How Much Do Postage Meters Cost in 2024?

Postage meters cost $30 – $1,500 a month to rent and prices vary by the number of packages mailed per day, scale or meter type, and other features. Calculate your cost from local suppliers.

Postage meter rental costs are primarily driven by the model’s capabilities, such as processing speed and added features like weighing scales or envelope feeders. Other factors include the length of the rental contract, vendor pricing policies, potential maintenance or support fees, and any additional services included in the rental agreement.

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Pitney Bowes

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  • Climate Leadership Award (2021)
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  • Cost Range $25-$700/Month

 

Quadient

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  • “Innovation of the Year” Award (2023)
  • Xplor Technology of the Year Award
  • Cost Range $35-$600/Month

 

FP

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  • Cost Range $20-$900/Month

Postage Meter Cost

Compare Postage Meter Cost and Companies

Data Pac

Data-Pac, an American company, develops advanced postage meter solutions catered to diverse mailing needs. Their postage meters facilitate efficient and cost-effective mailing operations for businesses of all sizes by accurately calculating and printing postage directly onto mailpieces. Equipped with user-friendly interfaces and digital connectivity, Data-Pac’s devices ensure compliance with postal regulations, allow online postage refills, and offer robust expense tracking capabilities. Their innovative and adaptable mailing solutions emphasize precision, simplicity, and secure postage management.

Data Pack Postage Meters

Data Pac Postage Meter Rental Cost:

  • EZ-Mailer – Pricing Only Via Dealer
    • 140 Letters Per Minute
  • DP 100W – Pricing Only Via Dealer
    • 200 Letters Per Minute
  • DP 140 – – Pricing Only Via Dealer
    • 200 Letters Per Minute
  • DP 240 B –  – Pricing Only Via Dealer
    • 240 Letters Per Minute
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Stamps.com

Stamps.com is not really a postage meter company. Instead, the service allows you to print postage using your own printer. The monthly cost for this service is $19.99. You pre-pay postage and use your own existing office equipment.

You do have some of the advantages of a postage meter, such as online postal purchases and customizable graphics. However, you must purchase your own postal scale. There is no large lease or long-term commitment to Stamps.com. It is strictly pay-as-you-go.

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Pitney Bowes

Pitney Bowes is a global technology company known for pioneering innovations in the mail and document management solutions industry. Their postage meters, a notable offering, allow businesses to print postage directly onto mailpieces, bypassing the need to apply stamps manually. These devices facilitate efficient, cost-effective mailing processes by accurately weighing mail and printing the correct postage, ensuring regulatory compliance and optimizing postal expenses. Users can refill postage online, track spending, and manage costs effectively.

Pitney Bowes Postage Meter Products

Pitney Bowes Postage Meter Rental Cost:

  • SendPro® Mailstation – Cloud-based Postage Meter – $29.99/Month after 60 Day Free Trial
    • 16 Letters Per Minute
  • SendPro® C Lite – Postage Meter for Small Offices = $42.99/month
    • 50 Letters Per Minute
  • SendPro® C/+ – Save $0.03 on All First Calls Letters
    • 120 Letters Per Minute
  • SendPro P1000/2000/3000 –  Request Pricing
    • 180 – 310 Letters Per Minute
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FP Mailing Solutions

Chicago-based FP Mailing Solutions uses a network of independent distributors to service their clients. Their PostBase Mini is the smallest digital postage meter available on the market. Just a foot wide and 8 inches deep, this little powerhouse processes 17 letters per minute.

The PostBase system is modular. The PostBase One can expand to include scales, folding, and other material handling. The monthly cost for the FP PostBase Mini is competitive with Neopost and other dealers, but the better deal is the FP PostBase Econ. It can move 20 LPM, but is modular and can expand as your business expands.

FP Postage Meters

FP Postage Meter Rental Cost:

  • PostBase mini – Best for up to $150/Month
    • 17 Letters Per Minute
  • PostBase vision Semi-Auto – Average $25 -$750 /month
    • Sealer. Fast Letter Processing. LAN and WiFi
  • PostBase vision Auto – Average $500-$1500/month
  • Vision360 – $250-$750/month
  • PostBase pro DS – Average $1000-$5000/month
    • 90 Letters Per Minute
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Quadient Postage Meters

Quadient, a notable player in the mailing solutions sector, offers a range of efficient postage meters tailored to various business needs. Quadient postage meters streamline mailing processes by accurately weighing, calculating, and printing postage directly onto mailpieces, facilitating regulatory compliance and cost management. With models suitable for small businesses to large mailing operations, Quadient emphasizes user-friendly interfaces, digital connectivity, and robust expense tracking, ensuring a seamless, efficient, and secure postage experience for users.

Quadient Posstage Meters

Quadient Postage Meter Rental Cost:

  • iX-1 series postage meter – Request Quote From Dealer
    • 18 Letters Per Minute
  • iX-3 postage meter – Save $0.03 on First Class Postage
    • Integrated scale and standard Rate Wizard ensure accurate postal class selection and value
  • iX-7 mailing system – Request Quote From Dealer
    • 175 Letters Per Minute
    •  easy-to-use color touchscreen, two processing speeds, and various weighing and stacking options.
  • iX-9 Series – Request Quote From Dealer
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What is The Difference in Stamped and Metered Mail?

Stamped and metered mail represent two different methods for paying postage on mailed items, each with its distinct characteristics:

  1. Stamped Mail:
    • Stamps: Traditional adhesive stamps or printed stamps affix to the mailpiece.
    • Manual: Typically requires manual application, which can be time-consuming for large mail volumes.
    • Pre-Paid Value: Stamps have a predetermined value and must be purchased in various denominations to cover different postage rates.
    • Visual Aspect: Often features decorative designs, commemorating events, people, or cultural symbols.
  2. Metered Mail:
    • Postage Meter: Utilizes a postage meter to print a postage indicia directly onto the mailpiece or onto a label.
    • Efficiency: Suitable for businesses with higher mail volumes due to its automation capabilities, speeding up the mailing process.
    • Cost Management: Allows for precise postage calculation, preventing overpayment and underpayment.
    • Tracking: Enables businesses to monitor postage expenses with detailed reporting features.

In summary, stamped mail might be more suitable for smaller, personal mail volumes or collectible purposes, while metered mail typically offers businesses efficiency and accurate postage management for larger mailing operations.

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Why Get a Postage Meter?

If you send more than 100 letters a month, you can save money with a postage meter.  These time-saving machines weigh and print postage accurately onto your outgoing correspondence. You purchase and prepay postage online and download it directly to the meter.

We talked about the benefits of time and cost when getting a postage meter, but there are more:

  • Mail processing time lessened
  • Accurate weighing and up-to-date postage calculation
  • Optional extras
  • Personalized, branded postage labels

If your small business mails more than $50 a month worth of correspondence via USPS, you’ll benefit from investing in a postage meter. Think of the lost time now spent in a queue at the post office for processing.

How Does a Postage Meter Work?

Small Business Postage Meter PricesA postage meter is a business tool to streamline mailing operations and reduce postage costs. There are postage meters suited for business mail volume of all sizes, not just business behemoths sending volumes of mail.

Postage meter machines are meant to print the indicia (stamp or frank) directly on the envelope or on an adhesive tape. The smallest machines are rated for a hundred or fewer pieces of mail per month. The very largest machines can print postage for hundreds of pieces per minute.

When you get a postage meter you will fill the machine with a preset amount of postage. As you print indicia the machine uses the prepaid postage and prints some encoded information into the mark. This info contains the postage amount, weight, zip codes and tracking information.

All postage meters are digital. Older, non-digital models have been phased out.

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What Are the Types of Postage Meters? 

To determine the best type of postage meter for your business, consider the size of your business and the amount of mail you send. Most postage meters include the ability to print postage for any type of mailing (domestic or international.) They also have online refillable postage.

Low Volume Postage Meters

Businesses that send about 35 or fewer items per week are suited to a low volume meter.  These meters have a speed of around 20 to 40 letters per minute (LPM), an integrated scale (10 lbs. max), and customizable postage graphics.

Medium Volume Postage Meters

Larger businesses that send a few hundred pieces of mail per week need semi-automatic meters. Medium volume meters are can handle different shaped and sized mail. They have a speed of 100 to 200 LPM and customizable postage graphics.

They also have a built-in scale (15 lbs. max.) Some have an optional 100 lbs max scale.

Largest Volume Postage Meters

For the very largest mailroom volumes, there are fully automatic machines. These devices have the most functions and automations. The integrated scale weighs parcels to a maximum of 15 lbs. An optional external scale increases that maximum to 150 lbs.

Like smaller machines, these allow you to create custom postage graphics. These machines process 100 to 350 LPM.

Why Can’t I Buy a Postage Meter?

With all of the positives listed so far, you probably want to rush out and buy a meter right now. Unfortunately, you can’t. Postage meters can only be rented or leased in the U.S.

The USPS regulates all postage meters under federal law.  Postage meters are manufactured and distributed by authorized dealers only.  This is for security, as postage is a form of U.S. currency.

Fees to Avoid When Renting USPS Postal Meters

USPS postage meter ratesIn a typical postage meter rental, you’ll sign a contract for at least a year or two, plus pay a monthly rental fee. In addition to the monthly rental, there are some additional fees to consider.

  • Postage (actual use)
  • Insurance (on the machine itself)
  • Online postage refill
  • Postage tape or labels
  • Ink (some meters require special ink)
  • Postage reset or reprogramming
  • Machine extras (folders, sealers, stuffers, etc.)
  • Taxes

Some fees, like actual postage and taxes, are unavoidable. But shop around to avoid extra surprises.

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US Mail Vs Email

A neatly printed letter, sent by post, is still the premier form for formal business communications. With text calls to action,  email marketing, and even old-fashioned bill-collection faxes, how is mailing a letter still the standard?

Preservation and permanency are the primary reasons. For those people questioning that, think of contracts and records of the early 2000s stored on CDs or DVDs.

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Do you still have a machine in your office to read them? How about a floppy disk? 3.5″, 5.25″ or 8″ version?

You need no special equipment to read a letter. It is easily referred to if necessary. Letters last as long as the paper and ink don’t degrade. With proper storage, this is hundreds of years before they are no longer legible.

Other than chipping your legal documents into stone, nothing is more long-lasting.

Calculating the Final Cost to Rent a Postage Meter

Postage meter rental cost is a function of its LPM capacity and the length of the rental contract. Add any extras to your basic machine to get a good estimate.

You will find the low-volume machines that can handle 14-25 letters per minute cost around $27 to $50 a month. For medium sized jobs of 50 to 100 letters per minute we can expect the cost to be between $150 – $450 a month. The highest volume of machines that can handle 150+ letter per minutes reach over $1,200 per month. You increase these numbers, of course, if you opt-in to include any additional extras like letter folders and inserters.

Postage meter rental shows in your accounts as a lease expenditure, so it’s a tax-deductible expense.

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What to Look For in Postage Meters

The number one priority for finding the right meter for your business is your mail volume. Match your shopping price comparisons with the manufacturer’s models rated for your needs. Here’s a list of five other items you should look for when leasing a postage meter:

  1. Cost: Make sure to compare the costs of different postage meter leases and determine which one offers the best value for your business. This should include not only the monthly lease fee, but also any additional fees or charges, such as setup fees, maintenance fees, and fees for exceeding monthly usage limits.
  2. Features: Determine which features are important for your business and make sure the postage meter you are considering has them. Some features to consider may include the ability to print various types of postage (such as first-class, priority, and international), the ability to print postage for different types of mail (such as letters, flats, and parcels), and the ability to track and report on your mailing activity.
  3. Compatibility: Check to see if the postage meter is compatible with your business’s existing equipment, such as computers and printers. You’ll also want to make sure that the meter is compatible with any software or other systems that you use to manage your mailing operations.
  4. Ease of use: Consider how easy the postage meter is to use, both in terms of setup and daily operation. If you have a large volume of mail to process, you’ll want a postage meter that is efficient and easy to use to help save time and reduce the risk of errors.
  5. Customer support: Make sure that the company offering the postage meter lease has a good reputation for customer support. Look for a company that offers fast and reliable support, both online and over the phone, in case you have any questions or issues with your postage meter.

Look for software-driven, internet-capable meters. A longer lease or rental agreement often improves postage meter rates. With a software-driven machine, changes in postage rates or rules are easy to correct.

Watch out for fees. While the monthly rental of each meter is largely competitive, there are several fees that hide in the contract. In addition to your postage, expect to pay for ink, labels, insurance, taxes, etc.

Some contracts will charge a fee for each software update or postal rate change. Be sure to include ongoing fees with your monthly cost estimates. A low-volume machine for small businesses can run anywhere from $30 to $78 a month.

Use our tool to contact representatives and compare prices.

Looking for Something Else?

Now that you’ve taken care of postage meter rates for your business. Consider looking into coffee service, office cleaning, or other business niceties with us.  We provide free and impartial comparisons of vendors and prices.

Poster Meter Sample Costs

Below are a few examples of price facts for digital postage meters which will give you an idea of how much you will pay for your purchase.

  • Postage meters can’t be purchased and the only be rented or leased.
  • $74 average cost to buy black ink cartridge refills.
  • $277 Average cost to red ink cartridge refills.
  • Postage tape sheets cost between $40 to $45 for 50 tapes.

Related Industry Terms: Stamps, Postage Machine, Meter, Shipping, Mail, Packages, Franking, Online, Office Mail

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Article Sources:

https://www.statista.com/statistics/320234/mail-volume-of-the-usps/

https://about.usps.com/news/national-releases/2018/pr18_086.htm

https://missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/as-fedex-ups-slug-it-out-rural-delivery-service-at/article_bc22015a-87a3-11df-9c48-001cc4c002e0.html