Royal Mail: First-class stamp price hike to £1.65 in October

First-class stamps to rise again from 7 October 2024 but Second-class remains at 85p

This Autumn we’re set to see the fourth round of stamp price hikes this year as the Royal Mail continues to overcome cost pressures and economic challenges. 

Here, we explain how much stamps will cost from October and ways to beat the hike.

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How much are stamp prices rising?

First-class stamp prices will rise by 30p from 7 October 2024, taking the total cost for a standard stamp from £1.35 to £1.65. That’s a 22% increase. Meanwhile, First-class large letter stamps are rising by 50p to £2.60. The cost of Second-class stamps won’t go up this time. They start at 85p.

Stamp prices from 7 October 2024

The table below rounds up what stamps will cost to post standard and large letters from October.

Class	Letter type	Dimensions	Weight	Current price	New Price
First	Standard	Up to 24cm x 16.5cm x 5mm	Up to 100g	£1.35	£1.65  (+30p)
First	Large	35.3cm x 25cm x 2.5cm	Up to 100g*	£2.10	£2.60 (+50p)
Second	Standard	Up to 24cm x 16.5cm x 5mm	Up to 100g	85p	85p (no change)
Second	Large	35.3cm x 25cm x 2.5cm	Up to 100g*	£1.55	£1.55 (no change)

Royal Mail will also increase postage prices for its “Special Delivery Guaranteed”, “Signed For”, 1st and 2nd Class Parcels and “Tracked” delivery services from 7 October. A full list of postage prices is available here.

How to beat the stamp price hike

There are a couple of postal hacks to help you beat the stamp price increase and save on sending letters. 

The first is to start stocking up on stamps now before they increase. If you’re an avid letter-sender this could help you cut the cost of postage significantly. 

Another way to beat the price hike is to consider using a slower delivery service. For example, sending a standard letter by second-class post.

The table below shows how much you could save by opting for second-class stamps.

Letter type	Current 1st class price	Current 2nd class price	New 1st class price	New 2nd class price
Standard	£1.35	85p  (save 50p)	£1.65	85p (save 50p)
Large	£2.10	£1.55 (save 55p)	£2.60	£1.55 (save £1.05)

It’s worth noting that second-class delivery aims to deliver within three working days (rather than the next working day as with first-class).  This isn’t a big deal if your letter isn’t urgent.

However, you’ll need to plan in advance if your letter needs to reach the recipient by a specific date. 

Where possible, try to purchase stamps from your local Post Office or another authorised retailer (such as a supermarket or WH Smiths) to save as well.

Sometimes corner shops and even vendors on Amazon sell stamps at a marked-up price. 

Remember to swap out non-barcoded stamps

Non-barcoded stamps, which are also known as everyday stamps, expired on 31 July 2023. 

These stamps featured the iconic picture of the late Queen’s profile on a solid-coloured background. And you’ll have seen them everywhere as they were commonly used to post letters. 

Since 1 August 2023, Royal Mail introduced barcodes into stamps to integrate the postal service with the digital world. 

Don’t worry If you still have non-barcoded stamps lying around as you can exchange them using the Royal Mail’s ‘Stamp Swap Out.’

This free-to-use scheme lets you trade in the old stamps for the new barcoded versions. You’ll have to use a special form to mail them off which you can pick up at your local Post Office or print it off online. 

Check out our non-barcoded stamps guide to find out more about how the scheme works.