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Email Open Rate Calculator
Work out your open rate, click rate and click-to-open rate in seconds. Then see why the open rate in your dashboard is probably higher than the real one, and which numbers to trust instead.
Calculate your open rate
- Delivered
- 4,940
- Bounce rate
- 1.2%
- Click rate
- 2.8%
- Click-to-open
- 7.6%
Open rate = unique opens ÷ (sent − bounced) × 100. Click rate uses the same denominator; click-to-open = clicks ÷ opens.
What is a good email open rate?
There's no single number. Benchmarks published by email platforms such as Mailchimp, Campaign Monitor and Klaviyo differ by industry, list type and how each platform counts opens, and they rose sharply after Apple introduced Mail Privacy Protection in 2021.
The most useful benchmark is your own history. Compare each campaign with your average over the last few months, to the same segment, on the same platform. A sudden drop usually points to deliverability (emails landing in spam), not the subject line.
Because opens are now unreliable, track clicks, replies and conversions as your main signal, and use opens mainly for A/B testing subject lines between two halves of the same list, where the distortion affects both sides equally.
Why your open rate is inflated
Opens are tracked with a tiny invisible image. When the image loads, the email counts as opened.
Since iOS 15 (2021), Apple Mail Privacy Protection downloads that image in the background for every email sent to users who turn it on, whether or not they read it. Every one of those messages registers as an open.
Move the sliders to see what that does to the number on your dashboard. The more of your list reads in Apple Mail, the further the reported rate drifts from reality.
If you like learning with sliders like these, ahaboo has narrated interactive explainers on how everyday things really work, from compound interest to why the seasons happen.
- Real opens 22
- Counted, but only Apple pre-loading 39
- Not opened 39
Your dashboard shows 61%. The true figure is 22%. That's 2.8× the real rate.
How to improve your email open rate
- Fix deliverability first. Authenticate with SPF, DKIM and DMARC and keep spam complaints low. An email in the spam folder can't be opened.
- Clean your list. Remove hard bounces and subscribers who haven't engaged in months, after a re-engagement email.
- Use a recognisable sender name. People open email from people and brands they know.
- Write a specific subject line and check it in the subject line tester.
- Set preview text that adds to the subject instead of repeating it.
- A/B test two different angles and keep what wins with your audience.
Frequently asked questions
How do you calculate email open rate?
Divide unique opens by delivered emails (sent minus bounced) and multiply by 100. For example, 1,850 unique opens from 4,940 delivered emails is a 37.4% open rate.
What is the average email open rate?
It depends heavily on industry, audience and platform. Published platform benchmarks vary widely and have risen since Apple Mail Privacy Protection began counting automatic opens in 2021. Compare against your own past campaigns first.
What is the difference between click rate and click-to-open rate?
Click rate is unique clicks divided by delivered emails. Click-to-open rate (CTOR) is unique clicks divided by unique opens, which shows how compelling the email content was to the people who opened it.
Why is my open rate so high?
Most likely Apple Mail Privacy Protection, which pre-loads tracking images and counts every email to opted-in Apple Mail users as opened. Some security scanners in corporate inboxes also open emails automatically.
Does the subject line affect open rate?
Yes, alongside sender name, preview text, timing and inbox placement. The sender and whether the email reaches the inbox usually matter more, but the subject line is the part you can improve on every send.