Deutsche Post: Porto for standard letters to rise to 1.15 euros

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

The postcard, the compact, large and maxibrief should also become more expensive. The logistician justified this step with decreasing letter quantities and rising costs. In the digital age, companies and people send fewer and fewer letters and instead rely on mails or chat messages.

Before the increase becomes official, the approval of the Federal Network Agency is still missing. The Bonn authority had proposed last week a so-called price increase leeway. She had forecast the total amount of all letters sent in 2027 and 2028, and then signaled that revenue from letter mailing could increase by 20.35 percent.

As part of this requirement, the post office can decide for itself how much each individual letter type can become more expensive. For the standard letter, the increase in postage is now 21.05 percent. In the case of the compact letter, however, the planned increase is lower than in the overall average – this type of consignment 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 the personnel, energy and material costs are rising,” said Nikola Hagleitner, who sits on the Board of Management of the logistics group DHL and is responsible for Post & Paket Germany. At the same time, Swiss Post 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 cost per letter inevitably increases.” It also invests around one billion euros each year in the postal and parcel network, such as electric vehicles and vending machines.

The Post also pointed out that the letter postage is low compared to other countries. The European average for a standard letter is 1.52 euros.