Email engagement benchmarks by industry: 2026 edition

Every email marketer eventually asks the same question: is my open rate good? The honest answer is that it depends entirely on your industry, your list, and how you measure, and that the benchmarks have shifted meaningfully in 2026. This is a sourced roundup of email engagement benchmarks by industry for 2026, with the context that makes them useful and commentary on where video in email moves each number. Where a figure comes from a published dataset, it is attributed.

Built for reference and citation. It draws on 2026 benchmark datasets and Blings production figures.

What are the average email benchmarks in 2026?

The 2026 averages depend on the source and the methodology, which is why comparing your numbers to a single headline figure is misleading. According to Brevo’s 2026 benchmark data, the overall average open rate is around 20.7% (higher when Apple Mail Privacy Protection preloads are counted), and the average click-through rate across industries is about 2.4%. Other datasets report differently: MailerLite reports a median open rate in the low-to-mid 40s and an average click rate around 2.1% across millions of campaigns.

The spread between sources is the first lesson: benchmark against a dataset that matches your methodology, and treat any single average as a rough reference, not a target.

How do email benchmarks vary by industry?

Industry is the biggest driver of benchmark variation. Some industries earn high opens because their email is expected and important; others earn high clicks because their content drives action.

• Highest open rates: government and public administration lead (around 30%), followed by nonprofits and education, where the email is anticipated and mission-driven
• Highest click rates: legal leads (around 4.9%), followed by manufacturing and media, where the content drives a specific next step
• Retail and e-commerce: high volume, moderate opens, and click rates that hinge heavily on personalization and relevance
• Hospitality and travel: strong engagement when the content is personal and timely, weaker when generic

These figures come from 2026 industry roundups including Brevo and WebFX. The pattern to note: opens reflect anticipation, clicks reflect relevance, and relevance is the lever a marketer can actually pull.

Why are open rates less reliable in 2026?

Open rates are less reliable in 2026 because of Apple Mail Privacy Protection. Apple Mail Privacy Protection means Apple’s system preloads email content and images for Apple Mail users, registering an “open” even when the recipient never actually opened the message. Since Apple Mail accounts for a large share of email clients, this inflates open-rate data across the board.

The consequence is that open rate has become a noisy metric, and 2026’s best marketers weight click-through rate, click-to-open rate, and conversion more heavily. When you benchmark, treat opens as directional and put more confidence in the click and conversion numbers, which reflect deliberate action.

Where does MP5 move these numbers?

MP5 moves the numbers that matter most: clicks and conversion. Because open rate is noisy, the real question is whether recipients act, and personalized video drives action well above the industry click benchmarks.

Against a roughly 2.4% average click-through rate, personalized interactive video reaches far higher. According to Blings Smart Video benchmarks, interactive Smart Video reaches a 46% click-through rate versus roughly 19% for static creative. Production results confirm the lift: Wyndham produced a 75% email click-through lift, see the Wyndham case study, and Live Nation VIP produced a 17.55% open lift with 82 seconds of watch time, see the Live Nation VIP case study. Whatever your industry’s baseline, personalized video moves the click and conversion numbers meaningfully above it.

FAQ

What is a good email open rate in 2026?
It depends on your industry and dataset. Overall averages sit around 20% (Brevo) to the low 40s median (MailerLite), and top industries like government reach around 30%. Because Apple Mail Privacy Protection inflates opens, treat open rate as directional and weight clicks and conversion more heavily.

Which industries have the highest email engagement?
Government and public administration lead on open rate (around 30%), while legal leads on click rate (around 4.9%), followed by manufacturing and media. Opens reflect anticipation; clicks reflect relevance.

Why are email open rates unreliable now?
 Apple Mail Privacy Protection preloads email content and images for Apple Mail users, registering opens the recipient never made. Since Apple Mail is a large share of clients, this inflates open rates, so marketers weight click-through and conversion instead.

How much does video improve email click rates?
Against a roughly 2.4% average click-through rate, Blings Smart Video benchmarks show interactive video reaching 46% versus 19% for static creative, and production case studies show lifts like Wyndham’s 75% CTR increase. Video moves clicks and conversion well above industry baselines.

The Takeaway

Email engagement benchmarks in 2026 vary widely by industry and by dataset, so the useful move is to benchmark against a matched source and weight the metrics that reflect deliberate action. Open rate has become noisy under Apple Mail Privacy Protection; click-through and conversion are the reliable numbers. Across every industry baseline, personalized video moves those numbers meaningfully, with Blings Smart Video benchmarks showing 46% click-through against roughly 19% for static, and case studies like Wyndham and Live Nation VIP confirming the lift.

Know your industry’s baseline, trust clicks over opens, and treat personalized video as the lever that moves the reliable metrics above the benchmark. That is how to read email engagement data in 2026.

References and further reading

• Brevo: Email marketing benchmarks by region and industry (2026)
• MailerLite: Email performance metrics vs industry benchmarks
• WebFX: 2026 email marketing benchmarks by industry
• The fourth answer to the video squeeze (and the numbers behind it)
• Wyndham year-end recap case study
• Live Nation VIP case study