Record postage hike: German standard letter could cost 1.14 euros from 2027
Germany's Federal Network Agency is allowing Deutsche Post to raise postage by up to 20.35 percent, the most ever. Parcels could rise by 10.72 percent.
Symbolic image · Photo: J. Triepke / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 (cropped and resized)
Letters in Germany are set to become more expensive in 2027 than ever before. The Federal Network Agency has presented a draft allowing Deutsche Post to raise postage by an average of up to 20.35 percent from January 2027. If the company applied the increase evenly to all letter types, a standard letter would rise from 0.95 to 1.14 euros, topping one euro for the first time. Parcels could go up by as much as 10.72 percent, compared with 7.21 percent two years ago. The new prices are to apply for 2027 and 2028.
By comparison, the average increase was 4.6 percent in 2022 and 10.48 percent in 2025. Agency president Klaus Müller cited falling volumes as the main reason: "The main reason for rising postage is the sharp decline in letter volumes." The number of letters fell from 16.9 billion in 2005 to just under 9.4 billion in 2025. He said the agency had stayed below Deutsche Post's demands.
The range is not yet final. The industry will first be consulted before the agency sets its requirements. Deutsche Post itself decides how much each type of letter will cost, and the agency must then approve the prices. The company said it would use the leeway "responsibly", pointing to higher wages and energy and material costs.