Royal Mail announced that first class stamps will cost £1.80 and second class stamps 91p from 7 April 2026, up 10p and 4p respectively. Post & Parcel
At a glance
- From
- 7 April 2026
- First class
- £1.80, up 10p
- Second class
- 91p, up 4p
- Delivery targets
- Lower targets from 1 April 2026
On this page
What you’ll pay for stamps
For your stamp budget, multiply the number of first class stamps you need by £1.80 and second class stamps by £0.91.
| Stamp | Before 7 April | From 7 April | Increase |
|---|---|---|---|
| First class | £1.70 | £1.80 | 10p |
| Second class | 87p | 91p | 4p |
A book of eight first class stamps will cost £14.40. Citizens Advice Eight second class stamps will total £7.28. Choosing second class for that quantity saves £7.12 at the new prices.
First class has risen 137% since 2020
A first class stamp cost 76p in 2020. The new £1.80 price represents a 137% increase in six years.
That adds £1.04 to the cost of each first class stamp compared with 2020. For eight stamps, the equivalent total rises from £6.08 to £14.40, an increase of £8.32.
Delivery targets fall from 1 April
From 1 April 2026, Royal Mail must deliver a smaller share of both first and second class mail within the stated times.
| Service | Delivery time | Previous target | New target |
|---|---|---|---|
| First class | Within one working day | 93% | 90% |
| Second class | Within three days | 98.5% | 95% |
The first class target falls by 3 percentage points. The second class target falls by 3.5 percentage points.
Royal Mail’s figures on stamp spending
Royal Mail says UK adults spend £6.50 a year on stamps on average and 70% fewer letters are sent than 20 years ago. ChannelX
The company also says UK stamps remain below European averages of £1.93 for first class and £1.56 for second class. Yorkshire Post Against those figures, the new UK prices are 13p lower for first class and 65p lower for second class.
Questions
How much will Royal Mail stamps cost from April 2026?
From 7 April 2026, a first class stamp costs £1.80 and a second class stamp costs 91p.
How much is a book of eight first class stamps?
A book of eight first class stamps costs £14.40 from 7 April 2026.
What are Royal Mail’s delivery targets from April 2026?
From 1 April 2026, Royal Mail must deliver 90% of first class mail within one working day and 95% of second class mail within three days.
Sources
- Post & Parcel: Royal Mail stamp price increase sparks concern from Citizens Advice, read 6 March 2026
- Citizens Advice: Citizens Advice responds to Royal Mail increasing stamp prices from April, read 6 March 2026
- ChannelX: Royal Mail stamp prices to rise from April 2026, read 6 March 2026
- Yorkshire Post: Cost of Royal Mail stamps rising again next month - the full list of new prices, read 6 March 2026
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PostCompare news desk
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