DIY Mailing vs PostPal: The True Cost of Sending Mail in the USA

• A USPS Forever Stamp costs around $0.73, but you can't buy just one — booklets and rolls only.
• True DIY material cost per letter is roughly $0.95-$1.10 once you add envelope, paper, and ink.
• You can't actually buy supplies for one letter. The minimum spend is closer to $50-$80 in stamps, envelopes, paper, and ink.
• PostPal is a flat $5 per domestic letter and $10 internationally — no upfront supplies, no leftover ink.
• For occasional senders, PostPal is competitive. For frequent senders, it's even more compelling once printer maintenance is factored in.
• DIY still wins for high-volume business mail and handwritten cards. For everything else, online mailing is faster and cleaner.

When you need to send a letter, your first instinct might be to handle it yourself. After all, how expensive can a stamp and an envelope really be? But here's the catch: you can't just buy one stamp or one envelope. You're forced to buy in bulk — and that changes the math entirely.

In this post, we'll break down what it actually costs to send a letter the DIY way versus using an online service like PostPal in the USA.

Let's start by listing everything you need to send a single letter the traditional way:

1. Stamps

The USPS Forever Stamp currently runs about $0.73 per stamp. But you can't buy a single stamp — the smallest book contains 20, costing around $14.60. Postcard stamps are a separate $0.56.

2. Envelopes

A box of 100 standard #10 business envelopes runs about $8-15 at office supply stores. That's roughly $0.08-0.15 per envelope. Need a larger envelope for multiple pages? Those cost more.

3. Paper

A ream of 500 sheets of printer paper costs around $8-12, working out to about $0.02 per sheet. Cheap on paper, but you'll also need to factor in the cost of actually printing on it.

4. Printer Ink or Toner

Here's where costs add up fast. A standard inkjet cartridge costs $25-40 and prints roughly 200-300 pages. That's around $0.10-0.15 per page. Laser toner is more economical per page but requires a bigger upfront investment.

5. The Hidden Costs

• Printer maintenance: Paper jams, alignment issues, dried-up ink cartridges
• Storage space: Keeping supplies on hand takes up room in a closet or drawer
• Waste: Misprints, addressing errors, damaged envelopes

Let's add it all up for a single domestic letter:

Item	Cost
Forever Stamp (domestic)	$0.73
Envelope	$0.10
Paper (1 sheet)	$0.02
Printing (1 page, ink)	$0.12
Materials Total	~$0.97

At roughly $1 per letter in materials alone, DIY mailing might look unbeatable on paper. But here's the catch: you can't actually buy these supplies for just one letter. Realistically, the minimum entry cost is $50-$80 across stamps, envelopes, paper, and a fresh ink cartridge.

If you only send a few letters per year, DIY mailing is even more expensive than the per-letter math suggests:

• Stamps go missing: You buy a book of 20, use 3, and forget where you put the rest
• Printer ink dries out: Inkjet cartridges crust up if they don't print regularly
• Supplies degrade: Envelopes get bent, paper yellows, and ink loses colour saturation
• Rates change: USPS hikes the Forever Stamp every year or two — old denominated stamps may no longer cover postage on their own

For occasional senders, the waste and inconvenience make DIY mailing particularly poor value.

Now let's look at what you get with PostPal:

PostPal Pricing

• Domestic letters: $5 (anywhere in the USA)
• International letters: $10 (worldwide)

What's Included

• Professional full-colour printing on quality paper
• Standard #10 business envelope
• USPS postage
• Address validation (catches typos before they ruin a delivery)
• Mailed within one business day
• Attach up to 5 documents

No printer needed. No trip to the post office. No hunting for stamps. Just write your letter online and we handle the rest. We cover the full process in our how to send mail in the USA guide.

Here's how DIY mailing stacks up against PostPal:

Factor	DIY	PostPal
Cost per letter (materials only)	~$1.00	$5
Upfront investment	$50-$80+ in supplies	$0
Minimum purchase	20 stamps, 100 envelopes, 500 sheets	1 letter
Address validation	Manual	Automatic
Supplies needed	Printer, ink, paper, envelopes, stamps	None

The per-letter math favors DIY, but only if you're sending enough mail to justify the bulk purchases — and only if you already own a working printer with non-dried-out ink.

To be fair, there are situations where traditional mailing is the better call:

• High volume: Businesses sending hundreds of letters can take advantage of bulk presort or commercial postage rates
• Handwritten notes: Personal cards and letters where the handwriting itself is the point
• Special enclosures: Packages, gifts, or items that can't be uploaded as a PDF
• You enjoy the ritual: Some people genuinely like writing and mailing letters by hand

For standard correspondence, documents, and letters where convenience and a clean printed look matter, online mailing services have a clear edge.

The per-letter cost of DIY mailing looks appealing on paper, but the reality is you can't buy supplies for just one letter. You're stuck with books of stamps, boxes of envelopes, reams of paper, and ink cartridges — most of which will sit in a drawer until they're unusable.

At $5 per domestic letter, PostPal lets you send exactly what you need, when you need it. No bulk purchases, no leftover supplies, no hassle. For most people, that's a better deal than the math first suggests.

Ready to skip the supply run? Send your first letter with PostPal and see how easy mailing can be.