Stamp price: how much a Forever stamp costs
The stamp price for a 1-ounce letter, and what to add for a heavier, square or larger envelope. Pick what you mail and its weight.
Independent site, not the Postal Service: prices read in its own price files.
Example: a 1 oz letter· change a figure to see yours
Letter postage
$0.82
1 Forever stamp ($0.82 each)
| One Forever stamp (1 oz letter) | $0.82 |
| Each extra ounce of a letter | $0.29 |
| Price on January 17, 2027 | $0.82 (stamps do not change) |
Compiled by Radif Partners · How the prices are built
The price of a Forever stamp is $0.82, the First-Class Mail price of a standard letter up to 1 ounce, in the Notice 123 price list read on November 13, 2026. A Forever stamp has no value printed on it: it always pays the current 1-ounce letter price. Each extra ounce of a letter costs $0.29, up to 3.5 ounces. A postcard stamp costs $0.65. A square, rigid or lumpy letter pays a nonmachinable surcharge of $0.49, so $1.31 in all at 1 ounce, the figure usps.com lists for unusual envelopes. Nothing changes in January 2027: the Postal Service said on November 12, 2026 that its shipping price filing makes no change to the price of stamps, and the January 2027 file keeps the letter at $0.82. The 1-ounce letter was already $0.82 in July 2026.
The stamp price and what goes with it
Every figure below is read in the First-Class Mail retail sheet of Notice 123. The postage meter price applies to businesses that print postage with a meter; a stamp bought at the counter or online costs the stamp price.
| Item | Price today |
|---|---|
| Forever stamp, 1 oz letter | $0.82 |
| Each extra ounce of a letter | $0.29 |
| Square, rigid or lumpy letter, 1 oz | $1.31 |
| Postcard stamp | $0.65 |
| Large envelope, 1 oz | $1.69 |
| Letter paid by postage meter, 1 oz | $0.78 |
One stamp or more
A standard envelope with a few sheets of paper weighs about an ounce and needs one Forever stamp. Heavier letters need more postage, and a Forever stamp is always worth the 1-ounce price, so a 2-ounce letter at $1.11 takes two stamps and overpays a little. The stamps calculator counts them for any weight.
Postage for your envelope
Example: a 1 oz letter· change a figure to see yours
Letter postage
$0.82
1 Forever stamp ($0.82 each)
| One Forever stamp (1 oz letter) | $0.82 |
| Each extra ounce of a letter | $0.29 |
| Price on January 17, 2027 | $0.82 (stamps do not change) |
Mail that is not a letter
The Postal Service sorts mail by shape before weight. A large envelope, flat and flexible, up to 13 ounces, has its own price scale on the large envelope page. Postcards are on the postcard page. Anything thicker, stiffer or heavier is a package, priced by weight and zone rather than by ounce alone: see Ground Advantage.