Postage optimisation for letter mail

You can avoid high postage costs – if you put your mail in a suitable envelope! We will show you the dimensions of a large letter, for which purposes a compact letter is sufficient, what letter postage is now charged for standard letters and the like and when you need to send a maxi letter.

Standard letter, compact letter, large letter and maxi letter – the differences

Everyone knows the standard letter. Whether it’s mail from the office or a bill – when a standard letter flutters through the letterbox, it is usually accompanied by a request (for payment). It is therefore also called a “classic official letter”. The standard letter contains a maximum of three sheets of paper.

The compact letter differs from the standard letter only with regard to the permissible weight – and thus in the thickness or height as well as the costs. The compact letter is used when sending letters with high-quality paper or with up to eight A4 pages.

The large letter is the all-purpose weapon in the office, provided the weight does not exceed 500 grams. On the one hand, many formats, even atypical ones, are considered large letters. On the other hand, the large letter is indispensable if the paper inside must not be folded. Contracts, insurance policies, certificates, tax returns or advertising brochures usually make their way to their recipient in a large letter. To better protect the contents, important documents are placed in a (padded) envelope with edge protection.

The Maxibrief is the big brother of the Großbrief. It can weigh up to one kilogram including the contents. It is actually intended for paper with a somewhat larger volume: catalogues, business reports, theses. However, the Maxibrief is also used as an inexpensive shipping option for small or flat goods such as spare parts, USB sticks, CDs/DVDs, household goods or textiles. Compared to a small parcel, the sender can save on postage, but should invest in tear-proof Maxibrief boxes or padded envelopes to ensure that the contents reach the recipient intact and complete.

In addition to these classic letter formats, there are also some special formats. For example, the Maxibrief Plus can be even larger and heavier.

You can find relevant products and information in our Envelopes & Paper Mailers category.

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What dimensions may a letter have?

The dimensions, weight and postage costs for sending letters in the most common envelope formats can be found in the table. Standard and compact letters, just like a postcard, may only be rectangular – and not square. In addition, the length of standard and compact letters must be at least 1.4 times the width.

The length is up to 23.5 cm, the width a maximum of 12.5 cm. The weight is set at a maximum of 20 g for standard letters and 50 g for compact letters. The height is therefore limited to 0.5 or 1 cm.

The large letter is up to 35 cm long, a maximum of 25 cm wide, up to 2 cm high and 500 g in weight. Documents with up to 95 A4 pages normally fit into a Großbrief. The Maxibrief is up to 5 cm thick and weighs a maximum of 1,000 g. For the dispatch of goods by large and maxi letter, it is above all the permitted height that proves to be the limiting factor.

Overview for letter post – the letter postage table 2022

These letter postage specifications have applied to Deutsche Post since January 2022.

How much postage does it cost to send a letter?

Deutsche Post is increasing its postage for letter mail at ever shorter intervals. As a monopolist in letter delivery, it needs the approval of the Federal Network Agency, which sets the price corridor. Across all letter types, the postage increase in 2022 was 4.6%. Three years earlier it was as high as 8.9%. The standard letter alone increased in price by 15 cents (21.4%) between 2018 and 2022.

National letter mail

A standard letter will cost a whopping 85 cents in 2022. Anyone sending more than three sheets of paper will pay one euro for a compact letter. The letter postage for larger formats is considerably higher: A large letter must be franked with 1.60 euros, the maxi letter costs 2.75 euros. Sending letters abroad is more expensive.

International letter post

The beauty of sending letters abroad is that it is quite simple, unlike sending a small parcel or a small package, where the price depends on the country of destination, among other things.

• Standard letter: 1,10 €
• Compact letter: 1,70 €
• Large letter: 3,70 €
• Maxi letter: 7 €
• Maxi Plus (up to 2 kg): 17 €

This letter postage applies to letter post from Germany to all countries from Afghanistan to Cyprus.

However, there are two things to consider for sending letters abroad besides the higher postage, which mainly concern the dimensions of large and maxi letters:

• The sum of the side lengths (length x width x height) may not exceed 90 cm, whereby no side may be longer than 60 cm.
• The sending of letters abroad is reserved for documents. If you wish to send goods, you must either use small parcels or, as a business customer, use the goods dispatch service of Deutsche Post.

If you want to be sure that the letter reaches the recipient abroad, you pay an additional €3.50 for a registered international letter. For insured letters, there is an additional €2 per €100 of liability.

How can I frank letters for dispatch?

There are three ways to add postage to a letter: Buy a stamp locally at a Post Office branch; create a stamp online or use a mobile stamp.

• Post office: Take the letter to a Deutsche Post branch and have it franked there. Real post offices with counter staff are threatened with extinction. The post office has outsourced this business. You will find a small post office counter in many supermarkets. But numerous kiosks and petrol stations are also post offices today, accepting letters and being able to frank them.
• Create a stamp online: Design and print your letter postage yourself! From postcards to maxi letters, you can create and print a stamp for the appropriate postage online and in the Post and DHL app. Deutsche Post calls this service “Internetmarke” – and has even equipped this franking with basic shipment tracking.
• Mobile stamp: As a user of the Post and DHL app, you no longer need a stamp to send letters within Germany. All you need is a code, which you can generate by selecting the correct postage in the app and also pay for online. So if you’re wondering that you’ve received a letter without a stamp, with #PORTO written in the top right-hand corner and 8 characters underneath – that’s a mobile stamp.

You can only frank the value letter additional service offline at a post office branch.

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How can I save on letter postage?

Choosing the right letter format can already save you money. For example, if you are sending a flat item or a catalogue that is too thick and heavy for a large letter, you do not necessarily have to make it a Maxibrief. A book and merchandise shipment is in between in terms of price and is intended for this purpose. However, you are not allowed to enclose a letter with the book or merchandise shipment – only an invoice or a consignment note is permitted.

Another way to save on letter postage is to choose an alternative provider for letter post.

• Pin Mail cooperates with EDEKA. With Pin Mail, however, standard, compact and large letters are only one cent cheaper than with Deutsche Post.
• biber post operates more than 300 service points with a regional focus on Saxony-Anhalt and the Harz region: the compact letter costs the same at biber post as it does at Deutsche Post. The other formats, however, are considerably cheaper: standard letter 75 cents, large letter 1.45 €, maxi letter 2.50 €.
• Logistic Mail Factory (LMF): The Logistic Mail Factory operates in Augsburg and the surrounding area. Letters can be handed in at a service point or dropped into an orange letterbox. A standard letter costs 80 cents, a compact letter 95 cents, a large letter €1.55 and a maxi letter €2.70.
• RegioMail: In the Heilbronn area, RegioMail – a subsidiary of the media company Heilbronner Stimme – takes care of letter delivery. In delivery areas where no alternative mail delivery service provider is active, DGAP takes care of the transport.

In other catchment areas, too, there are regional letter carriers who can stand up to Deutsche Post, at least for letter delivery in the surrounding area. These local and regional alternatives – like LMF and RegioMail – usually belong to a media company. They have joined together to form a network in order to be able to guarantee nationwide delivery. You can find the list of participants at the Mail Alliance’s Letter Service Finder.

Merchandise mail

Since July 2020, Deutsche Post has been offering another form of low-cost merchandise mail: merchandise mail. However, a minimum quantity as well as the conclusion of a contract are required for this. From 200 items per year, customers can use Warenpost to send small goods. The price is determined according to the quantity of items. With the minimum quantity of 200 items, each Warenpost costs €2.80. The conditions:

• From 200 items per year
• Shipment tracking
• Delivery usually within one working day of posting
• Including shipment notification, drop-off location (e.g. Packstation) and neighbour

Dimensions and weight are the same as for book and merchandise items 1000: length up to 353 mm, width up to 250 mm, height up to 50 mm, weight up to 1,000 g. However, book and merchandise items usually take 4 working days to arrive at their destination.

Book packaging for book mailings

In order to comply with the size specifications, we recommend special book packaging. They can be flexibly adjusted in height and are suitable for sending different book formats or catalogues.

Fixing packaging for the shipment of goods

Fixation packaging is particularly suitable for electronic items or other smaller goods. Thanks to the film, the product is packed non-slip and fixed to the box. Filling material and thus weight can be saved.

Can a shipping box be sent as a letter?

If I want to send a cardboard box, do the letter rates even come into question for me? Yes! In general, the type of packaging is not decisive, but only the dimensions and weight. This means that a shipping box can be sent as a letter if it is within the specifications for maximum dimensions and maximum weight, while a shipping bag can of course also be sent as a parcel.

The cardboard box for the letterbox

We have even optimised our own postal box for sending goods as a “letter”. Quite practical. Because the cardboard box for letter boxes is as cheap as a letter in terms of postage – and yet as stable as a cardboard box. Especially for pressure-sensitive products, the cardboard box for the letterbox is often the better choice than a mailing bag.
Not only recipients of goods benefit from the optimised dimensions for the letterbox, but also senders when posting. They do not have to hand in the goods at the post office counter, but simply drop the box into the letterbox. The box must have sufficient postage and the word “Warensendung” must be clearly marked above the recipient’s address.

What additional services are available for letter post?

There is a wide range of additional services for letter mail:

• Proof of age
• Have letter collected
• Deliver letter by cash on delivery
• Registered mail
• Express delivery
• Forwarding address
• Roll delivery
• Shipment tracking
• Transport insurance

Proof of age

For the shipment of over-18 goods, platforms such as eBay require the seller to provide a shipping method that includes proof of age. An age verification can be ordered from DHL for parcels and packages. The surcharge for age verification by the delivery person is 99 cents. You can send the goods by large or maxi letter and thus reduce packaging material, but not save on postage costs.

Have a letter picked up

For business customers, Deutsche Post offers letter collection as part of the “Hin+Weg” contract.

Delivering letters cash on delivery

A “cash on delivery” item combines letter delivery and payment transaction. The postman does not hand over the mail to the recipient until the recipient has paid for the delivery directly. The money is transferred to the sender.

Registered mail

If you need proof that a letter has been sent, you can get a confirmation of posting at the branch or online tracking and tracing with confirmation of receipt for an additional charge. The delivery of the letter is documented. The liability for damage or loss is 25 euros.

For a standard registered letter, Deutsche Post charges € 2.65 more than the pure letter postage. A standard registered letter is suitable for notices, tickets and contract documents. The recipient – this can also be the partner or a post office – confirms receipt of the registered letter with his or her signature. The sender receives an online confirmation of receipt.

If the letter is to be handed over to the addressee personally, Deutsche Post charges €4.85 for this service in addition to the letter postage. It calls this variant “registered mail hand-delivered“.

Registered mail with advice of receipt is also subject to a surcharge of €4.85. In addition to the online confirmation of receipt, the sender receives a return receipt on which the recipient signs for receipt and thus also confirms the date of delivery. A registered letter with advice of receipt is useful for objections, declarations to authorities and for sending identification documents or motor vehicle letters.

With the registered letter of value, also known as a letter of value, you secure the dispatch of goods or cash. The liability increases for the proven value to 500 euros for objects and 1,000 euros for cash. You cannot buy or frank the insured letter online, but only at a branch. There you will receive a deposit receipt. Delivery is made to authorised recipients. As with the standard registered letter, you can track the item online and receive an online confirmation of receipt with signature. The surcharge for the registered letter value is € 4.45, which is lower than the “advice of receipt” and “hand-delivered” variants.

The cheapest variant is the ” Einwurf” registered letter. The surcharge to the letter postage is € 2.35 for this. It is suitable for contents with a deadline (e.g. application, tax return). The liability is limited to €20.

Express delivery

An express item reaches the recipient the next day. You can even book time options for express delivery if the letter has to arrive before 9, 10 or 12 o’clock.

Attention: Deutsche Post has another offer in its quiver with “Prio“, which is supposed to enable faster delivery. However, for €1.10 extra, there is no guarantee that the letter will arrive the next day. The “priority treatment” merely increases the probability that your letter will flutter into the recipient’s mailbox tomorrow. Swiss Post reduces the standard delivery time that a letter takes to reach the addressee within Germany from 1-2 to 1 day. Swiss Post does not guarantee a specific delivery date for “Prio” mailings – and there is no compensation for late arrival either. Consumer centres see no benefit whatsoever in the overpriced “Prio” option.

Forwarding service

Moved? Absent for a longer period of time? Apply for the forwarding service at least 5 days before the start of the term. This is six months or a whole year, during which the letters will be forwarded to the address of your choice.

Tip: Also set up a forwarding order in the event of death.

Reel delivery

Roll mail is not only possible as a small parcel or package, but can also be sent as a Maxibrief. As a letter, the roll or roll-like form may be no more than 35.3 cm long and have a diameter of 5 cm.

Shipment tracking

Deutsche Post only offers shipment tracking for selected shipping methods: Cash on delivery, priority mail, registered mail and insured letters. In the case of registered mail, you will receive proof of delivery, and in the case of cash on delivery, money.

Transport insurance

For valuable documents such as savings books or personalised tickets for exclusive events, the liability of a insured letter is not sufficient in the event of loss. With transport insurance, you can increase the liability amount – for 6 euros to 2,500 euros or for 18 euros to 25,000 euros.

Caution: If the contents of your letter exceed the insurance limit, you will not receive the maximum liability sum in the event of a loss, but nothing at all.

How long does it take to send a letter?

A letter should reach the recipient within one to two working days. However, this standard delivery time is not guaranteed. In some areas, the postman does not come at all on some days of the week.

Special features you must bear in mind when sending letters

Valuable contents should only be sent by letter with sufficient security, i.e. with insurance, tracking and confirmation of receipt. For documents with deadlines, a registered letter (advice of receipt) makes sense because you get proof with the date of delivery. For flat goods of low value, the maxi letter may be a space- and cost-saving option – but if lost, the goods and money are gone. From this point of view, an insured small parcel may be cheaper. We have summarised the dimensions of the most important parcel service providers in our article “Postage for small parcels“. And this is how you can save on postage!

Envelopes for letters

Sending goods or important documents in a letter – that saves postage! However, you should make sure that the contents reach the recipient in one piece. Without dog-ears, without broken off parts, without any transport damage. Because the post office does not necessarily handle letters with care.

With RAJAPACK packaging, you prevent the risk of transport damage.

Packaging for the large letter

For the extremely low height of only 20 mm that is allowed for the large letter, mailing envelopes are the ideal solution. CDs or DVDs, for example, can be packed here without any problems. With a bubble envelope you make full use of the maximum size and the products are protected from bumps and scratches by the integrated padding.

Packaging for the Maxibrief

Shipping boxes in DIN formats are ideal for maxi letters. Inside, they offer space for your products and remain perfectly within the prescribed values, depending on the outer dimensions.

Do you need other formats? Our Maxibrief boxes offer the greatest possible stability with the smallest possible volume and low tare weight. Also take a look at our high-quality mailing bags!