The best time to send a cold email
Send it when the recipient starts their working day, in their own time zone. We use 09:30 local time on a working day: late enough that they have cleared the overnight pile, early enough that your email sits near the top when they settle in. The exact minute matters less than three things: their time zone, not yours; a working day in their country; and not a public holiday.
Their time zone, not yours
An email sent at 09:30 in London lands at 04:30 in New York and at 17:30 in Singapore. In both cases it is buried under everything that arrives before they look. Schedule each email by the recipient's own location. For countries that span several time zones, such as the United States, Canada, Brazil and Australia, use the city, not the country.
Why 09:30
- Inbox position: most people scan new mail when they start work. Email that arrives just after that first sweep is near the top when they come back to it.
- Not the overnight pile: email that arrives at 03:00 competes with newsletters and notifications in one batch, and is easy to clear in bulk.
- Room to reply: a morning email leaves the working day to answer it.
Published studies on send times disagree, and most measure newsletters or marketing campaigns rather than one to one cold email. Treat 09:30 as a sensible default and compare reply rates if you have the volume.
Which days
Send on working days. Weekend email waits for Monday's pile. Not every country has a Saturday and Sunday weekend:
| Country | Weekend | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| Most of Europe, the Americas, India | Saturday and Sunday | High |
| Israel | Friday and Saturday (Sunday is a working day) | High |
| Saudi Arabia | Friday and Saturday | High |
| United Arab Emirates | Saturday and Sunday since January 2022, with a shorter Friday in government | Moderate |
Check public holidays in the recipient's region. Germany, Spain and Switzerland, among others, have holidays that differ by state, region or canton, and many offices in Europe run thin in August and between Christmas and New Year.
The daylight saving trap
The United States changes its clocks on the second Sunday in March and the first Sunday in November. The EU and UK change on the last Sunday in March and the last Sunday in October. For a few weeks each spring and autumn the gap between New York and London is four hours instead of five. Store each recipient's time zone as a named zone, such as America/New_York, and let software do the conversion, rather than a fixed offset like UTC-5.
Follow-ups follow the same rule
Send each follow-up at a sensible local time on a working day too. See how many follow-ups to send, and when.
How Reach times its emails
In Reach, Courier sends each approved email from your own mailbox at 09:30 in the recipient's time zone, so a list that spans Berlin, New York and São Paulo arrives at the start of each person's day.
Checklist
- Record each recipient's city or named time zone.
- Schedule for about 09:30 their local time.
- Send on their working days only.
- Skip public holidays in their region.
- Use named time zones so daylight saving changes are handled.
- Give follow-ups the same local timing.
- Compare reply rates before changing the default.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best time to send a cold email?
At the start of the recipient's working day in their own time zone. We use 09:30 local time on a working day. Studies disagree on the exact hour, so the time zone and working day matter more than the minute.
What is the best day to send a cold email?
Any working day in the recipient's country. Avoid weekends, which are Friday and Saturday in Israel and Saudi Arabia, and public holidays in their region.
Should I send cold emails on weekends?
Usually not. Weekend email waits under Monday's pile. If the recipient's working week includes Sunday, as in Israel, Sunday is a working day for them.
How do I handle time zones when emailing people in several countries?
Store each person's named time zone, such as Europe/Berlin, and schedule each email for their local morning. Named zones handle daylight saving changes automatically.