Best Day and Time to Send Email Marketing in 2025: Data, Benchmarks, and a Simple Plan

We all want the one magical send slot that wins every time—but it doesn’t exist. What does exist are reliable patterns, smart testing, and a few operational tweaks that consistently lift open rate, CTR, and conversions. In 2025, the optimal email send time still centers on mid‑morning and mid‑to‑late afternoon on weekdays, with rising engagement later in the day and selective weekend opportunities for B2C.

Quick answer: the best day and time to send marketing emails (2025)

• Best days (overall): Tuesday and Thursday lead for opens; Tuesday/Wednesday often lead for clicks. Monday has improved and is worth testing.
• Best times (recipient’s local time): ~10:00 AM and 3:00–4:00 PM are dependable. Engagement frequently extends into 3:00–7:00 PM. Weekend mornings (7:00–9:00 AM) can shine for consumer audiences.
• Instant ops win: Avoid top‑of‑hour sends; schedule at off‑peak minutes like :07, :21, or :36 to beat ISP queues.
• Always send in each recipient’s local time zone (use send‑time optimization when available).

Day‑by‑day and hour‑by‑hour benchmarks

Across large datasets, weekdays dominate (about 85%+ of opens and ~95% of clicks). Two daily peaks recur: mid‑morning (~10 AM) and mid‑afternoon (3–4 PM). In 2024–2025 we’ve seen later weekday engagement (3–7 PM) rise, reflecting mobile “catch‑ups.” Weekend mornings (7–9 AM) can outperform for consumer lists.

Best day of the week to send emails

• Monday: Better than it used to be—test late morning (10–11 AM) once the backlog clears. Often lighter on inbox competition than Thursday/Friday.
• Tuesday: Reliable across industries for opens and clicks; a strong newsletter day (10 AM classic).
• Wednesday: Consistent for clicks and mid‑afternoon conversions.
• Thursday: Frequently tops revenue per email; late afternoon (4–6 PM) works well for promos.
• Friday: Wind‑down behavior reduces broad engagement, but food & beverage can spike around ~5 PM as people plan reservations/takeout.
• Saturday: Lower volume yet can deliver high CTR for CTA‑heavy promos and coupons.
• Sunday: Evening (8–10 PM; ~9 PM) catches “prep‑for‑the‑week” behavior with solid engagement and often lower unsubscribes.

Peak email engagement hours

• Morning: 8–11 AM (9–11 AM often wins for B2B) aligns with first inbox reviews.
• Lunch: 12–1 PM provides a secondary window on mobile.
• Early afternoon: 1–3 PM performs for SaaS, demos, and education.
• Late afternoon/early evening: 4–6 PM is powerful for B2C browsing and “end‑of‑day” scans.
• Evening “sofa time”: 8–10 PM can be sneaky‑good for consumer lists on mobile.

Device behavior matters: desktop concentrates in business hours; mobile stretches attention into early morning (6–8 AM), commutes (5–7 PM), and evenings.

Best time to send by audience and industry

B2B and professional services

• Best bets: Tue/Wed 8–11 AM; test 1–2:30 PM for action‑driven emails (webinar reminders, approvals).
• Avoid late evenings/weekends unless your audience skews differently (e.g., global teams, field roles).

SaaS

• Business‑hours behavior with a frequent click spike near ~2 PM.
• Test 9–11 AM vs. 1–3 PM; many product education emails do well early afternoon.

Ecommerce/Retail

• Promos: Thu 4–6 PM; Sat 7–9 AM. New arrivals/content: Tue–Thu ~10 AM.
• Evening “sofa time” (8–10 PM) captures browse‑and‑wish‑list habits.

NGOs/Nonprofits

• Storytelling and fundraising: Tue–Thu 5–7 PM; test Sun 9 AM for longer reads and donor focus.

Food & Beverage / Hospitality

• Thursday late morning supports weekend planning; Friday around 5 PM can trigger last‑minute bookings and takeout decisions.

Healthcare and shift‑based audiences

• Early morning (6–8 AM) and later evening windows align to shift changes and quieter moments.

Adult education / vocational training

• 8–11 AM and 1–4 PM fit learner schedules; also test pre‑work, lunch breaks, and early evening.
• Avoid very late night blasts; weekends often underperform for enrollment nudges.

Newsletter vs. promotional vs. lifecycle timing

• Newsletters: Tuesday 10 AM is a durable benchmark. Late afternoon (e.g., Wednesday 4 PM) works for “settle in and read.” Consistency beats chasing micro‑gains.
• Promotions/flash sales: Tue–Thu late morning or late afternoon/early evening. For B2C, add Saturday morning and Sunday 9 PM for pre‑week preparedness.
• Lifecycle/automation:
  • Welcome: send immediately.
  • Browse/Cart abandon: 1–4 hours after the event (within waking hours).
  • Post‑purchase/replenishment: time to product usage windows.
  • Behavioral follow‑ups (e.g., clicked a link): strike while interest is hottest.
• Easy win: Resend to non‑openers 48–72 hours later in a different window and with a fresh subject line.

Time zones, localization, and global “follow‑the‑sun” sending

• Deliver in the recipient’s local time. If your ESP can’t localize, stagger regions to “follow the sun” (APAC → EMEA → Americas).
• Avoid peak, round‑number send times to reduce ISP throttling and queues—send at :07, :21, or :36 past.
• For very large blasts, pace delivery or split by region and ISP to protect deliverability.

How timing affects deliverability and inbox placement

• ISP queues: Piling in at the top of the hour can slow inboxing. Off‑peak minutes speed time‑to‑inbox.
• Sender reputation: Timing that matches routines boosts opens and clicks, reinforcing positive signals and reducing unsubscribe/spam complaints.
• List hygiene: Timing can’t fix disinterested contacts—regularly suppress inactives and hard bounces.
• From address: Avoid noreply@ and generic marketing@; they depress replies and can increase Promotions tab placement.

Measurement: what to track and how to test send times

• Primary KPIs: click‑through rate (CTR), conversion rate, and revenue per email.
• Support metrics: unsubscribe rate, spam complaints, bounce rate, read time/engagement depth.
• Apple Mail Privacy Protection (MPP): treat opens cautiously; choose winners on clicks and conversions.

A simple 4‑week testing plan

1. Week 1: Tuesday 10:07 AM vs. Thursday 10:07 AM (same content).
2. Week 2: Winner at 10:07 AM vs. the same day at 2:36 PM.
3. Week 3: Winner vs. an evening slot (8:21 PM) on the same day.
4. Week 4: Winner vs. Saturday 10:07 AM (click test) or Sunday 9:07 PM (pre‑work prep).

• Keep everything identical except send time; aim for ≥1,000 recipients per variant and run 3–4 cycles for statistical confidence.
• Adopt the winner per segment and re‑test quarterly; explore ±30–60 minute adjustments.

Cadence, consistency, and timing levers

• Cadence: If you’re under ~20K subscribers, start with one campaign per week; add a second once metrics stabilize.
• Consistency: Keep a reliable day/time for recurring newsletters; habit formation lifts engagement.
• Let your goal choose the day:
  • Highest opens: often Thursday.
  • Highest clicks: Saturday can perform above expectations.
  • Fewer unsubscribes: Sunday/Monday frequently reduce churn.
  • Highest revenue: Thursday commonly edges out others; Friday converts well for specific offers (e.g., F&B).
• Time of month (test this): 1st can lift conversions, 10th may aid opens, 2nd can nudge clicks—align with budgets and billing cycles.

Operational tactics that lift results immediately

• Use send‑time optimization (STO) or AI scheduling to individualize send times.
• Segment by behavior: morning vs. evening openers; honor frequency preferences (daily/weekly/monthly).
• Add a smart sending buffer so subscribers don’t get multiple campaigns in short succession.
• Don’t flood universal peaks; discover slightly less crowded windows that still fit routines.
• Design for mobile skimmability; strong subject lines and crystal‑clear CTAs still move the needle more than timing.

Seasonality, holidays, and high‑traffic periods

• B2B: Avoid major holidays; if necessary, try the day before or after.
• Retail/B2C: The day before/after holidays often performs; mornings of big shopping days can be prime but crowded.
• BFCM/Q4: Plan earlier sends, avoid round‑number minutes, and stagger by region to ease ISP congestion.

Starter playbooks (copy‑paste schedules to test)

• B2B list: Tuesday and Thursday at 9:30 AM local; backup slot 2:00 PM; quarterly re‑test Wednesday 10:00 AM.
• B2C ecommerce: Thursday 10:00 AM and Sunday 9:00 PM; test Saturday 10:00 AM for click‑heavy promos; add one 8:30 PM “sofa time” test monthly.
• Food & beverage / hospitality: Thursday late morning for weekend planning; Friday 5:00 PM for last‑minute bookings and takeout.
• Adult education: Tuesday 9:00 AM and Wednesday 1:30 PM; test early evening for working learners.
• Newsletters: Primary slot Tuesday 10:00 AM; alternate Wednesday 4:00 PM.

FAQs

Does email timing affect deliverability?

Yes. Avoiding peak queues (top‑of‑hour) improves time‑to‑inbox; matched routines lift engagement signals that strengthen sender reputation. Pace large blasts and maintain list hygiene.

Is there a best time to send emails on weekends?

For B2C, Saturday 7–9 AM and Sunday 8–10 PM (around 9 PM) are strong tests. For broad B2B, weekends usually underperform.

How often should we send marketing emails?

Start with weekly, then test moving to twice weekly once performance is stable. Let subscribers set frequency preferences and honor them.

Should we A/B test send times or rely on STO?

Do both. Use disciplined A/B tests (4–6 weeks, click/conversion winners) to find segment‑level windows, then layer STO to personalize timing at the individual level.

Mobile vs. desktop—do optimal hours change?

Yes. Desktop clusters around 9 AM–4 PM; mobile extends attention into early morning, commute windows, late afternoon, and evening “sofa time.”

Common mistakes to avoid

• Ignoring time zones or sending everything in your own time.
• Using opens as the “truth” metric post‑Apple MPP—optimize on clicks and conversions.
• Scheduling at round times (:00, :15, :30, :45) that hit ISP peaks.
• Set‑and‑forget timing—failing to re‑test as routines and seasons change.
• Over‑emailing generic peak windows and getting buried beside everyone else.

Final takeaway

In 2025, the safest starting point is clear: Tuesdays and Thursdays around 10 AM and again mid‑to‑late afternoon in each recipient’s local time. Complement that with lunch, early evening, and selective weekend tests (Saturday morning, Sunday ~9 PM) for B2C. Use off‑peak minutes, segment by time zone and behavior, and choose winners on clicks, conversions, and revenue per email. Pair those baselines with disciplined A/B testing and send‑time optimization, and your metrics—not generic rules—will tell you exactly when to hit send.