If your business sends a significant volume of mail every month, you’ve probably heard the term “metered mail”, but you may not know exactly what it means or whether it could save you money. Here’s everything you need to know.
What is Metered Mail?
Metered mail is mail that uses a postage meter, either a physical machine or a digital system, to print postage directly onto envelopes or labels, rather than using traditional stamps. Instead of buying a book of stamps at the post office, a postage meter calculates the exact postage needed based on the weight, size, and mail class of each piece, then applies it automatically.
The result is a printed postage mark (called an indicia) that looks professional, includes the date, and tells USPS exactly what was paid – no stamps required.
How Does Metered Mail Work?
The process is straightforward:
- Postage is loaded onto the meter – either through a physical meter machine leased from a provider like Pitney Bowes or Quadient, or through a digital postage account
- Mail is weighed and measured – the meter calculates the exact postage owed
- Postage is printed directly onto the envelope or a label that’s applied to a package
- Mail is dropped off at USPS – metered mail often gets its own drop point at the post office, skipping the regular counter line
For businesses sending large volumes, a mail house like Skymail handles the entire process on your behalf, applying postage, metering each piece, and delivering it directly to USPS.
What Are the Benefits of Metered Mail?
Cost Savings
This is the biggest reason businesses switch to metered mail. USPS offers a small but meaningful discount on First Class metered mail compared to stamped mail, currently a few cents per piece. That might not sound like much, but if your business sends 5,000 pieces a month, those savings add up quickly over the year.
Exact Postage Every Time
With stamps, you often overpay. A standard Forever Stamp covers one ounce of First Class mail, but if your piece weighs slightly less, you’ve paid for postage you didn’t need. A meter calculates exact postage down to the ounce, so you never overpay.
Professional Appearance
Metered mail looks more polished and credible than stamped mail. For businesses sending invoices, statements, or legal correspondence, a clean metered indicia reinforces a professional image in a way that a crooked stamp simply doesn’t.
No Post Office Runs
Stamps run out. Metered postage doesn’t, as long as your meter is funded, you can process any volume of mail without a trip to the post office. For high-volume operations, this is a significant time saver.
Faster USPS Processing
USPS prioritizes metered mail because it’s already been weighed, sorted, and prepared to their standards. That means faster delivery times compared to stamped mail dropped in a collection box.
Who Uses Metered Mail?
Metered mail is used across virtually every industry. Common users include:
- Financial institutions sending monthly statements or billing notices
- Healthcare organizations mailing patient correspondence
- Law firms sending legal documents and certified notices
- Property managers mailing rent notices and lease agreements
- Small and mid-sized businesses sending invoices, marketing pieces, or customer communications at volume
If your business sends more than a few hundred pieces of mail per month, metered mail is almost certainly more cost-effective than buying stamps.
Metered Mail vs. Stamps: Which Should You Use?
For occasional personal mail – a birthday card, a thank-you note – stamps make total sense. But for business mail sent in any real volume, metered mail wins on every measure: cost, speed, professionalism, and convenience.
The breakeven point varies, but most businesses find that metered mail pays for itself once they’re sending 200 or more pieces per month.
Do You Need Your Own Postage Meter?
Not necessarily. Leasing a postage meter from a provider like Pitney Bowes or Quadient is one option, but it comes with monthly equipment fees, maintenance, and the responsibility of managing postage funds yourself.
The alternative is to work with a full-service mail house that handles metered mail as part of a complete mailing service. You hand off your mail project, and the mail house handles printing, metering, sorting, and delivery, often at rates you can’t access on your own, because mail houses qualify for bulk postage discounts that individual businesses don’t.
Skymail’s Metered Mail Service
Skymail International has been processing metered mail for businesses across Utah for over 30 years. Whether you need to send 500 invoices or 50,000 marketing pieces, our team handles every step – from printing and inserting to metering and USPS delivery.
We also qualify for postage rates that individual businesses and even competitors can’t access, which means real savings on every piece we mail for you.
