Price of first class and second class stamps to go up say Royal Mail - how much by and when will they go up

Changes are being made to the price of Royal Mail stamps in order to keep the service ‘sustainable’, it has said. Royal Mail say they have made careful consideration to the changes, in light of the 25% drop in letter volumes since the pandemic, and high inflation.

According to the postal service, as the number of UK addresses continues to grow, the costs of delivering their services are increasing. Royal Mail is currently expected to report an adjusted operating loss of £350 million to £450 million for the full year.

Last year Royal Mail requested the Government amends the Universal Service Obligation from six days a week to five for letters. Ofcom’s research shows that a five day letter service (Monday to Friday) would meet the needs of 97% of consumers.

Nick Landon, chief commercial officer at Royal Mail said: “We appreciate that many businesses and households are facing a challenging economic environment and we are committed to keeping our prices affordable. Letters have declined by 25% compared to pre-pandemic.

“We have to carefully balance our pricing against a continued decline in letter volumes and the increasing costs of delivering letters six days a week to an ever-growing number of addresses across the country. We are seeing a fundamental change in consumer needs with a greater shift in demand from letters to parcels.

“It is vital that the Universal Service adapts and stays both relevant and sustainable. We need to make these price changes to ensure we can continue to maintain and invest in the one-price-goes-anywhere Universal Service for years to come.”

*European median First Class stamp price calculated by Royal Mail across 29 countries during January 2023.

How much is the Royal Mail price increase? 

The price of a First Class stamp will increase by 15p to £1.10p. The price of a Second Class stamp will increase by 7p to 75p.

The price increase of Royal Mail first and second class stamps will take effect from April 3 2023.