Guides
What direct mail costs per piece and per thousand, what EDDM requires, what response rate to plan around, when to saturate a route and when to buy a list, and how a postcard has to be set up to mail at the lowest rate. Every figure reflects the USPS rates effective July 12, 2026.
Guide · updated 2026-09-14
Direct mail costs $0.40 to $1.25 per piece all-in depending on format, quantity and mail class. Here is the cost per piece and per 1,000 for postcards, letters, self-mailers and EDDM, what drives each line, and how to cut it.
Read the guideGuide · updated 2026-09-14
Every Door Direct Mail costs $0.26 per piece in postage plus printing. This guide covers the 2026 EDDM Retail and BMEU rates, the size rules that make a piece eligible, the indicia, the 200-to-5,000 quantity limits, and how to pick carrier routes.
Read the guideGuide · updated 2026-09-14
Direct mail response rates average about 5% for prospect lists and 9% for house lists in industry studies, against roughly 1% for email. Here is what the numbers mean, how they vary by industry and format, and the six factors that move them.
Read the guideGuide · updated 2026-09-14
EDDM reaches every door on a carrier route for $0.26 postage with no list; targeted direct mail reaches selected households for $0.395 postage plus a list. Which one wins depends on how many people on the street are your customer. Here is how to decide.
Read the guideGuide · updated 2026-09-14
Email costs almost nothing and draws about a 1% response; direct mail costs about $0.60 a piece and draws several times that. The right answer is rarely one or the other. Here is how the two compare on cost, response, attention and measurement, and how to run them together.
Read the guideGuide · updated 2026-09-14
Standard direct mail postcard sizes are 4×6, 5×7, 6×9 and 6×11; EDDM sizes start at 6.25×9. This guide covers what each size costs to mail, the USPS rules on dimensions, thickness, address placement and clear zones, and how to set up a file that mails at the lowest rate.
Read the guideAnswers
Yes. Every price and postage figure in the guides reflects the USPS rates effective July 12, 2026, and the pages show a last-updated date. We revise them when the USPS changes rates, typically each January and July.
Yes. The cost, response-rate and format guides give the arithmetic to size a campaign, choose between EDDM and targeted mail, and set up a file that mails at the lowest rate. When you are ready, the quote form turns the plan into a written price.
Get a quote in minutes
Send the size, the quantity and where it is going. You get a written all-in quote — printing, mail processing and postage — usually within a business hour, with no obligation.
Get a quote in minutes
Send the size, the quantity and where it is going. You get a written all-in quote — printing, mail processing and postage — usually within a business hour, with no obligation.
