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Postage meter rental rates you should expect to pay

If your business relies heavily on bulk mailings – whether it’s weekly fliers or monthly newsletters – bulk mail can save you hundreds and even thousands of dollars on each mailing. But that savings doesn’t come without a cost. Postage meter rental has long been a regular expenditure for businesses who promote their products and services via the U.S. Mail.

First – do you really need a postage meter?

Due to federal regulations, individuals or businesses are not allowed to own postage meters but instead must rent a postage meter if they want to take advantage of the service. It’s also worth noting that in order to save any considerable amount of money, after taking into account the cost of rental and consumables, you should be mailing out at least 500 pieces per month to make it worth your while, according to some consumer reviews.

So how much should you plan on spending?

Rates people paid for their postage meter rental

When attempting to compare the costs associated with postage meters to the process of simply using standard postage, it’s worth considering two of the top postage meter lease providers, Pitney Bowes and Hasler/NeoPost.

Note: prices quoted are based on individual contracts and the volume of mail produced and therefore should serve as a baseline only.

Postage meter company	Rental Length	Rental Rate (not including postage)	Pros	Cons
Pitney Bowes	Four years	$1,000/year	Good sales support	Not ideal for small businesses, poor level of tech support
Hasler/Neopost	Unspecified	$450/year	High level of customer service, long-lasting machines (50-60 years), reasonably priced stamps/consumables	N/A
Stamps.com	None	$192- $420/month + $65 for scale	Free trial, free introductory postage and free basic scale	Not ideal for companies with high volume of regular mailings (time-consuming, would need to purchase an expensive scale)

• Pitney Bowes – Recognized as the global leader in metered mail, Pitney Bowes is reportedly not very friendly to small business. Though they provide great sales support, users have cited them as lacking greatly in tech support. Even more significantly, they are the costliest option for small organizations. A Pitney Bowes postage meter rental can run as high as $1,000 per year with a four-year lease (which obviously does not include the cost of the postage itself).
• Hasler/Neopost – Taking a small step down, Neopost (along with their Hasler subsidiary) are second only to Pitney Bowes but provide a considerably higher level of service, with machinery that delivers a consistent rate of output for four, five and even six decades, according to some reports. In addition, the consumables have been cited as “reasonably priced,” with postage meter rental rates that range around $35 to $40 per month, averaging around $450 per year.
• Stamps.com – OK, to be fair, Stamps.com doesn’t provide meter rental services but it’s quickly becoming a third option that small businesses are turning to when they want to avoid the costs associated with one of the approved postage meter rental companies. The process is pretty simple. All you need is a scale to weigh your postage (which can be purchased for around $65 at any office supply store) and access to the Internet, where you can log onto the USPS site and determine the exact amount of postage needed based on the determined weight. Providing a free trial, stamps.com gives a small amount of free postage and a free basic scale to weigh your parcels with when you sign up for an account. In addition, parcel insurance is reportedly around 20 percent less expensive when purchased through stamps.com in comparison to a direct purchase with the USPS. In addition to the cost of postage, monthly service fees range from $16 to $35 with an addition plan that offers no monthly service fee for those who ship more than $500 per month.