Broadcasts with spintax got 1.4x the human opens
We compared 8,293 broadcast emails written with spintax against 5,441 broadcasts from the same senders without it, after removing scanner and Apple proxy opens from both.
- Published 22 October 2026
- 13,734 delivered emails
- 5 spintax templates
- Bot-filtered
- Raw open rate
- Human open rate
At a glance
The numbers worth quoting
Key findings
What the data says
- 11.4x the human opens
15.5% of spintax broadcasts were opened by a person, against 11.3% of the same senders' broadcasts without spintax.
- 2Raw opens rose even more
The raw open rate went from 25.6% to 35.4%. Machine opens rose with it, which is what you see when more email lands in the inbox, where proxies and scanners fetch it.
- 3Clicks up slightly
Human clicks went from 3.55% to 3.86%. Spintax changes the wording, not the offer, so the bigger effect is on opens.
- 4No cost in unsubscribes
Unsubscribes were 1.06% with spintax and 1.01% without, with zero spam complaints in both groups.
- 5Bounces were not lower
0.99% of spintax sends bounced, against 0.62% without. Variations help with how filters see the content, not with dead addresses, so list hygiene still matters.
Full table
Every figure in one place
| Broadcasts | Delivered | Raw open | Human open | Human click | Unsubscribe | Bounce |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broadcasts with spintax | 8,293 | 35.4% | 15.5% | 3.86% | 1.06% | 0.99% |
| Broadcasts without spintax | 5,441 | 25.6% | 11.3% | 3.55% | 1.01% | 0.62% |
What to do with this
How to use spintax
Vary the parts filters read
Greetings, opening lines and sign-offs are where identical copies stand out. Give each a few natural alternatives.
Keep every version on-brand
Each recipient sees only one version, so every option has to read well on its own. Meisa shows you each variation for approval before it goes out.
Judge it on human opens
Raw opens rise with inbox placement, but so do machine opens. Compare human open rates, as on this page, to see the real lift.
Methodology
How we measured it
Sample. We selected 13,734 delivered broadcast emails for this analysis: 8,293 written with spintax and 5,441 without it. Selection criteria: broadcasts from senders who used spintax, compared with those same senders' broadcasts without it. We refresh the figures every quarter.
Spintax. A template counts as spintax when its subject, preview or body contains alternatives in braces. Meisa picks one option per recipient at send time.
Opens and clicks. The same bot filtering as the True Open Rate Report. Unsubscribes are counted against the last email the contact received in the seven days before. Bounces are a share of attempted sends.
Privacy. Aggregates only, with no sender names, recipient addresses or email content. See the full research methodology.
FAQ
Common questions
Does spintax improve email open rates?
In this data, yes. Broadcasts with spintax got 15.5% human opens, against 11.3% for broadcasts from the same senders without it. That is 1.4x the opens, after removing Apple proxy and scanner opens.
What is spintax in email?
Spintax is a way of writing alternatives inside an email, like {Hi|Hey|Hello}. At send time one option is picked for each recipient, so a broadcast goes out as many slightly different emails instead of thousands of identical copies.
Does spintax change clicks or unsubscribes?
Clicks rose a little, from 3.55% to 3.86%. Unsubscribes stayed level, 1.06% with spintax and 1.01% without, and there were no spam complaints in either group.
Why compare against the same senders?
Different senders have different lists, products and habits. Comparing spintax broadcasts with other broadcasts from the same senders keeps the audience and brand the same, so the gap reflects the emails more than the list.
Broadcasts with and without spintax
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Quote it, chart it, link it
Meisa (2026). Spintax and email open rates. Meisa Research. https://meisa.io/research/spintax-email-variations
<a href="https://meisa.io/research/spintax-email-variations">Spintax and email open rates</a> (Meisa Research, 2026)
Broadcasts written with spintax, so each recipient got a slightly different version, had a 15.5% human open rate against 11.3% for the same senders' broadcasts without spintax: 1.4x the opens (Meisa Research, 2026, 13,734 delivered emails).
Free to quote, chart and republish with a link back to this page (CC BY 4.0).
Send every recipient their own version
Meisa writes spintax variations into your broadcasts, lets you approve each one, and reports human opens so you can see the lift.