The best email sign-off for most work email is “Thanks” when you are asking for something and “Best” or “Kind regards” when you are not. In Boomerang’s study of more than 350,000 email threads, emails that closed with a form of thanks got replies 62% of the time, against 46% for the rest. Below are 60 sign-offs sorted by situation, the data behind them, the ones surveys say people dislike, and how to end a sales email.
A note on the data. Most sign-off lists on the first page of Google have no numbers, and the few that mention research do not link to it. There are only a few real studies on email closings, and they are old. We cite each one with its sample and its year so you can judge it.
What does the data say about email sign-offs and replies?
The main study is Boomerang’s, from January 2017. It looked at closings in more than 350,000 email threads from the mailing list archives of more than twenty online communities, counting only closings used at least 1,000 times. The baseline response rate for all emails was 47.5%.
| Sign-off | Response rate (Boomerang, 2017) |
|---|---|
| Thanks in advance | 65.7% |
| Thanks | 63.0% |
| Thank you | 57.9% |
| Cheers | 54.4% |
| Kind regards | 53.9% |
| Regards | 53.5% |
| Best regards | 52.9% |
| Best | 51.2% |
| All emails (baseline) | 47.5% |
Source: Boomerang, “How to end an email”.
Two cautions. First, this is a correlation in emails asking for help on community mailing lists, not a test on sales email. People who thank in advance may also write clearer requests. Second, the gaps between “Kind regards”, “Regards”, “Best regards” and “Best” are small. The large gap is between closings that thank the reader and those that do not. Boomerang links this to a 2010 study by Grant and Gino, where a “thank you” made people more than twice as likely to offer help.
Which email sign-offs do people dislike?
Three surveys asked. They agree on the extremes.
| Survey | Sample | Most disliked | Most liked or used |
|---|---|---|---|
| HuffPost/YouGov, March 2016 | 1,000 US adults | xoxo 24%, Peace 21%, no signature 15%, Cheers 13% | Used: Thanks 62%, name or initials 46%, Sincerely 44% |
| Perkbox, January 2020 | 1,928 people | Love 57%, no sign-off 44%, Warmly 31%, Cheers 26%, Yours truly 24% | Kind regards 69%, Thanks 46%, Regards 31%, Thanks in advance 21% |
| HubSpot/Sidekick (year not given) | Over 4,000 responses | Overused: Sincerely 14%, Regards 14%, Best 12%, Cheers 10% | Used: Regards 32%, Thanks 22%, Best 14% |
The useful reading: most people do not care much. 41% of the YouGov sample said none of the sign-offs annoyed them, and in the HubSpot survey 54% said they were not annoyed by sign-offs at all. The risk is concentrated in a few closings (“Love”, “xoxo”) and in sending no closing at all.
60 email sign-offs by situation
Formal (applications, legal, first contact with senior people)
- Sincerely
- Kind regards
- Best regards
- Respectfully
- With appreciation
- Thank you for your time and consideration
- Yours sincerely (UK, when you know the name)
- Yours faithfully (UK, when you do not)
Everyday work email
- Best
- Regards
- All the best
- Thanks
- Talk soon
- Speak Thursday
- More soon
- See you at the review
- Have a good week
- Have a good weekend
Thanks, when you are asking for something
- Thanks in advance
- Thanks for your help
- Thank you for looking into this
- Thanks for considering it
- Many thanks
- Thanks again
- Appreciate your help
- Grateful for your time
Sales outreach (first touch)
- Thanks
- Thanks for reading
- Best
- Either way, thanks for reading
- Happy to send more if useful
- No pressure either way
- Thanks, and congrats on the launch
- Appreciate you reading this far
Follow-ups and live deals
- Looking forward to your thoughts
- Let me know what you think
- Speak on Tuesday
- Thanks for the time today
- Happy to adjust if the timing is off
- Here if questions come up
- Thanks for pushing this forward
- Talk after your team review
Replies and customer emails
- Thanks for flagging
- Thanks for your patience
- Glad to help
- Here if you need anything else
- Thanks for the quick reply
- Hope this helps
- Let me know if this solves it
- Thanks for the feedback
Warm, for people you know
- Cheers
- Warm regards
- Warmly
- Take care
- Enjoy the weekend
- Until next time
- Speak soon
- Thanks, as always
- Onward
- Your first name alone (in a fast back-and-forth)
Use 51 to 60 only where you already have a relationship. “Cheers” and “Warmly” show up on the disliked lists above.
How should you end a sales email?
In a sales email, the line above the sign-off matters more than the sign-off. The request should be one clear question that is easy to answer, and the closing should be short and plain.
| Instead of | Write | Why |
|---|---|---|
| ”Looking forward to hearing from you!" | "Worth a 15-minute look next week? Thanks,“ | A specific question gets a yes or no |
| ”Thanks in advance for your time" | "Thanks for reading,“ | Does not assume a favour from a stranger |
| ”Best regards, [full signature with five links]" | "Best, Maya” plus name, title, company, one link | Reads like a person, not a campaign |
| ”Please do not hesitate to reach out" | "If it is not you, who should I ask?” | Gives a second easy way to reply |
Follow-ups can be warmer, because there is now a thread. “Thanks for the time today” after a call, or “Looking forward to your thoughts” after a proposal, both work. Our guide to sales follow-up emails has full examples for each stage, and our sales email templates cover the whole cycle from intro to break-up. For first touches, see the cold email templates.
How does the sign-off fit with your email signature?
The sign-off is the closing phrase. The signature is the block under your name with your title, company and contact details. Purdue OWL describes a typical closing as a sign-off phrase such as best, thanks or sincerely, followed by your name, plus a signature block “that contains the necessary information for someone to reach you.”
Three practical points:
- Do not repeat your name. If the signature already starts with your full name, “Thanks, Maya” plus the block reads twice. Type only the sign-off and let the signature carry the name.
- The two dashes are a convention. Some mail apps put ”— ” above the signature. RFC 3676 describes it as a long-standing separator between the body and the signature, which helps some clients hide or strip signatures in replies.
- Keep the signature short. Gmail allows up to 10,000 characters in a signature, but a short one reads better on a phone. Our free email signature template builds one that works in Gmail and Outlook.
What mistakes should you avoid when signing off?
- No sign-off at all, on a first email. 44% of Perkbox respondents disliked it. In a fast reply thread it is normal.
- Over-warm closings with strangers. “Love”, “xoxo” and “Hugs” do not belong in work email.
- A sign-off that contradicts the email. “Warmly” after a complaint reads as passive-aggressive.
- A closing paragraph instead of a closing line. “Please feel free to reach out with any questions you may have at your convenience” says nothing. Cut it.
- Different sign-offs across a team’s sequences. If several people send under one brand, agree on two or three.
How Growigami writes sales email
Our outbound service writes every first email around the reason to contact this person now, ends it with one clear question, and closes with a short, plain sign-off and signature. Your seller reviews each message before it goes out.
Frequently asked
What is the best email sign-off?
For most work email, 'Thanks' when you are asking for something and 'Best' or 'Kind regards' when you are not. In Boomerang's study of more than 350,000 email threads, closings with a form of thanks got a 62% response rate against 46% for other emails. In a 1,928-person Perkbox survey, 'Kind regards' was the most liked sign-off at 69%.
What are professional email sign-offs?
Safe choices for any professional email are Best regards, Kind regards, Regards, Thank you, Thanks, Sincerely (for formal letters and applications) and All the best. Purdue OWL describes a typical closing as a sign-off phrase such as best, thanks or sincerely, followed by your name and a signature block with your contact details.
Which email sign-offs should you avoid?
Avoid 'Love' and 'xoxo' at work, and think twice about 'Cheers' with people who do not know you. In a 2016 HuffPost/YouGov poll of 1,000 US adults, 24% found 'xoxo' annoying and 13% 'Cheers'. In Perkbox's 2020 survey, 57% disliked 'Love' and 44% disliked emails with no sign-off at all.
Is 'Thanks in advance' rude?
Some readers find it presumptuous, because it thanks them for something they have not agreed to do. It also had the highest response rate in Boomerang's 2017 study, at 65.7%. Use it for small, easy requests to colleagues. In a first sales email, where you have no right to assume the favour, 'Thanks for reading' or a plain 'Thanks' is safer.
Is 'Best' a good email sign-off?
It is safe but unremarkable. Boomerang found 'Best' had the lowest response rate of the common closings it measured, 51.2%, against a 47.5% baseline for all emails. It is fine for routine email; when you need a reply, a closing that thanks the reader did better in that study.
Should a cold email have a sign-off?
Yes, but a short one. The question or request just above it does more work than the sign-off. 'Thanks' or 'Best' followed by your first name and a short signature reads like an email from a person. Avoid long closing paragraphs, multiple links and calendar links in a first email.
