USPS Postage Rate Increases - A Lasting Effect
July 2026 - by Ramsey Blakey
Rate Increases in July 2026
It may come as a shock to you, but postage rates with the United States Postal Service just increased on July 12th. Many changes came along with the postage rate increases, but of course the rate changes are the most interesting. Let’s break that down a bit.
Almost everyone knows that the United States Post Office uses Forever stamps for their first-class stamps now. This began in 2007, and by 2011, all first-class stamps received the Forever designation. This makes it much easier for consumers as well as the USPS whenever price increases occur, like the one that just happened. First-class stamps were priced at .78 before this increase; now, each stamp will cost you .82. If you are a minimal postal customer who only mails out one or two pieces a month, this increase doesn’t mean too much to you. The only time that might change would be if and when you mail out Christmas, holiday, or other special occasion cards in mass, which usually only happens once or twice a year.
However, for business owners, non-profits, and corporations, these smaller increases can have massive effects on how often they mail and to how many clients or consumers. An example of this would be local city municipalities and utility companies. If an electric company mails out bills to consumers monthly, now they are paying more for every single piece of mail they send out month after month after month. If it’s a smaller company or town, this may only be a few thousand, but many utilities and municipalities have tens of thousands of customers.
A Short Example
Before the rate increase, the cost of postage for an automated 5-digit letter was .593. After July 12th, that rate increased to .621. If you were a company that sent out 10,000 of these bills or statements per month, and all of your letters landed in the 5-digit letter pricing, you would be looking at a $280 increase per month. Nothing changed about how you are sending out bills, the quantity, etc. but automatically, you are paying more in postage. And that’s at a 5-digit letter rate – not the 3-digit, mixed, or even automated flat rates.
These ‘slight’ increases have massive costs to companies.
Even though registered non-profits receive a large discount from the USPS, their postage rates for mailing also increased. On already stretched budgets, it’s sometimes difficult to make the call on whether or not to continue mailing or switch to digital appeals and news only.
What can you do?
As stated earlier, if you are an individual who doesn’t mail too often, there isn’t too much to stress about. But, as a business, non-profit, or corporation, there are a few options that are definitely worth looking into.
First and foremost, if you have been doing your mailings yourself, paying for first-class stamps on the regular or even using a metering machine, pause, and talk to a mail service provider. Of course, we would love to hear from you and can work with anyone in the US on mail and packages, but even if you do not talk to us, talk to someone. Mail service providers know what they’re doing when it comes to mail – it’s our specialty.
Instead of mailing first-class, you may be able to mail at non-profit, standard, or first-class bulk rates, which can save you MASSIVE amounts of money. Additionally, since we mail out for many customers at a time, we can receive some special discounts such as pallet and full-service discounts.
It’s also important to talk with a printer (which we happen to be one of those too). Instead of printing all in color, maybe some mailers can be black and white. Only using 1-sided printing? Maybe switch to 2-sided to save on paper costs. Print and send more at once, but mail less often. There are options beyond stopping mail altogether.
Reach out. Ask questions. Get a quote. Don’t forget – mail works.