The cheapest ways to send a real postcard online
Published · Updated
What’s the cheapest way to mail a postcard online?
Click2Mail’s Easy Letter Sender, at $0.64 for a US card and $1.25 abroad, though it prints plain typed text on uncoated stock, so it suits notices more than photos. The cheapest gloss photo card without prepaying is Postcard.bot at $1.99, and a prepaid balance brings its price down. MyPostcard (from $3.49) and Touchnote ($4.49) sit in the middle. Paper Plane Post, which we make, costs more at $7, with nothing else to buy. Cheaper than all of them is a card and a stamp, if there’s a shop and a mailbox nearby.
| Service | One postcard to a US address | Sent abroad | To get the lowest price | The card |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Click2Mail Easy Letter Sender | $0.64 | $1.25 | Nothing; pay per card | 6 × 4.25 in, uncoated stock, plain typed text |
| Postcard.bot | $1.99 | $2.99 | $0.69 after $10,000 in lifetime top-ups; $1.49 after your first | 4 × 6 in, 350 gsm, gloss front |
| MyPostcard | From $3.49 | Same price | Pay per card, or an optional prepaid balance | Your photo, or one of 50,000+ designs |
| Touchnote | $4.49 | Same price | Credit packs or a membership; credits expire after 12 months | 6 × 4 in, gloss laminated, template designs |
| Paper Plane Post | $7 | Same price to 194 countries | Nothing; pay once per card | 4 × 6 in, 255–325 gsm, gloss front, your photo edge to edge |
The cheapest: Click2Mail, for a notice rather than a photo
At $0.64 for a US postcard and $1.25 abroad, Click2Mail’s Easy Letter Sender is the cheapest way to get a card printed and mailed, and there’s no catch in the price: you pay per card, with no balance or plan. The card is where the saving comes from. It’s 80 lb uncoated white cover stock with your image and plain typed text, which is right for a reminder or an announcement. A photo someone will keep wants a gloss front, and this isn’t that.
Postcard.bot: cheap per card, cheapest only after a large top-up
Postcard.bot is $1.99 for a US card and $2.99 abroad, pay as you go with no account needed, on 350 gsm gloss stock. The prices under a dollar come from a prepaid balance with tiers set by what you’ve put in over your lifetime as a customer: $1.49 after a first top-up, $1.29 after $20, $0.99 after $50, and the advertised $0.69 after $10,000. The balance doesn’t expire, so the money isn’t lost, but reaching the headline price is a volume decision, and the service is built for volume: CSV import, mail merge and an API.
MyPostcard and Touchnote: mid-priced, sold by template and credit
MyPostcard starts at $3.49 a card with postage included worldwide, pay per card or from an optional balance, and prints in New York and Berlin. Touchnote is $4.49 a card, and lower with credit packs or a membership ($8.79 a month for 2 credits, or $89.91 a year for 24). Touchnote credits expire after 12 months, so the saving only exists if you send cards steadily. Both are built around template libraries, so the price buys a designed card more than a photo on its own.
Cheapest of all: a card, a stamp and a mailbox
If you’re near a shop that sells postcards and a post office or mailbox, buying a card and a stamp yourself is cheaper than any service here, and you get to write it by hand. The online services exist for the other case: the photo is on your phone, the person is far away, and there’s no rack of cards between you and a mailbox.
Why $7 is a fair price for a card worth keeping
Paper Plane Post costs more per card than every service above, and the price is the whole price: $7 buys the printing and first-class postage to any of 194 countries, paid once at checkout, with no account, balance, credit pack or membership and nothing that expires. For one or two cards a year, that can come to less than a credit pack or a top-up you don’t finish.
What it buys is the card. Your photo is printed edge to edge on 4 × 6 stock of 255–325 gsm with a UV gloss front, and your note goes on the back in a handwriting-style typeface, with nothing else on either side. It takes three steps on one page in any browser, and you see both sides as they’ll print before you pay. The cheapest card is the right choice when the card is a notice. When the card is for a person, the one they put on the fridge is worth the few dollars more.
Questions
Is Paper Plane Post the cheapest postcard service?
No. It costs $7 per card, more than any service on this page. The price includes printing and first-class postage to any of 194 countries, and there’s nothing else to buy: no account, credits, balance or membership.
Does Postcard.bot really cost 69 cents a postcard?
Only after $10,000 in lifetime top-ups to a prepaid balance. Pay as you go, a US card is $1.99, and it drops to $1.49 after your first top-up.
Is it cheaper to buy a postcard and a stamp?
Usually, yes, if you’re near a shop that sells cards and a mailbox. Online services are for when the photo is on your phone or the person is far away.
Which cheap postcard service has no subscription or credits?
Click2Mail, Postcard.bot, MyPostcard and Paper Plane Post all let you pay per card. Postcard.bot’s lowest prices need a prepaid balance, and Touchnote’s need credits or a membership. Paper Plane Post is $7 flat with nothing to prepay.
Can an AI assistant send a postcard for me?
Yes, through Paper Plane Post’s MCP server, and Postcard.bot has one too. With Paper Plane Post the assistant starts the card from your photo, note and address and gives you a link to review it and pay. Nothing is charged or mailed until you do.
Other services’ prices and features were checked in October 2026 against Click2Mail Easy Letter Sender’s pricing, Postcard.bot’s pricing, MyPostcard’s FAQ, Touchnote’s postcard page, credits page. They change; check the service’s own site before you order.