Two euros per month, cPanel included, "unlimited" in the slogan. What the sheet does not say: your store shares a public IP with hundreds of sites — some will send spam tomorrow, host phishing the day after, or fall to malware without you knowing. Your transactional email bounces. Your reputation follows the worst neighbor.
The invisible economics of low-cost shared hosting is pooling network reputation.
What sharing an IP implies
SMTP / email. RBL blacklist if neighbor spams — impact all accounts on IP.
Third-party filters. APIs, webhooks, B2B partners blocking suspect IP ranges.
Abuse. Collective suspension possible on serious incident — rare but documented.
Indirect SEO. No automatic Google IP penalty, but toxic neighbor = bad network neighborhood.
| Offer | IP | Hidden cost |
|---|---|---|
| Entry shared | Shared | Correlated reputation |
| Entry VPS | Often dedicated | Client administration |
| Dedicated IP add-on | +€2-5/month | Email peace of mind |
Who assumes the risk?
The host monitors abuse and sometimes isolates the culprit — not guaranteed in real time. You assume downtime or email bounce between detection and action.
Low price buys shared compute — not isolated IP reputation.
The peak: you rent a server, inherit neighbors
Decide and move forward without blind spots
Test IP reputation before email production launch, budget dedicated IP or VPS if transactional email or client compliance is critical, then see directory and hosting abuse investigation to understand how hosts handle problematic neighbors.
Frequently asked questions
What is a shared IP?
Several accounts on same public IP — common low-cost shared hosting. Neighbor behavior affects SMTP reputation.
Shared IP hurt SEO?
No automatic penalty; toxic neighbor = indirect risk. Dedicated IP reassures multi-site pro setups.
When dedicated IP?
Volume email, sensitive e-commerce, client compliance, blacklist — or after neighbor incident.
Check IP reputation?
MXToolbox, Spamhaus, Gmail/Outlook tests, ask host about sharing — dedicated option often cheap.
Tempting shared price? Spamhaus lookup on the IP — before first client send.