How Many Emails Are Sent Per Day In 2026?

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Electronic mail, or email (as it is now more commonly known), was invented in 1971 by Ray Tomlinson. Since then, it has slowly replaced snail mail due to its convenience and speed. While instant messaging has expanded quickly, email remains the backbone of professional communication. It is no longer just a means to message friends and family; it is used daily by almost all office workers and remains a highly effective marketing tool.

Recent years have seen companies permanently adopt hybrid and online models. This, combined with the integration of AI in drafting and sorting messages, has had a significant impact on the number of emails we send. Keep reading to find out the most notable email statistics in 2026.

Top Email Statistics for 2026

As mentioned, the shift to digital-first communication has continued to grow. Here are the top email statistics for 2026:

• 392.5 billion emails are sent and received per day globally.
• 4.6 billion email users worldwide.
• 5.6 billion active email accounts worldwide—Gmail remains the leader with over 1.8 billion active users.
• ~272 million emails are sent per minute. (This is a massive increase from older data which cited only ~149,000).
• The average person has 1.75 email accounts (usually one for personal use and one for work/junk).
• For email users, Tuesday remains the best time to send an email if you want a quick response, followed closely by Thursday.

USA Email Statistics

As one of the largest groups of email users, the US has some interesting email statistics of its own:

• 270 million US email users.
• Currently, over 92% of all adults in the US use email.
• The number of email users in the US continues to grow steadily.
• Despite the rise of Slack and Teams, email remains the primary formal communication channel for 80% of US adults in business.

Mobile vs. Desktop Emails

Mobile Email Usage As smartphones have become our primary devices, checking email on the go is the standard.

• In 2026, approximately 60% of all email opens occur on mobile devices.
• 85% of email users access their email on a mobile phone; for users aged 25–34, this rises to 90%.

Desktop Email Usage Given the dominance of mobile, desktop usage is more specialized for drafting long responses.

• Current data shows that while people read on mobile, they prefer to reply on desktop.
• Desktop opens now account for roughly 40% of interactions, mostly during standard business hours (9 AM – 5 PM).

How Do You Compare to The Average Office Worker?

Statistics show that roughly 40 business emails are sent per day by the average office worker.

If you think that sounds like a lot, you may be shocked to find out that 121 business-related emails are received each day by the average person! This means approximately 30,000+ emails hit the average office worker’s inbox every year.

These massive amounts of business emails take up a lot of time—an average of 15.5 hours a week to be exact (equivalent to nearly two full workdays). Given this, it is not surprising that 55% of workers agree emails can distract them from their primary job duties.

Check your own stats: If you have a business email through Gmail and are curious to find out how you compare:

1. Sign into Gmail and click on your profile picture (top-right).
2. Select Manage your Google Account.
3. Select the Data & privacy tab on the left side.
4. Scroll down to the “Apps and services” section and find Gmail.
5. This dashboard displays how many emails are in your inbox, sent folder, and trash.

All About Spam Emails

When looking at the statistics for 2026, the volume of email is driven heavily by spam.

• 188 billion spam emails are sent per day as of 2026 (accounting for nearly 48% of all email traffic).

Where are these spam emails coming from? The landscape of spam origin has shifted over the last few years.

• United States: currently the #1 source of spam volume (due to high digital infrastructure), accounting for roughly 15–20% of global spam.
• China: consistently in second place.
• Russia: remains a top source, though it has dropped to third place in total volume compared to previous years.

Countries Which Send The Least Spam Strict regulations in the EU have helped reduce spam output from countries like Germany, Poland, and Spain, which contribute minimal percentages to the global spam volume.

How Has Email Marketing Affected These Statistics?

Email marketing remains a powerhouse despite the rise of influencer marketing and chatbots. Why? Because it delivers results.

High ROI: Email marketing returns an average of $36 to $40 for every $1 spent.

• 73% of millennials prefer communication from a brand or SEO agency to be sent to them via email.
• 59% of respondents report that marketing emails have impacted their purchase decisions.
• 78% of marketers have reported increased email engagement over the last year.
• 80% of business professionals believe email marketing increases customer retention.

Email marketing is also very prominent amongst B2B SEO marketers, and for good reason:

• 81% of B2B marketers report that email newsletters are their most used form of content marketing.
• 87% of B2B marketers report that email is one of their top free organic distribution channels.
• The second-most common technology B2B organizations use to assist with content marketing is mail marketing software.
• Roughly 85% of marketers say they use mail marketing software at work.

Tips For Increasing Your Open Rate

With all of the email traffic that currently exists, the emails you send can often be overlooked.

• In 2026 the average email open rate across several industries was 17.92%.
• Also in 2026, the average click-through rate (CTR) across these same industries was 2.69%.

So what does this mean for your business or brand when you send a marketing email?

• 82% of people won’t even open your email.
• 97% of people won’t follow any links in the email.

Here are some ways to increase the open rate of your email marketing campaign:

1. Vary the subject line so your email doesn’t get marked as spam.
2. Personalize the subject line to include the receiver’s name – this is not only attention-grabbing but also makes your email seem more relevant and useful.
3. Include an emoji in the subject line – this will help you stand out according to a study conducted by Experian which revealed that 56% of brands with an emoji in their email subject lines had higher unique open rates.
4. Make sure your subject line isn’t too long – mobile devices usually only show 30-40 characters.
5. Ensure your subject line covers these 5 elements: curiosity, urgency, relevancy, value and emotion

Hopefully, these statistics have not only been interesting but have also provided some valuable information for you and your business in 2026.