Listed companies
- Fair disclosure of material news, the job the large disclosure wires were built for.
Best press release distribution service
Press release distribution means paying a newswire to push your announcement to a network of news sites and journalist inboxes.
Prices run from about $75 a release on budget US wires to several thousand dollars on the largest ones.
What you buy is a record and reach into feeds.
What you do not buy is a reporter choosing to write about you, and that choice is what press coverage is.
What a wire costs and what it delivers
- $120entry price per release on PRWeb, rising to $480 for its top packageprweb.com
- 946publications one wire customer was shown, which turned out to be automated copies on aggregator sitestrustpilot.com
- 66%of journalists rely on PR content such as releases for story ideascision.com
How does press release distribution work
A newswire checks your release against its editorial rules and publishes it along a circuit, a named bundle of destinations such as a national US list or an industry list.
Partner sites republish it automatically and news search indexes it.
Terminals such as Bloomberg carry it too, and some wires email it to subscribed journalists.
The most reliable thing a wire delivers is a permanent, dated page that search engines and AI systems can find.
Press release distribution prices compared
| Service | Public price per release | What the price includes |
|---|---|---|
| PR Underground | $74.99 | distribution to a network of partner outlets |
| EIN Presswire | $149 single, $83.17 in a 6-pack, $66.60 in a 15-pack | AP News, partner networks, Google News, 700 to 2,500 words by plan |
| PRWeb | $120 Basic, $245 Standard, $360 Advanced, $480 Premium | search visibility first, journalist email only on the higher tiers |
| Newsworthy | $129 | Google News and partner sites, plus AI scoring of the text |
| eReleases | $399, $499 or $699 | national PR Newswire circuit, 400 to 600 words, industry lists |
| Newswire.com | about $399 | press release packages with media outreach |
| EZ Newswire | $750 | positioned on AI visibility |
| PR Newswire | quote only | national and global circuits, membership required |
| Business Wire | quote only | regulated disclosure circuits for listed companies |
| GlobeNewswire | quote only | owned by Notified, disclosure and media circuits |
| CTK Protext, Czech Republic | about 7,100 CZK | Czech News Agency service for company releases |
Across Central and Eastern Europe, from Kyiv to Prague, agencies quote about €1,000 to €1,800 to write and distribute one release. One reviewer of a large US wire paid $6,200 for two.
What does pickup mean on a newswire report
The report a wire sends after release day lists placements, and most of them are automatic reposts on pages no reader visits.
One PR Newswire customer wrote that the report showed 946 publications, "nothing more than automated copy-and-paste reproductions" on aggregator sites.
Read it in three layers.
- Earned stories. A reporter read the release and wrote something new. Rare and worth everything.
- Trade and niche reposts. Industry sites that ran the release in full. Sometimes useful for search and sales links.
- Automatic syndication. Partner networks reposting the feed. Useful only as a record.
Count only the first layer as coverage.
When is a paid wire worth it
A wire is wasted when it is your only outreach, when the news is minor, or when a national circuit is bought to reach twelve trade reporters you could email yourself.
It earns its price in four cases.
A permanent record
- Deals and leadership changes that investors and reporters will search for later.
Search and AI systems
- Wire pages are indexed fast. Two wires, Newsworthy and EZ Newswire, now sell AI visibility, and neither publishes a measured effect.
Trade audiences
- Industry circuits reach trade editors who do run releases, especially in manufacturing and energy.
What is the cheapest press release distribution service
PR Underground and EIN Presswire in its 15-pack are the lowest public prices, followed by PRWeb Basic at $120 and Newsworthy at $129.
Cheap wires are fine for the record; one EIN Presswire reviewer wrote it "offered absolutely no reach."
- $74.99one release on PR UndergroundPR Underground
- $66.60one release on EIN Presswire, bought in its 15-packEIN Presswire pricing
How can I distribute a press release for free
Free distribution works when the release is aimed at people, not feeds.
- Publish the full release on a newsroom page on your own domain, dated and with a contact.
- Email it personally to the reporters on your media list, one by one, with two lines on top explaining why it fits their beat.
- Post it on the company LinkedIn page and have the founder share it with a first-person note.
- Send it to customers and investors, who often repost it.
- Submit it to trade associations and local business journals that accept member news.
- Add it to your press kit so the next reporter finds it without asking.
Where can I submit my press release
Start with your own newsroom page, so every other channel has one place to link to. Then match the channel to the news.
- A paid wire when you need a formal, dated record.
- The news desk of a local outlet when the news is local.
- Trade publications through their contributed news or press release address.
- Newsletter writers in your field who run a news roundup.
How to choose a press release distribution service
Ask each wire these questions before paying.
- Which circuit exactly, and can I see the named outlets on it.
- Which of those outlets have a human editor reading incoming releases.
- What word and image limits apply, and what extra fees above them.
- Is a journalist email list included, and how old is it.
- What does the report count as a placement.
- Do unused credits expire, and does the plan renew on its own. One Cision user prepaid a year of releases for over $10,000 and did not use them all.
Newswire vs pitching journalists directly
Both start with the same document and do different jobs.
| Paid newswire | Direct pitch | |
|---|---|---|
| What reaches the reporter | the full release in a feed or inbox among hundreds | a short note written for one person, with the release linked |
| Who decides to publish | partner sites repost by default | a reporter chooses to write |
| Typical result | dated record, reposts, search indexing | fewer outcomes, each one an actual story |
| Cost driver | circuit, word count, images | time spent on research and writing |
| Best for | disclosure, record, trade feeds | launches, funding, data stories, expert comment |
Most announcements need both. Pitch tier 1 reporters under embargo, publish on your newsroom, then send the wire at the embargo time if you use one.
Press release distribution in Europe
European wires work along national lines.
The business press of each country is usually reached through a local service or agency in the local language, and a release in English alone rarely lands in national media.
Budget for translation and a native-speaker edit before distribution.
Illustration
What to measure after distribution
Ignore the placement count and never turn it into an advertising value figure; see PR measurement for the full method. Measure these.
Stories
- Stories by a named reporter, each logged with its link.
Reporters
- Reporters who replied, even with a no. They are now warm contacts.
Traffic
- Visits to the newsroom and product pages from the release.
Search and AI
- Whether the release shows up for your company name a week later, and whether AI assistants mention it a month later.
Press release distribution checklist
- The news has a hook a reporter would write about without the release.
- The release is live on your newsroom page before it hits any wire.
- The media list is ready and personal pitches are drafted for tier 1.
- Embargoed copies go to one or two reporters first if you offer an exclusive.
- The circuit matches the audience, not the biggest package.
- Release time is set for a weekday morning in the main audience's time zone.
- Links in the release point to your site, not to tracking redirects.
- A contact person with a phone number is available all of release day.
- After release, reporter-written stories are logged separately from reposts.
- The release and every real story are added to the press kit the same week.
How we decide on a wire for you
Wire or no wire
We decide per release whether a paid wire adds anything, and skip it when a direct pitch and your newsroom page do the job.
Right circuit, right price
When a wire is needed we pick the cheapest circuit that reaches the audience that matters, not the biggest package.
Honest pickup report
After release day we separate stories written by a reporter from automatic reposts and report only the first as coverage.
A seed round on a small wire budget
A seed round on a small budget, illustrative
- Situation
- A startup planned to buy a large national wire package for its seed announcement, expecting coverage to follow.
- What we do
- The release went on the company newsroom and a low-cost wire for a search record, while the budget difference paid for a week of direct pitches to eight funding reporters.
- Outcome
- The wire produced reposts on partner sites, as expected. The stories that mattered came from the pitches, and the report listed them separately from the reposts.
Illustrative example, not a client result
Anastasiia Bratkova
Chief Brand, Marketing & Communications Officer, RSE
Signs every pitch
Questions
Before you pay for a wire
What is the best way to distribute a press release?
Publish it on your own newsroom page, send it personally to the reporters who cover your topic, and add a paid wire only when you need a formal record or regulated disclosure.
How much does it cost to distribute a press release?
Low-cost US wires charge about $75 to $150 a release, mid-range packages $245 to $700, and the large wires quote per release. A Czech release on CTK Protext costs about 7,100 CZK.
How can I distribute a press release for free?
Post it on your own site and email it with a short personal note to reporters who cover the topic. The founder's LinkedIn post is a useful extra.
What are the best websites for sending press releases?
Listed companies use disclosure wires such as Business Wire. Small companies usually start on a budget wire such as PRWeb or EIN Presswire. Local news goes straight to the outlet's own news desk.
What's the best day to send out a press release?
Tuesday to Thursday morning in the reporters' time zone is common practice, but a real news hook matters far more than the weekday.
Read next
Related guides
- How to pitch journalistsA pitch template, the follow up that gets answered and eight steps reporters actually reward.
- Press kit templateThe page a reporter opens to check a fact or grab a logo without writing to you first.
- Qwoted pricing vs FeaturedTwo journalist request platforms compared on price and results.
Next step
Get the template
A senior PR expert sends it within one business day, with a story angle for your company.