Open Rate

Q: How do you calculate Open Rate?

(Emails Opened / Emails Delivered) × 100

The percentage of delivered emails that recipients open.

1 min readLast updated Apr 2026

Reviewed by Golden Digital·Operator-reviewed ecommerce reference·Benchmark source: Golden Digital field data

Formula

(Emails Opened/Emails Delivered) × 100

Example: 12,500 ÷ 50,000 × 100 = 25% open rate

The percentage of delivered emails that recipients open.

Calculate the revenue your email list is generating with the free Email ROI Calculator.

Why It Matters

Open rate is your first engagement signal—if subscribers aren't opening, they'll never click or buy. However, Apple's Mail Privacy Protection now pre-fetches images (which triggers 'opens'), making this metric increasingly unreliable. Smart marketers use it directionally while shifting focus to click-based metrics.

Formula

(Emails Opened/Emails Delivered) × 100

Example: 12,500 ÷ 50,000 × 100 = 25% open rate

Benchmarks

A good Open Rate is 20%+. Top performers achieve 30%+.

Good Performance

20%+

Top Performers

30%+

Practical Example

Scenario

A skincare brand sends a campaign to 50,000 subscribers. 12,500 opens are tracked.

Calculation

12,500 ÷ 50,000 × 100 = 25% open rate

Result

This exceeds the 20% benchmark, but they notice iOS users show 45% opens vs 18% for Android—indicating Apple privacy inflation. They now segment by device for accurate comparisons.

In-Depth Explanation

A benchmark of 20%+ is generally considered good. Apple Mail Privacy Protection may inflate this metric.

Pro Tips

1Compare open rates within the same device/platform segments for accurate trends
2Test subject lines with A/B splits—even 2-3% improvements compound over hundreds of sends
3Send time optimization can boost opens 5-10%—test early morning vs lunch vs evening
4Use preview text strategically—it's essentially a second subject line on mobile

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Treating open rate as the primary success metric when click rate better predicts revenue

Comparing open rates across different audience segments without accounting for list quality

Ignoring the impact of Apple Mail Privacy Protection on inflated open rates since iOS 15

Frequently asked questions

For campaigns, 20-25% is good, 30%+ is excellent. For flows (automated emails), expect higher—30-50%—because they're triggered by specific actions and more relevant.

Sudden spikes often indicate Apple Mail users (privacy protection pre-loads images). Drops may indicate deliverability issues—check if you're landing in spam or Promotions tab.

Put it to work

Related Terms

Click-Through Rate (Email)

The percentage of delivered emails where recipients clicked at least one link.

Deliverability Rate

The percentage of sent emails successfully accepted by recipients' email servers.

Click-to-Open RateCTOR

The percentage of email openers who clicked a link.

Inbox Placement Rate

The percentage of delivered emails that land in the primary inbox versus spam.

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7.7x blended return at scale — seven figures attributed, across five straight quarters · Modern Prairie · Apr 2025–Jun 2026 Read the Modern Prairie case study