while using third-party apps on your websites. This will not overload the server. And you can access apps smoothly on your websites. When using third-party apps, here iPropVPNB can make your browsing safe and secure from other online attackers.

  • Handling Traffic

With the dedicated IP, your traffic will be managed better; your website will be working separately on the same server, which will lessen the security risks that can occur with the websites working on the same server. Dedicated IP improves the overall search engine optimization as it will make your website great performance-wise.

Disadvantages of Dedicated IP

  • Low Volume History

Due to the low volume of history on the dedicated IP, your network provider can find you suspicious and flag your dedicated IP.  To make your dedicated IP address a strong reputation, however, it will take time, but for that, you need to send traffic and emails to your website gradually. Keep in mind it will not happen instantly.

  • Time Consuming & Costly

Getting a dedicated IP can be difficult; not all hosting providers offer dedicated IPs. If your website is on a large scale, then it is time-consuming and costly since you need to transfer all the website’s data and settings to the new hosting provider. And it is costly as it has a migration fee and hosting services fee.

  • Not Ideal for low-volume

Dedicated IPs are recommended when sending a large number of emails, However, if you send fewer emails,your ISP will detect you as suspicious or might blacklist you. Dedicated IP works well with large-scale businesses that already have a lot of traffic on their sites.

What is Real IP?

Real IP, also known as, is uniquely assigned by the internet service provider; it allows you to communicate with other different devices over the internet.

  • Performance of Real IP vs. Shared IP

While comparing Real IP vs. Shared IP, checking performance is important. Real IP is much more efficient than the shared IP. However, due to multiple users on a shared IP, performance is compromised. You can also use iProVpn IP to get better performance on your website.

  • Security of Real IP vs. Shared IP

Real IP is not shared with anyone, so it is more secure than the shared IP. It has fewer chances of data breaches and other security risks. Moreover, you can use an iProVPN IP to enhance your security on your real or shared IP addresses.

  • Cost of Real IP vs. Shared IP

Shared IPs are more affordable on Pocket, as these IPs are shared by a lot of users. Real IPs are more costly as they provide the best security and efficient performance. Shared IPs share resources on the server and make them overloaded ultimately; performance gets slower.

  • Configuration of Real IP vs Shared IP

Real IP requires more configuration setup; this configuration involves firewall settings and other network-related configurations. On the contrary, in shared IPs, most of the configuration settings are done by the hosting providers.

  • SEO Impact of Real IP vs. Shared IP

Real IPs help improve the SEO of the site, as a real IP is associated with one website only, so it helps in ranking your website on search engines, which includes the overall performance of the website. While shared IP negatively affects the SEO of the site, search engines rank them the lowest.

  • VPN Usage of Real IP vs. Shared IP

VPN services like iProVPN can be a good choice for both real IP and shared IP. For both, iProVPN IP can be used to make your browsing experience secure and private. By using iProVPN IP on a real or shared IP, your actual IP will not be revealed to anyone. With full anonymity and security, you can access the internet. On shared IP, it will hide your activities from other users who are using the shared IP.

  • Reliability of Real IP vs. Shared IP

Among Real IP vs. Shared IP, real IP is more reliable than shared IP; it is used by individual users, unlike shared IP. When you are using a real IP, your online activities are not impacted by other users’ activities, and there is less chance that your real IP will get blacklisted. However, shared IP is less reliable; several people are using one IP provided by an ISP. If one user is involved in spamming, then it will impact other users’ sites as well, and your IP will be considered suspicious and will be blacklisted.

Conclusion

Shared IPs are reliable for small-scale businesses; you can get them easily from any hosting platform. Dedicated IP vs. Shared IP It depends on your needs and budget and which IP works for you well. Dedicated IPS is ideal for large business websites that want their websites to work securely without the interference of multiple servers. Moreover, dedicated IPs make your website’s SEO improved. Shared IPs make a website’s SEO impact negative. Both of the IPs have differences in their configurations. Dedicated IP requires a lot of networking knowledge, while the hosting providers already configure shared IPs and have limitations in their customization. Among Dedicated IP vs. Shared IP, Shared IP’s performance tends to be slower than that of Dedicated IP since multiple users use Shared IP, so it overloads the server, unlike Dedicated IP, which the server hasn’t loaded, and performance is smooth on the sites. 

For enhanced security and anonymity, using a service like iProVPN IP can help improve your experience, whether you’re using a real or shared IP. iProVPN IP will conceal your real IP with the VPN IP and make you watch your favorite content from around the world.

FAQs

  • Can I save the iProVPN IP to use on my website?

    Yes! iProVPN IP is safe; it separates your online activities and actual IP from the user using the same server. It lessens the security risks from the neighboring sites using the shared IP.

  • Does iProVPN IP bypass all geo-restrictions?

    By using iProVPN IP, you can easily bypass all the geo-restrictions in your region. It will conceal your real IP with the iProVPN I.P., and you can watch anything with full anonymity.

  • Dedicated IP vs. Shared IP: Which is better?

    The usage of dedicated and shared IPs can be decided based on needs and requirements. If you have a large-scale online availability with strong website traffic, then you should opt for a dedicated IP. However, among Dedicated IP vs. Shared IP, if you want to make a website for your personal use, then Shared IP will be your go-to option.

  • What is the advantage of IP sharing?

    The advantage of using shared IP is that it is cost-effective, and for small businesses or start-ups, it’s an ideal thing.

  • Is iProVPN IP static or dynamic?

    iProVPN IP has dynamic IPs that are switchable to other countries’ VPN servers when you want to switch.

  • Is iProVPN IP easy to use on a phone?

    Yes, iProVPN IP is easy to use, and you just need to install the iProVPN application on your phone or any other device. Then, sign in and connect to a preferred country server and then connect to a VPN.

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