42.7% open rate
example: 12,000 sent, 60 bounces, 5,100 unique opens, 240 unique clicks
| Emails delivered (sent minus bounces) | 11,940 |
| Open rate (unique opens / delivered) | 42.7% |
| Click rate (unique clicks / delivered) | 2.01% |
| Click-to-open rate (clicks / opens) | 4.7% |
Of 93 newsletter media kits that print an open rate, 41 print a lower one than 42.7% (44%). Their median is 45%, and the middle half print 35% to 52% (read October 25, 2026). These are the rates newsletters advertise to sponsors, not audited figures.
Cite this: Of 306 newsletter media kits with a printed ad price, 93 print an open rate: median 45%, middle half 35% to 52%. Read October 25, 2026; these are the rates newsletters advertise, not audited figures. Source: Book a Sponsor, https://bookasponsor.com/email-open-rate-calculator
The open rates newsletters print for sponsors
We read the advertise and media kit pages of 306 newsletters that print a price for an ad, and took the open rate each one states. 93 print one.
65 of the 93 kits print an open rate of 40% or more, and 15 print 60% or more. 30.4% of the kits print an open rate at all (93 of 306). We do not compare click rates: kits print clicks per email, clicks per open and clicks per ad under the same words.
read October 25, 2026 · one page per newsletter · rates as printed, not audited · newsletters only
Put your numbers in front of brands that buy
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How the calculator works
Delivered = emails sent - bounces. Open rate = unique opens / delivered x 100. Click rate = unique clicks / delivered x 100. Click-to-open rate = unique clicks / unique opens x 100. Your email tool reports unique opens and clicks, which count each person once; total opens count every time someone opens, so they run higher and do not belong in an open rate. With no bounce count, the calculator treats every email as delivered.
The comparison places your rate among the open rates printed on newsletter media kits: the share of kits that print a lower one. A newsletter chooses which number to print for sponsors, so the middle of these kits is the middle of what is advertised, not of all newsletters.
Where the numbers come from
The kits are the newsletter advertise and media kit pages our rate re-read saved on October 25, 2026: a newsletter's own page with at least one one-issue US dollar price, booking storefronts left out, one page per newsletter. Each rate is read by a fixed rule on the page text (a percentage next to the words open rate), never by a model. When the number after the words open rate is a click figure, the rule reads the number before them, and a line such as "top 20% open rate" is left out. Where a kit prints a range, such as 45 to 55%, the rule takes the second number. Apple Mail Privacy Protection inflates open counts on lists with Apple Mail readers, and these kits may include them; Litmus puts it at about 55 to 60% of all email opens (read November 4, 2026).
Questions
How do you calculate email open rate?
Divide unique opens by emails delivered and multiply by 100. Delivered is the emails you sent minus the ones that bounced. 5,100 unique opens on 11,940 delivered emails is 5,100 / 11,940 x 100 = 42.7%. Use unique opens, which count each person once, not total opens.
What is a good open rate for a newsletter?
Among newsletters that sell ads, 45% is the middle: half of the 93 media kits that print an open rate show more and half show less. The middle half print 35% to 52%, and 65 of 93 print 40% or more. These are the numbers newsletters choose to show sponsors, so they may lean high.
Why is my open rate so high?
Apple Mail Privacy Protection loads every email's images on Apple's servers, which counts as an open whether or not the person read it. Litmus says it affects about 55 to 60% of all email opens (read November 4, 2026). Lists with many Apple Mail readers show high open rates. Clicks are not affected, so a sponsor will look at those too.
What is the difference between click rate and click-to-open rate?
Click rate divides unique clicks by emails delivered. Click-to-open rate divides unique clicks by unique opens, so it says how many of the people who opened went on to click. 240 clicks on 11,940 delivered emails is a 2.01% click rate; on 5,100 opens it is a 4.7% click-to-open rate.
Should my media kit show open rate or clicks?
Both, with how you counted them. 93 of the 306 kits we read print an open rate. Click figures on kits are harder to compare: some print clicks per email, some clicks per open, some clicks per ad, all as "click rate". Say which one yours is. A sponsor paying for one issue can care more about clicks on its own link than about opens, so say what a past ad got if you can. The media kit examples show how 12 newsletters lay it out.
Is anything I type stored?
Your entries travel in the page address and the result is built from them. We don't ask for an account, and ordinary web server logs can record a page address, so leave out anything private.
Sources
- Open rates: 306 newsletter media kit and advertise pages, read October 25, 2026 as described above.
- Apple Mail Privacy Protection: Litmus email client market share, read November 4, 2026.
Turn the open rate into a booked slot
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Next: price an ad per 1,000 opens and see how 12 newsletters show their rates.