First class stamps now cost £1.80 as price nearly doubles in four years

The price of stamps is going up again with first class stamps now costing £1.80 (up by 10p), while second class stamps will now set you back 91p (up by 4p).  

The price of first class stamps has nearly doubled in the last four years. Back in 2022, you could get yourself a first class stamp for £0.95, whereas now you’ll be spending nearly £2 for the same stamp.  

The news comes after it was revealed that just 77% of first class letters were delivered on time (within one working day) whereas Royal Mail’s target is 93%. This, coupled with the hike in prices, has left customers reeling.  

Why are stamps going up in price?  

Royal Mail blames the price hike on the fact that fewer people are sending letters now, but there are also more addresses to deliver to. That said, it feels like a bit of a vicious cycle, as surely even fewer letters and cards will get sent out if the price of stamps continues to rise.  

How much have stamps gone up in the last 10 years?  

Back in 2016, a first class stamp set you back 64p while a second class stamp would have cost you around 55p. Fast forward to 2020, and a first class stamp would have cost you 76p while a second class stamp would have cost you 65p.  

But it’s really over the last five years or so that prices have really exploded. If you wanted a first class stamp in 2021, you’d pay 85p, while a second class stamp would set you back around 66p. Five years later? That same first class stamp now costs £1.80 - more than double the cost in 2021.  

In percentage terms, the price of a first class stamp has gone up by around 180% in the last 10 years, but around 110% of that increase has happened in the last five years.  

Is sending mail getting too expensive?  

Back in 1971, you could buy yourself a first class stamp for 3p. Of course, salaries were lower then too. But, a postcrossing community member did the maths a few years ago and worked out that you could buy yourself around 336,500 first class stamps in 1971 on the average salary then, versus “just” 35,000 in 2022. That means first class stamps were ten times more expensive in 2022 than 1971.  

And, if we look at 2026, the situation is even more dire. Taking the latest average wage now (around £40,000) and the new cost of first class stamps (£1.80) means you’d only be able to buy yourself around 22,000 stamps today. That’s 13,000 less than you’d be able to buy on the average salary just four years ago!  

Stamps – yet another victim of inflation and the cost of living crisis. No wonder people are sending fewer letters at these prices. I think I’ll be opting for Christmas e-cards this year too.