20+ Alternatives to “Warm Wishes," "Warm Regards" & “Best Regards”

Are you ending a formal or semi-formal business letter? Want ideas for ways to close your letter without saying warm wishes or best regards? Here are more than twenty expert-approved alternatives that you can use to end your business letter.

Why is the Ending of a Letter Important?

Both your greeting (or salutation) and your letter ending can have a major impact on whether or not the reader decides to respond, take action upon your requests within the letter, and how they interpret your message as a whole.

For example, starting your letter with “What's up!” might sound fun. But what if this were a legal letter? For divorce proceedings. Is this going to come across as confident, strong, professional, and with a serious tone? No. It won’t.

That’s why your greetings as well as your letter endings matter. They show body language, interpretation, and intent in your writing.

Where Did “Best Regards” Come From?

In a letter from Queen Elizabeth the first, dated 1601, tire’s a valediction “Your Sovereign that best regards you.” While this may not have been the first time it was used. Historically, this is the Old English formality that was used to end a business letter from 1601.

Why use “Warm Regards” or “Best Regards”?

These are letter endings that many use when they want to sound formal but with friendly intent. This means that the letter might be a thank you note, recommendation letter, cover letter, or some other type of semi-formal business message.

What Does “Best Regards” Mean?

“Best Regards” as an ending is okay. And it is similar to warm regards. The only thing that this communicates is that your message is met with honest intent. The “regards” part of your message is what will communicate that.

The Dictionary defines regards as: attention to or concern for something.

Meaning, your intention behind the message is in honest attention, concern, or desire.

This type of ending to a letter is called a “salutation” by many but is in reality a Valediction, which is a complimentary expression and closing statement in American English.

What About Using “Best Regards” In an Email

Using “Best Regards” as an ending to an email is acceptable. Though, for many professionals, it might communicate that you don’t have the most personal of relation with them.

An alternative for sending an email where you want to sound professional as well as extend your relationship-building intent would be “Thank you so much.”

This shows appreciation, honesty, as well as leaning away from being entirely formal in your message (which shows that you have intent towards building a relationship).

Why Look for Alternatives?

Honestly, the biggest reason you might be searching for alternatives is that they sound bland. Unpersonalized. And not unique. You might be wanting more of a unique ending to your message. Which is valid!

Using “Warm Regards” or “Best Wishes” may seem lazy to the reader because it now lacks enthusiasm and creativity based on the amount it is used within business letters.

20+ Alternatives to “Warm Regards” or “Best Wishes”

• “Sincerely”
• “Appreciated”
• “Respectfully yours”
• “Thank you so much”
• “Thank you”
• “With appreciation”
• “Very best”
• “Best”
• “Kind regards”
• “Very best”
• “Fond regards”
• “Cordially yours”
• “Warm wishes”
• “Yours faithfully”
• “Sincerely yours”
• “Looking forward to your response”
• “Please respond by 1/20/20”
• “Request for response by 1/20/20”
• “Thank you for your time”
• “Thank you for your time and understanding”
• “With the highest amount of respect”
• “Yours truly”
• “Very truly yours”
• “With sincere respect”
• "With regards"
• "Warm regards"
• "Warmest regards"
• "Kind regards"

Still confused on what to use? Use "Best regards." It's a great choice for any type of letter or email.

Capitalization and sign-offs

If your closing statement is more than one word, be sure to capitalize only the first word of the phrase. For example, "Regards" "Best regards." It's up to you to choose sign-offs that match the style of email it is.

A less formal email or letter closing might need something like, "Yours truly." Still, the first word is the only one that's capitalized. If it's business correspondence, "regards" might be a wiser choice.

Example closing phrase and email sign off

Here is a simple closing statement and sign-off:

Look forward to speaking with you regarding this opportunity.

Best regards,

Ian

[Your email signature]

More Alternatives to Common Phrases

• Sincerely
• Hello Everyone
• Thank You For Your Consideration
• Thank You For Your Time
• Best Regards
• Warm Regards
• I Hope This Email Finds You Well
• Dear Sir or Madam