Unsubscribe rate, and why a clean exit beats a spam complaint
The people who asked to stop hearing from you, against everyone who got the email. Annoying to watch rise. Far better than the alternative.
- 142Unsubscribe Rate
- The percentage of subscribers who opt out after receiving an email, indicating content relevance and list health.
- Measured as
- Unsubscribes divided by the people who received the email, send by send
- Watch it with
- Spam complaints, which do the damage an unsubscribe never does
- The rules
- UK law wants a working opt-out in every marketing email, and Gmail wants one click from bulk senders
How unsubscribe rate is counted, send by send
Take the people who unsubscribed from an email, divide by the people who received it, and multiply by a hundred. Klaviyo shows it on every campaign and every flow message, so you can see which sends lose people and which don't.
It's a trailing number. People rarely leave because of the email they leave from; they stopped reading weeks before, and this send finally prompted the click. We've written up why the rate creeps up and how to catch the fade before it.
Why an unsubscribe is the cheapest way to lose someone
Let's face it: everyone wants this number at zero. It shouldn't be. Somebody who wants out and can't find the door reaches for the spam button instead. Lose someone to the link and it costs you one address. Lose them to the spam button and it costs you with everyone else on the list.
So make the way out easy. A good unsubscribe link does three things.
- It sits in plain sight in the footer, not hidden in pale grey type
- It works in one click for Gmail and Yahoo, which Klaviyo adds to every email's header for you
- It takes effect straight away, with no login and no survey in the way
None of this is legal advice, and the practical bar sits above the legal one anyway. The ICO's guidance on email marketing asks for a valid way to opt out in every message, acted on promptly.
Reading an unsubscribe spike before you blame the email
A spike on one send is usually that send flushing out people who'd already gone. A long gap before it, a segment that hadn't heard from you in months, or a sudden rise in how often you email will all turn quiet leavers into recorded ones on the same day.
| What you see | What it usually means |
|---|---|
| A spike on one campaign | It reached people who'd stopped reading, and they finally said so |
| A slow climb over months | The emails got samey, or you're sending more often than the list wants |
| High on the welcome flow | The sign-up offer pulled in people who only wanted the code |
| Close to nothing for months | A very happy list, or an unsubscribe link nobody can find |
Check who left and how long they'd been quiet before you rewrite anything. If most of them hadn't clicked in months, the email didn't lose them. It just took the register.
Related terms
FAQs
Can I make people confirm before they unsubscribe?
Keep it to one step. A confirm page or a login stands between somebody and the exit, and the spam button is always one click away. Gmail and Yahoo expect one-click unsubscribe from bulk senders, and a subscriber kept against their will is a complaint waiting to happen.
Does unsubscribing from email stop our texts too?
Not in Klaviyo. Email and text consent are held separately on each profile, so somebody can leave your emails and still get your texts, or the other way round. If a person tells you they want nothing at all, update both, and keep a note that they asked.
What's the difference between unsubscribing and marking an email as spam?
An unsubscribe tells you, privately, that someone's done. A spam complaint tells the mailbox provider, and it counts against how your future email to everybody gets treated. That's why the unsubscribe link should be easy to find. It's the exit you want people to use.
Rather we explained it on your own account?
Bring your Klaviyo account to a growth consultation. We'll walk through what this means for your numbers, in plain English, and what we'd fix first.
Half an hour with Theo, our founder.
We're all about relationships built on trust, mutual respect and a shared vision for success. If that sounds like your vibe, let's make some waves together 🌊
