What is Open Rate?
Email Open Rate
Open Rate is the percentage of email subscribers who opened your email out of those it was delivered to.
Open Rate = (Unique Opens ÷ Delivered) × 100Ecommerce: 25-35% · SaaS: 30-42% · B2B: 28-40% · Non-profit: 35-45%
Why Open Rate matters
Open rate became less reliable after Apple's Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) inflates opens. Click rate is now more meaningful. Still useful for subject-line A/B tests.
Worked example
Plug a real number into the formula to see Open Rate in action:
Numbers are illustrative. Try our Email Drip Sequence Planner for your real numbers.
Common mistakes with Open Rate
- 1
Sending the same content to your whole list. RFM-segmented campaigns deliver 3-5× the revenue per send vs broadcast.
- 2
Measuring open rate as the success metric in 2026. Apple MPP made open rate noise; revenue per recipient is what counts.
- 3
Skipping welcome and abandoned cart flows. These two flows alone usually drive 25-35% of total email revenue.
How to improve Open Rate
Build core flows first: welcome (3-5 emails), abandoned cart (3 emails), browse abandonment, post-purchase, win-back.
Implement RFM segmentation (Recency × Frequency × Monetary) and tailor send cadence per segment.
A/B test send times by segment, not in aggregate. Engaged buyers and dormant buyers have different optimal times.
Common questions about Open Rate
What is Open Rate?▾
How is Open Rate calculated?▾
What is a good Open Rate benchmark?▾
Why does Open Rate matter for marketing teams?▾
Related terms
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