A postage rate includes the value and service individuals get from the agencies offering postal services, and the amount of work they are willing to do to prepare mails for individuals.

A lot of agencies providing postal services offer discounted postage rates, because they believe that individuals do some of the work that would have been done otherwise by the postal service agency. This involves sorting the mail, according to zip code or taking the mail to a postal facility.

On the whole, the more work that is done by individuals, the lesser the postage rate they will have to pay. There are some aspects that are essential to be weighed before individuals decide to send a mail. Some of the factors that will affect the postage rate are the amount of work the individual is willing to do, and how much is left to the postal service bureau. Other factors on which postage rates can be based are the class, size, weight, quantity of the mail, the distance the mail travels, and the speed of delivery, whether Express Mail, Priority Mail, or First-Class Mail. Postage rate also depends on factors such as destination entry discounts, and whether the business organization sending the mail qualifies for nonprofit rates.

Postage rate calculators', help in correctly calculating, the cost of mailing a letter or package. This can save a considerable amount of money over time, particularly for those who want to send packages and do not want to pay extra for postage.

Manufactured postage meters are programmed with a chip with the prevailing postage rates, so any mailings done using that postage meter will calculate postage based on that set of rates. When the postage rates increase, individuals have to purchase a new chip for their postage meter and install it, in order to get the accurate amount of postage on their mail.