Real benchmark data for email teams that want better targets.
This page uses public benchmark data from MailerLite's 2025 benchmark report, covering December 2024 through November 2025.
Dataset
3.6M+
campaigns analyzed
181K+
approved accounts
Benchmark span: December 2024 through November 2025.
Average open rate
43.46%
Average click rate
2.09%
Average CTOR
6.81%
Average unsubscribe rate
0.22%
Source note
MailerLite benchmark report
MailerLite's benchmark report covers 3.6M+ campaigns and 181,000+ accounts across all industries, spanning December 2024 to November 2025.
The optimization priorities below are Cresca's interpretation of that dataset, not third-party findings.
Overall benchmark
2024 vs 2025 performance
| Metric | 2024 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open rate | 42.35% | 43.46% | +1.11 pp |
| Click rate | 2.00% | 2.09% | +0.09 pp |
| Click-to-open rate | 5.63% | 6.81% | +1.18 pp |
| Unsubscribe rate | 0.08% | 0.22% | +0.14 pp |
Interpretation
Use the right metric for the right question
Opens are still useful as a directional signal, but click rate, CTOR, unsubscribes, and revenue-linked metrics are more reliable for judging actual campaign quality.
Delivery rate
Emails reaching recipient servers
Bounce rate
Failed delivery signal
Open rate
Recorded opens
Click rate
Recipient clicks
CTOR
Clicks among openers
Conversion rate
Desired action
Revenue per email
Revenue generated
Unsubscribe rate
List churn
Industry snapshot
Full 46-industry benchmark table
| Industry | Open rate | Click rate | CTOR | Unsubscribe |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agency | 40.52% | 1.85% | 6.74% | 0.21% |
| Agriculture & food services | 45.51% | 1.83% | 6.21% | 0.23% |
| Architecture & construction | 40.55% | 1.68% | 6.10% | 0.23% |
| Art gallery & museum | 50.43% | 2.66% | 6.28% | 0.33% |
| Artist | 49.23% | 2.52% | 7.45% | 0.27% |
| Author | 43.14% | 2.75% | 7.81% | 0.31% |
| Beauty & personal care | 38.40% | 0.95% | 3.91% | 0.23% |
| Blogger | 43.03% | 3.00% | 8.56% | 0.16% |
| Business & finance | 43.34% | 2.37% | 7.96% | 0.16% |
| Coaching | 48.07% | 1.42% | 4.90% | 0.30% |
| Computers & electronics | 35.29% | 1.37% | 4.83% | 0.17% |
| Construction | 39.95% | 3.53% | 12.38% | 0.27% |
| Consulting | 45.96% | 2.41% | 7.67% | 0.23% |
| Creative services | 47.69% | 1.87% | 5.53% | 0.29% |
| E-commerce | 32.67% | 1.07% | 4.01% | 0.18% |
| Educational institution | — | 1.93% | — | 0.17% |
| Entertainment & events | 46.00% | 1.28% | 3.70% | 0.24% |
| Games | 41.35% | 2.11% | 9.71% | 0.25% |
| Government | 48.52% | 3.05% | 8.44% | 0.22% |
| Health & fitness | 47.81% | 1.45% | 4.45% | 0.30% |
| Higher education | 43.98% | 2.15% | 9.15% | 0.10% |
| Hobbies | 53.25% | 3.30% | 8.45% | 0.23% |
| Home & garden | 39.18% | 1.75% | 7.05% | 0.23% |
| Insurance | 44.40% | 1.36% | 3.19% | 0.27% |
| Legal | 42.58% | 4.90% | 14.72% | 0.09% |
| Manufacturing | 37.36% | 4.22% | 14.82% | 0.30% |
| Marketing & advertising | 37.23% | 1.30% | 6.09% | 0.15% |
| Media | 42.97% | 4.10% | 12.92% | 0.10% |
| Medical/dental/healthcare | 43.75% | 2.25% | 7.31% | 0.20% |
| Music & musicians | 45.93% | 1.70% | 5.42% | 0.23% |
| Non-profit | 52.38% | 2.90% | 8.24% | 0.19% |
| Online courses | 43.10% | 1.39% | 5.23% | 0.23% |
| Other | 44.90% | 2.15% | 6.86% | 0.22% |
| Photo & video | 49.98% | 1.59% | 4.84% | 0.40% |
| Politics | 47.19% | 0.83% | 2.96% | 0.14% |
| Public relations | 47.18% | 2.02% | 6.18% | 0.14% |
| Publishing | 34.24% | 2.82% | 9.12% | 0.20% |
| Real estate | 40.37% | 1.72% | 6.72% | 0.16% |
| Recruitment & staffing | 45.26% | 1.68% | 5.29% | 0.24% |
| Religion | 55.71% | 2.95% | 7.58% | 0.13% |
| Restaurants & cafes | 44.32% | 1.06% | 3.28% | 0.39% |
| Retail | 37.47% | 1.27% | 4.51% | 0.22% |
| Software & web apps | 39.31% | 1.15% | 5.40% | 0.20% |
| Sports | 47.69% | 1.27% | 3.35% | 0.16% |
| Telecommunications | 37.21% | 1.49% | 4.54% | 0.34% |
| Travel & transportation | 30.10% | 1.68% | 6.34% | 0.13% |
Regional view
Regional benchmark table
| Region | Open rate | Click rate | CTOR | Unsubscribe |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Africa | 36.53% | 2.29% | 7.82% | 0.19% |
| Asia | 32.54% | 1.23% | 5.21% | 0.12% |
| Australia | 47.69% | 2.82% | 8.30% | 0.37% |
| Europe | 45.08% | 2.04% | 6.46% | 0.23% |
| LATAM | 31.97% | 1.40% | 6.56% | 0.10% |
| Poland | 36.05% | 1.46% | 6.63% | 0.17% |
| US & Canada | 44.49% | 2.14% | 6.73% | 0.20% |
Interpretive ranges
What counts as good performance
Open rate
Open rate under 20%
Investigate list quality, deliverability, and targeting.
Open rate 20–30%
Common lower range for broad campaigns.
Open rate 30–40%
Strong for many commercial campaigns.
Open rate 40–50%
Above the overall 2025 benchmark.
Open rate 50–60%
Very strong for many industries.
Open rate 60%+
Often seen in highly targeted campaigns.
Click rate
Click rate under 1%
Low engagement for campaigns designed to generate clicks.
Click rate 1–2%
Common range.
Click rate 2–3%
Around or above the overall benchmark.
Click rate 3–4%
Strong performance.
Click rate 4%+
High relative to the broad benchmark.
CTOR
CTOR under 4%
Low content engagement.
CTOR 4–7%
Moderate engagement.
CTOR 7–10%
Strong performance.
CTOR 10–15%
Very strong performance.
CTOR 15%+
Exceptional relative to broad benchmarks.
Calculator
What the benchmark means at scale
Use the 2025 all-industry benchmark to estimate what a large send might look like. This is illustrative, not predictive.
| Metric | Formula | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Opens | 1,000 x 43.46% | 435 |
| Clicks | 1,000 x 2.09% | 21 |
| Unsubscribes | 1,000 x 0.22% | 2 |
| Opens that click | 435 x 6.81% | ~30 |
Methodology
How to interpret the numbers
These benchmarks come from aggregated platform datasets and industry reporting. Results vary by industry, audience quality, sending frequency, geography, email type, and deliverability.
Open rates should be interpreted carefully because mailbox privacy protections can inflate reported opens. Click rate is usually the more stable engagement metric.
SPF
Authenticate the sending domain
DKIM
Sign outgoing mail
DMARC
Publish an authentication policy
Custom domain
Use a customer-owned sending domain
Bounce handling
Process hard bounces
Complaint handling
Suppress complainers
List hygiene
Remove inactive or bad addresses
Unsubscribe
Make unsubscribe easy
Optimization priorities
What to optimize next
AI is moving into the workflow, not just the copy box
AI adoption is spreading across segmentation, subject-line testing, send-time guidance, and production speed.
Production cycles are compressing
Teams increasingly ship within three days or less, which changes how campaigns are planned and approved.
Revenue and lifecycle metrics matter more
Open rates still matter, but the stronger story is revenue per email, list churn, complaint rate, and lifecycle value.
Relationship email keeps outperforming blasts
Newsletters, onboarding, and lifecycle emails continue to dominate the strongest programs.
Summary
A benchmark page built for SEO and actual decision-making
The strongest page structure here is data first: benchmark table, regional table, interpretive ranges, calculator, methodology, and trend context. That gives search engines and readers a useful research page instead of a thin landing page.