Skip to main content

GLOSSARY

Notecard

Justin WinterBy · Updated August 28, 2026

A folded card mailed enclosed like a greeting card — First-Class only, message-only, and private in a way a postcard is not.

A notecard is a bi-fold card, closed and enclosed the way an ordinary greeting card is — nothing printed inside it is visible to anyone handling the piece in transit, unlike a postcard.

It shares a postcard's other constraints: First-Class only, one flat per-piece price with printing and postage both bundled in, and no USPS tracked or certified product for it — a piece needing proof of delivery has to be a letter instead.

On paperplane, the notecard is $5.99 and message-only today: the text is typeset onto the card in a real handwriting-style font, with no custom photo or artwork side yet — see current pricing on the pricing page. It is the format built for birthdays, thank-yous, and condolences, where a postcard's open-face exposure is the wrong feel.

See also

  • First-Class Mail The everyday USPS class for letters and documents — typically 3–5 business days, with no tracking unless you add it.
  • Certified Mail A USPS extra service that adds a dated mailing receipt and delivery tracking to a letter, with the delivery record kept by USPS.
  • Postcard A single open-face card mailed without an envelope — cheaper than a letter, but readable by anyone who handles it, and carries no tracking.

Back to the full mail glossary.

Related guides

Notecard

From $1.99 all-in · no account needed

Send a letter