Not noticeably. Argenta is designed to handle merge tags efficiently, even for large mail room lists.
How performance is optimized:
- Smart detection: Before the batch send loop begins, Argenta checks whether your template actually contains any merge tags. If it does not, the entire batch runs with zero extra data lookups, identical to performance before merge tags existed.
- Asynchronous queuing: Emails are not sent in real-time during the batch process. Each personalized email is placed into the email queue, and the queue delivers them in the background. You will see a success confirmation as soon as the queuing is complete.
- Per-recipient processing: For each recipient, Argenta fetches the constituent data, membership data, and donation data needed to fill in the tags. These are fast, indexed database lookups.
In practical terms:
- A 100-person email list with merge tags processes in seconds
- A 500-person email list with merge tags takes only slightly longer
- Templates without merge tags have zero additional overhead
You can safely use merge tags in all your email campaigns without worrying about performance.