The price of a green stamp is €1.52 in 2026 for a 20 g letter. This regular increase, regulated by Arcep, reflects the ongoing decline in mail volumes in France. The price displayed at the counter tells only part of the story: depending on the chosen purchase channel, the actual price of the same shipment can vary by several cents.
Counter, physical stamp, or My stamp online: different prices for the same shipment
Most pricing guides present a single price per category of letter. The reality is more nuanced. La Poste applies different rates depending on whether you buy a stamp at a post office, in a booklet from a tobacconist, or via the My stamp online platform.
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For a green letter of 20 g, the standard public rate is €1.52 at the counter or for a physical stamp. The same shipment, printed at home via My stamp online, drops to €1.49. The difference seems modest, but it is reflected in other categories.
The international letter of 20 g, listed at €2.25 for a classic stamp, goes down to €2.19 for online postage. To understand the postage rates for letters in France, one must look beyond the face value of the stamp.
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These discrepancies are explained by La Poste’s industrial logic: a stamp printed at home reduces physical distribution costs and counter management. The savings are passed on, even partially, to the sender. For an individual sending a few letters a year, the difference remains negligible. For an association or a small business handling several dozen shipments per month, the cumulative effect becomes significant.
2026 Pricing Grid for Letters in France: What Each Format Costs
The postage rate depends on three variables: the type of service (delivery speed), the weight of the letter, and, in some cases, its thickness. Here are the main benchmarks for 2026.
- Green letter (delivery in J+3): €1.52 for 20 g, the most common rate for everyday mail.
- Services Plus letter (J+2): €3.47 for 20 g, an intermediate position between speed and cost.
- Red e-letter (priority online mail, J+1): €1.60 for 20 g, reserved for dematerialized mail printed and delivered by La Poste.
- Purple stamp (international): €2.25 for 20 g at standard rate, €2.19 via My stamp online.
- Tracked green letter: €2.02 for 20 g, which adds a tracking number to the basic service.
The transition from 20 g to 100 g, and then to 250 g, leads to progressive price jumps in each range. Beyond 250 g, the shipment often falls outside the “letter” category in terms of pricing and shifts to different formats or services, which regularly surprises individuals accustomed to thinking in terms of the number of sheets rather than weight.
Tracked and registered green letters: the real cost of tracking and proof
Adding tracking or proof of deposit changes the price of a shipment. The basic green letter at €1.52 becomes €2.02 in the tracked version for the same weight of 20 g. The additional cost of 50 cents buys an online trackable number, not a legal proof of receipt.
To obtain a legally valid proof, one must switch to the registered letter. The rate then rises significantly above standard shipments, with tiers depending on the level of compensation chosen (R1, R2, R3). The difference between “tracked” and “registered” remains unclear for many senders, while their legal implications are radically different.
A contract termination letter, a formal notice, or a legally valuable administrative document requires a registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt. Sending these documents as tracked letters, thinking they provide proof, exposes one to a risk of contestation. The higher price of registered mail is not a luxury; it is functional protection.
Increase in postal rates: why prices continue to rise
This trajectory is part of a multi-year framework set by Arcep. The justification put forward by La Poste boils down to an equation: mail volumes continue to decline, but the obligation of universal service (one pickup and one delivery six days a week across the entire territory) remains unchanged. Fewer letters in the circuit, the same infrastructure to maintain, thus a unit cost that mechanically increases.
For regular senders, the question is no longer whether prices will continue to rise, but how to balance between different channels. The gap between the counter rate and online postage, already visible in 2026, could widen further if La Poste intensifies its dematerialization strategy.
The price of a letter in 2026 is no longer a single figure to remember, but a range of prices that depends on the purchase channel, service level, and weight. Comparing the physical stamp to online postage before each bulk shipment remains the simplest lever to manage one’s postal budget.