Franking machines can save high volume posters anywhere from 20-35% or more on first-class post. Still, buying isn’t always the right option.
Hiring a franking machine means you can take advantage of all-inclusive contracts, try out machines before you commit, or make sure that repair, maintenance, and replacement are not your responsibility.
The UK franking machine market is highly competitive. Currently, there are 3 authorised franking machine manufacturers on the market. In addition, you’ll have a choice of 27 authorised third-party suppliers, who can inspect, maintain, and sell franking machines.
Most of these companies make a profit by offering maintenance, supply, and inspection services. That means hire rates can be very competitive.
In fact, you can sometimes get lower hire and lease rates than you’d get from buying a machine outright. Why? Leases and rental contracts typically include supply, maintenance, and annual mandatory inspection plus software updates, so you won’t see any unexpected fees or costs.
So, how much does it cost to rent or lease a franking machine? According to our research, it’s from about £19 per month.
Low Volume Franking Machine Hire Rates
Low volume franking is typically designed for offices. Here, you get a capacity of up to about 100 letters per day. Often, you can frank all of those in just a few minutes.
These machines usually cost from about £19 per month without service or up to about £60 per month with an all-inclusive contract.
What does that mean? Franked mail saves anywhere from about 4p to over £5 per item depending on size, weight, and shipping type, so you could easily recoup investment costs, while reducing labor spent on the same postage.
- Pitney Bowes SendPro Mailstation – You can lease this machine from Pitney Bowes directly for £44 per month or £56 with all-inclusive service. You’ll also have to commit to a 5-year contract. This mini franking machine is designed to be cost-effective at about 50 first class letters per day. It also includes an integrated scale, label printing, and options to program in logos and slogans for your business.
- Pitney Bowes R DM60 – If you want to go even cheaper, you can sign a lease contract for a refurbished DM60, also directly with Pitney Bowes. At £32 per month, it’s not the cheapest. However, you can drop that down to £17.99 by moving to a third-party supplier. This model also includes a scale, some custom logos, and support for up to 100 letters a day.
- FP PostBase Mini – FP’s PostBase Mini is designed to process up to 24 letters per minute or a maximum of 100 a day. You can program it with custom logos and slogans. It also includes an integrated 2kg scale. You can hire it for about £20 per month but if you go all-inclusive, it can go up to £50.
- Quadient iX-1 Series Franking Machine – As the most affordable franking machine on this list, the Quadient iX-1 stands out for small business owners looking to get started. You’ll be able to process up to 50 letters a day. In addition, you can add on a detachable scale. You can also program up to 10 slogans and logos for custom printing and automatically weigh and calculate rates for letters. Plus, with rates starting at just £19 per month for a new machine, this is the cheapest model on the market.
Mid Volume Franking Machine Hire Rates
Mid-volume franking is meant for larger offices, small mailrooms, and small postage centers. You can expect to be able to process 500-1,000 letters per day. Most cost from about £45 per month to rent but rates can go to £250+ when you look at all-inclusive.
Mid-volume machines also come with time-saving extras like envelope sealing, automation, and support for different branches and offices, so you can seamlessly switch to printing the right logos and addresses with just a single button push. Let’s take a look:
- Pitney Bowes Send Pro C Auto with 7kg Weight Platform – The SendPro C is a mid-volume franking machine averaging £250 per month. This machine can also be paid for weekly with a 5-year contract right from Pitney Bowes. Of course, third-party suppliers are often cheaper, especially if you have a larger contract. This machine offers custom graphics, label printing, a 7kg scale, and letter sealing.
- Quadient iX 5 Mailmark Franking Machine – Quadient’s line includes four different mid-volume franking machines, so you’ll have plenty of choices if you’re looking for a budget franking machine. However, the iX 5 stands out with multiple customizations – plus the most bang for your buck of any mid-volume franking machine. What else? With hire rates starting at £45 per month, it’s the cheapest franking machine in its class. Of course, rates normally hover around £65 and might go as high as £160 if you opt for the automatic feeder option with an all-inclusive contract.
- FP PostBase Fusion Auto – FP’s Fusion Auto offers automatic sorting, differential weighing, letter sealing, and an automatic letter feeder. You also get a touchscreen, a programmable printer for graphics and slogans, and up to 10 different departments. Rates average £150-£200 with supply and maintenance included. However, FP doesn’t post rates, so it’s important to compare multiple suppliers to make sure you’re getting a bargain.
High Volume Franking Machine Hire Rates
High volume franking machines handle busy mailroom needs. Typically, they’re rated for up to 1,000 letters per day.
In addition, you’ll get automation functions like sorting, sealing, 100+ department switches with programmable labels, multiple letter feeds, etc. That makes these machines ideal for enterprise businesses, organizations working with multiple postal carriers in addition to Royal Mail, and high-volume mailrooms.
Normally, hire rates hover between £400 and £600, but can drop to a third of that.
- Pitney Bowes SendPro P3000 – At £860 per month with an all-inclusive contract from Pitney Bowes, the SendPro P3000 is one of the most expensive franking machines on the market. However, it’s also capable of handling up to 310 letters per minute. A digital touchscreen means you can easily integrate multiple carriers. You can also seamlessly switch between departments. The machine includes weigh, sort, seal, and customize envelopes, including in color, with a dual inkjet printer.
- Quadient iX 7 – Quadient’s i7 is one of the cheapest high volume franking machines on the UK market. At an average of £500 per month, it’s significantly cheaper than the flagship Pitney Bowes. In addition, you can still process up to 300 letters per minute. Extras also include 15 job presets for postal carriers and business branches, dual inkjet printer, and up to 10 customized messages you can access with a button press.
- FP PostBase One – This high-volume franking machine is intended as an all-in-one mailroom solution. It only handles 150 letters per minute. However, it offers more support for packages, with 7kg and 15kg scale, options to add carriers like UPS and FedEx, and labeling designed for packaging. You can normally expect rates to start at £600 per month.
Franking Machine Hire Costs Breakdown
Franking machine hire typically costs 10-40% more than the cost of buying the machine outright. However, if you do the math, rental and lease costs can end up cheaper than purchase costs – especially if you get a good deal.
Let’s take a look at some of the factors to consider in total costs:
| Item | Low Volume | Mid-Volume | High-Volume |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purchase Cost | £600-£3,500 | £1,500-£14,000 | £8,000-£34,000 |
| Supplies (Ink/Labels) | £10-£140 per refill | £30-£210 per refill | £90-£480 per refill |
| Annual Inspection + Maintenance | £50-£150 | £100-£250 | £250+ |
| Setup Fees | £0-£250 | £0-£450 | £0-£900 |
| Extended Warranty | £250-£500 | £500-£1,000 | £1,000+ |
| Monthly Hire Rate (Includes all above costs) | £19-£69 | £45-£210 | £160-£800 |
*Lowest costs are for refurbished and pre owned models.
Here, some costs will vary. For example, if you have a high volume of usage, supply costs can go up quite a bit.
If your machine breaks down and isn’t covered by warranty, you’ll have extra costs versus a hire contract where that would be covered. So, the lower monthly rate attached to a purchase contract might not be as attractive as it seems at first glance.
FAQ
If you have more questions about rental and hire rates for franking machines in the UK, this FAQ should help:
Is Franking Cheaper?
Franking mail is cheaper than stamps if you frank at a volume that covers the cost of the machine.
For example, Royal Mail lists franked mail at up to 33% cheaper than stamps. In addition, you’ll want to calculate the cost of labor for stamping, going to the post office, etc. Specifically, look at the mail you send and compare franked rates versus stamped rates.
For example, in 2025, the franked rate for a first class letter is 40p cheaper than the stamped rate. If you’re sending 20 a day, that’s £8 a day, or an average of £160 per month before looking at time and labor savings. If you can do that math upfront, you can pretty easily see what your budget for a franking machine is.
Should I Purchase or Hire a Franking Machine?
In many cases, it makes more business sense to take out a lease. However, that’s not always the case. You’ll want to look at factors like supply, maintenance, annual inspection, repair, software updates, etc.
It’s always a good idea to get quotes for both hiring and buying, compare options, look at all included costs and what’s covered, and then make a decision. Of course, if you want peace of mind and everything covered, e.g., supplies that show up when you need them, go with a hire contract.
What’s the Best Franking Machine to Lease in the UK?
There is no one best franking machine available. However, if you’re looking for the cheapest, go for Quadient. You can hire a new Quadient for as little as £19 per month. On the other hand, if you’re looking for solid machinery backed by one of the oldest brands in the country, Pitney Bowes is a better option.
Either way, the franking machine market is highly competitive. Shop around, see what you can find, and try to get a better deal on your franking machine whether it’s a budget model or not.
What’s Included with a Franking Machine Lease Contract?
Unfortunately, that depends a lot on the supplier. You’re going to have to read the fine print.
A basic hire contract is just a financed purchase program, except you don’t get to keep the franking machine at the end of it. All-inclusive contracts cover everything.
More and more suppliers are now sticking with all-inclusive contracts. However, most still have a selection of options. Either way, you’ll want to look at what’s included in the contract and then include what you get for the money.
Consider:
- Software updates
- Annual inspection
- Maintenance
- Repair
- Supplies (Ink, labels)
- Setup
- Training
Can I Rent a Franking Machine Instead of Lease?
Normally, you’ll have to commit to a lease for a franking machine. That means minimum contracts are probably going to be 6-12 months.
Many franking machine suppliers will try to lock you into a 5-year lease. That’s okay if you get good enough rates because it might be cheaper than switching providers every few years anyway.
However, it does mean that if you’re hoping to try a franking machine for a month to decide if you like it enough to buy, you’re probably out of luck.
How Can I Get a Better Deal on My Franking Machine?
The UK franking machine market is very competitive. That often means you can reduce rates by shopping around. You can also look at different package deals. For example, if your lease contract includes more services, more machinery, or refurbished models, you might get a lower rate.
If you want the best rate for your franking machine lease, compare your options. Use the form below to request quotes, and we’ll request the most competitive lease rates from manufacturers and independent suppliers that service your area, compare, and send you the best ones.