Email Deliverability Benchmark Report H1 2026 vs H1 2025: Inbox Placement Across 5 Major Providers & 3 Sending Volume Tiers [+ PDF Inside]
Our recent email deliverability report presents comparative data on the average Inbox placement rates collected from the tests made in GlockApps during the first half of 2025 and the respective period in 2026.
The statistics are grouped by:
- Major free providers: AOL, Gmail, Hotmail, Outlook, Yahoo;
- Monthly volume tiers:
- 1-10K emails per month;
- 10-50K emails per month;
- 50-200K emails per month.
Key Findings
- The average Inbox rate across free providers and all sender tiers increased by 6% in the first part of 2026 compared to the first part of 2025;
- The average Inbox rate across free providers and senders with 1-10K emails per month increased by 4%;
- The average Inbox rate for senders with 10-50K emails per month dropped by 2% in H1 2026 vs H1 2025;
- The average Inbox rate for senders with 50-200K emails per month increased by 4% in H1 2026 compared to H1 2025.
Check out the details below 👇
Email Statistics H1 2026 vs H1 2025: Provider-Based Deliverability Benchmarks
The analysis of thousands of GlockApps tests revealed the following average Inbox placement rates for major free providers across all senders:
| Inbox Provider | Average Inbox Rate (%), H1 2026 | Average Inbox Rate (%), H1 2025 | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| AOL | 48,71 | 44,60 | +4,11 |
| Gmail (6+ months) | 62,40 | 55,80 | +6,60 |
| Gmail (4+ years) | 62,40 | 54,17 | +8,88 |
| Hotmail | 36,35 | 30,16 | +6,19 |
| Outlook | 34,67 | 28,70 | +5,97 |
| Yahoo | 48,87 | 44,48 | +4,39 |
| Total: | 49,00 | 42,98 | +6,02 |
Email Statistics H1 2026 vs H1 2025: Average Email deliverability Rates by Providers
One thing brings attention immediately – all free providers improved their deliverability in the first half of 2026 compared to 2025. The highest increase (+8%) is noticed for Gmail aged email addresses (4+ years).
Email Statistics H1 2026 vs H1 2025: Volume-Based Deliverability Benchmarks
The data below compares the average Inbox placement rates for major free providers based on the email volume sent per month, showcasing the change in H1 2026 vs H1 2025 for each provider.
Volume-Based Deliverability Benchmarks: 1-10K Emails / Month
| Inbox Provider | Average Inbox Rate (%), H1 2026 | Average Inbox Rate (%), H1 2025 | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| AOL | 55,24 | 39,68 | +15,56 |
| Gmail (6+ months) | 50,58 | 57,78 | -7,20 |
| Gmail (4+ years) | 50,13 | 53,51 | -3,38 |
| Hotmail | 17,88 | 14,04 | +3,84 |
| Outlook | 16,88 | 13,29 | +3,59 |
| Yahoo | 56,93 | 39,48 | +17,45 |
| Total: | 41,27 | 36,29 | +4,98 |
Volume-Based Deliverability Benchmarks: 1-10K Emails / Month
Three things stand out at once:
- AOL improved the average Inbox placement rate by 15% in H1 2026 compared to H1 2025;
- Yahoo improved the average Inbox placement rate by 17% in H1 2026 compared to H1 2025;
- Gmail’s average Inbox rate decreased by 7% for 6+ month mailboxes and by 3% for 4+ year mailboxes.
Volume-Based Deliverability Benchmarks: 10-50K Emails / Month
| Inbox Provider | Average Inbox Rate (%), H1 2026 | Average Inbox Rate (%), H1 2025 | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| AOL | 35,60 | 49,02 | -13,42 |
| Gmail (6+ months) | 67,74 | 56,86 | +10,88 |
| Gmail (4+ years) | 64,72 | 57,26 | +7,46 |
| Hotmail | 34,70 | 37,38 | -2,68 |
| Outlook | 33,53 | 36,53 | -3,00 |
| Yahoo | 34,92 | 48,84 | -13,92 |
| Total: | 45,20 | 47,64 | -2,44 |
Volume-Based Deliverability Benchmarks: 50-200K Emails / Month
For senders with a monthly volume of 10-50K, the remarkable changes are:
- The average Inbox rate for AOL and Yahoo decreased by 13% in H1 2026 compared to H1 2025;
- On the opposite side, Gmail’s average Inbox rate increased by 7-10% in the first half of 2026 compared to the same period in 2025.
Volume-Based Deliverability Benchmarks: 50-200K Emails / Month
| Inbox Provider | Average Inbox Rate (%), H1 2026 | Average Inbox Rate (%), H1 2025 | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| AOL | 51,75 | 54,47 | -2,72 |
| Gmail (6+ months) | 71,15 | 67,06 | +4,09 |
| Gmail (4+ years) | 70,73 | 63,94 | +6,79 |
| Hotmail | 41,07 | 31,55 | +9,52 |
| Outlook | 39,06 | 29,48 | +9,58 |
| Yahoo | 52,13 | 54,87 | -2,74 |
| Total: | 54,31 | 50,22 | +4,09 |
Volume-Based Deliverability Benchmarks: 50-200K Emails / Month
For senders with 50-200K emails per month, the biggest changes are:
- Hotmail and Outlook increased the average Inbox rates by 9% in H1 2026 vs H1 2025;
- The average Inbox placement rates with AOL and Yahoo dropped by 2% in the first half of 2026 compared to the same period in 2025.
To find out more 👇
Get Your Free "Email Deliverability Statistics ‘25/26" PDF Report
What’s inside:
- Average email deliverability rates by ESP: comparison of 17 popular email service providers;
- Average email deliverability benchmarks for business providers: Office365, Google Workspace, Amazon Workmail, Att.net, Gmx.com, Zoho;
- Average email deliverability statistics for largest sender tiers: 200-1,000K /month and 1,000+K /month.
See how your results compare to the average industry rates in the full report. 👉
