10
July
,
2026
•
Georgia Hull
Email timing still matters in 2026, but there is no single best send time for every business. The right time depends on your audience, industry, offer and whether you want more opens, clicks or conversions.
Use the list below as a practical starting point. Then test these times against your own email data to find what works best for your subscribers.
These times combine current email platform guidance and recent benchmark patterns.
Mailchimp says Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are strong email days, with 10 AM in the recipient’s own time zone a strong newsletter benchmark.
Salesforce points to weekdays between 10 AM and 2 PM as a general high-engagement window.
ActiveCampaign also recommends Tuesday to Thursday between 10 AM and 2 PM as a broad starting point.
The best overall time to test first is Thursday at 10 AM.
It sits in the strongest overlap between Mailchimp, Salesforce and ActiveCampaign guidance. It also gives people time to clear urgent tasks before checking newsletters, offers or business updates.
Midweek mornings usually work because people are active in their inbox, but not yet overloaded by the day.
For many businesses, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are safer than Monday or Friday. Monday often brings catch-up work. Friday can work for some consumer campaigns, but B2B attention often drops as people finish the week.
Choose the send time based on the goal.
For opens, test morning sends between 8 AM and 11 AM.
MailerLite’s 2026 analysis of more than 2 million campaigns found that weekday open rates usually peak in this window.
For clicks and sales, test evening or late-afternoon sends. MailerLite found click rates often peak between 8 PM and 9 PM, while Friday at 6 PM was the strongest point where opens and clicks aligned.
For B2B, start with:
Salesforce says B2B emails often perform better during business hours, while HubSpot reports that many marketers see stronger engagement between 9 AM and 12 PM, and 12 PM and 3 PM.
For B2C, test both morning and evening sends.
Start with:
B2C audiences often have more time to read, click and shop outside standard work hours.
Salesforce says evenings, weekends and Friday afternoons can work well for consumer audiences, especially when people are planning weekend activities or shopping
MailerLite’s 2026 data found ecommerce click activity can be strong around Tuesday at 4 PM, with Thursday at 10 AM also showing strong open and click alignment.
Yes, once your account has enough data.
Mailchimp, HubSpot, ActiveCampaign, Zoho and GoHighLevel all support behaviour-based send-time tools or recommendations. This matters because your best time may differ from global benchmarks.
Mailchimp’s Send Time Optimization uses engagement data to choose when contacts are most likely to open within a 24-hour period.
HubSpot can suggest a best send time based on recent engagement data.
Zoho uses contact behaviour, time zone, past open times and engagement patterns.
GoHighLevel’s Smart Send uses 60-day engagement data, but it needs at least 1,000 delivered emails from the same location in the past 60 days.
Start with four simple tests:
Keep the email type similar. Do not compare a newsletter against a heavy discount offer and assume the send time caused the result.
Track:
Clicks and conversions matter more than opens because they show action.
Do not only change the send time.
Fix these first:
Ontraport also supports scheduled emails, automation timing and split testing, which can help businesses compare timing and cadence inside automation maps.
For most businesses, start with Thursday at 10 AM.
For B2B, test Tuesday to Thursday between 9 AM and 11 AM.
For ecommerce and B2C, test Thursday at 10 AM, Tuesday at 4 PM and Friday at 6 PM.
For newsletters, start with 10 AM in each recipient’s local time zone.
Once you have enough data, use your email platform’s send-time optimisation tool instead of relying only on general benchmarks.
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are the safest days to test first. Friday can also work for ecommerce, events and consumer offers.
Start with 10 AM in the recipient’s local time zone. Mailchimp identifies this as a strong general newsletter benchmark.
For B2B sales emails, test Tuesday to Thursday between 9 AM and 11 AM. For ecommerce sales emails, test Tuesday at 4 PM, Thursday at 10 AM and Friday at 6 PM.
Morning is better for opens. Evening can be better for clicks. Use morning sends for visibility and later sends for action-focused campaigns.
No. Use benchmark times as a starting point, then test your own audience. Your best time depends on your industry, email type, location, segment and offer.
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Georgia is a marketer with over 15 years specialising in automation, driving revenue and brand awareness. Achieving growth by implementing strategies designed to drive customers to action from first contact along a journey through repeat purchase then on to passionate advocacy. She has experience working in challenging industries delivering consistent increased revenue and profits, with a focus on exceeding targets.
Specialties: Digital Advertising, marketing automation, segmentation and personalisation, content strategy, customer nurture, customer journey mapping, digital strategy, conversion tracking, database acquisition, CRM, process management, analytics.
