Birth announcement postage: what stamps, envelopes and cards cost in 2026
Posting a folded A5 birth announcement in its envelope costs €2.80 within the Netherlands, €1.80 within Germany and €3.10 within France at 2026 rates, as long as it stays under 50 grams. A flat A6 card in its C6 envelope that weighs up to 20 grams costs €1.40, €0.95 or €1.52. On a list of 50, the stamps can cost more than the cards.
How much postage does a birth announcement need?
Postage depends on the weight of the card in its envelope, and in Germany on the size of the envelope too. These are the 2026 domestic rates for the bands a birth card falls into:
| Up to 20 g | Over 20 g | Source | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | €1.40 | €2.80 up to 50 g | PostNL tariffs, 12 July 2026 |
| Germany, C6 envelope | €0.95 (Standardbrief) | €1.10 up to 50 g (Kompaktbrief) | Deutsche Post |
| Germany, C5 envelope | €1.80 (Großbrief, up to 500 g) | €1.80 | Deutsche Post |
| France | €1.52 (Lettre verte) | €3.10 up to 100 g | La Poste |
In the Netherlands you pay the 20-to-50-gram rate with two "Nederland 1" stamps or one "Nederland 2", PostNL's tariff book says, for anything up to C4 size. Germany looks at the envelope too. Deutsche Post lists C6 among the formats for its standard and compact letters, and C5 among the formats for the Großbrief. A standard letter may be up to 5 mm thick and a compact letter up to 1 cm, so anything thick inside the envelope can move it up a band.
Why does a folded card cost more to post?
Because it is over 20 grams before it goes into the envelope. Our folded card is printed as one creased sheet of 296 × 210 mm on 350 g/m² paper. That is 0.296 m × 0.210 m × 350 g/m², about 21.8 grams for the card alone, so with its C5 envelope it lands in the second weight band in the Netherlands and France. In Germany the C5 envelope makes it a Großbrief whatever it weighs, up to 500 grams.
The flat A6 card is 105 × 148 mm of the same paper, about 5.4 grams on its own. Whether it stays under 20 grams in its C6 envelope depends on the envelope, so weigh one finished card on a kitchen scale before you buy a whole sheet of stamps.
What do 50 birth announcement cards cost in total?
Here are the cards and the stamps for a list of 50, using the pack prices of our shop in October 2026 and the domestic rates above. Envelopes come in the pack, one per card; shipping the pack to you comes on top and is shown in the basket.
| 50 cards | Pack | Netherlands | Germany | France |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Folded A5, postage | €99.95 | 50 × €2.80 = €140.00 | 50 × €1.80 = €90.00 | 50 × €3.10 = €155.00 |
| Folded A5, total | €239.95 | €189.95 | €254.95 | |
| Flat A6 up to 20 g, postage | €69.95 | 50 × €1.40 = €70.00 | 50 × €0.95 = €47.50 | 50 × €1.52 = €76.00 |
| Flat A6 up to 20 g, total | €139.95 | €117.45 | €145.95 |
Posted within the Netherlands or France, 50 folded cards cost more in stamps than the cards themselves.
The flat card saves on both lines. If you want room for a personal message, our comparison of folded and flat birth cards shows what each format holds, and our guide to how many cards to order helps you count households first, which is the number that multiplies everything above.
What does it cost to post a card abroad?
More, and again by weight. From the Netherlands, PostNL charges €2.11 for an international letter up to 20 grams and €4.22 up to 50 grams. From Germany, Deutsche Post asks one price for every country. That is €1.25 for a standard letter up to 20 grams, €1.80 for a compact letter up to 50 grams and €3.30 for a Großbrief. A C5 envelope measures 162 × 229 mm, wider than the 12.5 cm the two smaller letters allow, so a folded card goes abroad as a Großbrief. From France, La Poste's international letter up to 20 grams costs €2.25 in 2026; a folded card weighs more than that, so look up its weight band in La Poste's international rates.
Will postage go up in 2027?
In France, yes: Service Public reports that from 1 January 2027 the Lettre verte up to 20 grams goes from €1.52 to €1.67, and the international letter up to 20 grams from €2.25 to €2.45. If your cards go out in the new year, use the new rates. For the Netherlands and Germany, check the postal service's own price page before you buy stamps for a list that goes out after New Year.
When you know your numbers, start your cards in the editor and pick the pack size there. Our guide on addressing the envelopes covers where the address and the stamp go.