B2B Cold Email Open Rates 2025: Real Stats & Benchmarks

Does your B2B cold email have a high open rate? Sorry, but you're looking at the wrong metrics! Between Apple MPP which distorts everything (46% of iOS users generating phantom opens) and deliverability issues exploding in 2025, these metrics have become completely meaningless.

In this article, I reveal why the response rate (and even better, the positive response rate) is the ONLY metric that truly matters. Because ultimately, who cares if they open or click: what counts is that they respond!

Let's be real: if you're still focusing on your open rate in 2025, you're wasting your time and budget. The numbers they're selling you? Pure illusion. Since Apple MPP in 2021, 46% of iOS users generate automatic opens without even reading your email. Machines open for you, stats are inflated, but real engagement? Zero.

And what about clicks? Same story. With increasingly aggressive spam filters, your emails barely make it to the inbox. C-levels receive 150+ emails per day and delete without even opening. A click doesn't guarantee anything: passing curiosity, accidental tap, security bot...

Game over to vanity metrics. In 2025, focus on what generates real business: conversations, not pixels or phantom clicks. Response rate is your compass. Everything else is noise.

2025 Open Rates by Industry: Raw Numbers (and Why They're Misleading)

| Industry | Average Open Rate | Click Rate (CTOR) | Average Response Rate |

|-------------------|------------------------|----------------------|----------------------|

| B2B General Average | 39.5% | 5.3% | 1-3% |

| B2B Services | 39.48% | 5.63% | 1.5-2.5% |

| SaaS | 38.14% | 6.81% | 2-4% |

| Technology | 37.2% | 6.18% | 1.8-3.2% |

| Construction | 42.1% | 5.94% | 1.2-2.8% |

| Solar/Energy | 48% | 5.45% | 1.5-3% |

| Finance/Insurance | 36.8% | 5.21% | 1-2.5% |

| Consulting | 40.3% | 6.12% | 2-3.5% |

39.5% B2B open rate? Sounds great, right? Except these numbers are worthless. Apple Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) automatically preloads emails since 2021, even if nobody reads them. Result? Artificially inflated rates by 18 points. Nearly 46% of users are on Apple Mail. These "opens" are ghosts.

And clicks? Not much better. B2B Services: 5.63% CTOR. SaaS: 6.81%. Tech sector reaches 6.18%. But how many actually respond? That's the real question.

Because between deliverability issues exploding in 2025 (inbox placement dropping, overpowered spam filters, sender reputation massacred at the slightest mistake) and decision-makers' saturated inboxes, your emails barely reach their destination. And when they do, a click guarantees nothing: 2 seconds of curiosity, accidental click, security bot...

The only metric that truly matters: response rate. And even better, positive response rate. A prospect who responds "Not interested"? That's already better than a phantom click, at least it's a real human. A prospect who responds "Interested, let's discuss?" Jackpot: that's concrete business.

In 2025, combine email, LinkedIn, SMS and calls in omnichannel. It crushes it and doubles response rates!

But first: take care of your deliverability like your business depends on it (because it does). Without it, even the best message ends up in spam. Blacklist your ROI if you don't take care of it.

Why Your Open Rate Is (Probably) Fake: Thanks Apple!

Apple's Mail Privacy Protection (MPP), launched in 2021, changed everything. It automatically preloads email images in Apple Mail. Even if nobody opens them, the tracking pixel triggers. Result: artificial opens.

Before MPP, B2B open rates were 22.6%. Six months later, they jumped to 40.5%. That's +18 artificial points. A real mirage.

Apple Mail holds 46.21% of the email client market (source: Litmus 2025). Nearly half of users have their data distorted. Monitoring opens is like flying a plane with a broken gauge.

So how do you escape this trap of fake metrics? By focusing on what really matters: response rate. Because a response is a real conversation starting. It's a human taking the time to respond to you. It's concrete business, not a phantom pixel.

How to Explode Your Response Rate (The REAL Metric That Matters)

1. Segment Your List Like a Sniper, Not a Butcher

Before even writing your email, clean and enrich your database. Segment by:

- Specific title (not just "Director" but "Marketing Director SME 10-50 employees")

- Specific pain point (each segment has a different pain point)

- Industry (a SaaS message ≠ a construction message)

- Company size (a startup CEO doesn't talk like a VP or Head Of)

A clean and enriched list = fewer bounces = better deliverability = more responses.

2. Apply a Copywriting Framework That Works

Forget generic templates. Use proven frameworks:

- PAS (Problem-Agitate-Solution): identify the problem, agitate the pain, propose your solution

- AIDA (Attention-Interest-Desire-Action): punchy hook, clear benefit, social proof, simple CTA

- BAB (Before-After-Bridge): current crappy situation, vision of after, your offer as the bridge

The secret? Hyper-personalization. Mention something specific to their company (LinkedIn post, news, ongoing project). It shows you're not mass emailing.

3. Perfect Your Follow-ups (That's Where You Win)

80% of sales happen after 5+ follow-ups. But 44% of salespeople give up after 1 email. Structure your follow-ups:

- Day 3: Provide additional value (article, case study, insight)

- Day 7: Change angle, ask a different question

- Day 14: "Break-up email" (last email before abandonment, often the most effective)

Each follow-up must be standalone (understandable even if the first wasn't read) and bring something new.

4. Take Care of Your Deliverability Like Your Business Depends on It

Without deliverability, even the best message ends up in spam. Check:

- Domain warm-up (gradually increase volume)

- SPF, DKIM, DMARC configured correctly

- Bounce rate < 2% (regularly clean your list)

- Avoid spam words (free, urgent, promotion, click here...)

- Progressive sending volume (not 500 emails at once)

Deliverability remains stable at 98% on average. But if your emails land in spam, that 98% is useless.

The future of cold email in 2025? Real conversations, not fake numbers. Focus on concrete engagement: responses, booked meetings, signed deals. The rest is noise.

Don't Put All Your Eggs in One Basket: The Importance of Multichannel

Without multichannel, up to 70% of opportunities lost. The pros know it, do you?

The harsh reality: a single channel in 2025 is shooting yourself in the foot. B2B decision-makers are solicited from everywhere. If you limit yourself to email, you're playing with one arm tied behind your back.

LinkedIn + Email = winning combo. LinkedIn DMs on connected profiles show 100% open rate. Cold emails plateau. Combine both to multiply your visibility and response rate by 3 to 7x.

The Multichannel Framework That Crushes in 2025

Step 1: LinkedIn as Scout

- Engage on their posts (like + relevant comment, not just an emoji or generic phrase)

- Check their profile (they'll see your visit if you're visible)

- Identify a hook angle (recent post, job change, company news)

Step 2: Ultra-Personalized Email

- Reference their recent LinkedIn activity

- Show you did your homework

- Short message (less than 150 words), clear value, simple CTA

Step 3: LinkedIn Connection Request

- Personalized note referencing your email

- Create consistency between both touchpoints

- Reinforce your credibility

Result: Three strategic touchpoints = response rate multiplied by 3 to 7x compared to a single channel.

Building these systems has been my passion since 2015. Discover my outbound approach.