Cold email subject lines
Try these cold email subject lines beside their opening lines. In our catalogue example, Gmail shows 44 of 73 subject characters (19 October 2026).
The laptop view reads best on a laptop.
| Gmail app | iPhone | Android | Laptop |
|---|---|---|---|
Example senders and businesses are made up.
Downloads include the site credit. Anyone with a share link can read its email.
Examples on the screens
These are original examples with made-up senders and businesses. Yellow words show; the text after [cut] is hidden in that view.
How we measure: each screen is drawn at its real size (the phone layout is 390 by 844 points; Gmail on a laptop is a 1280-pixel-wide window), and the tool counts how many characters fit before the text is cut off. Reference counts were measured in Chromium on macOS with Apple’s system font and the bundled Roboto font on 19 October 2026. These are drawn-screen measurements, not tests on real phones. Your fonts, phone model and text size settings can move the cut. Live readouts use the fonts in your browser.
Catalogue photography
A photographer contacts a furniture business about an announced catalogue. Use the project reference only when you have checked it.
Look for the project name in the visible subject. If it is cut off, shorten the introduction before removing the useful detail.
From: Alex Lane · Subject: A question about photography for the new Alder & Fern furniture catalogue
iPhone email notification
Gmail app inbox
Reference counts measured 19 October 2026. Readouts update for your browser.
Shorter catalogue subject
The same photography email with the topic moved to the start of the subject.
Compare the visible words with the longer version. The body stays the same, so you can see what changing the subject does.
From: Alex Lane · Subject: Photos for the Alder & Fern catalogue
iPhone email notification
Gmail app inbox
Reference counts measured 19 October 2026. Readouts update for your browser.
Recruitment support
A recruiter has read a company's public job listings and wants to find out whether outside help is relevant.
The first line asks about the hiring process. It does not assume the vacancies are difficult to fill.
From: Sam Reed · Subject: Larchwell's engineering vacancies
iPhone email notification
Gmail app inbox
Reference counts measured 19 October 2026. Readouts update for your browser.
Packaging enquiry
A label supplier writes about a product range shown on a business's website.
The subject names the product. The opening asks who handles it, without inventing a problem with the existing labels.
From: Maya Brooks · Subject: Labels for Mossline's refill range
iPhone email notification
Gmail app inbox
Reference counts measured 19 October 2026. Readouts update for your browser.
Newsletter interview
An editor invites the author of a published guide to an interview.
The opening says what the invitation is for. The body explains the topic before asking the recipient to make time.
From: Robin Dale · Subject: Interview about your fieldwork guide
iPhone email notification
Gmail app inbox
Reference counts measured 19 October 2026. Readouts update for your browser.
Warehouse resource
An operations consultant offers a resource after reading a public warehouse-move announcement. The resource must exist before you offer it.
The subject and opening describe the same resource. There is no promised saving or result to substantiate.
From: Lee Morgan · Subject: Warehouse checklist for Bracken Goods
iPhone email notification
Gmail app inbox
Reference counts measured 19 October 2026. Readouts update for your browser.
Subject lines and opening lines
Read the sender name, subject and opening as a single message. The subject names the topic. The opening gives the reader a reason to continue.
For a plain-text cold email, leave the preview text field empty. The preview then comes from the first words of the body. Designed emails can set separate preview text, also called a preheader.
Write the specific project or product early enough to survive the cut-off. Only mention a referral, previous conversation or deadline when it is true. Keep the subject consistent with the message someone will open.
Cold email subject line length
Check the words that fit instead of choosing a fixed character limit. Letters take different amounts of space, and the available width changes between screens.
Try the long and short catalogue examples, then replace the subject with your own. Use the subject line length checker to compare the visible text across the drawn screens.
How long should a cold email be?
Keep enough detail to explain why you are writing and what reply you want. Remove anything the recipient does not need to answer that request.
The preview only shows the opening. Open the email in the drawn phone to check the whole message, including paragraph breaks and the request at the end. A short subject does not make a long body shorter.
The example word counts describe these drafts. They are not recommended targets or evidence of better reply rates.
| Example | Words |
|---|---|
| Catalogue photography | 42 |
| Shorter catalogue subject | 42 |
| Recruitment support | 34 |
| Packaging enquiry | 40 |
| Newsletter interview | 48 |
| Warehouse resource | 46 |
Whitespace-separated words, including the sign-off. These counts describe the drafts above; they are not a recommended range.
Compare your drafts
Keep the body unchanged while you compare subject lines. Then keep the subject unchanged while you compare openings. Check what each screen hides before you choose a version.
What the preview measures
The counts come from the drawn screens in your browser. They show where text fits in those layouts. Phone models, fonts and text settings can change the result.
The preview does not test delivery, spam filtering or whether someone will reply. These examples have not been sent as a campaign or tested on physical phones.
Your draft stays in your browser. You can edit it without an account.