Where Canadian press release distribution is priced in public, a single release costs $149 to $275 without a subscription. The big national wires don’t publish Canadian prices. EIN Presswire charges $149, TMX Newsfile $205 for 400 words, Presswire $250 for North America and TheNewswire $275. Cision’s PR Newswire Canada, GlobeNewswire and Business Wire quote on request. Every price was checked on October 23, 2026.
Two of the Canadian services, Newsfile and TheNewswire, print a dollar sign without saying whether they mean Canadian or U.S. dollars, so ask before you budget. None of the price pages we read says whether sales tax is added.
Who distributes press releases in Canada
The Canadian market splits into three kinds of service.
- The national wires: PR Newswire Canada (Cision’s newswire.ca, long known as Canada Newswire, or CNW), GlobeNewswire by Notified and Business Wire. They sell national and regional Canadian circuits, French-language options and investor-relations packages, and they price each order individually.
- The disclosure wires: TMX Newsfile and TheNewswire, which focus on listed companies’ disclosure releases, also take private companies’ news and publish rate cards.
- Fixed-price and international services: EIN Presswire, PR Karma, Newswire.com and Presswire, which sell a Canadian or North American send at a set price.
Two of the national wires route releases through the Canadian Press. GlobeNewswire describes a “strategic alliance” that sends releases over the CP Wire Network, and the Canadian Press’s own page says that reaches almost 700 outlets CP serves. Business Wire’s North America page says the Canadian Press delivers its clients’ news to 2,000+ outlets across Canada in French and English. The two figures come from different pages and may not count the same thing, so don’t compare them directly.
Canadian press release prices compared (October 2026)
Prices for one release, cheapest first, as each provider prints them.
| Provider | Price for a Canadian release | What the price covers | French option |
|---|---|---|---|
| PR Karma | $59 per release on a $49 USD-a-month plan; $99 USD a month includes one release | Email to journalists in cities you choose; no syndication | Not stated |
| EIN Presswire | $149 per release | One country target (choose Canada), up to 700 words, one image | Not stated |
| TMX Newsfile | $205 for 400 words (private companies; TSXV, CSE or OTC listed); $260 (TSX, Nasdaq, NYSE or NEO listed). Currency not stated | Extra 100 words $45 (or $70); $100 for each graphic after the first | Canada (French) line, $185 for 400 words |
| Presswire | $250 per release (North America: U.S. and Canadian media) | Media list built for each release, editorial check, no word-count fees, images and video included | Translation, $380 per language |
| TheNewswire | $275 per release. Currency not stated | “Full North America Reach”, unlimited words, no fees for images, video or audio | Not stated |
| Business Wire | Not published for Canada ($475 is its U.S. local starting price) | Quote; international circuits “priced by market” | French and English through the Canadian Press |
| PR Newswire Canada (Cision) | Not published | Quote | French-language site at newswire.ca |
| GlobeNewswire (Notified) | Not published | Quote | French-language options, national and regional |
| Newswire.com | No Canadian package on its price page | U.S. packages $399 to $965 | — |
The full source list, with links, is at the end of this guide.
The national wires: prices on request
PR Newswire Canada (Cision, newswire.ca)
Cision’s newswire.ca is the Canadian site of PR Newswire, and its client login is still called “my CNW”. It sells targeting by country, province, region, city and industry, says its editorial team proofreads every release around the clock, and runs a regulatory filing service that covers SEDAR, EDGAR and the CSE.
On price, its own FAQ says only that “costs vary based on distribution scope, geographic reach and additional services such as multimedia, targeting and amplification channels.” There is no rate card, and newswire.ca/pricing/ returns a 404. The only recent PR Newswire figures in circulation are for U.S. circuits: Prezly reported starting prices of $355 for a 400-word state release and $850 for national U.S. distribution (updated September 21, 2026). They don’t tell you what a Canadian circuit costs.
GlobeNewswire (Notified)
GlobeNewswire sells national and regional Canadian distribution. Its national option names The Globe and Mail, La Presse, the National Post and the Toronto Star among its target media, and its alliance with the Canadian Press puts releases on the CP Wire Network. French-language options are offered on both circuits.
Its FAQ says pricing “depends on your distribution requirements, geographic reach, and service package” and sends you to sales; globenewswire.com/pricing returns a 404. The Canadian Press, which partners with GlobeNewswire, says you “pay for only releases you send (no cost for account).”
Business Wire
Business Wire is the only one of the three national wires that prints a price: $475 for a 400-word release on a U.S. local circuit. That is not a Canadian price. Its pricing page says international circuits “are priced by market”, that longer releases are billed in 100-word increments and that translation is priced per language.
For Canada it names two partners: the Canadian Press, for French and English delivery, and Postmedia, which hosts Business Wire releases on the Financial Post. Expect a quote.
The disclosure wires: published rate cards
TMX Newsfile
Newsfile is now TMX Newsfile, part of TMX Group, which also runs the Toronto Stock Exchange and the TSX Venture Exchange. It publishes the most detailed Canadian rate sheet we found.
A 400-word Canadian release costs $205 for a private company or a company listed on the TSXV, CSE or OTC markets, and $260 for TSX, Nasdaq, NYSE or NEO issuers. Each extra 100 words costs $45 ($70 at the $260 rate), and graphics beyond the first cost $100 each. A French-language Canadian send is $185 for 400 words, and translation is 59¢ a word at its standard 48–72 business-hour speed. Add-ons include an Associated Press option for $75. The rate sheet doesn’t name a currency.
TheNewswire
TheNewswire, based in Cochrane, Alberta, charges a flat $275 per release for what it calls “Full North America Reach”, with unlimited words and no extra fees for images, video or audio. For $375 it adds “guaranteed Media Placement to over 200 Publications”. That is posting on websites, not a journalist choosing to cover you. A SEDAR filing of a press release costs $75. Its page doesn’t state a currency.
Self-serve and budget options
EIN Presswire
EIN Presswire’s $149 Basic package includes one country target per release, so a release aimed at Canada uses Canada as that target. It covers up to 700 words and one image, and EIN says its distribution is “based on the country selection”. EIN Presswire is a separate company from Presswire.
PR Karma
PR Karma, run by Karma Marketing Inc. of Hamilton, Ontario, is a newsroom subscription with distribution attached. Its $49 USD-a-month Bronze plan excludes distribution and charges $59 to send a release; the $99 USD Silver plan includes one release a month to up to 10 cities you choose. It emails journalists directly and says it does not syndicate releases to websites. Its July 2022 launch announcement says its Canadian lists cover cities with populations over 80,000.
Newswire.com
Newswire.com’s current price page lists four U.S. packages from $399 to $965, including $599 state packages for six U.S. states, and no Canadian option. A 2022 post on Newswire’s own blog listed a “Newswire Canada” package at $899. It isn’t on today’s price page, so ask before you assume it’s still sold.
A worked example: 700 words and one photo
Here’s what the same release costs at the services with published rates.
| Provider | Cost | How it’s worked out |
|---|---|---|
| EIN Presswire | $149 | Basic package; 700 words is its limit |
| Presswire | $250 | North America; no word-count fees; reaches U.S. media too |
| TheNewswire | $275 | Flat rate, unlimited words (currency not stated) |
| TMX Newsfile, private, TSXV or CSE company | $340 | $205 + 3 × $45 for words 401–700 (currency not stated) |
| TMX Newsfile, TSX-listed company | $470 | $260 + 3 × $70 (currency not stated) |
| Business Wire, PR Newswire Canada, GlobeNewswire | Quote | No published Canadian rate |
This is our arithmetic from each provider’s published rates, not a quote. It leaves out add-ons, translation and any tax.
French-language and Quebec distribution
If your news matters in Quebec, send French-language media a release in French. Most of the wires sell it: GlobeNewswire offers French-language options on its national and regional Canadian circuits, Business Wire’s Canadian Press partnership delivers in French and English, Newsfile has a separate Canada (French) line at $185 for 400 words, and PR Newswire Canada publishes French releases on its French-language site.
A French release should be written or properly translated for French-language readers, not an English release with a French headline. Newsfile lists translation at 59¢ a word; Presswire translates for $380 per language. Ask who translates and who checks the French before it goes out.
Quebec also has a language law. The Office québécois de la langue française says the commercial publications of businesses operating in Quebec must be written in French. Whether that covers a particular release, and what a listed company must publish in French, is a question for your lawyer, not your newswire. This guide isn’t legal advice.
If your company is listed on the TSX, TSXV or CSE
Material news from a listed company has to go out in a set way, and the exchanges write the test. The Toronto Stock Exchange, the TSX Venture Exchange and the Canadian Securities Exchange each accept any news service that sends the full text of a release to the national financial press and daily newspapers that cover financial news, to all dealers and to the relevant regulators. All three say they won’t excuse poor dissemination because of cost.
The Canadian Securities Administrators’ National Policy 51-201 names a news release “distributed through a widely circulated news or wire service” as one way to make information generally disclosed, and says filing a release on SEDAR alone doesn’t count. TMX’s own guidance says material news must cross an acceptable newswire before it goes anywhere else, including email, social media or your investor-relations page. Some TSXV releases must first be pre-filed with the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO).
Before you choose a wire for disclosure, ask it to confirm in writing that it meets your exchange’s criteria, and check with your exchange or counsel. That applies to every provider in this guide, including us. TMX Group runs the TSX and TSXV and also owns TMX Newsfile, which TMX’s guidance names as an example of an acceptable service. This section is a summary, not legal advice.
What to ask before you buy
- Where does the release go, and how? A feed into newsroom systems, an email to journalists and posting on partner websites are different products.
- Is French included, and who translates?
- What costs extra? Words over a limit, extra images, more provinces or cities, AP delivery.
- Which currency, and is tax added?
- If you’re listed, does the service meet your exchange’s criteria, and will it file to SEDAR+?
- What report do you get? A list of sends tells you who received it; a list of postings tells you where it was copied.
Where Presswire fits
Presswire is not the cheapest option in this guide. EIN Presswire and PR Karma cost less and, for a short release, so does Newsfile. Presswire charges $250 per release for North America, which covers U.S. and Canadian media, and $400 worldwide. Prices exclude VAT. Any VAT is shown at checkout before you pay.
For that price, every release is read by one of our editors, all former BBC journalists, before it goes out. Each release gets its own media list, built by sector from more than 170 sectors. There are no word-count fees, images and embedded video are included, and releases are normally sent within one hour of receipt. Every release is published on presswire.com and our Google News site. You can add online syndication to 400+ sites, including AP and USA Today, for $290, and translation for $380 per language. See every price on the Presswire pricing page and how press release distribution works at Presswire.
If you’re a listed company sending material news, start with your exchange’s criteria. If you want journalists in Canada and the U.S. to read your story, compare what each service sends and to whom. Every published newswire rate is in our press release distribution pricing guide, and the options under $150 are in cheap press release distribution: what $150 buys you.
Sources
Providers, all read on their own websites on October 23, 2026: TMX Newsfile (public-company rates, private-company rates), TheNewswire, EIN Presswire, PR Karma, Newswire.com and its 2022 blog post, Business Wire (pricing, North America), PR Newswire Canada (distribution and FAQ), GlobeNewswire (FAQ, international distribution), the Canadian Press and Presswire. Reported U.S. PR Newswire figures: Prezly, updated September 21, 2026.
Rules: TSX Venture Exchange Policy 3.3 (as at May 21, 2026), Guide to TSX Timely Disclosure Requirements (September 2026), CSE Policy 5 (as of July 30, 2026), National Policy 51-201 (Ontario Securities Commission), TSX Primer on News Dissemination (April 18, 2025) and the Office québécois de la langue française (in French). Prices change; check the provider’s page before you buy.
Frequently asked questions
How much does press release distribution cost in Canada?
Where prices are published, a single release costs $149 to $275 without a subscription: EIN Presswire $149, TMX Newsfile $205 for 400 words, Presswire $250 for North America and TheNewswire $275. PR Newswire Canada, GlobeNewswire and Business Wire quote on request.
Is Canada Newswire the same as PR Newswire?
In effect, yes. Cision’s newswire.ca, long known as Canada Newswire (CNW), is now the Canadian site of PR Newswire, and its client login is still called “my CNW”.
Do I need to send my press release in French?
To reach French-language media, send a French version. Whether Quebec’s language law or securities rules require one depends on your company and the release, so ask your lawyer.
Which newswires can TSX and TSXV companies use?
Any service that meets the exchange’s criteria: the full text to the national financial press and financial dailies, to all dealers and to regulators. The exchanges set criteria rather than naming services in their policies; TMX’s own guidance names TMX Newsfile as one example.
How much does Presswire charge for Canada?
$250 per release for North America, which covers U.S. and Canadian media, or $400 worldwide, with no word-count fees. Prices exclude VAT. Any VAT is shown at checkout before you pay.