The U.S. Postal Service is the most efficient postal service in the world, with some of the lowest postage rates of any industrialized country. Dollar for dollar, you get a lot of value from your mail.

A postage rate is more than a number. A rate is the balance between the value and service you get from the Postal Service and the amount of work you’re willing to do to prepare your mail. The Postal Service offers discounted postage rates because you do some of the work that otherwise would have to be done by the Postal Service (for example, sorting the mail by ZIP Code or taking your mail to a certain postal facility). Everyone benefits from this "worksharing." The Postal Service’s costs are reduced, and you pay less postage.

In general, the more up-front work you do, the lower the postage rate you’ll pay. What will it cost you (in time, in work hours) to get to the rate you want? Are you willing to do the work yourself? Or is it more cost effective to send your mailing to a service bureau? Smart mailers will weigh their choices BEFORE they do a mailing.

Postage rates can be based on a number of factors:

• Content: What class of mail is it?
• Size: How big is it?
• Shape: Is it a letter, flat, or parcel?
• Weight: How heavy is it?
• Distance the mail travels: How far is it going?
• Quantity: How many pieces do you have?
• Nonprofit status: Does your organization qualify for nonprofit rates?
• Speed of delivery: Express Mail, Priority Mail, and First-Class Mail.
• Mail entry point: destination entry discounts.

In addition to paying postage, bulk mailers are required to obtain a mailing permit and pay an annual mailing fee ($180 a year for each class of mail).

Calculate postage for any class of mail or rate discount.

Get a complete list of all rates and fees:

• Ratefold - Notice 123 (PDF)
• Domestic Mail Manual - Rates and Fees (HTML)
• Business Rate Calculator - Compute rates for all discounted mail.

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