Deutsche Post: Postage for standard letters should increase to 1.15 euros

Starting next year, sending a standard letter in Germany will most likely cost significantly more than one euro. Deutsche Post announced in Bonn that it would like to increase the postage for this frequently used type of letter by 20 cents to 1.15 euros at the beginning of 2027. This is the highest postage increase ever.

Postcards, compact letters, large letters and maxi letters are also expected to become more expensive. The logistician justified this step with falling letter volumes and rising costs. In the digital age, companies and people are sending fewer and fewer letters and are instead relying on emails or chat messages.

Before the increase becomes official, the approval of the Federal Network Agency is still missing. Last week, the Bonn authorities proposed a so-called scope for price increases. She had forecast the total amount of all letters that would be sent in 2027 and 2028 and then signaled that revenue from mailing could increase by 20.35 percent.

Within the framework of this requirement, the postal service can decide for itself how much more expensive each type of letter can be. For standard letters, the postage increase is now 21.05 percent. For compact letters, however, the planned increase is lower than the overall average - this type of mail will be 15 cents more expensive to 1.25 euros (plus 13.64 percent).

“The volume of letters has been falling significantly for years, while personnel, energy and material costs are rising,” said Nikola Hagleitner, who sits on the board of the logistics group DHL and is responsible for Post & Parcel Germany. At the same time, the postal service must continue to maintain a comprehensive network of mailboxes and branches for the whole of Germany. "If fewer and fewer letters pass through this infrastructure, the costs per letter will inevitably rise." Around one billion euros are also invested every year in the postal and parcel network, for example in electric vehicles and vending machines.