# Cold Email Benchmarks 2026: Every Public Report Compared > 23 public cold email and LinkedIn benchmark reports side by side: sample, period, how each counts a reply, and why the numbers disagree. Checked Oct 2026. Source: https://sellsuccessfully.io/cold-outreach-benchmarks/compared/ 23 reports opened at the source · checked 20 October 2026 ## Every public cold email benchmark, *compared* Instantly says 3.43%. Belkins says 0.45%. Both are right, because they're dividing by different things. Here's every public cold email and LinkedIn benchmark I could find and open, with its sample, its period and its definition of a reply, so you can quote the right one. **Wouter van de Velde**14 years in sales, 8 of them B2B SaaS In short There's no single cold email reply rate. The 2025 and 2026 reports built on logged data run from 0.45% to 4.5%, and most of that spread is the denominator: emails sent, delivered, recipients, contacts or campaigns. Quote a number together with its definition, or don't quote it. 23 reports compared (17 email, 6 LinkedIn) 0.45 to 4.5% reply rates in the 2025-26 logged reports 0 public reports with a Dutch reply rate ## What this means for you **Compare like with like, or not at all.** Before you hold your reply rate against a vendor's, check what they divide by. A rate per delivered email, with auto-replies removed, is a different number from replies per email sent, and both differ from a median of campaigns. **Averages flatter, medians tell you where you are.** Smartlead's median sender gets 0.74%; its top 10% get 2.63%. Instantly's 3.43% is an average. If you're a normal sender, the median is your benchmark. **Stop reporting opens.** Belkins switched open tracking off for its whole study, Woodpecker warns opens are distorted by Apple Mail Privacy Protection, and Snov.io saw reply rates go from 1.08% to 2.36% after switching tracking off. **The shape agrees even where the levels don't.** Every report with a per-step split has the first email as the best single email, and follow-ups bringing in a big share: 42% of replies at Instantly, 58.6% at Belkins, 57% of positive replies at Saleshandy, 29.7% in our data. ## The cold email reports side by side Current platform and agency reports first, older and survey-based ones further down. Every figure is linked; quotes are the source's own words. Scroll the table sideways on a phone. | Report | Data | Sample | Period | Headline reply rate | What it divides by | Open rate | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Instantly](https://instantly.ai/cold-email-benchmark-report-2026) Cold Email Benchmark Report 2026, updated 12 Jan 2026 | Platform | "billions of cold email interactions across thousands of active workspaces" | 1 Jan to 18 Dec 2025 | **3.43% average** | "all replies received (including follow-up responses) divided by total emails sent". Auto-replies and bounces: not stated. | not reported | | [Hunter](https://hunter.io/the-state-of-cold-email) The State of Email Outreach 2026, no date on page, covers 2025 | Mixed | "31 million emails sent by Hunter users in 2025", plus surveys (size not stated) | 2025 | **4.5% average** | Not defined. Illustrated per recipient: "for every 1000 recipients that received a cold email in 2025, only 45 replied." | 30% average | | [Saleshandy](https://www.saleshandy.com/blog/cold-email-statistics/) I Analyzed 30.31 Million Cold Emails, updated 7 Oct 2026 | Platform | 30,314,409 cold emails, 40,006 sequences | Jul to Oct 2026 for the sample; the 4.5% is given for Jan to Jun 2026 | **4.5% average** | "Total replies received ÷ total emails delivered". Auto-replies are classified but not said to be excluded. | 21% average | | [Woodpecker](https://woodpecker.co/cold-email-benchmarks/) Cold Email Benchmarks, updated 5 Aug 2026 | Platform | 56,614 campaigns (reply), 37,000 campaigns (open) | last 90 days of 2025 | **1.5% median** | Not defined. "Medians per fixed company (firmid)"; "Agencies excluded unless stated otherwise." | 26% median | | [Smartlead](https://www.smartlead.ai/benchmarks) The State of Cold Email 2026, covers Jan to Jun 2026 | Platform | "more than 850 million emails sent through Smartlead"; "Only senders with at least 500 emails sent in the period are included." | Jan to Jun 2026 (from the page markup) | **0.74% median sender** | Per contact: "one reply per 135 contacts, a 0.74% reply rate." Bounces and auto-replies: not stated. | not reported | | [Belkins](https://belkins.io/blog/cold-email-response-rates) B2B cold email response rates, 2026 study, updated 26 Jun 2026 | Agency | 7,530,489 emails, 34,393 replies, Belkins client campaigns | Jan to Dec 2025 | **0.45% average** | "Reply rate = unique replies ÷ emails sent, excluding auto-replies and bounce notifications" | tracking switched off | | [Snov.io](https://snov.io/blog/cold-email-statistics/) Cold Email Statistics for 2026, updated 21 Sep 2026 | Mixed | "10+ million emails analyzed by Snov.io"; a separate test on 44 million emails | test: Feb to Mar 2025; rest not stated | **no headline rate** | Not defined. | n/a | | [Lavender](https://www.lavender.ai/blog/the-cold-email-benchmark-report) The Cold Email Benchmark Report, 30 Mar 2026 | Platform | 231,818 cold emails from about 50k inboxes using Lavender's email coach | up to 4 Feb 2026 | **by buyer segment only** | "excludes automated replies such as out of office (OOO) and bounced email notifications." | n/a | | [Reply.io](https://reply.io/wp-content/uploads/How-to-write-better-cold-emails-Reply-Research.pdf) How to write better cold emails (Reply Research), undated PDF | Platform | "millions of emails sent through our platform over the past few years" | not stated | **3.02% average** | Not defined. | n/a | | [BusySeed Research](https://busyseed.com/research/state-of-email-outreach-wording/findings/reply-rate-baseline-is-low-everywhere) State of Email Outreach: reply rate baseline, measured from 26 Jan 2026 | Logged | 287,790 cold emails in 45 sending groups | 26 Jan to 14 Aug 2026 | **1.2% pooled** | Replied or no reply; what counts as a reply is not defined. | n/a | | [Mailshake](https://mailshake.com/?p=16982) The State of Cold Email 2026, 1 Jan 2026 | Survey | "508 outbound professionals" | not stated | **1 to 4% (self-reported)** | Not defined. | n/a | | [QuickMail](https://quickmail.com/improve-cold-email-response-rates) Maximize Your Email Reply Rates, updated 1 Apr 2024 | Platform | "millions of emails sent through QuickMail" | not stated | **per sequence: half at 10% or less** | "the proportion of people who respond to your email campaigns." | n/a | | [Woodpecker](https://woodpecker.co/blog/follow-up-statistics/) These Stats Prove The Importance of Follow-up Emails, updated 21 Jan 2025 | Platform (claimed) | not stated | not stated | **9% without follow-up, about 13% with** | Not defined; reads as per campaign. | n/a | | [Sopro](https://sopro.io/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/The-State-of-Prospecting-2024-Sopro.pdf) The State of Prospecting 2024, Jan 2024 (PDF path) | Agency + survey | 22.1 million outreach emails in 2023; 75.2 million since 2016 | Mar 2016 to 22 Nov 2023 | **reports "lead rate", not reply rate** | Lead rate not defined. | n/a | | [Gong Labs](https://www.gong.io/blog/do-execs-really-reply-to-cold-email-here-s-what-the-data-says) Do execs really reply to cold email?, modified 27 May 2026 | Platform | "1M+ executive sales cycles" | not stated | **relative only** | Not defined. | n/a | | [Backlinko with Pitchbox](https://backlinko.com/email-outreach-study) We Analyzed 12 Million Outreach Emails, updated 16 Apr 2019 | Platform | 12 million outreach emails | not stated | **8.5% response** | Not defined. | n/a | | [Yesware](https://www.yesware.com/blog/benchmark-email/) 5 Lessons from 386,000,000 Emails, 18 Jan 2018 | Platform | 160.1M sent emails | Oct to Dec 2017 | **about 28%** | Not defined; all external email. | n/a | ## Why there's no median of medians I wanted one number for this page, and the definitions don't allow it. Of the six reports from 2025 and 2026 with logged data and a headline rate, no two divide by the same thing: - **Per email sent:** Instantly 3.43% (average, bounces apparently in), Belkins 0.45% (auto-replies out, bounces in). - **Per delivered email:** Saleshandy 4.5% (auto-replies apparently in). - **Per recipient of a sequence:** Hunter 4.5%. - **Per contact, median sender:** Smartlead 0.74%. - **Median of companies' campaigns:** Woodpecker 1.5%. A median of those six would mix averages with medians and emails with people, and it would be quoted everywhere within a month. So the honest answer is a range with its labels: 0.45% to 4.5%, and the definition decides where in that range a sender lands. If you write about this, quote the report whose definition matches what you're measuring. ## Where our own numbers sit **3.07%** first email reply rate, per delivered email, auto-replies out (6,155 emails) **2.07%** all sequence steps together, same definition (12,973 emails) **1.54%** bounce rate on 49,313 cold emails On the definition closest to Saleshandy's (per delivered email), our sequences got 2.07% across all steps and 3.07% on the first email, which puts the first email well above the per-step figures elsewhere: Belkins 0.59%, Smartlead 1.18%, Woodpecker's 1.0% median, Hunter's 2.9%. That's three companies with tight, mostly Dutch lists, not a platform average, and the method and limits are on the [follow-up statistics](https://sellsuccessfully.io/cold-outreach-benchmarks/follow-ups/) page. Per recipient, the definition Hunter uses, 4.2% of the 6,411 people we emailed replied, against Hunter's 4.5%. Our bounce rate of 1.54% sits under Hunter's 3.6% average and under the 2% Instantly tells senders to stay below; the [verification page](https://sellsuccessfully.io/cold-outreach-benchmarks/email-verification/) shows the list check behind it. ## LinkedIn outreach reports Three different reply rates travel under one name here: per request sent, per accepted connection, and per message. They differ by a factor of ten. | Report | Sample | Period | Acceptance | Reply rate (and per what) | Watch out for | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Expandi](https://expandi.io/blog/linkedin-outreach-benchmarks-2026/) LinkedIn Outreach Benchmarks 2026, 19 May 2026 | 13,218,869 requests, 6,730,447 messages, 13,302 accounts | May 2025 to Apr 2026 | **28.5%** | 3.0% per request (note reply); 10.4% per message | No maturity window: requests still pending count as not accepted. | | [Reachium](https://www.reachium.io/research/linkedin-outreach-benchmarks-2026) LinkedIn Outreach Benchmarks 2026, 6 Aug 2026 | 180,155 requests given 30 days to mature | 8 Jan 2025 to 6 Aug 2026 | **27.11%** | 27.55% per accepted connection (any inbound message) | Closest method to ours. Concentrated in a few large workspaces. | | [HeyReach](https://www.heyreach.io/blog/linkedin-outreach-benchmark-report-2026) LinkedIn Outreach Benchmarks 2026, 17 Sep 2026 | 96,051 campaigns | last 12 months | **23.85% average, 20.75% typical campaign** | 21.23% average, 18.10% typical, per accepted connection | Averages of campaigns, not pooled. Doesn't say whether replies to the note count. | | [SmartReach.io](https://smartreach.io/reports/state-of-linkedin-outreach/) The State of LinkedIn Outreach 2026, Aug 2026 | 500,000+ requests, 1,800+ campaigns | Jan to Jun 2026 | **26%** | "80% of accepted connections never send a single reply" | Six months, no maturity window. | | [Belkins](https://belkins.io/blog/linkedin-outreach-study) LinkedIn B2B outreach statistics, 2026 study, updated 29 Jun 2026 | 14,077 Belkins records from 34 client projects, plus 15.1M Expandi touchpoints | 2025 | **26% headline; 18.7% on Belkins' own campaigns** | 7.2% per message; "17.6% of those connected prospects replied" | Two datasets on one page. Country reply rates per message: Netherlands 10.5%, UK 6.1%, US 6.0%. | | [Waalaxy](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/attachment/file/1526002/_-E-book-Waalaxy-2025-_US_---Stat-prospection-Lkdn.pdf) Waalaxy 2025 LinkedIn prospecting statistics (e-book), 2025 (file name) | totals contradict each other (64M+ on the cover, 14M+ and 50M+ inside) | not stated | **no overall figure** | 16.2% per message | Top country by reply rate: Netherlands 22.67%. Doesn't say sender's or prospect's country. | | [Sell Successfully](https://sellsuccessfully.io/cold-outreach-benchmarks/linkedin/) LinkedIn outreach benchmarks, 20 Oct 2026 | 706 requests at least 35 days old | Jul to Sep 2026 | **21.1%** | 43.3% per accepted connection (263), any inbound message | Few accounts, mostly the Netherlands; replies to the note count. | Our acceptance rate over every request, 21.1%, sits at HeyReach's typical campaign and below the pooled platform figures. Our reply rate per accepted connection, 43.3%, is above every overall per-accepted figure published, including Reachium's 27.55%, which uses the closest method. The fair check is Reachium's own [connection note study](https://www.reachium.io/research/do-connection-notes-work): "Among accepted LinkedIn connections, 47.8% replied when the request carried a note against 25.5% when it did not." Every one of our requests carried a note, so like for like we're in the same range, not ahead. And one number has no public benchmark at all: people who had engaged with a post first accepted 65.8% of the time, on a small group of 38. No report I found splits acceptance by whether the person already knew the sender. ## Europe: what exists, and what doesn't Several of these vendors are European (Woodpecker is Polish, Waalaxy and lemlist French, Sopro and Cognism British), and almost all of them publish global numbers. What I found for Europe, read at the source: - **Cold email reply rates by country.** Only [Belkins](https://belkins.io/blog/cold-email-response-rates), on its own agency campaigns, per email sent: Poland 1.43%, Ireland 0.74%, Denmark 0.73%, UK 0.48%, against the US at 0.51%. - **Open rates by country.** [Woodpecker](https://woodpecker.co/cold-email-benchmarks/)'s medians: France 38%, Germany 36%, Poland 32%, UK 24%, US 23%. Opens, so read them with the Apple Mail caveat. - **LinkedIn reply rates by country.** [Belkins](https://belkins.io/blog/linkedin-outreach-study), on Expandi data, per message: "Continental European markets, particularly the Netherlands, Denmark, and Belgium, lead the table by a significant margin", with the Netherlands at 10.5% against the US at 6.0%. Waalaxy's e-book has the Netherlands top at 22.67%, on its own per-message definition. - **Cold calling.** [Cognism](https://www.cognism.com/reports/cold-calling-report-2026) reports "a standout 16% success rate in Europe throughout 2025" against a 2.7% industry average, without defining success. [Belkins](https://belkins.io/blog/cold-calling-benchmarks) found a 14.7% live-answer rate in the UK against 9.0% in the US. What I looked for and didn't find: any cold email reply rate for the Netherlands, Germany, France or Belgium; any LinkedIn acceptance rate by country; lemlist, Waalaxy, Brevo or Mailjet data on cold email results; any Dutch or German research body measuring outbound. Searches in Dutch and German turned up only pages repeating the US vendor figures. That gap is why our own data, mostly Dutch, is published at all. The wider European market numbers (buying online, cloud and AI adoption, the outbound rules by country) are on [European B2B sales statistics](https://sellsuccessfully.io/european-b2b-sales-statistics/). ## Report by report The detail behind each row: what else it says and why it doesn't line up with the others. ### [Instantly: Cold Email Benchmark Report 2026](https://instantly.ai/cold-email-benchmark-report-2026) Published updated 12 Jan 2026 Data Platform. "billions of cold email interactions across thousands of active workspaces" Headline 3.43% average Definition "all replies received (including follow-up responses) divided by total emails sent". Auto-replies and bounces: not stated. Also says Top quartile "5.5% reply rates", top 10% 10.7%+. "58% of all replies are generated from step one". Not comparable because Tool users only. Per email sent, bounces apparently in. An average, so a few very good senders pull it up. ### [Hunter: The State of Email Outreach 2026](https://hunter.io/the-state-of-cold-email) Published no date on page, covers 2025 Data Mixed. "31 million emails sent by Hunter users in 2025", plus surveys (size not stated) Headline 4.5% average Definition Not defined. Illustrated per recipient: "for every 1000 recipients that received a cold email in 2025, only 45 replied." Also says First message 2.9%. Three messages instead of one: "6.8% vs 3.3%". Bounce rate 3.6%. Not comparable because Per recipient per sequence, mostly small sequences. Auto-reply handling not stated. Open rate not corrected for Apple Mail Privacy Protection. ### [Saleshandy: I Analyzed 30.31 Million Cold Emails](https://www.saleshandy.com/blog/cold-email-statistics/) Published updated 7 Oct 2026 Data Platform. 30,314,409 cold emails, 40,006 sequences Headline 4.5% average Definition "Total replies received ÷ total emails delivered". Auto-replies are classified but not said to be excluded. Also says "57% of all positive replies came from follow-up emails, not the initial outreach." Not comparable because Delivered denominator, like ours, but the page contradicts itself on the period, and an update dated 7 October covers a sample running to October. ### [Woodpecker: Cold Email Benchmarks](https://woodpecker.co/cold-email-benchmarks/) Published updated 5 Aug 2026 Data Platform. 56,614 campaigns (reply), 37,000 campaigns (open) Headline 1.5% median Definition Not defined. "Medians per fixed company (firmid)"; "Agencies excluded unless stated otherwise." Also says First email 1.0% median, fourth email 0.5%. Open rate by country: France 38%, Germany 36%, Poland 32%, UK 24%, US 23%. Not comparable because A median of companies, not a pooled rate. Agencies left out, which removes the highest-volume senders. ### [Smartlead: The State of Cold Email 2026](https://www.smartlead.ai/benchmarks) Published covers Jan to Jun 2026 Data Platform. "more than 850 million emails sent through Smartlead"; "Only senders with at least 500 emails sent in the period are included." Headline 0.74% median sender Definition Per contact: "one reply per 135 contacts, a 0.74% reply rate." Bounces and auto-replies: not stated. Also says Top 25% 1.43%, top 10% 2.63%, top 5% 3.85%. First email 1.18%, seventh 0.33%. Not comparable because The median sender, per contact, including very high-volume senders. The most conservative platform number here, and the only one that shows the whole spread. ### [Belkins: B2B cold email response rates, 2026 study](https://belkins.io/blog/cold-email-response-rates) Published updated 26 Jun 2026 Data Agency. 7,530,489 emails, 34,393 replies, Belkins client campaigns Headline 0.45% average Definition "Reply rate = unique replies ÷ emails sent, excluding auto-replies and bounce notifications" Also says Countries: Poland 1.43%, Ireland 0.74%, Denmark 0.73%, US 0.51%, UK 0.48%. Same emails in its [follow-up study](https://belkins.io/blog/sales-follow-up-statistics): first email 0.59%, follow-ups 58.6% of replies. Not comparable because One agency's portfolio. Per email sent, bounces in. Its 2024 edition counted per recipient, so the editions don't line up either. ### [Snov.io: Cold Email Statistics for 2026](https://snov.io/blog/cold-email-statistics/) Published updated 21 Sep 2026 Data Mixed. "10+ million emails analyzed by Snov.io"; a separate test on 44 million emails Headline no headline rate Definition Not defined. Also says Turning off open tracking raised reply rates from 1.08% to 2.36%. With and without follow-ups: "the same average reply rate (0.41%)". Not comparable because Own tests mixed with cited figures from other vendors; no single headline to compare. ### [Lavender: The Cold Email Benchmark Report](https://www.lavender.ai/blog/the-cold-email-benchmark-report) Published 30 Mar 2026 Data Platform. 231,818 cold emails from about 50k inboxes using Lavender's email coach Headline by buyer segment only Definition "excludes automated replies such as out of office (OOO) and bounced email notifications." Also says Reply rates broken out by buyer segment and email quality score. Not comparable because One-to-one emails written by individual sellers, not sequencer volume. The main table loads by script and isn't readable as text. ### [Reply.io: How to write better cold emails (Reply Research)](https://reply.io/wp-content/uploads/How-to-write-better-cold-emails-Reply-Research.pdf) Published undated PDF Data Platform. "millions of emails sent through our platform over the past few years" Headline 3.02% average Definition Not defined. Also says 54-word templates: 5.72%. Not comparable because No date, no sample size, no definition. ### [BusySeed Research: State of Email Outreach: reply rate baseline](https://busyseed.com/research/state-of-email-outreach-wording/findings/reply-rate-baseline-is-low-everywhere) Published measured from 26 Jan 2026 Data Logged. 287,790 cold emails in 45 sending groups Headline 1.2% pooled Definition Replied or no reply; what counts as a reply is not defined. Also says Across 33 groups: 0% to 4.5%, median 0.8%. Not comparable because Small, and whose emails they are isn't stated. ### [Mailshake: The State of Cold Email 2026](https://mailshake.com/?p=16982) Published 1 Jan 2026 Data Survey. "508 outbound professionals" Headline 1 to 4% (self-reported) Definition Not defined. Also says "Nearly half of senders don't track bounce rates". Not comparable because What senders say, not what they sent. ### [QuickMail: Maximize Your Email Reply Rates](https://quickmail.com/improve-cold-email-response-rates) Published updated 1 Apr 2024 Data Platform. "millions of emails sent through QuickMail" Headline per sequence: half at 10% or less Definition "the proportion of people who respond to your email campaigns." Also says Top 25% of sequences: 20%+. Not comparable because A distribution of sequences, not a rate per email. No sample or period. ### [Woodpecker: These Stats Prove The Importance of Follow-up Emails](https://woodpecker.co/blog/follow-up-statistics/) Published updated 21 Jan 2025 Data Platform (claimed). not stated Headline 9% without follow-up, about 13% with Definition Not defined; reads as per campaign. Also says Experienced users: 16% one email, 27% with a follow-up. Not comparable because No sample, period or definition. Widely cited anyway. ### [Sopro: The State of Prospecting 2024](https://sopro.io/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/The-State-of-Prospecting-2024-Sopro.pdf) Published Jan 2024 (PDF path) Data Agency + survey. 22.1 million outreach emails in 2023; 75.2 million since 2016 Headline reports "lead rate", not reply rate Definition Lead rate not defined. Also says "In 2022, Sopro had an average lead rate of 2.9%". Computer Software 1.28%. Not comparable because A lead is not a reply. The 2026 edition sits behind a download form. ### [Gong Labs: Do execs really reply to cold email?](https://www.gong.io/blog/do-execs-really-reply-to-cold-email-here-s-what-the-data-says) Published modified 27 May 2026 Data Platform. "1M+ executive sales cycles" Headline relative only Definition Not defined. Also says "C-level executives are 30.2% less likely to reply to cold emails than non-executives." Not comparable because No absolute rate. Gong's larger cold email guide is gated. ### [Backlinko with Pitchbox: We Analyzed 12 Million Outreach Emails](https://backlinko.com/email-outreach-study) Published updated 16 Apr 2019 Data Platform. 12 million outreach emails Headline 8.5% response Definition Not defined. Also says One more follow-up: replies "boost" by 65.8%. Not comparable because Link-building outreach to bloggers, not sales, and from 2019 or earlier. ### [Yesware: 5 Lessons from 386,000,000 Emails](https://www.yesware.com/blog/benchmark-email/) Published 18 Jan 2018 Data Platform. 160.1M sent emails Headline about 28% Definition Not defined; all external email. Also says Denmark 38%. Not comparable because All business email to people outside the sender's domain, not cold outreach. Still quoted as a cold email figure. ## Checked and left out - **No own data:** lemlist's cold email benchmarks ("Every number in this article comes from a named, public source"), Apollo, Overloop, Martal, Klenty, Linked Helper, Leadriver and Cognism's LinkedIn statistics all cite other vendors. - **Gated or unreadable:** Sopro's State of Prospecting 2026 and Gong's 85-million-email guide sit behind forms; Sales.co's original study returned a 404. - **No sample or period:** Outreach's "Icebox" post, Orum. - **Not about reply rates:** Salesloft's 2026 benchmark (a survey of 500 US decision-makers) and the Bridge Group SDR report (a survey of activity and quota). - **Older editions:** Hunter's State of Cold Email 2025 (11 million emails from 2024, "the average reply rate to a campaign is 4.1%") is replaced by the 2026 edition above. ## Method - **Inclusion.** A report is in if it publishes figures from its own data (logged or surveyed) on a page anyone can open. Roundups that only repeat others are listed above and left out. - **Reading.** Every figure was read on the source page or PDF itself between 19 and 20 October 2026. Where a page doesn't define something, this page says "not stated" rather than guessing. - **No recalculation.** Figures are shown as published. Where a page contradicts itself (Saleshandy's period, Waalaxy's totals), both versions are named. - **Disclosure.** I sell outbound services, and our own numbers appear on this page. They're kept in their own rows and sections, with their own method pages. **How to cite this page** Sell Successfully, *Every Public Cold Email Benchmark, Compared*, https://sellsuccessfully.io/cold-outreach-benchmarks/compared/, checked 20 October 2026. If a report is missing or a figure has changed, tell me and I'll update the row. **Ask an AI about this page** [ChatGPT](https://chatgpt.com/?q=Summarize%20this%20page%20from%20Sell%20Successfully%20and%20list%20the%20key%20takeaways%3A%20https%3A%2F%2Fsellsuccessfully.io%2Fcold-outreach-benchmarks%2Fcompared%2F) [Claude](https://claude.ai/new?q=Summarize%20this%20page%20from%20Sell%20Successfully%20and%20list%20the%20key%20takeaways%3A%20https%3A%2F%2Fsellsuccessfully.io%2Fcold-outreach-benchmarks%2Fcompared%2F) [Perplexity](https://www.perplexity.ai/search/new?q=Summarize%20this%20page%20from%20Sell%20Successfully%20and%20list%20the%20key%20takeaways%3A%20https%3A%2F%2Fsellsuccessfully.io%2Fcold-outreach-benchmarks%2Fcompared%2F) [Google AI](https://www.google.com/search?udm=50&q=Summarize%20this%20page%20from%20Sell%20Successfully%20and%20list%20the%20key%20takeaways%3A%20https%3A%2F%2Fsellsuccessfully.io%2Fcold-outreach-benchmarks%2Fcompared%2F) [Grok](https://grok.com/?q=Summarize%20this%20page%20from%20Sell%20Successfully%20and%20list%20the%20key%20takeaways%3A%20https%3A%2F%2Fsellsuccessfully.io%2Fcold-outreach-benchmarks%2Fcompared%2F) [Add Sell Successfully as a preferred source on Google](https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=sellsuccessfully.io) ## Questions ### What is the average cold email reply rate in 2026? There is no single average, because the reports divide by different things. The 2025 and 2026 reports built on logged data land between 0.45% (Belkins, agency campaigns, per email sent) and 4.5% (Hunter per recipient, Saleshandy per delivered email). Instantly reports a 3.43% average per email sent, Woodpecker a 1.5% median per company and Smartlead a 0.74% median sender per contact. Quote a figure with its definition. ### Why do cold email benchmarks disagree so much? Mostly the denominator. Some divide by emails sent, some by delivered emails, recipients, contacts or campaigns. Some report an average, which a few strong senders pull up, and some a median. Some count auto-replies, some exclude them, most don't say. Then the samples differ: tool users, one agency's clients, or a survey of what people believe they get. ### Which cold email benchmark is the most reliable? The ones that state their sample, period and definition. Belkins defines its reply rate exactly and switched open tracking off. Smartlead reports a median and the full spread. Saleshandy divides by delivered emails. Instantly has the largest sample but says little about how replies are counted. Surveys like Mailshake's measure belief, not results. ### Is there any European cold email benchmark data? Very little. No public report I could find gives a cold email reply rate for the Netherlands, Germany or France. Belkins gives a few country reply rates (Poland 1.43%, Ireland 0.74%, Denmark 0.73%, UK 0.48%), Woodpecker gives open rates by country, and for LinkedIn, Belkins (on Expandi data) and Waalaxy both put the Netherlands at or near the top for reply rate per message. ### What is a good LinkedIn connection acceptance rate? The 2026 platform reports put the typical rate between about 21% and 28.5%: HeyReach 20.75% for the typical campaign, SmartReach 26%, Reachium 27.11% on requests given 30 days to mature, Expandi 28.5%. Ours is 21.1% over every request, 18.6% for a cold list and 65.8% for people who had engaged with a post first (a small group of 38). ### Should I still track cold email open rates? Not as a success measure. Woodpecker notes open rates are affected by Apple Mail Privacy Protection, Belkins switched open tracking off for its whole study, and Snov.io found that turning off open tracking raised reply rates from 1.08% to 2.36%, because the tracking pixel itself hurts deliverability. ## Related [Data **Our cold outreach benchmarks** Read more →](https://sellsuccessfully.io/cold-outreach-benchmarks/) [Data **Cold email follow-up statistics** Read more →](https://sellsuccessfully.io/cold-outreach-benchmarks/follow-ups/) [Data **LinkedIn outreach benchmarks** Read more →](https://sellsuccessfully.io/cold-outreach-benchmarks/linkedin/) [Data **B2B email verification stats** Read more →](https://sellsuccessfully.io/cold-outreach-benchmarks/email-verification/) [Data **European B2B sales statistics** Read more →](https://sellsuccessfully.io/european-b2b-sales-statistics/) [Blog **B2B cold email law, country by country** Read more →](https://sellsuccessfully.io/blog/cold-email-gdpr-europe/) ## Where does *your* reply rate sit? Send me what you're running and I'll record a 10-minute video on where it loses replies. Free. [Free video audit](https://sellsuccessfully.io/free-audit/)