The Forever Stamp Price Is Going Up in 2026 — Here’s the New Cost

The U.S. Postal Service announced in April 2026, via press release, that it plans to increase the price of a First-Class Mail Forever stamp by roughly 4.8 percent. The agency filed notice with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) seeking approval for the increase.

It also requested that several changes be made to other postal services, all of which are slated to take effect on July 12, 2026.

Here's a look at how much the Forever stamp price is going up, along with a look back at how the cost of stamps has climbed over the years.

Beginning on July 12, 2026, the price of a First-Class Forever stamp will increase by four cents, from 78 cents to 82 cents. Letters that are one ounce will now cost 82 cents once the change takes effect, compared to the 78 cents they were before. Letters that are metered, one ounce, will go from 74 cents to 78 cents. Domestic postcards will increase from 61 cents to 65 cents, and international postcards will rise from $1.70 to $1.75.

International letters that are one ounce will also increase to $1.75 from $1.70. USPS does note, however, that the “additional-ounce price for single-piece letters will remain at 29 cents.”

The Postal Service says the increase is driven by the agency’s “severe financial crisis” and continued rising operational costs.

It also noted in a press release that the agency is “using all available tools, including available regulatory pricing authority, to ensure we can continue to fulfill our universal service obligation and serve the American public.”

Since the Postal Service says it typically doesn’t receive tax money to cover operating expenses, it “relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations,” so the increase in the Forever stamp is expected to help ease the financial strain.

That said, the Postal Service does note that, despite the price increase, its “mailing prices remain among the most affordable in the world.”

And many people seem to agree. One person on Reddit called USPS’s pricing “phenomenal,” while another added, “No private company would take an envelope from New York to California for 78 cents,” though that will soon be 82 cents come July 12.

Believe it or not, the Forever Stamp, when it was introduced in 2007, was half the price it will be on July 12, 2026, when the latest increase takes effect. The USPS issued the first Forever Stamp in 2007 at just 41 cents, marking a new shift in mailing since the stamp is considered non-denominated and non-expiring. That means “a Forever stamp is always valid for the first ounce of First-Class postage,” per USPS.

Fast forward a few years to 2017, and Forever Stamp prices only went up a little, reaching 49 cents. In 2018, it rose to 50 cents, and in 2019 it went to 55 cents. In 2021, the Forever Stamp reached 58 cents, and in 2022 it increased to 60 cents.

In 2023, the stamp saw two price increases, a three-cent hike in January and another in July, bringing it to 66 cents, per AARP. In January 2024, the price rose to 68 cents, and then to 73 cents in July of that year. In July 2025, it went to 78 cents, and in July 2026 it will reach 82 cents.