Open Rate

The Open Rate is historically one of the most important metrics in email marketing. It represents the percentage of subscribers who opened a specific newsletter out of the total number of emails successfully delivered.

For many years, creators used the open rate as the primary “thermometer” for their newsletter’s health. If your open rates were climbing, your subject lines were working. If they were falling, you likely had a deliverability issue or your content was becoming stale.

How is Open Rate Calculated?

The formula is straightforward: Unique Opens / (Total Emails Sent - Bounced Emails) * 100

For example, if you send 1,000 emails and 50 bounce (don’t reach the inbox), your denominator is 950. If 200 people open the email, your open rate is approximately 21%.

The “Apple MPP” Impact

In late 2021, Apple introduced Mail Privacy Protection (MPP), which fundamentally changed how open rates are measured. Apple now “pre-loads” many emails on their servers to protect user privacy. To an email service provider, this looks like an “open,” even if the human subscriber never actually looked at the message.

Because of this, open rates in 2026 are often “inflated.” If 50% of your audience uses Apple Mail, your reported open rate might be 40%, even if only 25% of people actually read the email.

What is a “Good” Open Rate in 2026?

Benchmarks vary wildly by industry, but here are some general guidelines for modern newsletters:

• Health/Finance: 25% - 35%
• Entertainment/Lifestyle: 20% - 30%
• B2B/SaaS: 20% - 25%
• Hyper-niche/Personal: 40% - 60%

How to Improve Your Open Rate

If you notice your open rates are lower than your industry benchmark, focus on these three areas:

1. Optimize Your Subject Lines: This is the #1 lever. Use A/B testing to find what works. Curiosity, urgency, and personalization usually perform best.
2. Improve Deliverability: Ensure your technical setup (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) is correct so you aren’t landing in the spam folder.
3. List Hygiene: Regularly remove inactive subscribers who haven’t opened or clicked in 6+ months. A smaller, more engaged list is better for your sender reputation than a large, dead one.

The Shift to Click-Through Rate

Because open rates are no longer 100% accurate, many professional newsletter operators have shifted their focus to the click-through rate (CTR). A click is an intentional action that cannot be “faked” by a privacy proxy, making it a much more reliable metric for measuring true engagement in 2026.