Reply rate is the percentage of contacts who answer a cold email or sequence, calculated as replies divided by contacts whose emails were delivered.
Two choices that change the number
SDR teams track reply rate per email, per sequence and per rep, because a reply is the one job a cold email has. Two choices change the number. The first is the denominator: per contact or per email sent. A five-email sequence sent to 100 people is 500 emails, and the same ten replies read as 10% or 2% depending on which you divide by.
The second is what counts as a reply. Out-of-office messages and "remove me" count in the raw figure, so many teams also track positive reply rate: replies that show interest or ask a question. That is the number to coach. A curiosity-bait subject line can lift raw replies with "remove me" messages while positive replies stay flat. Problem-first methods such as Gap Prospecting build the email around one small ask the buyer can answer in a word. The step-by-step version is in how to write a cold email, and the wider motion is in our SDR coaching guide.
One sequence, two rates
This example is illustrative. An SDR sends a four-email sequence to 200 contacts, and 190 are delivered. She gets 15 replies: 6 out-of-office, 4 "not interested", 5 asking a question or saying yes. Her reply rate is 15 / 190, about 7.9%. Her positive reply rate is 5 / 190, about 2.6%. Her manager coaches on the second number, and asks one question in the 1:1: "Which email did the five reply to, and what did it say that the others didn't?" Three of the five answered email two, the one that named a specific late-shipment cost. Email two becomes the template for the next sequence.
- Contacts200
- Delivered190
- Replies15, about 7.9%
- Positive replies5, about 2.6%
Positive replies come from single emails, so start with the weakest one in your sequence. To coach your team's sequences, talk to us.
Related terms
- Cold email: the message the metric measures.
- Prospecting cadence: the sequence a per-contact reply rate covers.
- How to write a cold email: eight steps to an email that earns a reply.
FAQ
What is a good reply rate for cold email?
There is no single good reply rate for cold email, because it depends on how it is counted, so compare against your own baseline. Published averages differ because each uses a different sample, denominator and definition of a reply. Track positive replies per delivered contact, by sequence and segment, and judge a change against last quarter's figure.
How do you calculate reply rate?
Divide replies by delivered contacts and multiply by 100. If 12 of 150 delivered contacts reply, the reply rate is 8%. State whether you count per contact or per email, and whether auto-replies are excluded, so the number means the same thing each month.
How do you improve cold email reply rate?
Write to one buyer about one problem they are likely to have, give evidence they can check, and ask for something they can answer in a word. Keep it under 100 words with no link in the first email. Then review which email in the sequence earns the positive replies.