Emails sent on behavior got 1.7x the clicks of broadcasts
We compared 8,012 behavior-triggered emails with 20,061 broadcasts, after removing scanner and Apple proxy opens from both.
- Published 22 October 2026
- 28,073 delivered emails
- Selected sample
- Bot-filtered
- Raw open rate
- Human open rate
At a glance
The numbers worth quoting
Key findings
What the data says
- 11.3x the opens, 1.7x the clicks
Triggered emails: 16.6% human opens and 5.00% clicks. Broadcasts: 12.8% and 3.01%.
- 2The gap grows without the biggest sender
Removing the largest sender from each side leaves triggers at 24.5% opens and 6.07% clicks, and broadcasts at 10.5% and 1.44%: 2.3x the opens and 4.2x the clicks.
- 3Fewer bounces on triggers
0.52% of triggered emails bounced, against 0.87% of broadcasts. Triggers go to people who were just active, so their addresses are more likely to be current.
- 4Launches lift opens by half
Launch and deal broadcasts got 14.9% human opens, against 9.9% for everyday broadcasts, and 3.44% clicks against 2.88%.
Full table
Every figure in one place
| Email type | Delivered | Raw open | Human open | Human click | Unsubscribe |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Behavior triggers | 8,012 | 40.9% | 16.6% | 5.00% | 1.62% |
| Broadcasts | 20,061 | 30.7% | 12.8% | 3.01% | 1.33% |
| Behavior triggers, largest sender removed | 1,005 | 46.6% | 24.5% | 6.07% | 0.80% |
| Broadcasts, largest sender removed | 6,327 | 29.1% | 10.5% | 1.44% | 1.96% |
| Launch and deal broadcasts | 11,732 | 35.5% | 14.9% | 3.44% | 1.45% |
| Everyday broadcasts | 5,137 | 23.9% | 9.9% | 2.88% | 1.01% |
One large sender weighs heavily in several groups, which is why we also show each comparison with the largest sender removed. Read the launch comparison as directional.
What to do with this
How to use this
Move messages onto triggers
If an email only matters to users who did, or did not do, something, send it on that event instead of to the whole list.
Save broadcasts for news
Launches and deals earn their opens. Everyday broadcasts get the fewest human opens, so send fewer, better ones.
Pace and vary big sends
Meisa's Warm Send spreads a large broadcast over up to 24 hours, best openers first, and spintax gives each recipient a slightly different version. Spintax broadcasts got 1.4x the human opens in our data.
Methodology
How we measured it
Email types. Behavior triggers are emails sent because a contact did, or did not do, something, excluding sign-in and other transactional emails. Broadcasts are one-off sends to a list or segment. Launch and deal broadcasts are broadcasts announcing a launch, an offer or a deal; everyday broadcasts are the rest. Time-scheduled drip sequences had too small a sample to show on their own.
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.
Anonymization. Every group shown has at least 300 delivered emails, and no sender can be identified. See the full research methodology.
FAQ
Common questions
Do triggered emails perform better than broadcasts?
Yes. Emails sent because of something a user did got 1.3x the human opens (16.6% vs 12.8%) and 1.7x the clicks (5% vs 3.01%) of broadcasts.
Do triggered emails get more unsubscribes?
Slightly, overall: 1.62% vs 1.33%. With the largest sender removed from each side the order flips, with 0.8% for triggers and 1.96% for broadcasts.
Do launch and deal emails get more opens?
Yes. Launch and deal broadcasts got a 14.9% human open rate, against 9.9% for everyday broadcasts, at a slightly higher unsubscribe rate (1.45% vs 1.01%).
Do content variations or paced sends improve inbox placement?
Both help in different ways. Broadcasts with spintax got 1.4x the human opens of the same sender's broadcasts without it. In paced broadcasts, the first wave of most engaged readers got 2.1x the human opens of later waves. See the spintax and phased broadcast studies.
Behavior-triggered emails versus broadcasts
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Meisa (2026). Triggered emails vs broadcasts. Meisa Research. https://meisa.io/research/triggers-vs-broadcasts
<a href="https://meisa.io/research/triggers-vs-broadcasts">Triggered emails vs broadcasts</a> (Meisa Research, 2026)
Behavior-triggered SaaS emails had a 16.6% human open rate and a 5% human click rate, against 12.8% and 3.01% for broadcasts: 1.3x the opens and 1.7x the clicks (Meisa Research, 2026, 28,073 delivered emails).
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