What is Soft Bounce?
TL;DR
A temporary email delivery failure, the address exists but the message couldn't be delivered right now. Common causes: recipient's mailbox is full, email server is temporarily down, message is too large, or the server is temporarily rejecting due to volume. Unlike Hard Bounces, soft bounces may succeed on retry. Email platforms typically retry soft bounces several times automatically. However, addresses that consistently soft bounce should eventually be removed, repeated failures suggest the address is effectively unusable. Monitor soft bounce patterns; a sudden spike might indicate a problem with your email content (triggering spam filters) or sending infrastructure rather than recipient issues. A healthy soft bounce rate is under 1% per campaign.
On this page
Frequently Asked Questions About Soft Bounce
What causes soft bounces?
Temporary issues: recipient's mailbox is full, their server is temporarily down, your message is too large, or their server is rate-limiting due to volume. The address exists but can't receive your email right now.
Will soft bounces resolve on their own?
Often yes. Email platforms automatically retry soft bounces. However, addresses that repeatedly soft bounce (full inboxes that never get cleared, consistently unavailable servers) should eventually be removed.
When should I remove soft bounced addresses?
After 3-5 consecutive soft bounces across different campaigns. If an address can never receive email, it's functionally unusable. Most platforms track this and eventually convert repeat soft bounces to hard bounces.
What if soft bounces suddenly spike?
Could be a problem on your end, email content triggering spam filters, sending too fast, or authentication issues. Could also be a major email provider having problems. Investigate the pattern before assuming it's your list.
Terms Related to Soft Bounce
Hard Bounce
An email returned because the address is permanently undeliverable, the address doesn't exist, the domain is invalid, or...
Read definition Email MarketingAbandoned Cart Email
Automated emails sent when someone adds products to their shopping cart but doesn't complete the purchase, recovering po...
Read definition Email MarketingClick-to-Open Rate
The percentage of email openers who clicked a link, Clicks ÷ Opens × 100. This measures how compelling your email conten...
Read definition Email MarketingDouble Opt-In
A subscription process requiring email confirmation before adding someone to your Email List, they sign up, then must cl...
Read definition Email MarketingDrip Campaign
A series of pre-written emails sent automatically over time, "dripping" messages at scheduled intervals. Unlike one-off...
Read definition Email MarketingDynamic Content
Email content that changes based on subscriber attributes or behavior, showing different content to different people wit...
Read definition