The cost of Royal Mail stamps has increased today. A first class stamp now costs £1.80, while a second class stamp is priced at 91p. This marks a significant rise from the 64p cost of a first class stamp in 2016, representing an 181% increase over the past decade.
The surge in stamp prices has been attributed to a decline in letter volumes and a rise in the number of delivery addresses, according to Royal Mail. Richard Travers, Royal Mail’s managing director of letters, emphasized the careful consideration given to price adjustments to balance affordability with the escalating costs of mail delivery.
With the average UK adult spending just £6.50 annually on stamps and a 70% decrease in letters sent compared to 20 years ago, Royal Mail now caters to 32 million addresses across the UK, an increase of four million addresses.
Despite facing criticism for failing to meet delivery targets, Royal Mail managed to deliver 77% of first class mail and 92.5% of second class mail on time in the 2024/25 financial year, falling short of its 93% and 98.5% goals. The last time Royal Mail achieved its annual target for timely delivery of first-class post was in 2019/20.
Ofcom granted Royal Mail approval last year to discontinue Saturday deliveries of second class mail. As part of the restructuring, second class post will now be delivered on alternate weekdays instead of six days a week. However, Royal Mail will maintain a target for second class letters to arrive within three working days.
Royal Mail, acquired for £3.6 billion by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky’s EP Group in June last year, has faced criticism for delayed deliveries. Kretinsky expressed regret for late deliveries but emphasized the necessity of reforms to address the underlying issues affecting the postal service.
When pressed to apologize for declining service quality, Kretinsky acknowledged room for improvement while noting consistent performance over the past three years.
