What is an acceptable complaint rate?

Industry best practice targets a complaint rate below 0.1% (1 complaint per 1,000 delivered messages). This threshold keeps you safely within acceptable ranges at major providers.

Gmail's 2024 requirements mandate spam rates stay below 0.3%, with strong emphasis on keeping below 0.1%. Persistent rates above these thresholds trigger increased filtering.

Yahoo enforces similar thresholds through their Complaint Feedback Loop. Consistent high rates can result in blocks.

Rates above 0.5% are serious warning signs. Rates above 1% typically indicate fundamental problems with list quality or consent.

Complaint rate is like your cargo rejection ratio. Occasional returns are normal commerce. A dock where one in a hundred shipments gets refused suggests quality control problems.