Postage Rates
USPS® Notice 123 – Effective since January 19, 2025
The Postal Service’s Notice 123 serves as a comprehensive summary of all the essential postage rates you need to know. However, you might wonder, “Do I actually need to know every single postage rate?” Fortunately, this single-page guide provides a concise yet detailed overview of the most important rates. In other words, while it does not include every possible rate, it likely covers about 90% of what you need—particularly for First-Class rates—without requiring you to sift through excessive and unnecessary details.
2025 PRIORITY MAIL RATES
Priority Mail Express® Flat Rates (as of January 19, 2025)
USPS Priority Mail Express® offers several flat-rate options, allowing you to choose the best fit for your mailing needs. Moreover, these rates apply nationwide, ensuring cost consistency regardless of destination.
Retail Cost (at the Post Office Window):
- Flat Rate Envelope: $31.45
- Legal Flat Rate Envelope: $31.65
- Padded Flat Rate Envelope: $32.20
Discounted Commercial Cost (For Online Services Like USPS®’s Click ‘N Ship®):
- Flat Rate Envelope: $27.20
- Legal Flat Rate Envelope: $27.50
- Padded Flat Rate Envelope: $27.70
Additionally, USPS guarantees “Next Day” to “Two-Day” service delivery by 6:00 PM, depending on the destination.
Extra Features Include:
- Tracking included, ensuring real-time shipment updates.
- Proof of recorded delivery signature, available if arranged at purchase.
- Sunday/Holiday Delivery available for an additional $12.50.
Check here for more details: Priority Mail Express®
Priority Mail Flat Rates (as of January 19, 2025)
Retail Flat Rate Costs (at the Post Office Window):
| Retail Flat Rate Costs (at the Post Office Window): | |
|---|---|
| Flat Rate Envelopes: | $10.10 |
| Legal Flat Rate Envelope: | $10.40 |
| Padded Flat Rate Envelope: | $10.85 |
| Small Flat Rate Box: | $10.65 |
| Medium Flat Rate Box (2 shapes): | $19.15 |
| Large Flat Rate Box: | $26.30 |
| APO/FPO/DPO Large Flat Rate Box: | $25.05 |
Discounted Commercial Flat Rates Costs (if you use an online service such as the USPS®’s Click ‘N Ship® service)
| Flat Rate Envelopes: | $8.50 |
| Legal Flat Rate Envelope: | $8.80 |
| Padded Flat Rate Envelope: | $9.30 |
| Small Flat Rate Box: | $9.05 |
| Medium Flat Rate Box (2 shapes): | $16.00 |
| Large Flat Rate Box: | $21.85 |
| APO/FPO/DPO Large Flat Rate Box: | $20.15 |
2025 FIRST CLASS SINGLE PIECE MAIL RATES
These rates apply to 2025 First-Class Postage Rates for the most commonly used single mailpieces. In other words, these rates pertain to FCM postage for individual pieces of mail that you personally bring to any USPS® location. If you would like to see a more complete list, here’s the USPS link to the current “Notice 123” which provides all the First-Class mailing rates
First Class Mail LETTER Rates (as of January 19, 2025)
| 1oz | 2oz | 3oz | 3.5oz | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Letters (Stamps): | 73¢ | $1.01 | $1.29 | $1.57 |
| Letters (Metered): | 69¢ | 97¢ | $1.25 | $1.53 |
| Additional Ounce (Stamp) | 24¢ | |||
| FCM Postcard (Stamp) | 56¢ |
Before diving into rates, it is essential to understand what qualifies as a First-Class Flat. For instance, flats often include:
- 9” x 12” large envelopes
- Magazines, newsletters, and annual reports
- Product catalogs
- Oversized postcards exceeding 6.125” x 11.5”
- 9” x 9” square envelopes
These are the single-piece FCM rates that you could expect to pay in 2025:
First Class Mail FLAT Rates (as of January 19, 2025)
| 1oz | 2oz | 3oz | 4oz | etc., | etc., | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flats (Stamped or Metered): | $1.50 | $1.77 | $2.04 | $2.31 | … | … |
2025 FIRST CLASS AUTOMATION PRESORT MAIL RATES
At Cornerstone Services, our First-Class mailings are either at the automation presort rate level (500ct and over) or occasionally at the metered machinable rate levels (i.e. volumes between 200ct but under 500ct). Single piece rates above are for your reference only as we no longer undertake fulfillment work with single-piece stamped mail, but we often use First-Class precancelled stamps for mailings over 500ct pieces.
Here are the 2025 FIRST CLASS MAIL COMMERCIAL LETTER Rates that you could expect to see from us if we helped you with an automation First-Class Letter-size envelope or FCM oversized postcard mailing:
FCM Automation LETTER Rates (as of July 2024)
| 1oz | 2oz | 3oz | 3.5oz | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First-Class Auto Letters (5-Digit): | 54.5¢ | 54.5¢ | 54.5¢ | 54.5¢ |
| First-Class Auto Letters (AADC): | 59.3¢ | 59.3¢ | 59.3¢ | 59.3¢ |
| First-Class Auto Letters (Mixed AADC): | 62.2¢ | 62.2¢ | 62.2¢ | 62.2¢ |
If you are wondering what the “5-Digit,” “AADC,” and “Mixed AADC” rate tiers mean, here’s an informal explanation:
1. 5-Digit Rate
To qualify for the 5-Digit rate, your address list—after being processed by us—must have at least 150 addresses going to the same 5-digit ZIP Code.
For example:
- If you have 150 envelopes going to ZIP Codes such as “12601” in Poughkeepsie, “10941” in Middletown, or “10601” in White Plains, you qualify.
- Similarly, if you have 150 mailpieces destined for New York, NY 10075, you would earn the 50.7¢ rate for those specific mailpieces.
2. AADC Rate
If you do not have a 5-Digit concentration for certain mail, you can still qualify for the AADC rate, provided that you have at least 150 mailpieces sharing a common postal distribution center.
For instance:
- The AADC area for the Westchester, NY District includes some Western CT ZIP Codes.
- If your automation presort mailing with us contains 150 oversized FCM cards with ZIP Codes from the New York Westchester District (beginning with “105” through “109”), along with Connecticut ZIP Codes “066,” “068,” or “069,” you would have sufficient AADC concentration to qualify for the 54.7¢ rate on those FCM pieces.
3. Mixed AADC (MAADC) Rate
If your mailing does not meet the required concentration for either the 5-Digit or AADC rate tiers, then your remaining automation-verified addresses qualify under Mixed AADC (also known as MAADC).
Not surprisingly, Mixed AADC is a combination of everything left over—mailpieces that qualify for automation rates but do not have strong regional concentration across the United States and its territories.
The good news is that you still receive an automation rate discount, and even better, there are no minimum volume requirements for this tier.
For example:
- If you have 5 letters going to Alaska, 12 to Florida, 3 to North Dakota, 1 to Guam, and 1 to an APO destination, you get the idea—your mail is scattered across multiple locations.
- With that in mind, even though this tier lacks geographical grouping, you still benefit from cost savings through automation rates.
FCM Automation POSTCARD Rates (as of January 19, 2025)
| 1oz | |
|---|---|
| First-Class Auto Postcard (5-Digit): | 54.5¢ |
| First-Class Auto Postcard (AADC): | 59.3¢ |
| First-Class Auto Postcard (Mixed AADC): | 62.2¢ |
| Postcard Machinable (Presorted): | 43.5¢ |
The following rates represent most of the FCM automation presort flat rates that we frequently encounter in our mailings. While this list does not include all possible presort flat rates, it covers the majority of automation flat rate mailings, which typically do not exceed 6 ounces:
FCM Automation FLAT Rates (as of January 19, 2025)
| 1oz | 2oz | 3oz | 4oz | 5oz | 6oz | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First-Class Auto FLATS (5-Digit): | 87.4¢ | $1.144 | $1.414 | $1.684 | $1.964 | $2.244 |
| First-Class Auto FLATS (3-Digit): | $1.132 | $1.402 | $1.672 | $1.942 | $2.222 | $2.502 |
| First-Class Auto FLATS (ADC): | $1.212 | $1.482 | $1.752 | $2.022 | $2.302 | $2.582 |
| First-Class Auto FLATS (Mixed ADC): | $1.355 | $1.625 | $1.895 | $2.165 | $2.445 | $2.725 |
| First-Class Machinable FLATS: | $1.400 | $1.670 | $1.940 | $2.210 | $2.490 | $2.770 |
2025 COMMERCIAL BULK MAIL AUTOMATION RATES
Technically, the USPS called this rate class “Marketing Mail”, but whether you call it that, or “3rd class mail” or “Standard A rate mail”, at the end of the day, it’s generally called “bulk” mail by most normal people. We do, however, distinguish regular bulk mail between “commercial” and non-profit”, and the non-profit rates are below.
At Cornerstone Services, we only handle and present automation presort mail with 200ct or more qualifying (ZIP+4 verifiable) addresses. We have options for both postal permit imprint and precancelled bulk-mail stamps. Similar to First-Class mail, we don’t send presort only, non-automation bulk-rate mailings.
Here are the 2025 COMMERCIAL BULK MAIL LETTER Rates that you could expect to see from us if we helped you with an automation Bulk Mail Letter-size #10 envelope or oversized postcard. This is not a complete list but is intended for our customers, and probably others, to understand the most common rate tiers that we may avail for them.
We’re also going to assume that your letter is 3.5 ounces or less because that 95%+ of what we send. While there is a whole formula for figuring out non-automation “per pound” piece rates for commercial letter-rate bulk mail, we generally don’t offer that and are not going to detail that for general purposes of simplicity (you’re welcome).
Bulk Mail Automation Letter Rates (as of January 19, 2025)
Again, these rates apply to Marketing Mail Letters not weighing over 3.5 ounces.
You will see the term “SCF” below. This refers to a USPS “Sectional Center Facility”. In the Hudson Valley, NY area, for example, SCF rates are obtained by (a) our presenting your mail at the Mid-Hudson SCF district Business Mail Entry Unit (BMEU) location in Newburgh NY at Stewart Air Force Base and (b) your having automation qualifying 5-Digit ZIP Code numbers in your mailing that begin with “124”, “125”, “126” or “127”.
If you’d like to see a more complete up-to-date SCF list to guide you in other parts of the United States, try this link to a Wikipedia page. I’m sending you to a Wikipedia page which while technically not complete is at least transparent and doesn’t require a log-in to the USPS site and is rather easily readable.
| No Local (SCF) Entry Discount | Yes! (SCF) Local Entry Discount | |
|---|---|---|
| Bulk Mail Automation Letters (Saturation Carrier Route): | 23.7¢ | 23.7¢ |
| Bulk Mail Auto Letters (5-Digit): | 34.5¢ | 31.8¢ |
| Bulk Mail Auto Letters (AADC): | 38.0¢ | 35.3¢ |
| Bulk Mail Auto Letters (Mixed AADC): | 40.2¢ | N/A |
Non-Profit Bulk Mail at Automation Letter Rates (as of January 19, 2025)
(Here again, these rates apply to physical standards regarding Marketing Mail Letters that do not weigh over 3.5 ounces.)
Keeping this simple: the easiest way to understand the Non-Profit bulk mail rates is to know that this is the same service class as commercial bulk mail, except that the rates are lower. Deliverability is exactly the same. As long as your organization is qualified to present not-for-profit mail, then we should be able to attain the following rates for you much of the time:
| No Local (SCF) Entry Discount | Yes! (SCF) Local Entry Discount | |
|---|---|---|
| Non-Profit Mail Automation Letters (Saturation Carrier Route): | 14.8¢ | 12.1¢ |
| Non-Profit Auto Letters (5-Digit): | 17.3¢ | 14.6¢ |
| Non-Profit Auto Letters (AADC): | 20.8¢ | 18.1¢ |
| Non-Profit Mail Auto Letters (Mixed AADC): | 22.8¢ | N/A |
Bulk Mail EDDM/Saturation FLAT Rates (as of July 2024)
For mailpieces that qualify for the EDDM Flat-rate size (and which have other qualifying characteristics) the EDDM rate class, with saturation carrier route consideration, is the most cost effective way to send direct mail with a significant amount of marketing content. If you would like to know more about EDDM Simplified Address rate mailing, there is a sister website which focuses solely on EDDM Mail, DoneRightMail.com.
Cornerstone presents both automation addressed and non-automation “simplified addressed” flat-rate saturation mailings. In some cases, we’re able to get yet another discount rate for our customers called “DDU” rates whereby CRST delivers the mailing directly to the USPS local post office vs. leaving mail at the regional BMEU (such as at the Newburgh NY BMEU at Stewart Airport). Therefore, we’re including the DDU rate option here as well:
| No Local (SCF) Entry Discount | Yes! (SCF) Local Entry Discount | Yes! DDU Secondary Entry Discount | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bulk Mail EDDM Carrier Route Saturation & Automation CRRT Saturation FLATS: | 29.9¢ | 22.9¢ | 21.8¢ |
Automation Commercial Bulk FLAT Rates (as of January 19, 2025)
| No Local (SCF) Entry Discount | Yes! (SCF) Local Entry Discount | |
|---|---|---|
| Bulk Mail Automation FLATS (5-Digit): | 68.7¢ | 61.7¢ |
| Bulk Mail Automation FLATS (3-Digit): | 86.4¢ | 79.4¢ |
| Bulk Mail Automation FLATS (ADC): | 97.1¢ | 90.1¢ |
| Bulk Mail Automation FLATS (Mixed ADC): | $1.041 | N/A |
Automation Non-Profit Bulk FLAT Rates (as of January 19, 2025)
As stated above, Non-Profit bulk flat-rate mail has the same service class as commercial bulk mail, except that the rates are lower. Handling and Delivery is the same. As long as your organization is qualified to present not-for-profit mail, then we should be able to attain the following rates for you much of the time:
| No Local (SCF) Entry Discount | Yes! (SCF) Local Entry Discount | Yes! DDU Secondary Entry Discount | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-Profit Bulk Mail EDDMC arrier Route Saturation & Auto CRRT Saturation FLATS: | 19.6¢ | 12.6¢ | 11.5¢ |
| No Local (SCF) Entry Discount | Yes! (SCF) Local Entry Discount | |
|---|---|---|
| Non-Profit Automation FLATS (5-Digit): | 45.1¢ | 38.1¢ |
| Non-Profit Automation FLATS (3-Digit): | 62.8¢ | 55.8¢ |
| Non-Profit Automation FLATS (ADC): | 73.5¢ | 66.5¢ |
| Non-Profit Automation FLATS (Mixed ADC): | 80.5¢ | N/A |