Soft bounce vs hard bounce — what they mean and what to do
A hard bounce is a permanent failure (bad address) — suppress it immediately. A soft bounce is temporary (full mailbox, server down) — retry a few times, then suppress. Confusing them wrecks deliverability.
Short answer: a hard bounce is a *permanent* delivery failure — the address doesn't exist or flat-out rejects you. Suppress that contact immediately and never email it again. A soft bounce is *temporary* — mailbox full, server briefly down, message too large. Retry a few times over a day or two, then treat a soft bounce that won't clear as hard. Hammering hard bounces is the fastest way to lose inbox placement.
What to do with each
- Hard bounce → suppress instantly; it weighs heavily against your reputation.
- Soft bounce → retry 2–3 times; if it keeps failing, suppress it.
- Track the rate → keep total bounces under 2.5%.
Why it matters
Mailbox providers read your bounce rate as a spam signal. Verifying lists before you send heads off most hard bounces; smart retry logic mops up the soft ones.
Autocloz classifies every bounce and auto-suppresses hard bounces, retries soft ones, and auto-pauses a mailbox the moment bounces spike.
> Start free — bounce handling + suppression on autopilot.