You’re standing at the kiosk, or maybe you're digging through that junk drawer in the kitchen, and you find a single, lonely stamp. You remember paying maybe 50 cents for it? Or was it 60? Honestly, trying to keep up with how much stamps cost lately feels like tracking a volatile tech stock.
It used to be that a stamp price increase was a rare, once-every-few-years event. Not anymore. If you’ve felt like you’re paying more every time you visit the post office, you aren't imagining things. As of early 2026, we are living through a period of "aggressive" pricing designed to save a struggling postal system.
But here is the weird part: while the prices for shipping your boxes just jumped again on January 18, 2026, the price for a standard letter stayed exactly the same.
The Current Price of a Forever Stamp
Right now, a First-Class Mail Forever stamp costs $0.78.
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That price has been holding steady since it was raised by five cents in July 2025. It’s a bit of a breather. Before that, the United States Postal Service was on a tear, raising rates twice a year like clockwork.
If you have a stack of old "Forever" stamps, you’ve essentially made a great micro-investment. Those stamps are still valid for a one-ounce letter regardless of what you paid for them. If you bought them back when they were 60 cents, you’re basically "earning" 18 cents in value every time you lick an envelope today.
Why the sudden pause?
Postmaster General David Steiner—who took over in mid-2025—made a recommendation to forgo the usual January hike for "Market Dominant" products (that's postal-speak for letters and postcards). The Board of Governors agreed.
They realized that people were getting frustrated. When you raise prices too fast, people stop mailing things. It’s a classic business trap. If the cost of sending a wedding invite or a thank-you note gets too high, people just send a text.
Understanding the Rest of the Mailbox
Letters are only one part of the story. If you’re mailing something heavier than an ounce, or if you’re sending a postcard to your aunt in Florida, the math changes.
- Postcards: These currently cost $0.61.
- Additional Ounces: If your letter is a bit thick, you’ll pay $0.29 for each extra ounce.
- International (Global Forever): Sending a letter to another country will set you back $1.70.
- Metered Letters: If you use a postage meter at work, you actually get a tiny discount, paying $0.74 instead of the full retail price.
It’s worth noting that "non-machinable" items—like those square wedding invitations or envelopes with a wax seal that can't go through the sorting robots—require a surcharge. Those usually start at $1.27 because a human has to handle them.
The January 18th Shipping Shock
While the stamp in your pocket didn't go up in price this week, the package in your trunk did. On January 18, 2026, the USPS implemented a significant hike for shipping services.
Priority Mail went up by about 6.6%. Ground Advantage—the service most of us use for standard packages—jumped by a whopping 7.8%.
This is part of the "Delivering for America" plan. The goal is to make the USPS self-sustaining. The problem is that the postal service is fighting a two-front war: declining mail volume and rising fuel and labor costs. By hiking shipping rates while keeping stamp prices stable (for now), they’re trying to squeeze revenue from e-commerce without completely alienating the average person who just wants to mail a birthday card.
Why Do Prices Keep Changing?
Historically, the USPS only raised rates to match inflation. That changed a few years ago when the Postal Regulatory Commission gave them more "pricing authority." Basically, they were allowed to raise prices faster than inflation to cover their massive retiree healthcare debts and infrastructure needs.
Since 2021, we've seen seven price hikes.
Some experts, like those at the American Forest & Paper Association, argue that these constant increases are backfiring. They point out that mail volume has dropped by billions of pieces since 2020. It's a "death spiral" theory: the more it costs to mail, the less people mail, which leads to less revenue, which leads to... another price hike.
The Future: What Happens Mid-Year?
Don't get too comfortable with that 78-cent rate. The USPS has already signaled that they plan to revisit "Mailing Services" prices in mid-2026.
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If the pattern holds, we could see the first 80-cent stamp by July.
Actionable Tips to Save Money on Postage
You can't control the federal government, but you can control your own "postal budget." Here is how to handle the rising costs of mailing.
- Stock up on Forever stamps now. If you know you have a big event coming up—like a wedding or a graduation—buy your stamps today. If the price jumps to 82 cents this summer, you'll be glad you locked in the 78-cent rate.
- Watch the weight. A single sheet of paper and an envelope is well under an ounce. Add a few photos or a heavy cardstock insert, and you might tip over the limit. Get a cheap digital kitchen scale; it’s better than paying "postage due" or having a letter returned.
- Use Ground Advantage for packages. It’s almost always the cheapest way to send a parcel, even with the recent 7.8% price hike.
- Buy online for shipping. If you use services like Pirate Ship or Stamps.com, you get "Commercial Pricing." This is significantly cheaper than the "Retail Price" you pay when you walk up to the counter at the local post office. For some Priority Mail boxes, the difference can be several dollars.
The days of the 20-cent stamp are long gone, and honestly, the days of the 60-cent stamp are fading in the rearview mirror too. Understanding how much stamps cost isn't just about spare change anymore; it's about navigating a shifting business landscape where the "Forever" in Forever Stamp is the only thing staying still.
For now, keep your 78 cents ready, but maybe keep a few extra dimes in your pocket for July.
Next Steps for You
- Check your current inventory: See if you have enough Forever stamps to last through the summer.
- Audit your shipping: If you run a small business, compare your current USPS rates against the new January 18th price tables to see how your margins are affected.
- Verify your address list: With postage this expensive, a "Return to Sender" notice is a literal waste of money. Use a free address verification tool before you send a large batch of mail.