Postage Options
Every mail piece you send goes out with either Standard postage (Standard Mail, also known as Marketing Mail) or First Class postage. Your choice affects delivery speed, tracking availability, and per-piece cost.
Postage comparison
| Postage class | Typical delivery | USPS tracking | Return-to-sender | Per-piece cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | Typically 10-20 business days from print date | No | No | Lower |
| First Class | Typically 5-10 business days from print date | Yes | Yes | Slightly higher |
| International | Varies by country | Varies | Varies | Higher than domestic |
For exact per-piece cost differences, see thanks.io/pricing. First Class adds $0.05 for 4×6 and 6×9 postcards, and $0.21 for 6×11 postcards, letters, Notecards, and MagnaCards.
Choosing your postage
You choose the postage class for each send and for each campaign action. Your account has a default class, and Send Mail and the campaign wizard start from it.
Your default postage class
Go to Settings → Mail Preferences (from the account menu at the top right) and use the Standard Mail Mode switch in the Delivery card:
- Off (the default) - your default class is First Class.
- On - your default class is Standard Mail. You confirm the change in an Enable Standard Mail? dialog first.
The switch only sets the default. You can still choose First Class or Standard Mail for any single send or campaign action. Mail Preferences is only available from the main account, so switch out of any sub-account first.
In Send Mail
On Choose What To Send, each mail piece shows its per-piece price for both First Class and Standard Mail, with your default class highlighted.
On Review & Confirm, the Postage Class section lets you pick First Class or Standard Mail for this send. Each option shows its per-piece price for this order and a delivery estimate, and Standard Mail shows how much you save on each piece. Your default class is marked Your default. The cost breakdown below updates to the class you pick. See the Send Mail Walkthrough.
In campaigns
On a campaign action's Review step, choose a Postage class:
- Account default - the action follows your Standard Mail Mode setting, including any later change to it.
- First Class or Standard Mail - the action always mails at that class, whatever your default.
Each option shows the per-piece price. When you start the action, the confirmation names the class it mails at. See Automated Campaigns Overview.
Through the API and AI assistants
API v2 sends and estimates take a postage_class field: first_class or standard. Leave it out to use your account's default class. The older send_standard_mail field is deprecated: it can only switch a send to Standard Mail, never to First Class, and a request that sends both fields is rejected with a 422. See Estimating an Order's Cost.
An AI assistant connected to the thanks.io MCP server can choose the class too. Ask for First Class or Standard Mail when you request a send, a preview, or a campaign; otherwise it uses your default.
Who can choose
- Free plan - mail always goes First Class. Standard Mail Mode shows Unlocked in Business, and Send Mail and the campaign wizard don't offer a choice.
- Nonprofit accounts - mail at your nonprofit rate, so there is no postage class to choose.
Standard postage
Standard postage uses the USPS Marketing Mail stream and typically arrives in 10-20 business days from the print date. There is no USPS tracking and no return-to-sender service.
Choose Standard when:
- Cost per piece is the priority and you're sending high volumes.
- Precise delivery timing doesn't matter (evergreen promotions, drip campaigns).
- You don't need to confirm whether individual pieces were delivered.
First Class postage
First Class uses the USPS First Class mail stream and typically arrives in 5-10 business days from the print date. It is faster, includes USPS delivery tracking, and returns undeliverable pieces to your return address.
Choose First Class when:
- Timing matters - event invitations, time-sensitive offers, birthday mail.
- You want to confirm delivery status per piece.
- List hygiene matters - you want undeliverable pieces returned so you can clean your records.
Running a birthday or holiday campaign? Use First Class. Delivery timing is more predictable and you avoid the risk of a birthday card arriving a week late.
International delivery
All mailer types support international delivery. International sends automatically use the equivalent of First Class postage - Standard is not available for international recipients. See International Delivery for country-specific details.
Limits & gotchas
- Standard Mail Mode in Settings → Mail Preferences sets your default class only. A class you pick for a send, or for a campaign action that isn't on Account default, is used instead.
- Changing the default changes campaign actions set to Account default from their next mailing on. Actions pinned to First Class or Standard Mail keep their class.
- Standard Mail's lower price applies to US addresses. International recipients in the same order go at the international rate.
- Return-to-sender on First Class notifies you of undeliverable pieces - it does not guarantee a piece is delivered.