Metrics defined
What each rate in your reports means and how it's worked out.
Here’s what each number in your reports means and how it’s worked out. Most are the same everywhere. Bounce rate is the exception: your Dashboard and a campaign’s report count it differently, as explained below.
A rate that shows — instead of a number isn’t zero. It means there’s nothing to measure yet, such as no emails sent in that period.
Delivery, opens and clicks
| Metric | What it tells you | Formula |
|---|---|---|
| Delivered (delivery rate) | How many of the emails you sent were delivered | delivered ÷ sent |
| Open rate | How many delivered emails were opened at least once | unique opens ÷ delivered |
| Click rate | How many delivered emails had a link clicked | unique clicks ÷ delivered |
| Click-to-open rate (CTOR) | Of the people who opened, how many went on to click | unique clicks ÷ unique opens |
| Unsubscribe rate | How many delivered emails led to an unsubscribe | unsubscribes ÷ delivered |
Each person counts once for opens and once for clicks, however many times they do it. Treat open rate as a trend rather than an exact count: see Why are my open rates inflated?
The Dashboard’s “vs your average” figures compare your latest campaign with the same rates across every campaign sent in the period you picked.
Bounce rate: why it differs in two places
- Campaign report: Bounce rate (hard + soft) is (hard bounces + soft bounces) ÷ sent, the whole picture for that one send.
- Dashboard, Sending health: Hard bounce rate is hard bounces ÷ sent. Hard bounces are the ones that hurt your sending reputation, so the badge is judged on those.
So a campaign’s own report can show a higher bounce rate than it adds to the Dashboard. See Soft vs hard bounces.
Complaint rate
Complaints ÷ sent, on both screens. A complaint is someone marking your email as spam. A campaign report covers that one send; the Dashboard covers everything you’ve sent in the last 30 days.
Which period each number covers
- Engagement, Audience growth and the “vs your average” figures on the Dashboard follow the 7 days, 30 days or 90 days you pick.
- Sending health always covers the last 30 days, including automation emails and campaigns still sending.
- Sent by automations on the Dashboard is a total for all time.
- On a campaign report, the Opened and Clicked cards are all time, while Links counts the first 30 days after the send.