Send Time Calculator
Estimate practical send windows for your audience
Timing Is Everything
The timing of your email campaigns can affect visibility and engagement, but there is no universal best time. Use a planning estimate alongside your own audience data and campaign history.
How This Tool Helps
Our Send Time Calculator uses the selected time zone and available timing heuristics to suggest practical windows for scheduling. Treat the results as a starting point, then compare them with your own results.
Calculate suggested send windows
Email Send Time Best Practices
What Research Shows
Studies on email engagement patterns have consistently found certain trends in open and click rates:
- Best days: Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday typically show the highest engagement rates
- Best times: 10 AM, 2 PM, and 4 PM local time tend to perform best
- Worst days: Saturday and Sunday generally have the lowest open rates
- Low engagement times: Early morning (before 7 AM) and evening (after 6 PM)
Why These Times Work
| Time Slot | Why It Works |
|---|---|
| Mid-Morning (10 AM) | People have settled into their work day, cleared urgent overnight emails, and are often taking a short break |
| Early Afternoon (2 PM) | Post-lunch when people are looking for a mental break and often checking emails |
| Late Afternoon (4 PM) | When people are winding down their day and doing final email checks before heading home |
| Tuesday-Thursday | Mid-week when people are most productive and engaged with work communications |
Factors That affect suggested send windows
While these general guidelines are helpful, your specific audience may have different behaviors. Consider these factors:
- Your audience demographics: B2B vs B2C, industry, job roles, etc.
- Past campaign performance: Analyze your historical open and click data
- Geographic distribution: Consider where your audience is physically located
- Mobile vs desktop usage: Mobile users often check email throughout the day
- Seasonal factors: Behavior changes during holidays, summer months, etc.
Best Practices for Global Audiences
- Segment by time zone: Group recipients by geographic region
- Use recipient local time: Schedule delivery based on each recipient's time zone
- Test and learn: A/B test different send times and analyze results
- Consider cultural differences: Work patterns vary across countries and cultures
Need More Advanced Scheduling?
With a BuffSend account, you gain access to advanced send time features:
- AI-powered send time optimization based on individual engagement history
- Automatic time zone detection and scheduling
- A/B testing of send times with automated winner selection
- Detailed analytics on engagement by time of day and day of week
- Create a free account to access these features