Guide · updated
How much does direct mail cost? What drives the number in 2026
The three lines on every quote, what moves each one, and six ways to cut the total.
Read the guideGuides
The direct mail numbers, explained before you spend
What drives the cost of direct mail, what response rate to plan around, how mail compares with email, and how a postcard has to be set up to mail at the lowest rate. For current postage, the guides point you to the Postal Service's own price list.
Guide · updated
Response rates by industry, and how to raise them
The ANA's ranges by industry, the six things that move response, and how to plan the math.
Read the guide
Guide · updated
Direct mail vs. email marketing: cost, response and when to use each
Cost per response, attention (Royal Mail's MarketReach research), reach and measurement, and how to run both.
Read the guide
Guide · updated
Postcard sizes and USPS mailing requirements, explained
Why 5×8.25 and 6×11, the USPS size classes, clear zones and setting up the file.
Read the guideAnswers
About these guides
Why don't the guides list postage rates?
Because the Postal Service changes them, usually each January and July, and a stale figure does more harm than none. USPS publishes its current prices in Notice 123, linked at the end of the cost and sizes guides, and your quote states postage on its own line at the rate in effect when your mail goes out.
Will a guide tell me what my mailing costs?
It will tell you what moves the cost: printing, mail processing and postage, and why the same job costs a different amount in different cities. Your own number comes from a quote written for your city, your quantity and your timing. Each guide lists its outside sources at the end of the article.
Which guide should I read first?
The one that matches your question. Budgeting a mailing: the direct mail cost guide. Weighing mail against email: direct mail vs. email. Setting a goal: direct mail response rates. Choosing a card: postcard sizes and mailing requirements.
Can I use these guides to plan a campaign myself?
Yes. The guides cover what drives cost, what response rate to plan around, how mail compares with email, and how to set up a file that mails at the lowest rate. When you are ready, the quote form turns the plan into a written price for your city.
Request a free quote
Tell us what you want to mail. We will price it for your city.
Send the postcard size, the quantity and the city it is going to. Pricing is set for your city and your job, so you get a written quote — printing, mail processing and postage — with no obligation. No finished design or mailing list needed.