by Didem Kiran · Last updated: April 1, 2026

How to Create an Email Template in Gmail (Step-by-Step Guide 2026)

To create an email template in Gmail, open Settings, click See all settings, go to the Advanced tab, and select Enable next to Templates, then Save Changes. Compose a new email, click the three-dot More options menu, hover Templates, choose Save draft as template, then Save as new template, and name it. The whole process takes under two minutes. Mailsoftly goes further with a free plan covering 500 contacts and 2,000 emails per month, plus real human support.

If you send the same type of email repeatedly — whether it’s a sales follow-up, a customer onboarding message, or a weekly status update — you already know how tedious it is to retype (or copy-paste) the same message every single time. Gmail templates solve this by letting you save pre-written emails and insert them with a few clicks.

In this guide, you will learn exactly how to create an email template in Gmail from scratch, how to enable the templates feature, how to insert and manage your saved templates, and where Gmail’s built-in templates fall short compared to professional email marketing tools like Mailsoftly. Whether you are a solo professional or managing a team, this step-by-step walkthrough has everything you need.

Why Use Email Templates?

Before diving into the how-to, it is worth understanding why email templates matter. If you regularly send emails with similar content, templates can transform your daily workflow in several meaningful ways.

Save hours every week. The average professional sends 40 emails per day. If even a quarter of those follow a predictable pattern — meeting requests, project updates, client check-ins, invoice reminders — templates can eliminate minutes of repetitive typing per email. Over a week, that adds up to hours of reclaimed time.

Maintain consistency. When multiple team members send similar emails, templates ensure everyone uses the same language, tone, and formatting. This is especially important for customer-facing communication where brand consistency directly impacts trust.

Reduce errors. Every time you retype an email from memory, you introduce the risk of typos, missing information, or inconsistent details. Templates eliminate this by giving you a pre-approved starting point that you can customize as needed.

Respond faster. Speed matters in sales and customer support. A well-structured template library means you can reply to common inquiries in seconds rather than minutes — improving response times and customer satisfaction simultaneously.

Scale your communication. As your business grows, you cannot personally craft every email from scratch. Templates give you a scalable foundation that grows with your needs, whether you are sending 10 emails a day or 10,000.

How to Enable Templates in Gmail

Gmail does not have templates turned on by default. The feature is tucked away in the Advanced settings tab, and many users do not even know it exists. Here is how to activate it.

Step 1: Open Gmail Settings. Click the gear icon in the top-right corner of your Gmail inbox. In the panel that slides out, click See all settings to open the full settings page.

Step 2: Navigate to Advanced. Along the top of the settings page, you will see several tabs: General, Labels, Inbox, Accounts, Filters, and more. Click the Advanced tab — it is the last tab on the right. If you are using a Google Workspace account, your admin may have renamed or restricted certain tabs, but Advanced is available on all standard Gmail accounts.

Step 3: Enable Templates. In the Advanced tab, find the Templates section. Select Enable next to it. Then scroll to the bottom of the page and click Save Changes. Gmail will reload, and the templates feature is now active in your compose window.

Once templates are enabled, you will not see any visual change in your inbox. The template option only appears inside the compose window, which we will cover in the next section.

How to Create a Template in Gmail (Step by Step)

Now that templates are enabled, let us walk through the process of creating your first email template in Gmail. This works in both the standard Gmail web interface and the updated Gmail layout.

Step 1: Open a new compose window. Click the Compose button in the top-left corner of Gmail (or press C on your keyboard as a shortcut). A new compose window will appear in the bottom-right corner of your screen.

Step 2: Write your template email. Type the content you want to save as a template. This includes the subject line, the body text, and any formatting you want to preserve. You can add bold text, links, bullet points, and other standard Gmail formatting. Keep in mind that images and attachments are not saved with Gmail templates — only the text and basic formatting are preserved.

Step 3: Open the More Options menu. In the bottom-right corner of the compose window, click the three-dot icon (More options). This opens a dropdown menu with several options including Labels, Plain text mode, and — now that you have enabled it — Templates.

Step 4: Save as a new template. Hover over Templates in the dropdown menu. A submenu will appear with two sections: “Insert template” (which will be empty if this is your first template) and “Save draft as template.” Click Save draft as template, then click Save as new template.

Step 5: Name your template. Gmail will prompt you to enter a name for your template. Choose something descriptive — for example, “Sales Follow-Up — After Demo” or “Customer Support — Refund Confirmation.” This name is how you will find the template later, so make it specific enough that you can quickly identify it from a list.

Step 6: Confirm and close. Click Save. Your template is now stored in Gmail. You can close the compose window (or discard the draft — the template is saved independently of the draft). You are done.

To update an existing template, repeat the same process: compose a new email with the updated content, go to Templates > Save draft as template > Overwrite template, and select the template you want to replace. Gmail will overwrite the old version with the new one.

To delete a template, go to Templates > Delete template and select the one you want to remove. There is no undo for template deletion, so double-check before confirming.

How to Use a Saved Template in Gmail

Once you have created and saved your templates, using them is straightforward. Here is the process for inserting a saved template into a new email or reply.

Step 1: Open a new compose window or reply. You can insert a template into both new emails and replies. Click Compose or open an existing conversation and click Reply.

Step 2: Access the Templates menu. Click the three-dot icon (More options) in the bottom-right corner of the compose window. Hover over Templates.

Step 3: Select your template. Under the “Insert template” section, you will see a list of all your saved templates by name. Click the one you want to use. The template content will be inserted into the compose window, replacing any existing body text. The subject line from the template will also be inserted (but only if the current subject line is empty).

Step 4: Customize and send. Review the inserted template and make any necessary edits. Replace placeholder text like “[First Name]” or “[Company Name]” with actual details. Add or remove sections as needed. When you are satisfied, click Send.

One important detail: when you insert a template, it replaces whatever is currently in the body of the compose window. It does not append the template below existing text. If you are replying to an email and want to keep the original message thread visible, insert the template first, then make your edits. The quoted reply text below will remain intact.

Gmail Template Limitations You Should Know

Gmail templates are a solid starting point for individual users who send a handful of recurring emails. But they come with significant limitations that become painfully obvious as your needs grow. Understanding these constraints upfront will help you decide whether Gmail’s built-in templates are sufficient for your use case — or whether you need a more robust solution.

50-template limit. Gmail allows a maximum of 50 templates per account. That sounds like a lot until you start categorizing templates by use case: sales outreach, follow-ups, customer support, internal communication, project updates, meeting requests, onboarding emails, and so on. Teams and busy professionals can hit this ceiling quickly.

No images or attachments. Gmail templates save text and basic formatting only. If your emails regularly include images, logos, PDFs, or other attachments, you will need to add them manually every single time you use the template. This defeats much of the time-saving purpose.

No dynamic personalization. Gmail templates are static text. There is no merge field functionality — you cannot automatically insert the recipient’s name, company, purchase history, or any other dynamic data. Every instance of “[First Name]” has to be manually replaced before sending.

No analytics or tracking. When you send an email using a Gmail template, you have no way to know if the recipient opened it, clicked any links, or forwarded it. There is zero visibility into how your templates perform, making it impossible to optimize over time.

No team sharing. Gmail templates are tied to individual accounts. You cannot share templates across a team, enforce brand-approved versions, or centrally manage a template library. Each team member has to create and maintain their own templates independently.

No scheduling. Gmail does have a “Schedule send” feature, but it is not integrated with templates in any meaningful way. You cannot schedule a template to go out to multiple recipients at different times, set up automated sequences, or create drip campaigns.

Text-only design. Gmail templates produce plain-looking emails. There is no drag-and-drop editor, no pre-designed layouts, no responsive design options. If you want your emails to look professionally designed — with branded headers, buttons, columns, and footer sections — Gmail templates cannot help you.

Gmail Templates vs Professional Email Marketing Templates

To put things in perspective, here is a direct comparison between what you get with Gmail’s built-in templates and what a professional email marketing platform like Mailsoftly offers. This is not about bashing Gmail — it is a great email client for everyday communication. But when it comes to creating email templates for marketing, sales outreach at scale, or branded business communication, the gap is significant.

The difference is clear: Gmail templates are a convenience feature for personal email. Mailsoftly templates are a professional-grade tool built for businesses that take their email communication seriously. If you are sending more than a handful of templated emails per week, or if your emails need to look polished and perform measurably, the upgrade is well worth it.

How to Create Beautiful Email Templates with Mailsoftly

If Gmail’s limitations are holding you back, here is how to create email templates in Gmail’s superior alternative. Mailsoftly is an email marketing platform designed for businesses that want professional results without a steep learning curve. Creating a template takes just a few minutes.

Step 1: Sign up for a free account. Go to app.mailsoftly.com and create your account. No credit card is required, and you can start building templates immediately on the free plan.

Step 2: Open the template editor. From your dashboard, navigate to Templates and click Create New Template. You will be presented with two options: start from a blank canvas or choose from over 100 professionally designed templates organized by category (welcome emails, newsletters, promotions, transactional emails, and more).

Step 3: Customize with the drag-and-drop editor. Mailsoftly’s visual editor lets you build your template by dragging content blocks into place. Add text, images, buttons, social media links, dividers, columns, and more — all without writing a single line of code. Every element is fully customizable: fonts, colors, spacing, alignment, and responsive behavior.

Step 4: Add personalization. Insert dynamic merge fields anywhere in your template. Click the personalization button and choose from fields like first name, last name, company name, or any custom field from your contact list. When the email sends, each recipient sees their own personalized version automatically.

Step 5: Preview and test. Before saving, preview your template on desktop and mobile views. Send a test email to yourself or a colleague to make sure everything looks perfect. Check your links, verify your personalization fields, and review the subject line.

Step 6: Save and use. Save your template to your library. From here, you can use it for one-off sends, bulk campaigns, automated sequences, or A/B tests. Your templates are organized, searchable, and available to your entire team (if you are on a team plan).

Frequently Asked Questions

Are images and attachments saved in Gmail templates?

No. Gmail templates only preserve text and basic formatting such as bold text, links, and bullet points. Images and attachments are not saved with a Gmail template, so you must add them manually each time after inserting the template. The subject line is saved and inserted, but only if the current subject line is empty.

How many templates can I save in Gmail?

Gmail allows a maximum of 50 templates per account. This limit applies to all Gmail accounts, including Google Workspace accounts. If you reach the limit, you will need to delete an existing template before you can save a new one. For users who need more templates or want to organize them into categories, a dedicated email marketing tool like Mailsoftly offers unlimited templates with folder organization.

Can I add images to Gmail templates?

No. Gmail templates save only text content and basic formatting (bold, italic, links, bullet points). Images, inline graphics, and attachments are not preserved when you save a template. You would need to manually add images each time you use the template. If you need templates with embedded images, branded headers, or rich visual layouts, you will need an email marketing platform that supports visual template design.

Do Gmail templates work on mobile?

Unfortunately, Gmail templates are not available in the Gmail mobile app on either iOS or Android. The templates feature is only accessible through the Gmail web interface on a desktop or laptop browser. If you need to access and send templates from your phone, you will need a third-party solution or an email marketing platform with a mobile-friendly interface.

Can I share Gmail templates with my team?

Gmail does not have a built-in template sharing feature. Each user’s templates are private to their own account. If you want to share a template with a colleague, you would need to send them the template text manually (via email or a shared document) and have them save it in their own account. For teams that need a centralized template library with consistent branding and version control, Mailsoftly offers shared template libraries with role-based permissions.

Can I use Gmail templates for bulk email?

Technically, you can insert a Gmail template and send it to multiple recipients by adding them to the To, CC, or BCC field. However, this approach has serious drawbacks. There is no personalization, no tracking, no unsubscribe management, and Gmail enforces sending limits of 500 emails per day (2,000 for Workspace accounts). Sending bulk email through Gmail also risks triggering spam filters, which can damage your sender reputation. For any kind of bulk email or email marketing, use a proper email marketing tool with dedicated sending infrastructure.

What is the difference between Gmail templates and canned responses?

They are the same feature. Gmail originally called this feature “Canned Responses” when it was introduced as a Gmail Labs experiment. Google later renamed it to “Templates” and moved it from the Labs tab to the Advanced tab. The functionality is identical — if you see older guides referencing “canned responses,” they are talking about the same feature described in this article.

How do I edit or update an existing Gmail template?

To update an existing template, compose a new email with your revised content, click the three-dot menu, go to Templates > Save draft as template > Overwrite template, and select the template you want to update. Gmail will replace the old version with your new content. There is no way to edit a template directly — you always overwrite the entire thing.

Is Mailsoftly free to use?

Yes. Mailsoftly offers a free plan that includes access to the template editor, pre-designed templates, contact management, and basic email sending. You can create an account and start building professional email templates without entering a credit card. Paid plans unlock additional features like advanced analytics, A/B testing, automation workflows, and higher sending limits.

Wrapping Up

Creating an email template in Gmail is a straightforward process that can save you meaningful time if you regularly send similar emails. Enable the feature in Advanced settings, compose your template, save it through the three-dot menu, and insert it whenever you need it. The entire setup takes less than two minutes.

That said, Gmail templates are a starting point, not a destination. They are ideal for individuals who send a few templated emails per day and do not need visual design, personalization, analytics, or team collaboration. The moment your email needs outgrow basic text — whether that means branded layouts, dynamic merge fields, automated sequences, or performance tracking — you will want to move to a professional platform.

Mailsoftly bridges that gap. It gives you everything Gmail templates lack — visual drag-and-drop design, automatic personalization, real-time analytics, A/B testing, team sharing, and unlimited templates — without the complexity or cost of enterprise email platforms. You can start for free and scale as your needs grow.

Whether you stick with Gmail templates for now or upgrade to a more capable tool, the most important thing is to stop retyping the same emails from scratch. Your time is better spent on the work that actually moves your business forward — and templates, in any form, help you get there faster.

Author

Didem Kiran

Didem is a Business Development Specialist at Mailsoftly, based in San Ramon, California. She has focused on building partnerships and helping businesses grow with email and marketing automation. She enjoys sharing insights on email automation and customer engagement strategies.