How to Calculate Email Unsubscribe Rate

Email Unsubscribe Rate Calculator

Note: This should be Sent Emails minus Bounced Emails.
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How to Calculate Email Unsubscribe Rate

Understanding your unsubscribe rate is critical for maintaining a healthy email list and high sender reputation. This metric represents the percentage of recipients who chose to opt-out of your mailing list after receiving a specific email campaign.

The Unsubscribe Rate Formula

To calculate the unsubscribe rate manually, use the following formula:

(Total Unsubscribes / Total Delivered Emails) x 100 = Unsubscribe Rate %

Calculation Example

Suppose you sent a newsletter to 10,500 subscribers. Out of those, 500 emails bounced, meaning 10,000 emails were successfully delivered. If 20 people clicked the "unsubscribe" link in that email, your calculation would be:

  • Unsubscribes: 20
  • Delivered: 10,000
  • Math: (20 / 10,000) = 0.002
  • Result: 0.002 x 100 = 0.2%

What is a Good Unsubscribe Rate?

While benchmarks vary by industry, a general rule of thumb for email marketing performance is:

Rate Health Status
Under 0.2% Excellent
0.2% – 0.5% Average
Above 0.5% High (Requires Review)

Why Recipients Unsubscribe

If your rate is creeping above 0.5%, consider investigating these common triggers:

  • Frequency: You are sending emails too often.
  • Relevance: The content no longer matches what the user signed up for.
  • Design: The email is not mobile-friendly or looks like spam.
  • Expectations: The user didn't realize they were opting into a recurring list.
function calculateUnsubscribeRate() { var unsubscribes = document.getElementById('unsubscribes_count').value; var delivered = document.getElementById('delivered_count').value; var resultDiv = document.getElementById('calculator-result'); var rateValue = document.getElementById('rate-value'); var rateMessage = document.getElementById('rate-message'); var u = parseFloat(unsubscribes); var d = parseFloat(delivered); if (isNaN(u) || isNaN(d) || d d) { alert('Unsubscribes cannot be greater than delivered emails.'); return; } var rate = (u / d) * 100; var formattedRate = rate.toFixed(3) + '%'; rateValue.innerHTML = formattedRate; resultDiv.style.display = 'block'; if (rate <= 0.2) { rateMessage.innerHTML = 'Status: Excellent Performance'; rateMessage.style.color = 'green'; } else if (rate <= 0.5) { rateMessage.innerHTML = 'Status: Average Performance'; rateMessage.style.color = '#856404'; } else { rateMessage.innerHTML = 'Status: High Unsubscribe Rate – Investigation Recommended'; rateMessage.style.color = '#721c24'; } }

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