In email marketing, bounce rate is the percentage of sent emails that are reported as undeliverable.
Example of email bounce rate
A campaign sends 2,000 emails and records 30 hard bounces plus 10 soft bounces. Its reported bounce rate is 40 ÷ 2,000 × 100 = 2%. Review the provider’s bounce reasons before sending again; failed delivery is different from an unopened message.
Formula
Email bounce rate (%) = (hard bounces + soft bounces) ÷ emails sent × 100
Why email bounce rate matters
Separate hard and soft bounce reasons to identify invalid addresses and temporary delivery problems. Follow the email provider’s suppression rules, correct permission and data-quality problems, and compare the same reporting window. A low bounce rate does not prove inbox placement.
Email delivery failures are different from GA4 bounce rate, which measures sessions that were not engaged.
Related terms
Sources
Frequently Asked Question
What does bounce rate mean in email marketing?
Email bounce rate measures failed deliveries. Divide the reported hard and soft bounces by emails sent and multiply by 100. For example, 40 bounces from 2,000 sent emails is 2%. This is different from bounce rate in website analytics.