Whether your emails actually reach the inbox, rather than the spam folder or being blocked. It depends on authentication, sender reputation, complaints and how people engage with your mail.
Example
Meera's emails are 'delivered' to 8,000 addresses, but if Gmail puts many of them in spam, few people see them. Good deliverability means most land in the inbox.
How you'll hear it
“Our delivery rate is fine; it's deliverability that's the problem; half of it is going to promotions or spam.”
Don't confuse it with
- Delivery rate: emails the receiving server accepted, which includes those sent to spam.
- Open rate: what people did after the email arrived.
Related terms
Sources
- The Marketer's Guide to Email Deliverability, Litmus, 2025
- Email sender guidelines, Google (Gmail Help)