Cision's PR Newswire is a service some PR professionals use to distribute press releases. However, understanding exactly how much you must pay to use this service can be confusing.
Things like additional charges for add-ons to membership can leave you wondering how much you’ll have to pay in the end.
Here’s a quick pricing guide based on internal research and a few third-party websites to help you estimate how much PR Newswire will cost to send a press release.
- PR Newswire pricing overview
- How much does it cost to join PR Newswire?
- The actual press release pricing
- PR Newswire national distribution
- PR Newswire multicultural distribution
- How much does it cost to send a press release with PR Newswire? (example)
- PR Newswire alternatives
- Conclusion
Disclaimer: This information may not be 100% accurate; for the most up-to-date PR Newswire pricing 2025 information, try to contact someone from their sales team.
If you're short on time and need a quick, affordable solution for press release pitching and follow-uping, consider Prowly. With a 7-day free trial that gives you access to a Media Database of over 1 million journalists, you can save significantly compared to costly newswire services.
PR Newswire pricing overview
These are the main costs involved with using PR Newswire to send a press release:
| State & Local | Regional & Top Markets | National | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual Membership | $195 | $195 | $195 |
| Price | $350 | $575 | $805 |
| Outlets Included (Digital Networks) | 1,000 | 1,300 | 5,800 |
| Word Count | 400 | 400 | 400 |
| Additional 100 Words | $140 | $165 | $245 |
| Multimedia Inclusions | $325 | $325 | $325 |
| Logo | $495 | $495 | $495 |
Key takeaways
- Adding extra content: Incorporating an extra 100 words in your press release on PR Newswire will increase your bill; the price for adding extra depends on the package, but it starts at $140.
- Logo inclusion: If you wish to add a logo to your press release for branding purposes, the total cost will be $405 more.
- Images or videos: Adding visuals to your press release will add an extra $325.
- Cost comparison: Features quickly add up, meaning you can pay well over $1000-2000 to send a single press release—an enormous jump compared to paying 5-10x less with a PR outreach tool like Prowly.
Ready to send your press release without breaking the bank? Skip the costs of traditional PR distribution services.
Prowly offers an all-in-one PR tool with an extensive media contacts database, starting from $258/month. You can choose between monthly or yearly subscriptions and start off with a free 7-day trial.
How much does it cost to join PR Newswire?
To send a press release to PR Newswire, you must purchase their annual membership, which costs $195 or $249 if you require an invoice.
Membership costs
By joining PR Newswire and paying the membership cost, you will gain access to a bunch of possibly useful features, such as:
- Distribution network of your plan or package
- 24/7/365, concierge-level professional services and customer support
- Complimentary phone/webinar training for all major services
- Quarterly re-authentication of all of your organization’s “authorized senders”
- Complimentary access to Premium, member-only webinars that teach you how to leverage your content and engage with your key audience effectively
- Consultation and proofreading of your content by an editorial team
- and others
Note: Some PR specialists are wondering if PR Newswire is free. Unfortunately, according to PR Newswire, membership is not optional. If you want to send one press release, you will still have to pay the membership fee, increasing the total price.
How much does a PR Newswire release cost?
The actual press release pricing
How much does PR Newswire cost? Let’s move on to the price of sending the actual press release.
PR Newswire offers different package options. Depending on the scope of the distribution, PR Newswire charges $350 to $8,700.
These prices are for the standard 400-word press release. Every extra 100 words will be priced additionally, starting at $140 and up to even $2,200 ($22 per word!).
💡 P.S. If you want to dive deeper into Cision pricing, make sure to check out this article.
Disclaimer: For an accurate quote, we suggest contacting their sales team.
However, we identified the following options for national and multicultural distribution:
PR Newswire national distribution
Distributing your press release locally or in most states will cost $350. Targeting your top markets or focusing regionally will raise the price to $575, and sending your press release nationally will cost around $805.
PR Newswire multicultural distribution
Press release cost for multicultural distribution is high and can start from $1,200, targeting the US & Canada, and go up from there – $3,500 for Asia or Europe and up to $8,700 for a global reach.
Due to the rapidly rising costs as you increase the scope of your distribution, it’s wise to consider if you need to distribute your press release across the whole country, for example.
We've managed to gather Cision press release pricing packages, which cater to a range of distribution scopes:
| Price for 400-word press release | Price for an additional 100 words | |
| National distribution | ||
| US1 | $805 | $245 |
| US1 Social | $880 | $245 |
| US1 Industry Circuits | $805 | $245 |
| Multicultural distribution | ||
| National Hispanic plus US1 | $995 | $290 |
| Multicultural Markets | $1,075 | $260 |
| National Hispanic | $595 | $180 |
| Regional Hispanic | $470 | $160 |
| North American Chinese | $385 | $115 |
| African American | $325 | $100 |
| Select State/Local Hispanic | $325 | $100 |
| Global distribution | ||
| Premier Global | $8,700 | $2,200 |
| World General Media | $5,000 | $1,300 |
| World Financial Markets | $4,700 | $1,200 |
| Pan Europe | $3,500 | $900 |
| Pan Asia | $3,500 | $900 |
| Full Latin America | $1,500 | $400 |
| Pan Africa | $1,500 | $400 |
| US1 + Canada Bilingual | $1,200 | $300 |
| US1 + UK | $1,200 | $300 |
| US1 + China | $1,200 | $300 |
Multimedia add-ons & logo
If you want to add multimedia to your press releases, you must pay an additional $325. It’s not clear if this is per single add-on or if there is a limit. You can also add a PDF, which costs $125.
Adding your logo is a hefty $495, although this is a one-time annual fee that lets you reuse your logo later on for no additional cost.
Feeling overwhelmed by the costs associated with PR Newswire? Consider giving Prowly a shot. We offer a cost-effective solution that doesn't compromise on quality or reach. Better yet, why not try us out for free? Click the link below to begin your free trial today. There are no obligations, just an opportunity to discover a different way of sending press releases.
Other add-ons
Cision PR Newswire offers other add-ons and resources. I've skipped these as they are less commonly picked, but it's something to remember if you're after different features.
How much does it cost to send a press release with PR Newswire?
Now that you’re familiar with the costs involved add them up to get a rough estimate of your payment.
For example, let’s say you’re trying to distribute a press release to the national media in the US.
The newswire press release cost is about $1,000 and the membership fee. With your logo and one additional image, the price jumps to $1,820.
How much does a press release cost? PR Newswire press release pricing will vary, but plenty of more affordable options are available, considering you’re looking at spending $545 for the membership and most basic press release option.
PR Newswire alternatives
Plenty of more affordable options are available if you’re looking for a way to send your press release without stretching your budget with PR newswire prices.
There are two options:
- Use a media outreach tool, like Prowly, that allows you to pitch relevant media contacts with your press release to get press coverage
- Use another press release distribution service that's more budget-friendly compared to PR Newswire
If you're interested in the differences between the two, check out the guide to choosing the best press release distribution service →
1. Distributing a press release yourself
A cheaper—and usually more effective—way to send your press release and get media coverage is through PR outreach or pitching the media.
How can PR outreach more effectively get valuable press coverage than wire services?
PR outreach involves contacting relevant media contacts with your press release or story. This means getting media coverage where your target audience will most likely read the news you’re trying to spread.
Here is how to do this in a few simple steps in Prowly:
Step 1 - Find relevant journalists
Creating a targeted media list proves far more effective than the "spray and pray" method or relying solely on newswire services. With just a few clicks, you can use Prowly's Media Database, which has over 1 million media contacts, to find relevant journalists who are genuinely intrigued by your story.
Step 2 - Use the narrow keyword search
Provide relevant keywords for your news. These can include your industry, specific topics, or even the names of your competitors. The more specific you are, the more effective the results will be.
To narrow down your search, you can use various filters:
- Date range: Discover journalists who have recently covered a particular topic.
- Location: If your news is specific to a local or country context.
- Topic: To further narrow down your search.
Once you've put in your keywords and filters, you will have a targeted media list with journalists' recent articles.
Now, you can check their publications and explore their topics.
Prowly provides contact information and social media profiles, streamlining the information-gathering process and sending press releases directly from the platform. This enables you to save time and seamlessly connect with journalists likely interested in publishing your story.
Give Prowly's Media Database a try, free of charge, and build your customized media list. Use 1:1 Email Personalization for your pitches and increase your chances of gaining valuable press coverage.
Additionally, you may want to consider a one-month subscription to Prowly's all-in-one PR tool. It offers a cost-effective alternative to expensive newswire services, helping you save significant money. Plus, you can get a notable discount if you're an NGO.
💡 If you're looking to amplify your PR efforts and connect with your community, consider if using local news coverage would be effective. For practical strategies, check out this article on how to get on local news.
2. Budget-friendly PR Newswire alternatives
The most popular alternatives to PR Newswire that are known to be more cost-effective are:
- EIN Presswire - starts at $99.95 per release
- 24-7pressrelease.com - starts at $29 per release
- PR Underground - starts at $49.99 per release
- NewswireJet - starts at $59 per release
- Send2Press - starts at $89 per release
We have recently analyzed the top press release websites, both free and paid. Take a look to discover more cost-effective options that align with your budget.
Conclusion
While PR Newswire offers a wide-reaching press release distribution service, the costs can quickly increase, especially for small PR agencies and startups. But getting your news out there doesn't have to break the bank. Many alternative press release distribution services can offer comparable reach at a fraction of the cost.
One such solution is Prowly, a tool designed to help you find relevant media contacts, pitch your stories, and analyze your PR efforts. You don’t need to sacrifice quality for cost. Try Prowly for free and discover the difference a personalized PR campaign can make.
Cover photo by Alexander Mils
