Quick answer: A direct mail campaign has four costs: printing, postage, the mailing list, and mail prep. Postage is usually the biggest line — from $0.247 per piece with EDDM Retail up to $0.61 for a single stamped postcard — and printing typically runs cheaper than most owners expect. Here’s the full breakdown with current USPS prices, and where the real savings hide.
Last updated: June 2026.
The Four Costs in Every Direct Mail Campaign
When we quote a campaign at Catdi Printing, the estimate splits into four lines:
- Printing — the physical piece: size, paper stock, coating, quantity.
- Postage — what USPS charges to deliver it. At Catdi Printing, postage is a pass-through: you pay exactly what USPS charges, no markup.
- Mailing list — who receives it. EDDM skips this cost entirely; targeted campaigns need a list.
- Mail prep — addressing, sorting, bundling, and the USPS paperwork that qualifies your mailing for the discounted rates below.
Most cost guides stop at a vague per-piece range. Let’s put real numbers on each line instead.
Postage Costs in 2026 (the Biggest Line)
Current prices, effective April 26, 2026, from the USPS Notice 123 price list:
| Mailing method | Postage per piece | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| EDDM Retail | $0.247 | Blanketing neighborhoods — no list, no permit |
| Marketing Mail, saturation (automation letters) | from $0.365 | Dense targeted mailings with a list |
| First-Class presorted postcard (5-digit automation) | $0.420 | Speed and mail forwarding on volume mailings |
| First-Class postcard stamp (retail) | $0.61 | Small batches you stamp yourself |
| First-Class Forever stamp (letter) | $0.78 | Single letters and very small mailings |
Heads up: USPS has filed to raise mailing prices about 4.8% on July 12, 2026 — the Forever stamp goes from 78¢ to 82¢, and Marketing Mail rates rise with it (USPS announcement). If a campaign is on your summer calendar, mailing before July 12 locks in the current rates.
The part most guides skip: on Marketing Mail, the biggest driver of your postage price isn’t the stamp price or the quantity — it’s address density: how tightly your pieces cluster on each carrier route. Saturation and high-density mailings earn the deepest discounts, which is exactly why EDDM (every address on the route) is the cheapest postage you can buy. Tightening your geography saves more than almost anything else.
Printing Costs: Cheaper Than You Think
Printing is where owners expect sticker shock, and it’s usually the opposite. Per-piece print cost depends on four things — size, paper stock, coating, and quantity — and quantity does the heavy lifting. Gang-run presses spread setup across the whole run, so per-piece prices fall fast as volume climbs.
A real example from our own quoting system: a small run of 25 premium 4" × 6" postcards on thick 16PT stock with UV coating prices out around $14 — and the per-piece cost drops sharply from there at 500, 1,000, and 5,000 pieces. Price your exact piece on our postcard printing page or request an itemized quote — we break out print, postage, and list costs separately so you can see exactly where each dollar goes.
Mailing List Costs (or How to Pay $0)
Two routes here:
- EDDM: no list at all. You pick carrier routes on a map and USPS delivers to every address. List cost: $0.
- Targeted lists: priced per record, and the price moves with your filters (homeowners, income band, business type, radius). Tighter targeting costs more per record — but wastes far fewer pieces.
Before you buy anything, we’ll run free list counts for your area, so you know exactly how many prospects match your filters — and what the list will cost — before a single piece prints.
EDDM vs. Targeted Mail: the Cost Math
| EDDM Retail | Targeted Marketing Mail | |
|---|---|---|
| Postage | $0.247/piece | from $0.365/piece |
| Mailing list | Not needed | Required (per-record cost) |
| Permit | None needed | Runs under our permit |
| Volume rules | 200–5,000 pieces per ZIP per day | 200-piece minimum |
| Targeting | Whole carrier routes | Individual households or businesses |
Rule of thumb from the shop floor: if your customers are everyone in a neighborhood — restaurants, dental, home services, retail — EDDM wins on cost almost every time. If only certain households or businesses can buy from you, a targeted list earns back its cost in reduced waste. We compare the two in detail in our EDDM vs. targeted mailing lists guide, and walk ten real scenarios in the use-cases chapter of this guide.
Want the actual number for your ZIP code? Use our free postage estimate calculator, or call and we’ll price your exact neighborhoods in a few minutes. Postage is always a pass-through at Catdi Printing — you pay what USPS charges, never a penny more.
Five Ways to Cut Your Direct Mail Costs
- Tighten your geography. Density drives the Marketing Mail discount tiers — clustering pieces on fewer carrier routes beats almost every other savings trick.
- Mail before July 12, 2026. The ~4.8% postage increase lands that day; a June mail date is an instant discount.
- Right-size the piece. A postcard up to 4.25" × 6" mails at the $0.61 card rate with a stamp — bigger cards jump to letter pricing. Standard sizes also print cheaper than custom ones.
- Skip the list when you don’t need it. If your offer works door-to-door, EDDM’s $0 list cost plus $0.247 postage is hard to beat.
- Get postage broken out in the quote. If a vendor quotes one bundled number, you can’t see the markup. Insist on an itemized quote — ours always is.
Direct Mail Cost FAQ
How much does it cost to mail 5,000 postcards?
With EDDM Retail, postage alone is 5,000 × $0.247 = $1,235. Add printing (varies by size and stock) and that’s your all-in number — no list cost, no permit fee. Get your exact figure with a free itemized quote.
Is EDDM really cheaper than stamps?
Yes — $0.247 per piece versus $0.61 for a stamped postcard. Less than half the cost, in exchange for mailing to every address on the carrier routes you choose.
Do I need a permit for EDDM?
Not for EDDM Retail — no permit is required, and you can send 200 to 5,000 pieces per ZIP code per day (USPS EDDM page). For targeted Marketing Mail campaigns, your mailing runs under our permit — you don’t buy your own.
Will postage go up again in 2026?
Yes. USPS has filed for an average 4.8% increase to mailing prices effective July 12, 2026, taking the Forever stamp from 78¢ to 82¢. Marketing Mail and postcard rates rise alongside it.
Does Catdi Printing mark up postage?
No. Postage is a 100% pass-through — we charge exactly what USPS charges us, documented on your invoice. You pay for printing, mail prep, and the list if you need one; the postage line is USPS’s number, not ours.
Get Your Real Number in One Phone Call
Averages are fine for budgeting, but your cost depends on your piece, your neighborhoods, and your quantity. Send us those three things and we’ll return an itemized quote — printing, postage, and list broken out separately — usually the same business day. Start with a direct mail quote, price your piece on our postcard page, or call (713) 882-4629 — we’re a Houston shop and an actual human picks up.