Email deliverability benchmarks
General industry reference ranges for the metrics that matter, with honest notes on how to read them. Use as guidance, not gospel.
A healthy programme usually sits under about 2% hard bounces, under about 0.1% spam complaints, and over 95% inbox placement. Open and click rates vary widely by industry, list quality and offer, so compare to your own baseline first and to category ranges second.
The figures below are widely used industry reference ranges, not Fortitude Send proprietary statistics. We are working on our own operator benchmark report and will publish it here when it is ready.
Reference ranges
| Metric | Healthy | Watch | Problem | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hard bounce rate | Under 2% | 2% to 5% | Over 5% | Persistent invalid recipients. List hygiene is usually the cause. |
| Soft bounce rate | Under 5% | 5% to 10% | Over 10% | Transient issues such as full mailbox or temporary defer. Watch the trend. |
| Spam complaint rate | Under 0.1% | 0.1% to 0.3% | Over 0.3% | Gmail in particular treats anything over 0.3% as a serious problem. |
| Unsubscribe rate | Under 0.5% | 0.5% to 1% | Over 1% | A healthy unsubscribe is normal; sudden spikes signal misalignment. |
| Open rate (consumer) | 20% to 40% | 10% to 20% | Under 10% | Varies hugely by industry, audience and how openers are measured post-MPP. |
| Click-through rate | 2% to 5% | 1% to 2% | Under 1% | Driven by offer fit and creative more than by deliverability. |
| Inbox placement rate | Over 95% | 85% to 95% | Under 85% | Measured via seed testing. The difference between sent and actually-read. |
How to use these
- Compare to your own baseline first. Your last quarter is the most useful benchmark you have.
- Compare to category ranges second. A B2B newsletter and a consumer offer programme should not be expected to look the same.
- Watch the trend more than the snapshot. Slow drift in bounces or complaints almost always precedes a reputation problem.
- If you sit in the Problem column on any row, stop sending and fix the cause before sending more. Volume on top of a problem makes it worse.
Related reading
What is a good email bounce rate?
The numbers, what they mean and how to bring them down.
What is a good spam complaint rate?
Where Gmail draws the line and how to stay well clear.
Inbox placement and seed testing
Measuring what really lands in the inbox.
FAQ
Why such wide ranges?
Because honest benchmarks have to be. Open and click rates vary hugely by industry, list source, offer category and how openers are measured since Apple's Mail Privacy Protection. Anyone quoting a single number for everyone is selling something.
How do my numbers compare to these ranges?
Compare like with like. A B2B newsletter and a consumer offer programme will sit in very different places. The most useful benchmark is always your own list, last quarter.
Will Fortitude Send publish proprietary benchmarks?
Yes. We are working on an operator benchmark report drawn from our own sends across publishers, affiliate operators and B2B lead generation lists. Until then, the ranges above are widely used reference points across the industry.
Want to know how your numbers compare?
Send us last quarter's stats. We will tell you honestly where you sit and what would move the needle.