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How long should an e-mail be?
For most work e-mails, 50 to 125 words is enough: a few short sentences that say what you need. Read in about 32 seconds, it gets a quick answer.
Work it out
pages, single-spaced, Arial 12 pt, about 500 words a page
- Handwritten pages
- 0.5
- Reading time
- 32 sec
- Speaking time
- 50 sec–58 sec
- Typing time
- 3 min 8 sec
- Paragraphs
- 1
- Sentences
- 6–8
- Characters with spaces
- about 750
Write it in the word counter with a limit of 125 words.
Open the word counterE-mail in pages and minutes
| Length | Single-spaced | Double-spaced | Reading time | Speaking time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 words | 0.1 | 0.2 | 13 sec | 20 sec–23 sec |
| 125 words | 0.3 | 0.5 | 32 sec | 50 sec–58 sec |
Estimates for US Letter or A4 with 1-inch (2.54 cm) margins and ordinary paragraphs; reading at 238 words a minute, speaking at 130 to 150.
Why short works
People read e-mail in a hurry, often on a phone. An analysis of more than 40 million e-mails by the e-mail app Boomerang found that messages of 50 to 125 words had the highest response rates, around half or more getting a reply. Longer is fine when the content needs it, such as a report or instructions, but a request should be short.
A short e-mail that gets an answer
- Subject line that says what you need, such as “Approve the June budget by Friday?”.
- The ask in the first sentence.
- One or two sentences of context.
- What happens next, or a deadline.
See e-mail subject line length for how much of the subject shows on phones.
Questions and answers
How many words should an e-mail be?
For a request or update, 50 to 125 words. For anything longer, consider a document and a short e-mail pointing to it.
How long should a cold e-mail be?
Usually under 125 words: who you are, why you are writing to this person, and one clear ask.