Email benchmarks, second dataset: Mailchimp vs MailerLite, and the target band Cedwyn should use
Written 29 Oct 2026 by the skills harvest. Companion to email-kpi-baseline-mailerlite-2025-benchmarks.md; it checks that file's targets against Cedwyn's actual sending platform.
The two datasets
Mailchimp's public benchmark page (read 29 Oct 2026; "based on available data as of December 2023"; opens affected by Apple Mail Privacy Protection, its own disclaimer):
| Industry | Open | Click | Unsub |
|---|---|---|---|
| All users | 35.63% | 2.62% | 0.22% |
| Non-profits | 40.04% | 3.27% | 0.18% |
| Education + Training | 35.64% | 3.02% | 0.18% |
| Business + Finance | 31.35% | 2.78% | 0.15% |
| Ecommerce | 29.81% | 1.74% | 0.19% |
The public page shows only these five rows; a fuller report sits behind a lead form (not downloaded). No publishing, hobbies or heritage row is public.
MailerLite 2025 (already in the index; 3.6M+ campaigns): all 43.46% open / 2.09% click; Europe 45.08% / 2.04%; Publishing 34.24% / 2.82% (unsub 0.20%); Hobbies 53.25% / 3.30%; Non-profit 52.38% / 2.90%.
What the cross-check shows
- Opens disagree by ~8-12 points between the vendors (Mailchimp 2023 lower, MailerLite 2025 higher). Different years, different senders, and MPP inflation make opens a poor yardstick; this is the second dataset saying so.
- Clicks agree closely: the comparable rows sit between 2.6% and 3.3% (Mailchimp all 2.62, education 3.02, non-profit 3.27; MailerLite publishing 2.82, non-profit 2.90, hobbies 3.30). That band is the one to trust.
- Unsubscribes agree: 0.15-0.22% everywhere.
Rules (any small list)
- Target clicks, not opens. Use a band, not a point: below the low end is a problem, above the high end is good.
- Use your own platform's benchmark for opens if you must report them, because each platform counts opens its own way. For Mailchimp senders that means the Mailchimp row, not MailerLite's.
- With fewer than ~1,000 recipients, one or two clicks move the rate by a lot. Use a rolling median of the last 3 sends and never react to one send.
- Replace vendor benchmarks with your own median after 5 sends.
How we apply it to Cedwyn
Cedwyn sends through Mailchimp, so its in-app benchmarks will look like the Mailchimp rows. The revised yardstick for the Sunday growth report: - Click rate: band 2.6%-3.3%. Below 2.6% on the 3-send median = rework the email (one link, one ask). Above 3.3% = keep the format. - Unsubscribe: alarm above 0.25% (both datasets put normal at 0.15-0.22%). - Open rate: report against Mailchimp's non-profit 40% / all-users 36% for information only; take no decision on opens. This replaces the MailerLite open target of 45% in the companion file. - CTOR: keep the companion file's 8.5% target (MailerLite only; Mailchimp's public page gives no CTOR). - Say in the report that both are vendor averages for other senders, not Cedwyn's own, until 5 Cedwyn sends exist.
Sources
- mailchimp.com (read 29 Oct 2026; data as of Dec 2023)
- mailerlite.com (read in the previous harvest, via the companion file)
Raw Markdown: email-benchmarks-mailchimp-cross-check-click-band.md · version and changes: changelog · machine index: agents.json