Handwritten postcards vs printed postcards: what each costs per piece

Handwritten postcards vs printed postcards: the rates, vendor by vendor

At PostPilot, which sells both, the printed postcard is the lower price: Growth lists a 4x6 postcard at 68 cents and a handwritten card at $2.99, as read on October 24, 2026.

Thanks.io's Pay as you go row is First Class per its help center. Its Business rows are Standard Mail, and First Class costs $0.05 more on a postcard and $0.21 more on a notecard.

Three kinds of handwriting: pens, robots and script

Thanks.io says its handwriting is digital: its help center states that it uses no real pens or human handwriters. Handwrytten says robots hold real pens, Simply Noted says its robots write with a real ballpoint pen, and PostPilot says its handwritten card uses robots, real pens and real ink.

On Thanks.io the message step sets the handwriting style, ink color, size and Realism. AI Fonts vary letter placement and spacing so each piece in a batch looks subtly different, and Realism Mode adds small crossouts. Ink color needs a paid plan, and fonts labeled Normal Print give a plain printed message.

What a handwriting piece costs at each vendor

• Thanks.io: no separate handwriting fee, because the rate includes the message, printing and US postage.
• Handwrytten: Pro is $449 a month on Pay Monthly plus $1.99 a card, with postage billed at the current USPS rate on top.
• Simply Noted: Unlimited is $497 a month flat plus $0.99 a note and postage, which it puts at $0.82 a card.
• PostPilot: a handwritten card is $2.99 on Growth and $1.89 on Pro, $499 a month.

These differ in size, stamp and plan fee, so they are bases, not a ranking.

Address, stamp and envelope differences

Thanks.io addresses postcards and windowed letters in a typed font for USPS processing. A notecard has a handwriting-style address on its envelope and a real stamp, where postcards use a metered imprint. It measures about 5.5 by 4.25 inches closed.

Thanks.io says notecards are not typically used for high-volume campaigns because the per-piece cost is higher than postcards. PostPilot says its envelope is handwritten and carries a real stamp, and its pages do not say whether the stamp is in the card price.

USPS standards put handwritten or typewritten matter in First-Class Mail, with listed exceptions for Marketing Mail (Domestic Mail Manual 233 and 243). Thanks.io's pages do not say how this applies to its Standard Mail pieces, so ask Thanks.io and USPS about your own piece. This is not legal advice.

When a printed postcard is enough

A printed postcard is enough for an offer sent to many people. A handwriting-style notecard fits a thank-you to one customer. Thanks.io's FAQ calls postcards the most popular format for automated outreach, and its help center lists a notecard for post-meeting or post-purchase thank-you notes to individual clients.

Thanks.io's per-piece rate includes a digitally rendered handwriting-style message, with a 4x6 postcard at $1.18 on Pay as you go and postage in the rate. At sign-up it offers free samples by mail and a $10 credit valid for 90 days. See the best handwritten note service for business guide for the services that mail handwriting, Thanks.io vs Handwrytten for the real-pen option and the What is Thanks.io guide for the basics.