A postcard stamp in the United States costs 65 cents for a card mailed within the US, and $1.75 for a card going to any other country, using a Global Forever stamp. Both prices took effect on 12 July 2026, according to USPS Notice 123. A letter stamp is 82 cents, so a postcard saves 17 cents if it is no bigger than 4¼ × 6 inches.

Prices checked on 1 October 2026.

Below is what it costs to post a postcard from nine countries, which stamp to use, and when a card stops counting as a postcard. Once it is stamped, the address goes on the right half: see how to address a postcard.

How much does it cost to post a postcard in each country?

Each post office sets its own price in its own money. The table shows the cheapest stamp for an ordinary postcard posted within the country, and the cheapest for one sent abroad by airmail, as each post office's own page showed it on 1 October 2026. Nothing is converted between currencies, so compare along a row, not down a column.

Sent from Postcard within the country Postcard abroad Date on the page Price page
United States $0.65 $1.75, any country Effective 12 July 2026 USPS Notice 123
United Kingdom 91p 2nd class, £1.80 1st class £3.60, any country No date shown Royal Mail stamp costs, International Standard
India ₹0.50 (India Post's own Post Card) ₹15; ₹10 to Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan International page updated 29 April 2024 Domestic tariff, international tariff
Canada $1.24 in a booklet, $1.44 single $1.75 to the US, $3.65 elsewhere No date shown Canada Post stamp prices
Australia $1.85 $3.50; $3.45 to New Zealand, $3.75 to Asia Pacific Rates Determination, 1 September 2026 Australia Post stamp prices
Germany 0,95 € 1,25 € Prices as at 1 July 2026 Deutsche Post
France 1,52 € (Lettre verte) 2,25 € (Lettre internationale) 2026 prices, from 1 January 2026 La Poste letters, abroad
Ireland €1.85 €3.50 to Europe and Britain, up to €3.95 further away From 3 February 2026 An Post Standard Post
Singapore S$0.62 S$0.75 to Malaysia and Brunei, S$0.85 elsewhere Rate guide of January 2026 SingPost delivery rates

We left out the United Arab Emirates. Emirates Post's site offers a parcel rate calculator but no published price for a letter or postcard stamp that we could check, and we would rather leave a row out than guess it.

A few things the table cannot show:

  • India. The 50 paise price is for India Post's own pre-stamped Post Card, 140 × 90 mm and no heavier than 5 g. India Post's postcard rules say a card that breaks those conditions is charged as a letter, which is ₹5 for the first 20 g.
  • Australia. A postcard to the US, Canada, the UK, Europe or the rest of the world goes at the $3.50 greeting card rate. To New Zealand and Asia Pacific it pays the small letter rate instead, according to the Australia Post Rates Determination of 1 September 2026.
  • Ireland. An Post's February 2026 price notice set €3.50 for Europe including Britain and €3.95 for the rest of the world. Its rate table also lists one non-European zone at €3.50, so check the zone for your country at the counter.
  • France. La Poste has already published its 2027 prices: from 1 January 2027, a Lettre verte goes to 1,67 € and a Lettre internationale to 2,45 €.

Is a postcard cheaper than a letter?

Only in the United States and India, of the nine countries here. A US postcard stamp is 65 cents against 82 cents for a one-ounce letter. India Post's own Post Card is 50 paise against ₹5 for a letter. Everywhere else, including the UK, a postcard pays the same as a standard letter, because the post office treats it as one.

Table of nine countries comparing domestic postcard and letter prices; only the US and India charge less for a postcard
Read each row on its own: the point is postcard against letter in one currency, not one country against another.

Royal Mail has no postcard price at all. Its standard letter covers anything up to 240 × 165 × 5 mm and 100 g (Royal Mail stamp FAQ), so a postcard takes the same 91p second class or £1.80 first class stamp as a letter. Canada Post lists postcards under "standard size mail" with letters. Germany is the odd one: it sells a separate Postkarte product, but at 0,95 € it costs exactly the same as a Standardbrief.

What is a Forever stamp, and can you use one on a postcard?

A Forever stamp is a US stamp with no price printed on it. It is always worth the current price of a one-ounce letter, 82 cents today, even if you bought it years ago for less. You can put one on a postcard, but you overpay by 17 cents. USPS also sells postcard stamps that work the same way for the 65-cent postcard rate.

USPS started issuing Forever stamps for postcards in 2015. Its announcement says they "will always be equal in value to the applicable price" for the category printed on them. The Global Forever stamp does the same for mail abroad: one stamp pays for a postcard or a one-ounce letter to any country, and USPS says it never expires.

Other countries have their own versions:

  • United Kingdom. Stamps marked 1st or 2nd carry the class, not a price, so they pay for a standard letter of that class on the day you post. Only barcoded stamps are valid; Royal Mail stopped accepting the old non-barcoded ones in July 2023 and will swap them for new ones (Royal Mail stamp FAQ).
  • Canada. PERMANENT stamps carry a P instead of a price and are always accepted at the current domestic rate (Canada Post).
  • Everywhere else in the table. Stamps show a price. If prices rise, add a small stamp to make up the difference.

Which postcard sizes change the price?

In the US, a card gets the 65-cent rate only if it is between 3½ × 5 and 4¼ × 6 inches, and between 0.007 and 0.016 inches thick (USPS Notice 123). A bigger card pays the 82-cent letter price. Most other countries have no separate postcard rate, so size only matters once a card outgrows their standard letter.

Card outlines to scale: 5 by 3.5 and 6 by 4.25 inches at the 65 cent postcard rate, 7 by 5 inches at the 82 cent letter rate
The common 5 × 7 inch photo card is a letter in the US, not a postcard.

The limits that matter elsewhere:

  • United Kingdom: a standard letter is up to 240 × 165 mm, 5 mm thick and 100 g. Nearly every postcard fits.
  • Germany: a Postkarte is 140 × 90 mm to 235 × 125 mm, on card of 150 to 500 g per square metre.
  • Australia: a small letter or postcard is up to 130 × 240 mm, 5 mm thick and 250 g.
  • Singapore: a postcard going abroad bigger than 235 × 120 mm pays the letter rate.
  • United States, abroad: the international postcard size runs from 3½ × 5½ to 4¼ × 6 inches.

For the common card sizes and the envelopes that fit them, see our guide to postcard sizes.

Where can you buy postcard stamps?

At any post office counter, or from the post office's own online shop. In the US, ask for postcard stamps for cards at home and Global Forever stamps for cards abroad. Some post offices also sell stamps you print or show on your phone, which helps when you are travelling and the counter is closed.

A few of the digital options, from the price pages above:

  • Germany: Deutsche Post sells Internetmarke stamps to print at home and, for cards within Germany, a Mobile Briefmarke: a code from the Post & DHL app that you write on the card with a pen.
  • France: La Poste's "Mon timbre en ligne" prints a stamp at home; a 20 g Lettre internationale costs 2,19 € that way instead of 2,25 € at the counter.
  • United Kingdom: Royal Mail's online shop sells books of first and second class stamps and sets of international stamps.

Buy the stamp before you write the card. Then you know which half of the back is yours, and our guide to writing a postcard covers the rest.

Can you send a postcard online instead?

Yes. Several services turn what you type into a card and post it for you, so you never buy a stamp or find a postbox. MailMyCard is one of them: a real pen writes your message in ink on a card in Bengaluru, India, and the card goes by tracked post to the address you give. Postage is priced at checkout by destination.

That suits a card that has to reach another country, or one you want handwritten when you are not there to write it. Sign-up is by invitation for now; you can ask for one below.

If you send cards for a business, the For business page covers volume pricing, and the developer API lets your own systems send a handwritten card with one call, without anyone buying stamps.

Sources