You’re standing at the kiosk, or maybe you're digging through that junk drawer in the kitchen where the batteries and dead pens live, and you find it. A single, slightly curled sticker with a flag on it. You wonder if it's still enough to get a birthday card across the country. Honestly, the price of one postage stamp has become a moving target lately. It's not just your imagination. If you feel like you’re paying more every time you visit the post office, you’re right.
The United States Postal Service (USPS) has been on a bit of a tear with price hikes. It used to be that stamp prices stayed stagnant for years, maybe moving a penny or two once a decade. Those days are gone. Now, we're seeing twice-a-year adjustments. It’s part of a massive, ten-year overhaul called the "Delivering for America" plan. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy is the architect behind this, and his goal is basically to stop the USPS from hemorrhaging billions of dollars. But for you? It just means mailing a letter costs more than it did six months ago.
What is the Current Price of One Postage Stamp?
As of right now, the price of one postage stamp—specifically the First-Class Mail Forever stamp—is 73 cents.
Wait. Let’s look at that number. 73 cents.
It feels high, doesn't it? Just a few years ago, we were hovering in the 50s. The jump to 73 cents happened in July 2024, following a previous hike to 68 cents in January of that same year. If you go back to 2019, that same stamp was only 55 cents. That is a massive percentage increase in a very short window of time. The USPS argues that inflation and a decline in mail volume make these hikes necessary. People aren't sending letters like they used to. We pay bills online. We send "Thank You" texts instead of cards. When volume drops, the cost to maintain the massive infrastructure—the trucks, the sorting facilities, the carriers walking the routes—stays the same or goes up.
The Forever Stamp Loophole
Here is the one piece of good news in this whole mess. If you bought a "Forever" stamp back when they were 49 cents, it still works today. That is the entire point of the Forever stamp program, which started in 2007. They are always valid for the current one-ounce First-Class Mail rate, regardless of what you actually paid for them.
It's essentially a small-scale form of commodity speculation. If you buy a roll of 100 stamps today at 73 cents and the price jumps to 80 cents next year, you’ve basically "earned" seven dollars. It’s not going to fund your retirement, but it’s a rare win against inflation.
Why Does the Price Keep Changing?
The USPS isn't just raising prices because they feel like it. They are actually regulated by the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC). However, the rules changed a few years ago to give the USPS more "pricing flexibility." Basically, they were given the green light to raise rates above the rate of inflation to cover their retirement liability costs and operational deficits.
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The "Delivering for America" plan is the culprit here. It’s a $40 billion investment strategy. They’re buying new electric delivery trucks (those funky-looking Next Generation Delivery Vehicles) and consolidating sorting centers. They want to be self-sufficient. Currently, the USPS doesn't receive taxpayer money for its day-to-day operations; it relies on the sale of postage and services. When the mail volume for First-Class letters—their most profitable product—drops, the price of one postage stamp has to fill the gap.
There’s a lot of debate about this. Some consumer advocacy groups, and even some members of Congress, think these frequent hikes are a "death spiral." The logic is simple: if you make stamps too expensive, people will stop using the mail even faster. It’s a valid concern. If it costs nearly a dollar to mail a postcard, are you going to bother? Probably not.
Breaking Down the Costs for Other Mail Types
It's not just the standard letter that's getting pricier. Everything across the board is shifting.
- Postcards: These used to be the cheap way to say hello. Now, the rate for a postcard is 56 cents.
- International Letters: Want to send a letter to Europe or Asia? That’ll be $1.65.
- Additional Ounces: If your wedding invitation is a bit heavy because of all those inserts, each extra ounce costs 24 cents.
Interestingly, the "Certified Mail" fee has also spiked. If you need to prove someone received a legal document, you’re looking at a $4.85 fee on top of your postage. It adds up fast.
The Logistics of the 73-Cent Stamp
Have you ever wondered what actually happens when you drop that 73-cent stamp in the blue box? It’s a logistical miracle, honestly. That letter might travel 3,000 miles. It gets picked up by a carrier, taken to a local hub, sent to a regional processing center, sorted by high-speed optical scanners that can read messy handwriting, loaded onto a plane or a long-haul truck, sorted again at the destination, and finally hand-delivered.
All for less than the price of a candy bar.
When you look at it that way, the price of one postage stamp seems like a bargain. Try hiring a private courier to take a piece of paper from New York to Los Angeles for 73 cents. They'd laugh at you. But because the USPS has a "universal service obligation," they have to deliver to every address in the U.S., from the bottom of the Grand Canyon (where mail is delivered by mule) to the Alaskan wilderness.
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How to Save Money on Postage
If you’re a small business owner or someone who still sends out a lot of holiday cards, these increases hurt. You have a few options to mitigate the sting.
Buy in bulk before a rate hike. The USPS usually announces price increases months in advance. When you hear the news, go to the grocery store or the post office and buy a few coils of 100 stamps. It’s the easiest way to lock in the lower rate.
Use Metered Mail. If you have a postage meter (like Pitney Bowes), the rate for a First-Class letter is actually slightly lower than the price of one postage stamp. For example, while a stamp is 73 cents, the metered rate is often 69 cents. Over thousands of envelopes, that’s a real budget saver.
Check for "Additional Ounce" stamps. Don't use two Forever stamps on a heavy envelope. Two Forever stamps cost $1.46. If your letter is just two ounces, you only need one Forever stamp plus a 24-cent "additional ounce" stamp, totaling 97 cents. Using two regular stamps is throwing away nearly 50 cents.
The Future of Postage: Will it Hit $1.00?
Most experts, including those at the Lexington Institute, suggest that we are well on our way to a one-dollar stamp. If the current trajectory of twice-yearly increases continues, we could see the price of one postage stamp hit the $1.00 mark by 2028 or 2029.
It sounds wild, but it’s the reality of a world that has moved on to digital communication. The postal service is pivoting. They are focusing more on packages—competing with UPS and FedEx—because that’s where the growth is. The "letter" side of the business is becoming a premium service rather than a daily necessity.
What Most People Get Wrong About Stamps
People think the USPS is a government agency funded by taxes. It’s not. It’s a "quasi-governmental" entity. It’s supposed to run like a business. Another misconception is that you can't use old stamps. You absolutely can. If you have old 29-cent or 32-cent stamps from the 90s, they are still valid. You just have to add "makeup" stamps (small denomination stamps like 1-cent, 5-cent, or 10-cent) to bring the total value up to 73 cents.
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It looks ugly on the envelope, sure. You'll have six stamps crowded in the corner. But the mail will get there.
Actionable Steps for Your Mailbox
Stop ignoring the news reports about postal increases. They happen every January and July now. It is a cycle.
Check your current stock. Look at your stamps. If they say "Forever," you are set. If they have a numerical value on them (like 50c or 60c), you need to buy some small-change stamps to make up the difference before you drop them in the mail.
Audit your outgoing mail. Are you still paying bills by check? Most banks offer free bill pay where they mail the check for you. They eat the cost of the postage, not you. It’s a simple way to save five or ten dollars a month if you're still doing things the old-fashioned way.
Invest in Forever stamps now. If you have the cash, buy a "brick" of stamps. The price isn't going down. Ever. In the history of the USPS, the price of a stamp has only decreased once (in 2016), and that was because a temporary "exigent" surcharge expired. It was a fluke.
Keep your eye on the PRC announcements every autumn and spring. That's when the new price of one postage stamp is usually revealed, giving you a window of about 90 days to stock up at the old rate.
If you're mailing anything important today, just remember: 73 cents is the magic number. Put the stamp on, lick the envelope (or peel the sticker, let's be real), and let the system do its thing. It's still the cheapest way to send a physical object across a continent.
Next Steps to Manage Your Mailing Costs:
- Inventory Check: Round up all loose stamps in your home and identify if they are "Forever" or "Denominated."
- Calculate Weight: If you are sending more than three sheets of standard paper, use a kitchen scale. Anything over one ounce requires additional postage, and "guessing" usually leads to "Return to Sender" or "Postage Due" embarrassments.
- Digital Transition: Identify three recurring bills you still mail and switch them to "Auto-Pay" or "Bank Bill Pay" to eliminate the need for stamps entirely for those tasks.
- Bulk Purchase: If you have an event coming up (wedding, graduation, holiday cards), buy your stamps at least six months in advance to avoid the inevitable July or January price hikes.