Best Regards vs Kind Regards: The Honest Difference (and When to Use Each)

This is the complete version: what each phrase actually means, the differences that genuinely matter, where the two sit among every other common closing, real examples in context, which to use in each situation, how to capitalize and punctuate them, how they translate across business cultures, and what the response-rate data does and does not show. By the end you will be able to pick the right close without a second thought.

Best Regards vs Kind Regards at a Glance

If you are choosing between only these two, you are already on solid ground, and either one will read as courteous and appropriate. Written out, a closing is the sign-off, a comma, and your name on the next line:

What Best Regards and Kind Regards Actually Mean

Both phrases are built on the same word. A regard is a feeling of respect or esteem for someone, so ending with “regards” is a compact way of saying you hold the reader in good professional regard. The adjective in front is what shades the meaning.

Best regards sends your highest or warmest regard. It is courteous and a little reserved, which is why it reads as professional and neutral. Kind regards sends a regard that is specifically warm or kindly, so the word “kind” lays a small note of friendliness on top of the same respect.

Both sit a clear step below the most formal English closings, “Yours sincerely” and “Yours faithfully,” which belong to formal letters, and a step above casual closings like “Cheers” or a bare “Best.” That middle position is why they are two common professional sign-offs in business email: formal enough for a stranger, warm enough for a colleague.

The Three Differences That Actually Matter

Most of what is written about these two closings overstates the gap. In practice, three real differences are worth knowing, and the rest is preference.

1. A Small Difference in Formality

Best regards sits a half step more formal and more neutral. It works well when you do not know the reader, when the stakes are higher, or when the relationship is strictly professional. Kind regards carries a touch more warmth, which suits a message to someone you have exchanged email with before, or any note where a little friendliness fits. The difference is real but small, and most readers will not consciously register it.

2. UK vs US Convention

The clearer split is geographic. Kind regards is often associated with the UK, Ireland, Australia, and other Commonwealth business cultures, where it reads as a normal professional close. Best regards is more often associated with the United States and with global corporate email. Neither is out of place anywhere, but if you are writing across the Atlantic, matching the reader’s convention is a small, easy courtesy.

3. The Perception Question: Passive-Aggressive or Dated?

This is the part the usual guides skip, and it is what most people are actually wondering. A sign-off like kind regards or regards can read as cool or clipped, but that depends almost entirely on what came before it. After a friendly, helpful message, kind regards reads as polite. After a short or tense exchange, the same two words can feel curt, because the reader is already primed to read coldness into the close. The sign-off is not passive-aggressive on its own; it inherits the tone of the message above it.

As for dated: kind regards is not outdated. It remains standard professional usage, especially outside the US. What can feel dated is a very formal close like “Yours faithfully” in a casual internal thread, which is a mismatch of register rather than an old-fashioned phrase.

Where Each One Sits: The Sign-Off Formality Ladder

It helps to see best regards and kind regards next to the closings around them, because the right choice is usually about matching the formality of the message. The ladder below runs from the most formal closings at the top to the most casual at the bottom.

See Them in Context: Four Short Examples

Reading the two sign-offs inside real emails makes the difference easier to feel than any description. Here are four common cases.

A cold outreach email, where there is no relationship yet, so the more neutral best regards fits:

A client update inside an ongoing thread, where you have emailed before and a little warmth suits the relationship:

A reply right after a tense exchange, where the warmth goes in the body and either close reads fine once the tone is set:

A cover letter or formal application, which reads cleaner with a more formal close:

Which to Use by Situation

Since both are professional and safe, the choice comes down to the situation. The table below covers the cases people ask about most, and the quick rule underneath settles the rest.

The quick rule: use best regards for a reader you do not know or a formal context, and kind regards for a reader you have a working relationship with. If you are still unsure, best regards is the safer default.

Best Regards vs the Closings People Confuse Them With

Best regards and kind regards are often weighed against a few other closings. Here is how they compare, so you can pick the right register in one look.

If you want to vary your closings without overthinking them, it helps to group them by what they signal:

• Formal: Yours sincerely, Yours faithfully, Respectfully, Sincerely. For letters, applications, and high-stakes first contact.
• Professional and neutral: Best regards, Regards, Best. The safe middle for most business email.
• Warm and professional: Kind regards, Warm regards, Best wishes, With appreciation. When a little warmth fits the relationship.
• Grateful: Thanks, Thank you, Thanks so much, With thanks. When you are asking for or acknowledging something.
• Casual: Cheers, Talk soon, Best. For people you know, in a relaxed culture.

For the full sorted list and when each one fits, see our guide to email sign-offs and the closing lines that come just before the sign-off.

Does Your Sign-Off Change Whether You Get a Reply?

A little, in aggregate, but far less than the choice between best and kind regards would suggest. The most cited data here is an older observational dataset, a 2017 Boomerang study of more than 350,000 email threads, which measured response rates by sign-off. Here are the eight most common closings in that sample:

Two honest caveats come with those numbers. First, this is correlation, not proof: a sign-off travels with everything else about an email, so a warmer close may simply go with warmer, more replyable messages. Second, the sample came from public online-community mailing lists, many centered on support, advice, and open-source discussion, so it is useful evidence about the correlation between closings and replies, but it is not a controlled sample of modern business or cold-sales email. The practical read is that kind regards and best regards land within one point of each other, both above the baseline, so that choice is not where replies are won. In this dataset, thankful closings were associated with higher response rates than the regards variants. The pattern is interesting, but the study does not establish why it occurred.

So the honest takeaway is this: choose the sign-off for tone consistency, not as a response-rate optimization tactic. In our experience, across the business email we write and track, the sign-off word is rarely what moves a reply. A first line that is relevant to the reader and a single clear ask do the work; the closing just needs to match the tone and stay out of the way. In cold outreach especially, we keep the sign-off plain, human, and consistent, add a “thanks” when the email asks the reader for something, and spend the real attention on the opening and the request.

How to Capitalize and Punctuate the Closing

The mechanics are small, but an inconsistent close looks careless, so they are worth getting right.

• Capitalize the first word only. “Best regards,” and “Kind regards,” are the conventional form, with the second word lowercase. Writing “Best Regards” with both words capitalized is common and not an error, but choose one style and use it consistently across your emails and signature.
• A comma after the closing is conventional. The usual form puts a comma after the sign-off, with your name on the next line. No punctuation is common in informal email and reads fine; a comma is the safer choice in formal writing.
• Leave a line, then sign your name. The closing, a line break, and your name is the standard layout, with your signature block below that.
• Use an exclamation mark only when that tone is intentional. “Best regards!” carries an upbeat, informal tone; reach for it when you mean it, and otherwise let the warmth sit in the message rather than the punctuation.

A Quick Note on Other Business Cultures

If you write in English to readers across Europe, kind regards usually reads as a safe, warm-formal close, and it maps closely to the conventional closings in German (“Mit freundlichen Grüßen”) and French (“Cordialement”) business email. A bare “Best” can read as a little casual in those contexts, so when in doubt, the fuller close is the safer choice.

Closings That Work Against You

The sign-off is small, but a few habits undercut it.

• Mismatching the tone. A formal close under a casual, friendly message, or a breezy one under a serious request, reads as a mismatch. Match the closing to the message.
• Inconsistent capitalization. Switching between “Best regards” and “Best Regards” across your own emails looks unconsidered. Pick one and keep it.
• Over-formality in a live thread. A fresh formal sign-off on every quick back-and-forth reads as stiff. Inside an active thread, a short close or none is fine.
• Skipping the close on a cold email. To someone who does not know you, a named close is a safer default on first contact. A first message reads better with a proper sign-off and your name.
• An oversized signature. A signature stuffed with quotes, banners, and a row of social icons buries the close and the one detail the reader actually needs.
• Treating the sign-off as the fix. A clean close does not rescue an unclear message. Get the ask and the tone right first.

For more on getting the whole ending right, see how to end an email based on your goal, and the habits that quietly cost you in email etiquette.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is best regards a proper closing?

Yes. Best regards is a standard, widely accepted professional sign-off, suitable for clients, first contact, and most business email. It reads as polite and appropriately formal in almost any professional context.

Is kind regards passive-aggressive?

Not by itself. It only reads as cool when the message above it already feels short or tense; after a clear, friendly note, it reads as ordinary politeness.

Is kind regards outdated?

No. It is still standard professional usage, particularly in the UK and Commonwealth. The dated feeling usually comes from an over-formal close in a casual thread, not from kind regards itself.

Is it professional to say kind regards?

Yes. Kind regards is professional and appropriate for most business email, and slightly warmer than best regards. It suits ongoing threads and notes where a little friendliness fits.

Best regards or kind regards for a cover letter?

For a cover letter, “Sincerely” or “Best regards” reads a little cleaner and more formal. Kind regards is not wrong, but it leans slightly informal for a formal application.

Do you capitalize best regards?

Capitalize only the first word: “Best regards,” followed by a comma. Writing “Best Regards” is common and not an error, but choose one style and use it consistently.

Is there a comma after best regards?

Conventionally, yes. Put a comma after the closing, then your name on the next line: “Best regards,” then “Jordan Lee.” No punctuation is common in informal email, but a comma is the safer choice in formal writing.

What is the difference between best regards and regards?

“Regards” on its own is the briefest, most neutral version, closer to a quick nod. “Best regards” adds a little courtesy and warmth. Both are professional; best regards suits first contact, while a bare “Regards” fits a short reply in an active thread.

Can you use best regards with someone you know well?

You can, and it is never wrong, though with a close colleague it can read as slightly formal. In a familiar, ongoing thread, kind regards, a simple “Thanks,” or no sign-off at all often fits better.

The One Line to Remember

Best regards and kind regards are both correct, both professional, and close enough that either will serve you in most emails. Match the closing to the formality of the message and the reader, keep your capitalization consistent, and put your real attention into the message above the sign-off, where replies are actually won.