Should you use open tracking pixels in cold email? My data says no
openrate_nerd · 2026-01-22 · 2,230 views
I ran a 2,000 cold email test. Half with open tracking pixels enabled, half without. Everything else identical.
With tracking: 4%+ reply rate (measured), 3.1% reply rate.
Without tracking: No tracking pixel, 4.2% reply rate.
The no-tracking group had 35% higher reply rates. Tracking pixels add invisible images that spam filters can detect. Removing them improves deliverability and inbox placement.
My recommendation: turn off open tracking for cold email. Focus on reply rate as your primary metric instead. If you must track opens, use custom domain tracking to minimize the spam filter impact.
Comments (3)
mailermark · 2026-01-23
been saying this for months. tracking pixels are a deliverability tax. most sending platforms add them by default and nobody thinks to turn them off. 35% higher reply rate without them is massive
curiouscathy · 2026-01-23
but how do you know if your campaigns are working without open rate data? reply rate alone feels like flying blind. do you just look at reply rates and trust the process?
openrate_nerd · 2026-01-24
@curiouscathy yeah basically. reply rate is the metric that actually matters. open rates are vanity metrics anyway — they're inaccurate because of email clients that pre-load images or block tracking pixels entirely. focus on replies and meetings booked