State of Cold Email Lists
By the OS Tools team · Last updated
On real cold email lists verified with OS Tools, 43.5% of addresses were safe to send, 53.7% came back risky, catch-all or unknown, and 2.8% were invalid. When the risky ones were re-checked with Verify+, 89.7% turned out to be safe.
The numbers
| Emails analysed | 27,270 |
|---|---|
| Safe to send | 43.5% |
| Risky, catch-all or unknown | 53.7% |
| Invalid | 2.8% |
| Risky addresses re-checked with Verify+ | 2,658 |
| Confirmed safe after Verify+ | 89.7% |
| Jobs completed | 1,638 |
What this means
Half of a typical list can't be confirmed on a first pass. Throwing those addresses away wastes good leads, and sending to them risks bounces. A second pass settles most of them. Start with the Email Verifier, then run the risky rows through Verify+.
Method
Figures come straight from completed jobs, excluding internal test addresses. No customer or address is ever published, only totals. Results are deleted after 30 days, so the numbers cover lists verified since 2026-09-16. They refresh each time the site is updated. You may quote them with a link to this page. Plain-text version: data.md.