unique IP with same host vs unique hosting account

[Peter Willis]

You want me to provide evidence that it would be obvious to a Google Engineer (or even a robot) inspecting the backlinks to your site... that they were all owned by you if all that was different was the last part of the IP?

Erm, yes.

[Self Made]

Evidence that it's important to rankings actually.

[Peter Willis]

I didn't say anything about it being important to rankings. I said HostGator won't give you different Class-C IPs.

Though even if I had, I don't really think it's neccessary to provide evidence for anything on here (especially in the tone you demanded it) - it's a discussion forum, not WikiPedia. And everyone is going to have their own opinions about what aids ranking.

[Self Made]

some hosts, such as dreamhost, allow you to assign unique IPs (for a cost) to as many domains as you want under one hosting plan.

Surprisingly few hosts offer this option. I checked a few of the most highly regarded host and Dreamhost was the only one: $4/IP on their basic or VPS plans... and the VPS plans start at $15! The IPs could be cheaper,* but that still makes them a remarkable value.

None of the other top hosts I checked offer this below the VPS level. One of them referred me to SEOHosting.com, though, which offers different c-classes, not just IPs. It's more expensive than other options though.

* HostGator's VPS plans offer extra IPs at $1.