Transactional vs Marketing Email: What's the Difference?

If you're building an app that sends email, you've probably heard the terms "transactional" and "marketing" thrown around. Understanding the difference isn't just semantics—it affects deliverability, compliance, and which tools you should use.

TL;DR

Aspect	Transactional	Marketing
Triggered by	User action	You
Unsubscribe required	No	Yes
Time-sensitive	Usually	Rarely
Open rates	40-80%	15-25%

Bottom line: Keep them separate. Use different infrastructure for each.

What is Transactional Email?

Transactional emails are triggered by a user action. They're expected, timely, and contain information the recipient needs.

Common examples:

Password reset emails
Order confirmations
Shipping notifications
Account verification
Two-factor authentication codes
Invoice receipts

The key characteristic: the user initiated the action. They signed up, made a purchase, or requested something. The email is a direct response.

What is Marketing Email?

Marketing emails are promotional. They're sent to drive engagement, sales, or awareness. The recipient didn't specifically ask for that particular message.

Common examples:

Newsletters
Promotional offers
Product announcements
Re-engagement campaigns
Event invitations

The key characteristic: you initiated the send. The user may have opted into your list, but they didn't trigger this specific email.

Why the Distinction Matters

1. Legal Requirements

Marketing emails require explicit opt-in and must include an unsubscribe link (CAN-SPAM, GDPR). Transactional emails don't need unsubscribe links because they're service-related.

Mixing promotional content into transactional emails? That's a gray area that can get you in trouble.

2. Deliverability

ISPs treat these differently. Transactional emails generally have higher open rates and engagement—they're expected. Marketing emails face more scrutiny and are more likely to hit spam folders.

The reputation spillover problem

If you send both from the same infrastructure and your marketing has deliverability issues, it can drag down your transactional email too.

3. Timing Expectations

A password reset email needs to arrive in seconds. A newsletter can wait a few hours. Different SLAs, different infrastructure requirements.

Best Practice: Separate Your Streams

Smart companies use separate sending infrastructure:

Stream	Characteristics
Transactional	High-priority, API-based sending. Optimized for speed and deliverability.
Marketing	Bulk-friendly infrastructure. Handles large volumes with proper throttling.

This isolation protects your transactional deliverability from marketing reputation issues.

Which One is SendPigeon For?

SendPigeon handles both. We started with transactional email and added broadcasts for marketing:

Transactional:

Sub-second delivery times
High deliverability rates
Developer-friendly APIs
Real-time event webhooks

Broadcasts:

Contact management with tags
Targeted audience selection
Open and click tracking
Automatic unsubscribe handling
CSV import for existing lists

One platform, both use cases. Your transactional and marketing emails share the same verified domains and templates—but use separate sending streams to protect deliverability.

Quick Reference

Aspect	Transactional	Marketing
Triggered by	User action	You
Unsubscribe required	No	Yes
Time-sensitive	Usually yes	Rarely
Volume	Varies with usage	Scheduled batches
Open rates	40-80%	15-25%

Bottom Line

Don't mix your transactional and marketing email. Keep them separate, use the right tools for each, and your deliverability will thank you.

Next Steps

Check our deliverability checklist to ensure your emails reach the inbox
Learn about email authentication (DKIM, SPF, DMARC)
Build emails with our free visual email builder
See our framework guides for sending from Next.js, Remix, and more
Browse our email templates for ready-to-use transactional email HTML
Compare transactional email providers: SendPigeon vs Resend, vs SendGrid, vs Mailtrap
Set up an email sandbox for safe development testing