Where can I find statistics on BIMI adoption by email senders?
Michael Ko
Co-founder & CEO, Suped
Published 10 Aug 2025
Updated 16 Aug 2025
7 min read
As email security standards continue to evolve, Brand Indicators for Message Identification (BIMI) has emerged as a significant development, promising enhanced brand visibility and trust. Many email senders are keen to understand its widespread acceptance and how their adoption compares to industry trends. Finding reliable statistics on BIMI adoption can be a crucial step in strategizing your email authentication efforts.
BIMI allows organizations to display their brand logo next to their authenticated email messages in the recipient's inbox. This visual cue helps recipients quickly identify legitimate senders, which can reduce the effectiveness of phishing attacks and improve engagement. However, BIMI relies on strong email authentication, primarily DMARC enforcement, to ensure the displayed logo is tied to a verified sender.
Understanding the current landscape of BIMI adoption helps you assess its growing importance and potential impact on your email program. It provides insight into how many other senders are leveraging this standard and which industries are leading the charge. Let's explore where you can find these valuable statistics.
Tracking BIMI adoption rates
Several authoritative sources track BIMI adoption by monitoring DNS records for BIMI entries across millions of domains. These sources compile their data from various methodologies, including scanning the internet for specific DNS records or leveraging DMARC aggregate reports from mailbox providers. The data often includes information on the number of domains publishing BIMI records, the presence of Verified Mark Certificates (VMCs), and the quality of BIMI implementations.
One of the most comprehensive resources for tracking BIMI adoption is BIMI Radar. This platform provides global adoption trends for BIMI and related technologies, indicating BIMI readiness based on strong email authentication. It's a useful resource for understanding the overall trajectory and growth of BIMI across various domains worldwide.
Another key source is DMARC.org, which started supplying data on DNS lookups of BIMI records in mid-2021. Their reports offer insights into the number of unique and valid BIMI records observed. These statistics are essential for getting a snapshot of how many brands have successfully implemented BIMI and maintain active records in the DNS.
Source
Reported Period
Key Statistic
DMARC.org
Mid-2024
Nearly 34,000 unique and valid BIMI records observed.
URIports
Recent analysis (2025 update)
28% growth in BIMI adoption, but 64% increase in domains with errors.
SpamResource
June 2023
14,305 of top 10 million domains published a BIMI record (~0.14%).
Agari (Fortra)
H2 2020
3.8X increase in brands adopting BIMI since April 2020.
Current state of BIMI adoption
While the numbers for BIMI adoption are growing steadily, they are still relatively small compared to broader email authentication standards like DMARC. For instance, in June 2023, only about 0.14% of the top ten million domains had published a BIMI record. This indicates that while there's momentum, BIMI is still in its early stages of widespread adoption. Part of this slower pace can be attributed to the stringent BIMI implementation requirements.
It's important to note that a significant portion of domains with BIMI records also show errors in their configuration. This highlights a gap between attempted implementation and correct setup, emphasizing the need for careful validation. Simply publishing a BIMI record isn't enough; it must be valid and correctly configured to function as intended and for your brand logo to appear. This often requires deep technical understanding of DNS records and email authentication protocols.
A key factor limiting BIMI adoption is its prerequisite: a DMARC policy set to enforcement (p=quarantine or p=reject). Many organizations still run DMARC at p=none, which means they are not yet eligible for BIMI. As of a recent analysis, only about 34% of senders using DMARC are even eligible for BIMI logos. This indicates that growing BIMI adoption heavily relies on the broader adoption of a strict DMARC policy.
BIMI relies on DMARC
To implement BIMI, your domain must have a DMARC policy set to either quarantine (p=quarantine) or reject (p=reject). A policy of p=none, while useful for monitoring, does not provide the necessary security assurance for BIMI to display your logo. This is a critical prerequisite that many organizations have not yet met.
Driving factors and hurdles in BIMI implementation
The primary drivers for BIMI adoption stem from its potential to enhance brand visibility and trust. By displaying a verified logo directly in the inbox, brands can instantly communicate legitimacy to recipients, which can lead to improved engagement metrics, such as higher open and click-through rates. Furthermore, BIMI reinforces existing email authentication, making it harder for cybercriminals to impersonate legitimate senders, thereby reducing phishing attacks.
Another significant factor is the increasing support from major email clients and providers. With Google and Apple (initially) rolling out support for BIMI, it has received a substantial boost. This support from large providers is crucial because it ensures that a significant portion of email recipients will actually see the BIMI logo, making the effort of implementation worthwhile for senders. We have a dedicated article explaining which email clients support BIMI.
However, hurdles remain. The requirement for a Verified Mark Certificate (VMC) for many providers adds an additional layer of complexity and cost. Obtaining a VMC involves a rigorous verification process to confirm the authenticity of the brand's logo. This process, while ensuring trust and security, can be a barrier for smaller businesses or those with limited resources. Additionally, there are still some email providers that do not support BIMI without a VMC.
Benefits of BIMI
Enhanced brand visibility: Display your logo in the inbox, making your emails stand out.
Increased trust and recognition: Recipients instantly recognize legitimate emails from your brand.
Improved email security: Drives stronger email authentication, like DMARC enforcement.
Higher engagement rates: Visual trust signals can lead to better open and click-through rates.
Challenges of BIMI
DMARC enforcement prerequisite: Requires a DMARC policy set to p=quarantine or p=reject.
Verified mark certificate (VMC): Often required, adding complexity and cost for logo verification.
Varying client support: Not all email clients currently support BIMI, limiting universal display.
Technical implementation: Requires proper DNS configuration and ongoing maintenance.
The future of BIMI: will it become an email standard?
The trajectory for BIMI suggests continued growth, especially as more mailbox providers (like Yahoo) embrace the standard. There's a strong industry push for it to become a universal trust indicator, similar to how SSL/TLS certificates provide visual trust for websites. Just as a browser might warn you about an unsecured website, the vision for BIMI is that the absence of a verified logo might eventually signal an email of lower trustworthiness. You can learn more about if BIMI will become a standard trust indicator for email.
However, the path to universal adoption is not without its challenges. The inherent risk associated with DMARC enforcement policies, especially for smaller businesses lacking dedicated resources, poses a significant hurdle. Unlike SSL, which is relatively straightforward and low-risk to implement, DMARC enforcement requires careful monitoring of authentication failures to avoid legitimate emails being rejected or quarantined. This creates a potential gap where large enterprises might adopt BIMI, leaving smaller entities behind, potentially impacting the perceived trustworthiness of their email communications.
Despite these concerns, the security mechanisms built into BIMI, particularly the requirement for VMCs and the involvement of trademark authorities, are designed to prevent scammers from leveraging BIMI for fraudulent purposes. The verification process ensures that only legitimate brands can display their logos, making it difficult for malicious actors to create lookalike fakes or operate anonymously. As the standard matures and implementation tools improve, BIMI is poised to play an increasingly important role in the overall email ecosystem, enhancing both security and brand presence.
Views from the trenches
Best practices
Always ensure your DMARC policy is at p=quarantine or p=reject before attempting BIMI implementation.
Regularly monitor your DMARC reports to ensure proper alignment and prevent legitimate email from being blocked.
Work with accredited Verified Mark Certificate (VMC) providers to ensure your logo is properly validated.
Common pitfalls
Trying to implement BIMI without a DMARC enforcing policy, which will prevent your logo from appearing.
Neglecting DMARC reporting, leading to a lack of visibility into authentication issues.
Assuming all email clients support BIMI universally, resulting in inconsistent logo display.
Expert tips
For organizations considering BIMI, ensuring your DMARC is at enforcement is the first and most critical step. This foundation is essential for BIMI to work effectively.
If your domain sends a high volume of email, careful monitoring of DMARC reports becomes even more crucial during policy changes to avoid deliverability issues.
Small businesses should weigh the benefits of BIMI against the resources needed for robust DMARC enforcement. Sometimes, starting with DMARC p=none for reporting is a safer initial step.
Marketer view
Marketer from Email Geeks says they are excited to implement BIMI because it is fun and offers a chance to generate revenue for those who want it, and they also appreciate DMARC.
November 19, 2021 - Email Geeks
Marketer view
Marketer from Email Geeks says they are surprised that more people are not using DMARC with a p=none policy for the reporting function, given its benefits.
November 19, 2021 - Email Geeks
Embracing BIMI for future email marketing
BIMI adoption is on a clear upward trend, driven by its significant benefits in brand trust and email security. While the statistics currently show a relatively small percentage of domains with implemented BIMI records, the growth rate is notable, and key industry players are actively supporting its expansion. For email senders, staying informed about these trends and understanding the prerequisites, particularly DMARC enforcement, is crucial for planning your own BIMI implementation and maintaining optimal email deliverability.