Definition
A send cadence cap is an explicit limit on how often a subscriber may receive email within a period, such as a set number of sends per week or month. It sits alongside a frequency cap to stop over-mailing and protect the recipient experience.
The cadence cap matters because consistent over-sending causes fatigue — fewer opens, more unsubscribes and more complaints. Capping the cadence keeps each subscriber comfortable, which preserves engagement and the healthy delivery that follows from an engaged, un-saturated-audience.
Cadence Cap vs Frequency Cap
| Term | What It Limits |
|---|---|
| Send cadence | How often over a period |
| Frequency cap | How many within a period |
| Both together | A complete volume limit |
A cadence cap expresses the period-based frequency limit.
How a Cadence Cap Works
- Set a period: Daily, weekly or monthly limits.
- Define the maximum: The most sends allowed in that period.
- Apply across sends: Enforce it across all automated and promotional campaigns.
- Exempt critical mail: Allow transactional messages outside the cap.
Why a Cadence Cap Matters
- Prevents fatigue: Keeps volume within comfortable reach.
- Protects engagement: Recipients are less likely to tune out.
- Reduces complaints: Less unwanted mail means fewer spam reports.
- Sustains delivery: Consistent, engaged sending supports reputation.
Related Glossary Terms
Account-Based Marketing Email
An account-based marketing email is a highly targeted message sent to a specific organisation or decision-maker group as part of a focused B2B strategy.
Announcement Email
An announcement email is a dedicated campaign that communicates a specific update, milestone, or change to subscribers, from product launches and feature releases to company news and events.
B2B Email Marketing
B2B email marketing targets business professionals and organisations with longer sales cycles, educational content, and relationship-driven campaigns compared to B2C email.
B2C Email Marketing
B2C email marketing focuses on sending targeted promotional and transactional emails to individual consumers, emphasising personalisation, urgency, and direct response.
Behavioral Email
Behavioral email is a message triggered by a subscriber's action, inaction, or engagement pattern, making it more relevant than scheduled broadcast sends.
Behavioral Segmentation
Behavioral segmentation is the practice of grouping subscribers based on their actions, such as opens, clicks, purchases, browsing and engagement patterns.
Frequently Asked Questions
A send cadence cap is a limit on how often a subscriber receives email over a period, such as per week or month. It prevents over-sending that would fatigue the list.
A frequency cap limits how many emails within a period. A cadence cap expresses the period-based frequency limit — how often. In practice both describe the same protection against over-mailing, applied across the sends a subscriber receives.
Without one, overlapping campaigns and triggers can send far more than subscribers expect, driving fatigue, unsubscribes and complaints. A cap keeps volume comfortable to preserve engagement and delivery.
Usually not. Recipients expect confirmations, receipts and alerts immediately. Exempting transactional mail allows critical messages to arrive regardless of the marketing cadence cap.