Why throttling rates aren't one size fits all

Email throttling controls how quickly your emails are sent. It's an important deliverability tool, helping you balance sending speed with inbox placement and sender reputation. This article explains why there's no single throttling rate that suits everyone, and how to choose the right one for you.

Is there a recommended throttling number?

You might be looking for a specific number, for example "send 100 per hour for eight hours per day". In practice, though, there isn't a single rate that works for every sender. The right throttling speed depends on your goals, your timing and your sending reputation, which can vary significantly from account to account.

Because of this, throttling is best approached as a flexible setting rather than a fixed number.

What should I consider when setting my throttling speed?

Several factors affect how quickly you should send your emails:

• Your delivery deadline. If your campaign must be finished by a specific time, for example before an event starts, your throttling should allow all of your emails to be sent before that point. But if that rate is extraordinarily fast compared to your regular sending, you risk the major email providers blocklisting you. Many or all of your emails from that point onward could then end up in spam folders and never reach the inbox.
• How firm that deadline really is. A newsletter, for instance, can be sent gradually throughout the week, or even across a month, without issue. In fact, if you send your monthly newsletter to the same audience at the same start time each month, each contact will typically receive it at roughly the same time month after month.
• Your current send rate. You can see this under Daily Volume in your Deliverability Report. If you want help reading it, learn more in our How to use the Deliverability Report feature article. You may need some quick maths to work out how many emails are being sent per hour, and how many hours per day your sends are active.

Why do we recommend sending as slowly as possible?

If your IP address or domain is new, it needs to be warmed up before you send large volumes. Warming up gradually helps build trust with receiving mail servers and prevents your messages from being flagged as spam.

Because each sender's reputation and history are unique, we can't set a one-size-fits-all number. That's why our best practice advice is always to send as slowly as possible while still meeting your campaign deadline.

What's happening behind the scenes?

We aren't privy to the exact algorithms used by large mailbox providers like Gmail, Outlook and Yahoo. Their systems continuously evolve to detect and filter spam. That means sending too quickly, before your reputation is established, increases your risk of spam filtering or blocklisting. The safest approach is to:

1. Start slowly.
2. Monitor your Deliverability Reports and spam placement over time.
3. Gradually increase your sending speed once you see stable inbox placement.

Building a strong sending reputation that supports higher volumes can take months. This is not a Force24 limitation but a reality of modern email marketing. In recent years, major email providers have become much stricter about sender reputation and consistency.

Summary

There is no universal "safe" throttling number. The right rate depends on your reputation, your sending history and your deadline. Always send as slowly as you can while achieving your goal, and keep a consistent pattern to strengthen your sender reputation over time.