Free tool · no sign-in
EDDM Route Builder: pick carrier routes, see the postage
Every Door Direct Mail covers whole USPS carrier routes, so there is no list to buy and no addresses to clean. Search a city or ZIP, pick the routes you want on the map, and see the delivery count and the postage for that exact selection. Choose a mailpiece and the printing and mailing charges appear alongside it. Then turn the selection into a job in one step.
Why mail EDDM through Plavidian
- Drop-shipment pricing. We can enter the mail at the local post office (DDU) for the cheapest EDDM rate there is. The panel prices all three entry points so you can see the difference.
- No 5,000-a-day cap. That limit is EDDM Retail. We mail on our own permit, so a big drop runs in one go.
- Postage first. Pick the routes and the postage appears. Printing and mailing are added when you choose a mailpiece.
Residential only drops the business delivery points from the count and from the postage. Both choices mail on our USPS permit, so the entry point below stays yours to pick either way.
Choose the piece you want printed and the printing and mailing charges appear with the postage.
Entry point is a choice here because we mail on our own USPS permit through the business mail entry unit, where the rate drops as the mail gets closer to the route. EDDM Retail, the version you take to the counter yourself, is dropped at the Post Office that serves the route and is capped at 5,000 pieces per ZIP per day.
| Printing | — |
| Mailing | — |
| Postage | — |
| Estimated postage | — |
| Per piece | — |
Creating the job does not charge anything. We confirm the routes and the drop date, check your artwork, and email a proof before anything prints.
Carrier route counts and geography come from the USPS Every Door Direct Mail service and are cached for two weeks. Postage from the USPS Notice 123 rates loaded in our production system. Printing and the mailing charge, once you choose a mailpiece, come from the same price sheets our invoices are built from.
How EDDM works
Whole routes, no list, lowest postage
You buy routes, not names
A carrier route is one letter carrier's daily walk, usually a few hundred to a couple of thousand deliveries. Choose the routes and every delivery on them gets your piece. There is no list to rent, no addresses to clean, and nobody is missed because a record was stale.
It has to be a flat
EDDM pieces must be flat-size, larger than a letter. The sizes in the panel are the ones that qualify. A standard postcard is too small, which is the most common reason an EDDM job gets rejected at the counter.
Entry point sets the price
Postage drops as the mail gets closer to the destination before USPS takes it. Entering at the local post office that serves the route is the cheapest, and the panel prices all three entry points side by side.
We do the bundling and paperwork
Take EDDM Retail to the counter yourself and you bundle the pieces and fill in the paperwork. We mail on our own permit through the business mail entry unit, so the bundling and paperwork are ours and the Retail cap does not apply.
Residential and business
USPS splits each route into residential and business delivery points, and the panel offers the same two choices its own EDDM tool does: Residential + Business or Residential only. Each side shows the deliveries it buys, and switching changes the count and the postage straight away. Most consumer campaigns keep both; a few, such as household services, drop the business side.
Then it is a normal job
Create the job and it lands in your Plavidian account with the routes recorded: artwork upload, proof approval, production status and the postal paperwork, the same as any other Plavidian mailing. Plan the drop date while you are here.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
What is EDDM and who is it for?
Every Door Direct Mail is USPS saturation mail sold by carrier route instead of by address. You pick the routes, every delivery on them receives your piece, and there is no mailing list involved. It suits anyone whose customers are defined by geography rather than by name: restaurants, home services, dental and medical practices, gyms, retail openings, and local ballot measures.
How much does EDDM cost?
It is postage plus printing and a mailing charge. The panel above prices the postage for your exact selection at all three entry points, so you can see what drop-shipping saves. Printing and the mailing charge depend on what you are mailing, so they appear once you choose a mailpiece, and the panel then totals all three with a per-piece figure. Where we hold no online price for a size, the panel says it will be quoted instead of showing another piece's number.
Do I need a mailing list?
No, and that is the point of EDDM. Route selection replaces the list entirely, which also removes list rental cost, address cleaning and the risk of stale records. If you need to reach specific people rather than whole neighborhoods, the mailing list builder is the tool for that instead.
What size does an EDDM piece have to be?
It must be flat-size, larger than a standard letter. When we mail it on our permit, that means longer than 11.5 inches, taller than 6.125 inches, or thicker than a quarter inch. EDDM Retail at the counter uses 10.5 inches for the length instead, with a 3.3-ounce maximum weight. The sizes offered in the panel all qualify. A normal 6 by 4.25 postcard does not, and that is the most common reason an EDDM mailing is rejected.
Is there a limit on how many pieces I can send?
Taking it to the counter yourself, EDDM Retail limits you to 5,000 pieces per ZIP code per day. Plavidian mails EDDM on its own permit through the business mail entry unit, so that cap does not apply to a job we produce. The USPS minimum per order is 200 pieces.
How long does an EDDM mailing take?
Printing and preparation run like any mailing, and EDDM skips list processing because there is no list. Typical delivery is about a week from the drop, and drop-shipping to the local post office shortens it. Use the mail date planner to work backward from the date you need it in homes.
Not sure EDDM is the right fit?
Send us the area you want to reach. If a targeted list would beat saturation for what you are selling, we will tell you that instead.