Glossary/Email & Lifecycle/List Growth Rate
Email & Lifecycle
List Growth Rate
The rate at which an email or SMS list grows over a period, calculated as new subscribers minus unsubscribes, bounces, and complaints, divided by list size.
By Brandon Mina·CEO, BrandPilot AI·Updated November 2026
Short answer
List growth rate is the rate at which an email or SMS list grows over a period, calculated as new subscribers minus unsubscribes, bounces and complaints, divided by list size. Because lists naturally decay, a healthy program needs steady growth. Tracking it shows whether acquisition efforts are keeping pace with list attrition.