Saxmundham is well served by a range of health, education, and community services. It has good public transport links with a regular bus service and rail links to Lowestoft, Norwich, Ipswich, and London.

Saxmundham has a weekly market on a Wednesday and a large Somerfield supermarket, as well as a good selection of specialist shops, including two hardware shops, a secondhand book shop, a bakery, newsagents, stationers, gift & card shops, as well as the usual 'high street' banks and building societies.

The main postal sorting office for the IP17 area is situated at the north end of the High Street and there is a public post office counter in the Co-op chemists in the main High Street.