If you are in the PR industry, you will know by now that PR Newsire pricing is not publicly available. In most cases, you would need to speak to their business development team to have a clue about their pricing. In this article, we will provide a detailed PR Newswire pricing guide to help you compare or make the right decision.
For many business owners looking to gain media attention, using PR Newswire might be out of reach for them, or they are perhaps just looking for more clarity and alternatives. At Press Featured, we make press release distribution both accessible and affordable. Check our pricing page for the best press release distribution deals.
Now let’s get to in-depth details around PR Newswire’s packages, cost and plans.
TL;DR — What Does PR Newswire Cost in 2025?
PR Newswire isn’t cheap—and the pricing isn’t always straightforward. Depending on your release length, media format and distribution region, a single press release can cost anywhere from $350 to well over $10,000.
Here’s a simple breakdown of the major pricing elements so you know exactly what drives the cost:
1. Mandatory Membership Fee
PR Newswire requires all first-time users to join their network. The membership typically starts at around $195, and you won’t be able to submit news without it.
2. Base Distribution Pricing
Costs for a standard 400-word press release vary depending on your distribution circuit and location. Expect rates anywhere from $325 on the low end to $8,700+ for premium or nationwide distribution.
3. Add-On Fees (This Is Where Costs Add Up)
PR Newswire charges extra for almost everything beyond the basics, including:
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Additional word count
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High-resolution images
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Videos or multimedia packages
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Custom branding or formatting
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Speciality industry lists or international distribution
These add-ons can significantly increase the total cost, especially if you’re publishing a long or media-rich announcement.
4. What Most Businesses Actually Pay
If you’re planning a typical national US distribution for a standard-length announcement (~1,000 words) with two images and your brand elements, you should budget around $2,985 or more. Larger campaigns or added geographic targeting can push this much higher.
5. No Free Version or Trial
PR Newswire does not offer a free tier or test environment. The only way to see your release on their network is to pay for full distribution.
6. Limited Pricing Transparency
One important note: PR Newswire does not publish a full pricing list publicly. Most businesses will need to speak with their sales team to receive an exact quote tailored to their distribution requirements.
Detailed PR Newswire Cost Guide
By design, PR Newswire’s pricing is complex, with a lot of tiered solutions. Unlike other services where you know the price upfront with no need for annual membership fees, PR Newswire makes it possible for its customers to select a wide range of micro-solutions, stacking up to a combination of different distribution channels or features.
Annual Membership Fee
This is the first thing that makes PR Newswire look different. As most of their customers are top-tier corporations or Fortune 500 companies, they charge a fixed fee to give their customers access to some basic features like Editorial Support, Educational Content, Customer Support and Analytics & Reports.
PR Newswire’s pricing is super complex, coming with loads of different tiers and add-ons. To simplify it, we’ve grouped their pricing factors into three distinct categories: annual membership, distribution, and add-ons.
While this will not make sense to a lot of people, paying an annual membership fee appears to be a basic requirement with PR Newsire. With the annual fee, you can not publish a single until you order one of their packages.
PR Newswire Cost: Regional, State, National and International Pricing Explained
Now that we’ve covered the membership fee, and you are actually still looking to publish your press release, you need to pay per release. From our interaction and inner understanding of our PR Newswire’s sales team work, you may be required to make a huge deposit, and you will continue to use the deposit to cover your distribution costs.
State and Local Distribution
While other press release services also offer state or local distribution, this is also available with PR Newswire. The price starts from $350 per press release in most states in the US. If you are looking at publishing a press release in states like New Jersey, the price increases to $445.
Regional Distribution
Starting from $475, the price increases to $575 for some regions in the US. The lower price covers the Pacific Northwest, Southwest, Washington, DC and New England.
PRWeb Regional & Top Markets Pricing
| Region / Market | Price for 400 Words | Each Additional 100 Words |
|---|---|---|
| Pacific Northwest | $475 | $140 |
| Midwest | $575 | $165 |
| Washington DC Region | $475 | $140 |
| Top Markets | $575 | $165 |
| Southwest | $475 | $140 |
| West / Southwest | $575 | $165 |
| New England | $475 | $140 |
| Northeast | $575 | $165 |
| Southeast | $575 | $165 |
National Distribution
This offers a wider range for your distribution. If your press release/news aims to cover or reach a national audience, then this would be worth considering.
Starting from $805, your press release will be shared across all the states in the U.S. If you want to gain more visibility, you can consider paying $75 extra to have your press release published on PR Newswire’s social media channel.
National Distribution Options
| Distribution Option | Price for 400 Words | Each Additional 100 Words |
|---|---|---|
| US + Social Sharing | $880 | $245 |
| US (Industry-Specific Journalist Circuits) | $805 | $245 |
| US | $805 | $245 |
Multicultural Distribution
Looking to target a specific culture or audience based on language? This will be the right package for you. Ranging from $325 to $1,075 per release, this package allows you to leverage PR Newswire’s network to target a specific demographic.
| Distribution Option | Price for 400 Words | Each Additional 100 Words |
|---|---|---|
| North American Chinese | $385 | $115 |
| National Hispanic Only | $595 | $180 |
| African American | $325 | $100 |
| Multicultural Markets (Hispanic, African American, Asian American, Native American) | $1,075 | $260 |
| Local Hispanic (Choose one state) | $325 | $100 |
| National Hispanic (English & Spanish) | $995 | $290 |
| Regional Hispanic (Choose one region) | $470 | $160 |
International distribution
Just like previous packages, the international distribution comes with pricing variation. The price depends on where you are targeting, with the highest package costing up to $8700. The international pricing starts from $1,500 and can cost up to $8,500.
| Distribution Option | Price for 400 Words | Each Additional 100 Words |
|---|---|---|
| Pan Europe | $3,500 | $900 |
| US + Canada Bilingual | $1,200 | $300 |
| World Financial Markets | $4,700 | $1,200 |
| Premier Global | $8,700 | $2,200 |
| Pan Africa | $1,500 | $400 |
| US + UK | $1,200 | $300 |
| World General Media | $5,000 | $1,300 |
| Pan Asia | $3,500 | $900 |
| US + China | $1,200 | $300 |
| Full Latin America | $1,500 | $400 |
Are there any Additional Costs if I choose PR Newswire?
In most cases, newswire distribution services charge extra fees to include multimedia or as simple as adding your logo to it. Regarding PR Newswire, the company charge extra fees for word count, multimedia inclusions and logo addition.
There is an extra charge of $140-$245 for every additional 100 words if you want to exceed the 400-word limit that comes with the standard price. To add images, videos or audio to your press release, that comes with an extra cost of $325 per multimedia file. If you want to add a single extra PDF file, it comes with a $125 cost. To add your company’s logo, there’s an additional cost of $495.
So, considering the data above, if you want to publish a release, the cost can quickly rack up, up to $6,000 for a global distribution. If you are tight on budget or you are looking at getting the best value out of your PR/Marketing budget, you can consider using our press release distribution service. Our press release pricing is designed to make sharing news easy, effective and affordable while delivering top-level syndication.
Is PR Neswire Pricing the Best in terms of ROI?
If you are spending up to $3500 for a single press release, you definitely will be thinking about potential returns for your money. So this all depends on your business, your industry and the reach of your press release.
We once had a client launch a Kickstarter campaign, and they used a press release as one of their marketing strategies. They were able to reach the target of $35,000 in 30 days. While it would be difficult to say how much impact the press release had, it definitely added more eye balls and credibility to the their campaign.
Example 2:
A Chiropractor who launched a press release spending $697 (our top tier package) and got about 5 leads from the press release with 3 turning to paid customers. Depending on the cost charged and the potential of these customers turning into repeat customers, this is would definitely be a very positive ROI.
Why Pricing is a key factor in choosing a Press Release Service
As a marketing expert, I defintely understand why cost and returns is always a key factor for many people looking to publish their press release. Pricing is defintely important because to achieve high success with press releases, consistency is key.
You need to have a plan to consistently engage with the media, publish news about your business, product and events to acheive results. No matter what your strategy is, the pricing of the press release service you’ve chosen should make it feasible for you to be consistent with your PR Distribution.
So what is the Best PR Newswire Alternative?
If you are looking for the best PR Newswire Alternative, we would suggest you consider Press Featured. While this may seem to be clear bias, our press release distribution service is designed to help you share your story with maximum impact.
Starting at $147, our press release offer both affordability and deliverability all in one-box. Our next package at $297 takes it to another level with more media channels to publish your press release.
