Ever stood at a self-service kiosk with a stack of wedding invites or a single "get well soon" card and realized you have absolutely no idea what a stamp costs anymore? You're not alone. Honestly, keeping up with the United States Postal Service (USPS) lately feels like tracking a volatile tech stock.
If you're asking how much is stamps today, the short answer is $0.78 for a standard First-Class Mail Forever stamp.
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But there’s a massive catch.
While the "mailing" side of the house (your typical letters and postcards) stayed flat as we kicked off 2026, the "shipping" side just got a major price hike. On January 18, 2026, the USPS implemented a significant rate adjustment for packages. If you're mailing a letter, you're fine. If you're sending a birthday box to your nephew, your wallet is going to feel it.
The 2026 Price Breakdown: Letters vs. Packages
Postmaster General David Steiner made a pretty unusual move late last year. He recommended forgoing a price hike for "Market Dominant" products—that’s postal-speak for stamps—until at least mid-2026. This was a bit of a relief after the 5-cent jump we saw back in July 2025.
What you'll pay at the counter right now:
- First-Class Forever Stamp: $0.78
- Postcards: $0.61
- Metered Letters (1 oz.): $0.74
- International Letters (1 oz.): $1.70
- Additional Ounce (for heavy letters): $0.29
It’s kind of wild to look back. Just ten years ago, a stamp was under 50 cents. Now, we’re knocking on the door of 80 cents. But compared to the rest of the world? We actually have it pretty good. USPS likes to point out that they remain one of the most affordable ways to move paper across a continent.
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The January 18th "Shipping Spike"
While stamps stayed the same, package rates just jumped by an average of 6% to 8%. This is part of the "Delivering for America" ten-year plan, which basically tries to make the post office self-sustaining.
If you use Priority Mail, expect to pay about 6.6% more than you did last Christmas. Ground Advantage, which replaced the old First-Class Package service, went up even more—roughly 7.8%.
Here is the "new normal" for common shipping items as of mid-January:
- Priority Mail Flat Rate Envelope: $11.95
- Small Flat Rate Box: $12.65
- Medium Flat Rate Box: $22.95
- Large Flat Rate Box: $31.50
Basically, the era of the "cheap" box is fading. If you’re an eBay seller or just someone who ships a lot of care packages, these nickels and dimes add up fast. Interestingly, the post office did lower some rates for very specific weight classes (like packages between 11 and 20 pounds) to stay competitive with UPS, but for most of us, "up" is the only direction prices are going.
Why Do Stamp Prices Keep Changing?
It feels like every time you turn around, there's a new "notice of price adjustment."
The USPS uses something called the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to justify these hikes. Inflation hits the postal service hard because they have one of the largest vehicle fleets in the world. Think about the gas, the tires, and the specialized maintenance for those LLVs (the boxy mail trucks) and the new electric versions.
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Then there's the labor. Delivering to 167 million addresses six days a week requires a massive workforce.
There is also a philosophical shift happening. The USPS is trying to move away from being just a "letter" carrier and wants to dominate the package market. By raising prices on shipping, they hope to fund the infrastructure needed to compete with Amazon's own delivery network.
The "Forever" Loophole
The smartest thing you can do—and you've probably heard this a million times—is buy Forever Stamps in bulk before the next mid-year hike.
The name isn't just marketing. A Forever Stamp bought today for 78 cents will still work ten years from now, even if the price of a stamp hits two dollars. If you have a drawer full of stamps from 2019 that you bought for 55 cents, you can slap one on an envelope today and it's perfectly valid. No "1-cent" add-on stamps required.
Actionable Tips to Save on Postage in 2026
- Stop buying at the counter. If you ship packages, use services like Pirateship or Stamps.com. They offer "Commercial Pricing," which is significantly cheaper than the retail price you pay at the post office window. You can save upwards of 10-15% just by printing your own label.
- Check your dimensions. USPS recently added surcharges for packages that are "non-standard." If your box is longer than 22 inches, you might get hit with a $4.00 fee you weren't expecting. Keep it compact.
- Use the "Metered" rate. If you have a small business, a postage meter saves you 4 cents per letter. It doesn't sound like much, but for a 1,000-piece mailer, that’s $40 back in your pocket.
- Stock up now. Since we know there won't be a stamp increase until at least July 2026, now is the window to buy your rolls. Once the next announcement hits, the lines at the post office will get long.
Keep an eye on the news around May or June. That's usually when the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) gets the next proposal for a price hike. For now, enjoy the 78-cent letter while it lasts.