Nobody in the press release industry likes publishing prices, which is exactly why this page exists. Here are the real numbers: what distribution actually costs in 2026, what moves the price, and when each tier is worth paying for.
The short answer
A distributed press release costs $99 to $8,000+ depending on the network. The market breaks into four tiers:
- Budget wires ($99–$199): EIN Presswire and similar. Hundreds of small news sites, search engine inclusion, basic reporting. Fine for getting on the record.
- Mid-tier distribution ($199–$450): Services like NewswireJet, BrandPush, and RepuPR's Essential and Discover packages. 200–400 outlets including recognizable networks (AP News affiliates, MSN, Benzinga), trust badges, and better reporting.
- Premium placement ($450–$1,000): Guaranteed placement on a small number of high-authority sites, chosen for domain authority rather than volume. This is an SEO product as much as a PR product.
- Legacy wires ($800–$8,000+): PR Newswire, Business Wire, GlobeNewswire. The networks journalists' terminals actually ingest. Pricing is per-word and per-geography. A 600-word national U.S. release on PR Newswire lands around $1,400, and international adds fast.
What actually drives the price
Five variables set your invoice, in descending order of impact:
- Network tier. Whether your release reaches actual newsroom terminals (legacy wires) or syndication networks (everyone else). This is 80% of the price difference.
- Geography. National U.S. costs more than one state, and each international region multiplies the price on legacy wires.
- Word count. Legacy wires charge per 100 words over a base (typically 400–500). A rambling release literally costs money, which is another reason to write tight.
- Multimedia. Adding images or video is $100–$300+ on legacy wires, usually free or cheap on modern services.
- Add-ons. Editorial review, AI citation tracking, trust badges, priority handling. Modern services bundle these into tiers, and legacy wires sell them piecemeal.
What you're actually buying at each tier
The honest framing: distribution guarantees placement, not coverage. No tier makes a journalist write about you. What changes as you pay more:
- At $99–$199 you buy existence: your news is on the record, indexed by Google News, and linkable, which is enough for a funding page or an “as seen on” bar.
- At $199–$450 you buy credibility surface: recognizable outlet names in your placement report, badges your website can display, and enough reach that customers who Google you find third-party coverage.
- At $450–$1,000 you buy SEO authority: a handful of high-DA links that actually move rankings, which the volume tiers mostly don't.
- Above $800 you buy newsroom access: presence in the feeds editors monitor. Necessary for public companies (disclosure rules) and genuinely major news. It is overkill for most SMB announcements.
When to pay for what
- Bootstrapped launch, first release: budget or mid-tier. Spend the savings on writing it properly, because a well-built release on a $150 wire outperforms a mediocre one on a $1,400 wire.
- Funding announcement: mid-tier plus direct pitching. The wire creates the record, and the exclusive you offer a journalist creates the story.
- SEO campaign: premium placement tier. Count links and DA, not impressions.
- Public company / regulated disclosure: legacy wire, no way around it.
- Recurring announcer (agency, multi-brand): mid-tier bulk pricing, since most services discount 20–30% on volume.
The hidden costs nobody mentions
- Writing. Agencies charge $300–$1,000 to write a release. Guided builders (like ours) get you the same structure for free.
- Wasted distribution. The most common money fire: paying to distribute a release with no news in it. If the announcement wouldn't interest a stranger in your industry, no network fixes that.
- Removal and corrections. Wires can't recall a distributed release, so a factual error means paying again to distribute a correction. Proofread like it's permanent, because it is.
Bottom line
For most businesses making a real announcement, $150–$300 is the rational spend: mid-tier network, real outlet names, a placement report, and money left over. Pay premium prices only when you're specifically buying SEO authority or newsroom-terminal access, and never pay any price for a release that isn't news.
Ready to see exactly what your release would cost? [Our pricing is public](/pricing), with every package and every inclusion listed, no sales call.