Every Door Direct Mail

What EDDM costs, line by line

An EDDM mailing has three costs: postage, printing and mail prep. Here is what each one is, what the postage has been since 2024, and what the whole job costs with us at four quantities.

Published Sat, Oct 17, 2026 · Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026

• EDDM
• Postage
• Costs
• Budget
• USPS rules

"How much does EDDM cost?" has a three-part answer. You pay USPS for postage, you pay a printer for the pieces, and someone has to prepare the mailing for the post office. This guide prices each part and then adds them up. For how EDDM compares with list mail and handouts, see Direct Mail 101.

Line one: postage

EDDM Retail postage is 26¢ a piece, the USPS EDDM Retail rate, effective July 12, 2026 (USPS Notice 123). It covers flats up to 3.3 ounces, which takes in every EDDM postcard size we print.

The rate has gone up every July since 2024. From the archived editions of the same USPS price list:

USPS can change mailing prices in January and July (there was no January 2026 change), so check the rate before you budget a mailing more than a few months out. Our price table always shows the current one.

You pay postage on the addresses on your routes. If you print 5,000 and your routes hold 4,800 homes, you pay postage on 4,800.

Line two: printing

The printing line depends on the size and the quantity. Bigger cards cost more to print, and the price per piece falls as the quantity rises. Here are our 6.5" × 9" prices, one of the sizes USPS names as most popular for EDDM:

• 500 pieces: $285
• 1,000 pieces: $425
• 2,500 pieces: $795
• 5,000 pieces: $1,395
• 10,000 pieces: $2,090

Those prices include the next line too.

Line three: mail prep

Before the post office will take an EDDM mailing, it has to be prepared to USPS rules:

• Bundled by route, in stacks of 50 to 100 pieces (DMM 145.1.3), no taller than 6 inches (USPS EDDM).
• A facing slip on each bundle with the route and the piece count.
• The postage statement, PS Form 3587, filled in for the whole mailing.
• The drop, at the post office that delivers those routes (DMM 146.1.1).

If you do this yourself it costs your time. If a printer does it, it's a fee. Ours is built into the print price: printing, bundling, mail prep, route slips and USPS drop-off.

What the whole job costs with us

Here is the 6.5" × 9" at four quantities, assuming your routes hold as many addresses as you print:

The per-piece cost falls as the quantity rises, because the print price per piece falls while postage stays the same. Our EDDM price table has every size from 500 up.

What other printers show, and what they leave out

When we priced one of our own route lists at other online printers in October 2026, the totals were built differently:

• Some show print, an EDDM service fee and postage as three separate lines. Add all three before you compare.
• Some charged postage above the USPS retail rate. Check the postage line against the current rate.
• Some list a print-only price for EDDM postcards with no mailing service, and shipping is added at checkout. You then bundle, fill in the forms and drop the mail yourself.

The fair comparison is the total for your routes, delivered to mailboxes, on the date you need.

The 5,000-a-day cap

EDDM Retail takes at most 5,000 pieces per day per ZIP Code (DMM 143.2.5). It's a limit on volume, and it adds no cost. A 10,000-piece mailing spread over two or more ZIP Codes, with no more than 5,000 in any one, can go the same day. A 10,000-piece mailing in one ZIP goes over two days.

Very large mailers can use EDDM BMEU instead, which has no volume limit but needs a bulk mailing permit with its own fees (USPS EDDM). For most local campaigns, Retail is enough.

A budget rule of thumb

To budget an EDDM mailing:

1. Count the addresses on your routes in the USPS tool. The route-picking guide shows how.
2. Find the print tier at or just above that count in our table.
3. Add postage: the count times 26¢.

For 5,000 homes on 6.5" × 9" cards that's $1,395 plus $1,300, or $2,695. USPS sets the postage, so the print-and-prep line is where prices differ most.

Or let us do it

We confirm your route counts and the exact postage before anything prints, then print, prepare and drop the mailing. See EDDM pricing.

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