Premium membership: what’s included
Premium helps you find the right penpals faster and keep every friendship going. It also keeps the club running: all maintenance, security and new features are funded by our Premium members.
1 million+ members · 195+ countries · 30+ years connecting penpals
Meet more penpals, faster
No contact creditsWrite to new penpals whenever you like — up to 20 new people a day, no waiting for a credit.
Write to every memberContact all members within your age and gender settings, not just most of them.
A full mailboxKeep every conversation open in your inbox, however many penpals you have.
20 smiles a daySay hello to more members every day.
Advanced searchSearch by city, town or province, and by free text.
Start writing straight awayWhile your profile is still being checked, Premium members can already write to penpals.
More for snail mail penpals
8 address swaps a monthSwap postal addresses with 8 new penpals a month while you build trust, instead of 2.
Free penpals swap for freeWhen you swap addresses with a free member, it doesn’t use up their monthly allowance — your Premium covers it.
Join Travel Rings freeJoin any Travel Ring without using a snail mail credit. What are Travel Rings?
Know who you’re writing to
Profile insightsSee when a penpal last signed in, how long they’ve been a member, whether they read your last message, if they usually reply, if they’ve been reported, and who they usually write to.
Who’s interested in youSee who viewed your profile, who added you to their favourites, and who you’ve smiled at.
More privacyBrowse profiles anonymously and hide your own Premium statistics if you prefer.
Friendship timelineIn every conversation, see how long you’ve been friends and how many messages and letters you’ve shared.
Extras
Supporter starA star beside your name in search results shows you support the club (you can hide it in your privacy settings).
Unlimited profile editsUpdate your profile as often as you like — free members get 3 edits a month.
All your favouritesKeep and search every favourite — adult free members see their 10 most recent.
30 penpal notesJot down birthdays, pets and news for each penpal — 30 notes instead of 5.
Share more photosOnce trust is established, adults can share 5 photos a day with no overall limit — free members 1 a day and 10 in total.
Save conversations as PDFKeep or print the whole history of a friendship.
Unlimited country quizzesFree members get 3 tries; Premium members can take them all and collect every gold seal.
10 cultural keepsakesShare up to 10 keepsakes about your country, instead of 3.
5 saved searchesName and save your favourite searches and run them again in one click, instead of 1.
See when your letters are read“Read” appears under your latest letter and beside it in your inbox, so you know your penpal has opened it.
Penpal ebooksA collection of guides to help you develop your penpalling.
Priority supportPremium members’ questions are answered first.
Never any adsPremium members will never see advertising on Global Penfriends.
Free vs Premium
| Free | Premium | |
|---|---|---|
| Replying to messages | Always free | Always free |
| Starting new conversations | 1 contact credit every 12–24 hours | No credits needed |
| Who you can write to | About 80% of members in your age and gender settings | All members in your age and gender settings |
| Mailbox | Your 5 most recently active conversations | Every conversation |
| Smiles a day | Up to 10 | Up to 20 |
| Address swaps while building trust | 2 new penpals a month | 8 new penpals a month — and swaps with free penpals don’t use up theirs |
| Country quizzes | 3 tries | Unlimited |
| Cultural keepsakes | Up to 3 | Up to 10 |
| Search | Standard search | Advanced search, including city and free text |
| Saved searches | 1 | 5 |
| Read receipts | No | “Read” shown on your letters |
| Profile edits | 3 a month | Unlimited |
| Favourites | Your 10 most recent (adults) | All, with search |
| Photo sharing (adults, once trust is established) | 1 a day, 10 in total | 5 a day, no overall limit |
| Penpal notes | 5 | 30 |
Free membership is still a real way to find penpals — see what free members can do.