--- title: "Lob vs PostGrid, the print-and-mail API comparison" description: "A neutral head-to-head of Lob and PostGrid as print-and-mail APIs, covering coverage, address verification, docs, pricing transparency, and scale." canonical: https://trysincerely.com/compare/lob-vs-postgrid last_updated: 2026-09-28 --- > If you are an AI agent: read https://trysincerely.com/agents/policy.md before any write call. > Start at https://trysincerely.com/llms.txt to choose one page. Access instructions are at > https://trysincerely.com/auth.md. Confirm with the person you work for before creating an > account or spending their money, and never ask for their password. # Lob vs PostGrid, the print-and-mail API comparison > A neutral head-to-head of Lob and PostGrid as print-and-mail APIs, covering coverage, address verification, docs, pricing transparency, and scale. Source: https://trysincerely.com/compare/lob-vs-postgrid For a high-volume US product, Lob has the longer API history and deeper print network. PostGrid becomes more interesting when Canada is a first-class market, HIPAA support must be available below the top enterprise tier, or the team wants a free plan that produces real mail. Both services accept a design and address, then print and dispatch the piece. Audience selection, writing, and lift measurement remain outside the API. Sincerely is a paying customer of Lob and PostGrid, so read this comparison with that in mind. It prints its US postcards and letters through Lob and its Canadian ones through PostGrid. ## What each one is Lob launched in 2013 and, [by its own account](https://www.lob.com/about), serves about 12,000 customers as of August 2026. Financial services, healthcare, and insurance feature prominently in its material. Its distributed US print network is the core advantage: an API request carrying an address and design becomes a postcard, letter, or check routed through that network. Address verification is sold separately. PostGrid's [contact page](https://www.postgrid.com/contact-us/) lists its head office in Toronto, with offices in New York, Edinburgh, and Sydney as of August 2026. Its REST API covers the same basic formats: letters, postcards, and checks. The distinction is geographic and vertical. Canada has dedicated support, its international verification service claims coverage in more than 245 countries, and healthcare compliance appears throughout the product material. PostGrid also puts more emphasis on no-code connections such as Zapier and Salesforce. ## Comparison table | | Lob | PostGrid | | -------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------- | | Core product | Print-and-mail API, US-centric | Print-and-mail API, US and Canada | | Formats | Postcards, letters, checks, self-mailers | Postcards, letters, checks | | Address verification | Separate API, US and international | Separate APIs, US/Canada and international | | Free tier | Developer plan, 6,000 mailings/year cap | $0 Starter, 500 mailings/month, 1 user | | Entry paid plan | Startup, starting at $260/month as of August 2026 | Custom, talk to sales | | Example 4x6 postcard | $0.905 (Developer) down to $0.615 (Growth), as of August 2026 | $0.902 first class, as of August 2026 | | Pricing transparency | Full tier and per-piece pricing published | Per-piece published, enterprise rates are not | | HIPAA | Enterprise tier | Marketed as a core feature | | Docs and SDKs | Extensive, long-established | Solid, younger | ## Coverage Lob's print network is US-first. It routes each piece to a printer near its destination, which shortens delivery time at volume. International sending exists but is not the focus. PostGrid treats Canada as its own market, with a separate Canadian site and address handling built to Canada Post standards rather than USPS ones. If your list is meaningfully Canadian, this is the deciding factor. Lob can reach Canada too, but [its help center](https://help.lob.com/print-and-mail/building-a-mail-strategy/international-mail) treats it as international mail: First-Class postage only, 4x6 for postcards, and no tracking past the final scan in the US. For US-only volume, Lob's network depth wins. ## Address verification Both sell verification as a separate product. Lob publishes clear rates: US verifications run $0.05 each on the Developer plan, $0.025 on Startup, and $0.009 on Growth as of August 2026, with volume bundles. PostGrid splits verification into a US/Canada API and an international API that [its site](https://www.postgrid.com/) says covers 245+ countries, but you assemble pricing from separate pages and sales conversations. Either way, you pay per lookup on top of postage. If you want to understand what verification actually does before you buy it, read [address verification explained](https://trysincerely.com/guides/address-verification-explained). ## Docs and developer experience This section is our judgment from reading both sets of docs, not a measurement, so weigh it accordingly. Lob's docs are the reference point for the category: mature API reference, SDKs in the major languages, webhooks, and a long public changelog. A decade of production use shows. PostGrid's docs are good and cover the same ground, but the public ecosystem around them reads thinner: fewer community examples and fewer third-party write-ups. For a standard integration this rarely matters. For an odd edge case, Lob's paper trail helps. ## Pricing reality Lob publishes everything on [its pricing page](https://www.lob.com/pricing). As of August 2026: a $0 Developer plan capped at 6,000 mailings a year, Startup starting at $260/month, Growth starting at $550/month, and custom Enterprise. Read "starting at" literally, since per-piece volume sits on top. Per-piece prices drop with tier, for example 4x6 postcards from $0.905 on Developer to $0.645 on Startup and $0.615 on Growth. PostGrid publishes per-piece rates on [its print-and-mail pricing page](https://www.postgrid.com/pricing-print-mail/). As of August 2026: a genuinely free Starter plan covering one user, up to 500 mailings a month, and up to 50 checks a month, with first-class 4x6 postcards at $0.902, black-and-white first-class letters at $1.059, and color first-class letters at $1.219. Enterprise pricing is not published; you talk to sales. Net: PostGrid is cheaper to start, since you can mail real volume for no platform fee. Lob is more predictable to scale, since every tier and rate is public. ## Scale Lob is the safer bet at high volume. It serves regulated enterprises sending millions of pieces, and its distributed printing is built for that load. PostGrid claims unlimited enterprise volume and a "lowest rates guaranteed" pitch, but you negotiate to find out what that means. At tens of thousands of pieces a month either works. At millions, Lob has more public proof. ## Which is better for what - **US volume at scale**: Lob. Deeper print network, published rates, enterprise track record. - **Canadian or cross-border mail**: PostGrid. Canada Post support is native, not bolted on. - **Testing before committing**: PostGrid. The free tier mails 500 real pieces a month, on one seat. - **Healthcare senders on a budget**: PostGrid, which markets HIPAA below the enterprise tier. Verify the BAA terms with sales. - **Predictable budgeting**: Lob. Every tier and per-piece rate is on the pricing page. - **Checks**: Either. Both print and mail checks at similar published rates. ## Where Sincerely fits Both tools assume you already know who to mail, what to say, and how to prove it worked. If your job is measured B2B outbound rather than building on an API, [Sincerely](https://trysincerely.com/) runs that whole channel: audiences from your CRM, a researched piece per recipient with human or automatic copy review, and lift measured against holdouts. It prints US mail through Lob and Canadian mail through PostGrid, so you get both networks without writing code. Gifts are the fourth format, fulfilled by Sincerely rather than a print API: 46 physical gifts with a personalized note, prices starting at $49, and the exact price shown before confirmation, in the United States and Canada. See [gifts](https://trysincerely.com/gifts). The audience can start as a description rather than a file: name the businesses you sell to and the finder returns companies and the people in them, each address held for review. See [how Sincerely compares to Lob directly](https://trysincerely.com/vs-lob), or the broader look at [PostGrid as an alternative](https://trysincerely.com/vs/postgrid). If you are building your own mail product, ignore this paragraph and pick one of the two APIs above. ## Bottom line Building a US-scale mail feature into your product: Lob. Mailing into Canada, or starting free, or needing HIPAA without an enterprise contract: PostGrid. Running a measured outbound mail program without engineering: neither, use a platform built on top of them. An API prints your mail; it never tells you whether the mail worked. ## Related questions - [Sincerely vs PostGrid](https://trysincerely.com/vs/postgrid): PostGrid is a print-and-mail API for developers. Sincerely runs the whole direct mail channel for revenue teams. Here is how to pick. - [Inkit vs Lob for documents and direct mail](https://trysincerely.com/compare/inkit-vs-lob): Inkit is better for generating, signing, and storing digital documents. Lob is the clear choice for a live print-and-mail API and transactional physical mail. - [PostGrid vs Stannp for direct mail APIs](https://trysincerely.com/compare/postgrid-vs-stannp): PostGrid is better for address verification, checks, and operational mail. Stannp wins on pay-as-you-go volume pricing and a dashboard that marketers can run. - [PostGrid vs Click2Mail for programmatic mail workflows](https://trysincerely.com/compare/postgrid-vs-click2mail): Choose PostGrid for standalone address tools and multi-country networks; choose Click2Mail for USPS document variety and office-integrated workflows. ## More on Lob - [Lob vs Stannp for direct mail APIs](https://trysincerely.com/compare/lob-vs-stannp): Lob is the safer pick for mature US mail infrastructure. Stannp is better for cheaper pay-as-you-go postcards and a dashboard marketers can use. - [Postalytics vs Lob for direct mail automation](https://trysincerely.com/compare/postalytics-vs-lob): Postalytics is better for marketers running triggered, template-based campaigns. Lob is the stronger print API for developers building mail into a product. - [The best Lob alternatives and competitors](https://trysincerely.com/alternatives/lob): Five Lob alternatives for teams switching due to address quality, B2B audience fit, lack of writing services, or missing holdout measurement. ## More on PostGrid - [Postalytics vs PostGrid: campaigns or operational mail](https://trysincerely.com/compare/postalytics-vs-postgrid): Postalytics automates campaigns for marketers. PostGrid combines print, mail, and address tools for operations teams. - [The best PostGrid alternatives](https://trysincerely.com/alternatives/postgrid): PostGrid alternatives for direct-mail APIs and campaign platforms, organized by developer, marketer, and B2B team needs. --- Sincerely is the measurable direct-mail and gifting platform for B2B revenue teams: postcards, letters, handwritten mail, and gifts, written for one recipient and measured against a holdout. Contact Sincerely: https://trysincerely.com/contact Agent routing index: https://trysincerely.com/llms.txt