📌 What Is a Bounce Rate (and Why It Matters)?
Bounce rate in email marketing = % of emails that never reach the recipient's inbox.
There are two main types:
- • Hard bounce: Permanent issue (fake address, domain doesn't exist)
- • Soft bounce: Temporary issue (mailbox full, server error)
High bounce rate = 🚨 poor deliverability, lower sender reputation, and eventually: all your emails land in spam.
💡 Learn more about bounce types: Hard Bounce vs. Soft Bounce Guide
📈 2025 Average Bounce Rate by Industry
Based on aggregated data from over 1B+ emails across verified providers, here's how bounce rates stack up:
| Industry | Avg. Bounce Rate | Acceptable Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| SaaS / Tech | 1.3% | < 2% |
| E-commerce / Retail | 0.9% | < 1.5% |
| Real Estate | 2.5% | < 3% |
| Marketing Agencies | 1.8% | < 2.5% |
| Events / Webinars | 2.1% | < 2.5% |
| Education / Edtech | 1.2% | < 2% |
| Healthcare | 0.8% | < 1.2% |
| Non-profits | 2.9% | < 3% |
Rule of thumb:
Keep your bounce rate below 2% for healthy deliverability across all industries.
📊 Bounce Rate Trends & Insights
🏆 Best Performing Industries
- • Healthcare: 0.8% (highly regulated lists)
- • E-commerce: 0.9% (customer data quality)
- • Edtech: 1.2% (verified user bases)
⚠️ Higher Risk Industries
- • Non-profits: 2.9% (volunteer-sourced lists)
- • Real Estate: 2.5% (lead generation)
- • Events: 2.1% (rapid list growth)
📈 2025 Trend: Bounce rates increased by ~0.3% across all industries compared to 2024, mainly due to stricter ISP filtering and increased spam trap deployment.
⚠️ What Causes a High Bounce Rate?
🔴 Data Quality Issues
- • Old or purchased email lists
- • Typos or invalid addresses (e.g., gnail.com)
- • Spam traps or role-based emails (info@, sales@)
- • Disposable or temporary email addresses
🟡 Technical Issues
- • No email verification before sending
- • Missing DNS records (SPF, DKIM, DMARC)
- • Poor sending reputation
- • Inadequate list hygiene practices
🔍 Learn about authentication setup: DKIM, SPF & DMARC for Beginners
🛠 How to Fix and Prevent High Bounce Rates
| Problem | Solution |
|---|---|
| Fake emails / typos | Use real-time validation API |
| Legacy lists | Run bulk validation before sending |
| Catch-all domains | Score emails by risk |
| You're already blacklisted | Follow blacklist recovery steps |
| Poor authentication | Set up SPF, DKIM, DMARC |
Prevention
Validate emails at collection point
Clean-up
Regular list hygiene maintenance
Monitor
Track deliverability metrics
👉 Lero checks every email before you hit send—in 50ms or less.
📈 How to Measure Your Bounce Rate
Quick Formula:
Bounce Rate = (Total Bounces ÷ Total Emails Sent) × 100
Example Calculation:
- • Total emails sent: 10,000
- • Hard bounces: 50
- • Soft bounces: 75
- • Bounce rate: (125 ÷ 10,000) × 100 = 1.25%
Verdict:
✅ Good! 1.25% is below the 2% threshold
📚 Step-by-step guide: How to Measure Your Deliverability Rate
🎯 Industry-Specific Best Practices
💼 B2B / SaaS
- • Validate emails at signup
- • Avoid role-based addresses
- • Use double opt-in for trials
- • Target: <1.5% bounce rate
🛒 E-commerce
- • Real-time checkout validation
- • Guest purchase email verification
- • Regular customer list cleaning
- • Target: <1% bounce rate
📢 Marketing Agencies
- • Validate all client lists
- • Set client expectations
- • Monthly list hygiene reports
- • Target: <2% bounce rate
🏥 Healthcare
- • HIPAA-compliant validation
- • Patient consent verification
- • Secure list processing
- • Target: <1% bounce rate
🔥 Cold outreach tips: Scale Your Cold Outreach Without Burning Your Domain
📚 Related Content
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: What's considered a "good" bounce rate in 2025?
Below 2% is considered healthy across most industries. Healthcare and e-commerce can achieve <1%, while event marketing might see up to 2.5%.
Q2: Should I count soft bounces in my bounce rate?
Yes, include both hard and soft bounces in your calculation. While soft bounces might retry, they still represent deliverability issues.
Q3: How often should I check my bounce rate?
Monitor bounce rates after every campaign. Review monthly trends and investigate any spikes above your industry benchmark.
Q4: Can a high bounce rate get me blacklisted?
Yes, consistently high bounce rates (>5%) can trigger spam filters and lead to blacklisting. ESPs monitor this closely.
Q5: How do bounce rates compare to other email metrics?
Bounce rate is a leading indicator. Unlike open rates or clicks, it directly affects your sender reputation and future deliverability.
📊 Keep Your Bounce Rate in Check
Now that you know the industry benchmarks, make sure your email lists stay clean and your bounce rates stay low.
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