Price rises outpacing stock market returns as Royal Mail faces mounting criticism over service standards
The cost of sending a letter could soar to almost £7 by 2035, according to new analysis tracking the rapid rise in UK stamp prices.
Research by Quote My Wall found that a first class stamp—currently priced at £1.80—could reach £6.69 within the next decade if recent trends continue.
The figures are based on pricing data from Royal Mail between 2020 and April 2026, during which the cost of a first class stamp rose from 76p to £1.80—an increase of 136% across eight separate price hikes. Over the same period, returns from major indices such as the S&P 500 and FTSE 100 lagged behind on pure price growth.
The full timeline highlights the pace of change: from 76p in 2020, prices climbed steadily through multiple increases to reach £1.80 in April 2026. A book of eight first class stamps that once cost £6.08 now costs £14.40.
Second class stamps have also risen, though less sharply—from 65p in 2020 to 91p today, a 40% increase. Notably, that puts the current second class price roughly in line with what a first class stamp cost just a few years ago.
Using the compound annual growth rate across the six-year period, the analysis suggests first class stamps have risen by an average of around 15.5% per year. If that rate continues, prices would reach £6.69 by 2035. Second class stamps, increasing at around 5.8% annually, could hit £1.51 over the same timeframe. The figures are projections based on historical trends rather than official forecasts.
Matt Marshall, spokesperson for Quote My Wall, said the scale of the increases may come as a surprise: “When you actually sit down and do the maths, the price of a first class stamp has gone up more than the stock market since 2020—which is a pretty mad thing to say about a stamp.”
He added: “If it carries on at this rate you’re looking at nearly £7 to post a letter by 2035. That is a lot of money for something most people think of as a small everyday expense.”
The continued rises have drawn criticism from consumer groups and regulators. Royal Mail maintains that higher prices reflect the growing cost of maintaining its nationwide delivery network, particularly as letter volumes have declined sharply—falling by around 70% over the past two decades—while the number of delivery addresses has increased to 32 million.
However, concerns over service performance persist. Royal Mail has not met its annual delivery targets since the 2019–2020 financial year, and in late 2025, Ofcom fined the company £21 million for repeated failures.
Consumer watchdog Citizens Advice has argued that customers should not be expected to pay more for a service that continues to fall short—raising further questions about whether stamp prices can continue rising at the same pace without reform.