# Difference between "Sent" and "Delivered" email?

**URL:** <https://community.hubspot.com/t/difference-between-sent-and-delivered-email/47838>\
**Category:** CRM\
**Tags:** sales-email\
**Created:** [December 1, 2021, 11:02pm UTC](https://community.hubspot.com/t/difference-between-sent-and-delivered-email/47838 "2021-12-01T23:02:40Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![CharlieTG](https://d10pqhm3lwygmk.cloudfront.net/user_avatar/community.hubspot.com/charlietg/32/22307_2.png) [@CharlieTG](https://community.hubspot.com/u/CharlieTG)\
**Post date:** [December 1, 2021, 11:02pm UTC](https://community.hubspot.com/t/difference-between-sent-and-delivered-email/47838/1 "2021-12-01T23:02:40Z")

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What is the difference between “Sent” and “Delivered” email? Is my Sent email just floating around in cyberspace? Caught by their spam filter but not a true bounce? I am assuming all my mail is sent unless I get a bounce notification. Do I need to create a notice setting for “Sent” to see what emails did not get delivered? Thanks!

 ![Capture Tonya Bell.JPG](https://d2qpr2jzcazej7.cloudfront.net/original/3X/d/b/db04da4a70dadade6e4a2db3f9b3f2cb1e1a92f3.jpeg)

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**Author:** ![system](https://d10pqhm3lwygmk.cloudfront.net/user_avatar/community.hubspot.com/system/32/124_2.png) [@system](https://community.hubspot.com/u/system)\
**Post date:** [December 2, 2021, 4:55am UTC](https://community.hubspot.com/t/difference-between-sent-and-delivered-email/47838/2 "2021-12-02T04:55:20Z")

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Hi @CharlieTG ,  
**Email sent** activity confirms that the email which you have sent has been dispatched from Marketo to be delivered  
Whereas  
**Email delivered** activity is recorded when the recipient email server responds that the email has been accepted for delivery.  
It is not necessary that your email is just floating around in cyberspace. Sometimes servers are busy, sometimes the recipient is in some geographical area that he/she can’t be reached out to. There could be multiple reasons  
If your GDPR settings are correct and you are allowed to send the emails to your recipient then your emails will not go to their spam and even if it goes to the spam. It will be considered as sent and delivered because it has eventually reached to their servers  
There’s no such need to create a notification as it is always reflected in your system about the status of the email deliverability.

Hope this helps!

If we were able to answer your query, kindly help the community by marking it as a solution.  
Thanks and Regards.

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**Author:** ![karstenkoehler](https://d10pqhm3lwygmk.cloudfront.net/user_avatar/community.hubspot.com/karstenkoehler/32/68554_2.png) [@karstenkoehler](https://community.hubspot.com/u/karstenkoehler)\
**Post date:** [December 2, 2021, 5:21am UTC](https://community.hubspot.com/t/difference-between-sent-and-delivered-email/47838/3 "2021-12-02T05:21:54Z")

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Hi @CharlieTG,

“Sent” refers to all contacts on your selected recipient lists minus blocked recipients (exclusion lists) – essentially these are all the emails that are starting their journey, but necessarily arriving at the destination. That’s what “Delivered” is referring to, these are all contacts whose email server sent HubSpot a response stating that the email was delivered, see also [here](https://knowledge.hubspot.com/email/analyze-your-marketing-email-campaign-performance#recipients).

Under this link you’ll also find a “Not sent” section and it’s always a good idea to review this section. These “Not sent” emails can have multiple reasons, I’ve outlined the most common ones [here](https://community.hubspot.com/t5/Email-Marketing-Tool/Email/m-p/485517).

Let me know if you have any follow-up questions!

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**Author:** ![CharlieTG](https://d10pqhm3lwygmk.cloudfront.net/user_avatar/community.hubspot.com/charlietg/32/22307_2.png) [@CharlieTG](https://community.hubspot.com/u/CharlieTG)\
**Post date:** [December 2, 2021, 2:31pm UTC](https://community.hubspot.com/t/difference-between-sent-and-delivered-email/47838/4 "2021-12-02T14:31:25Z")

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Hi, thanks, but I still wonder why a single email sent by me on Nov 18 still shows as “sent” on Dec 2, while a bulk marketing email that went out on Nov 30 shows as Delivered (as in the example above). So my first email has not yet been delivered (or accepted by their server) in a timely fashion after I left a voice mail stating I would be sending an email. They only receieved one email almost two weeks after the fact. By the definitions I have been presented, Sent email means they have not yet gotten the email. Am I understanding that correctly?

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**Author:** ![karstenkoehler](https://d10pqhm3lwygmk.cloudfront.net/user_avatar/community.hubspot.com/karstenkoehler/32/68554_2.png) [@karstenkoehler](https://community.hubspot.com/u/karstenkoehler)\
**Post date:** [December 2, 2021, 2:35pm UTC](https://community.hubspot.com/t/difference-between-sent-and-delivered-email/47838/5 "2021-12-02T14:35:26Z")

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Hi @CharlieTG,

Are you referring to two marketing emails sent to the same recipient, one sent, the other delivered? Then yes, you are understanding this correctly.

For sales emails, email tracking is based on an invisible one-pixel image in the email, see here: [Understand HubSpot Sales email open and click tracking | Knowledge Base](https://knowledge.hubspot.com/connected-email/understand-hubspot-sales-email-open-and-click-tracking) – as long as that pixel isn’t loaded, HubSpot can’t tell exactly what has happened to that email.

In any case, this is somewhat out of your hands. HubSpot does not have any control over the receiving email service provider, it’s simply providing you with the message that the receiving server is sharing or the closest conclusion when nothing is shared. It’s mysterious, yes, but very hard to investigate. You could work with the IT department of the recipient but that is usually unrealistic as we’re talking about a potential customer or customer which we don’t want to bother.

Best regards!

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**Author:** ![CharlieTG](https://d10pqhm3lwygmk.cloudfront.net/user_avatar/community.hubspot.com/charlietg/32/22307_2.png) [@CharlieTG](https://community.hubspot.com/u/CharlieTG)\
**Post date:** [December 2, 2021, 2:42pm UTC](https://community.hubspot.com/t/difference-between-sent-and-delivered-email/47838/6 "2021-12-02T14:42:02Z")

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Thanks! At least that lets me know how the emails are seen by my customers.

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**Author:** ![ntopf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/0ea827/32.png) [@ntopf](https://community.hubspot.com/u/ntopf)\
**Post date:** [January 14, 2025, 3:24pm UTC](https://community.hubspot.com/t/difference-between-sent-and-delivered-email/47838/7 "2025-01-14T15:24:41Z")

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In Sales emails to one recipient - why does an email remain as Sent? Remain norally means forever. I have sent emails that remain as Sent for weeks and months. Are these in the spam folder? I have sent Marketing emails to the same recipient and these show Delivered. How can I make certain that technically and physically, that the Sales email is in position to be opened by the recipients?
