What is The Best Time and Day to Send Emails?

Ever noticed how some newsletters always seem to land right when you’re actually free to read them, while others show up buried under forty other emails and get deleted without ever being opened? That’s rarely luck. It’s usually someone or an email service provider on the other end who’s paid attention to when their audience actually checks their inbox.

Here’s the thing most send-time guides won’t tell you, and that is – there’s no single “magic hour” that works for everyone and improves email deliverability. There is just some pattern that helps to grab the reader at the right time. Once you see it, you skip the guessing part. In this guide, we will tell you what the best email timing is to send emails that get opened. You will know the most effective day and time based on the industry. 

Let’s get into it.

What Metrics Actually Tell You “Best Time”

Before you trust any send-time chart, you must be aware of how one can consider a time the best time. What are the key metrics that decide the perfect time to send emails? The “best time” isn’t just one number; it’s usually a mix of metrics that affect email deliverability too. Confusing them is how most send-time advice goes wrong.

• Sent volume – how many campaigns went out at that hour; tells you how crowded the inbox is, not how well you’ll perform.
• Open rate – this metric tells you when people look. 
• Click rate – this tells you when people actually act.
• Click-to-open rate (CTOR) – this is another key metric that tells you if your content held up once they opened it.
• Weighted vs. average rate – Weighted favors your biggest campaigns, whereas average treats every send equally; the two can disagree.

Open rate tells you when people check emails, and click rate tells you when to be useful. Pick your metric according to what you actually want your email to do.

Which are The Best Days and Times to Send Emails That Get More Opens & Clicks?

If you only have ten seconds, here’s what the data says:

• Best days to send: Tuesday to Thursday are the weekdays that deliver more clicks and opens.  
• Best time for opens: 8 AM – 11 AM local time is when people get more engaged with the emails.
• Best time for clicks: 8 PM to 9 PM local time is when your readers are free from daily work and ready to click on what you want to present. 
• Worst days to send emails: Saturday and Sunday used to experience the lowest volume, though not necessarily the lowest engagement. 
• Sweet spot of the week: Friday around 6 PM, when opens and clicks peak together

That last point matters more than people realize. Most days of the week, the time that gets the most opens differs from the time that gets the most clicks. But Friday evening is the rare exception where both opens and clicks peak at the same time. So, do not miss this!

Why Opens and Clicks Don’t Happen at the Same Time

This is the part most send-time advice skips entirely, and it changes how you should actually plan your email timing for campaigns.

Recent analysis of over two million email campaigns found a clear pattern –

People check their inbox in the morning, but they act on it at night. Subscribers skim emails between 8 and 11 AM, and clear the inbox before the workday gets busy. But no one clicks through, browses, or buys until they’re off the clock and have free time to think well. And that’s why clicks increase between 8 and 9 PM.

Think about your own inbox. You glance at a newsletter over coffee, think “I’ll read that later,” and then actually open it again once you’re relaxed on the couch. That’s not a coincidence; that’s basically every subscriber’s routine. And that’s why opens and clicks don’t happen at the same time.

So the real question isn’t “when’s the best time to send an email?” It’s “what do I expect through this email?”

• Want more eyeballs, brand recall, or top-of-funnel visibility? Then send in the Morning.
• Want clicks, signups, or sales? Then send in the Evening.

Best Time to Send Emails by Day of the Week

Here’s how peak open rates stack up across the week:

Day	Peak Open Rate	Best Time
Monday	49.4%	10 AM
Tuesday	48.7%	10 AM
Wednesday	48.5%	11 AM
Thursday	49.6%	8 AM(CTR), 9 AM(Open)
Friday	49.7%	6 PM (open and click)
Saturday	48.9%	9 AM (deliver to lower send volume)
Sunday	48.9%	9 AM (deliver to lower send volume)

Notice how tight this range is. Under 1.5 points separate the best and worst days. That’s the real insight. The day matters less than people assume, and actually the hour is where the bigger swings happen.

Does the Best Time Change by Industry?

Yes. This is where generic “send at 10 AM” advice starts falling apart. Here’s the fastest way to see it:

Business Type	Best Day	Best Time
E-commerce	Tuesday or Thursday	10 AM
Marketing Services	Wednesday	4 PM
SaaS	Tuesday or Thursday	2-3 PM
Offline Retail	Thursday	8-10 AM
B2B / Professional Services	Monday or Tuesday	8-10 AM
Nonprofits	Tuesday or Thursday	3-4 PM

Six business types, six different windows. A few patterns worth calling out:

• Creators (newsletters, courses, content). 

Audiences here treat your email like appointment reading. Peak click activity occurs at 9 PM, especially on Monday and Tuesday evenings.

• Institutions (schools, membership groups, nonprofits with important emails):

In such industries, engagement used to be high because people often need to read these emails. The best results usually come between 7 – 8 AM, when people are starting their day and checking important messages. 

Common Mistakes That Wreck Good Timing

Even a well-optimized send time won’t save an email if you are making these mistakes:  

When you ignore time zones.

If you are sending an email at 10 AM your time, this might be 3 AM for a chunk of your list. If your audience spans regions, you need to segment by time zone or use send-time optimization tools.

Copying “best practice” blindly.

You should not follow any rule blindly. When everyone sends emails at 10 AM Tuesday, that’s also the time when inboxes are most crowded. Thus, sometimes an off-peak send stands out more than a rule-based send.

Noticing opens and ignoring clicks. 

A high open rate means nothing if nobody acts. You should match your send time to your actual goal and then select the send time.

If you are never testing your own list.

You are making a mistake. Industry data is a starting point, not a rulebook. Your subscribers might behave completely differently.

How to Find Your Own Best Send Time?

Utilize these suggestions and analyse the best timing to send professional emails to your clients. There are some benchmarks that get you close.

• Run A/B tests – send the same campaign to similar segments at two different times and compare opens, clicks, and conversions.
• Use send-time optimization tools – most modern email platforms offer automated, per-subscriber send-time optimization that learns from individual open history rather than applying one blanket time to your whole list.
• Track clicks over opens – Since privacy features on major email clients can inflate open-rate data but click-through rate is the more trusted signal going forward.
• Revisit quarterly – Subscriber habits shift with seasons, life events, and even the news cycle. What worked last year might not work now.

The Bottom Line

There’s no magic hour that works for every list, every industry, every goal, or is the best time to send email newsletters. But the data gives you a strong image of email sending that describes what you can try. Mornings are the best time for visibility, and evenings are for action. Simultaneously, Tuesday through Friday, over the weekend, and Friday at 6 PM if you want a shot at both.

Sending emails is not enough in email marketing. You need to know when to send so that you get quick benefits and build reputation through engagement. So you can use these benchmarks to build your first send calendar or trust a professional email service provider, Truesend. Then let your own subscriber data take over from there. The best time to send an email is whenever your audience is actually paying attention. 

FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

During what time of day should emails be sent?

The email should be sent between 9:00 AM and 11:00 AM in the recipient’s local time zone. 

What is the single best time to send an email?

Although there isn’t one universal time, 10 AM local time and Friday at 6 PM are the two strongest starting points to send emails. When you send at 10 AM, your email gets more visibility, and if you send at 6 PM Friday, you can get a mix of both opens and clicks.

Is it better to send emails in the morning or evening?

If your email goal is open rate, then send in the Morning between (8 – 11 AM). But if your email marketing goal is click-through rates and conversions, you should send your email in the evening (8-9 PM). 

What’s the worst time to send an email?

Sunday morning is the worst and most avoidable time to send emails, especially for a B2B audience.  Very early morning hours around 3-4 AM recipient time consistently underperform.

How often should I test my email send times?

At least once a quarter, or whenever you notice a dip in open or click rates, you need to check your email send time. You must always remember that subscribers’ habits aren’t static.