Cheap press release distribution runs from free to about $150 a release. Under $100 you mostly buy guaranteed posting on partner websites, not delivery to journalists. At around $150 the first targeted sends to journalists appear: EIN Presswire at $149 and PR Fire at $150 (£95 + VAT). Presswire costs $250 for one region. Every price below was checked on the provider’s own page on October 21, 2026.
Two different products are sold under one name
“Press release distribution” covers two things that do different jobs. The first is posting and syndication: your release is published on the provider’s own site and copied automatically onto a network of partner websites. The second is delivery to journalists: your release is emailed or fed to reporters and editors who might decide to write about it.
Syndication is not coverage. A journalist choosing to write a story is editorial pickup; a release reappearing word for word on 200 affiliate sites is syndication. Most of the cheapest packages sell the second, and the honest ones say so. PR Underground, for example, states plainly on its pricing page that it can’t promise journalist pickup and reports the postings you actually get instead.
When a budget service says “guaranteed placements”, it means guaranteed posting on sites in its network. No provider in this guide guarantees that a journalist will cover your news, and none could.
Prices from free to $150
Single-release prices, cheapest first. “Journalist send” means the provider says the release goes to journalists or editors, not just to websites or general subscribers.
| Price per release | Provider and plan | What it buys | Journalist send? |
|---|---|---|---|
| $0 | PRLog Free; openPR (one per 30 days); IssueWire Free | Posting on the provider’s own site | No |
| $21 | IssueWire Tier 1 | Posting plus 145+ “guaranteed placements” on partner sites | No |
| $29 | 24-7 Press Release Simple Post | Its own website only | No |
| $29 | PRLog Basic | Posting plus email to 8,000+ opt-in PRLog subscribers | No (subscribers, not described as journalists) |
| €49 + VAT | openPR, one credit | Posting on openpr.com | No |
| $49 | PRLog Premium | Google News plus 200+ sites, with a prorated refund if pickup falls short | No |
| $49 | 24-7 Press Release Visibility Boost | 100+ guaranteed publication placements | No |
| $60 | PR.com | News sites, PR.com and its opt-in “journalists and end users” list; no editorial feedback or posting report at this tier | Partly |
| $74.99 | PR Underground Basic | 300+ news and TV websites, Google News submission, editorial review | No |
| $89 | 24-7 Press Release PR Network Plus | 200+ guaranteed placements plus access to the AP Newsroom platform | No |
| $120 | PRWeb Basic | Posting and search visibility; no syndication network, no journalist list | No |
| $129 | NewswireJet Newswire Departure | Publication on partner media sites | No |
| $139 | 24-7 Press Release Integrated Media Pro | 300+ guaranteed placements plus headline distribution to 1,500+ U.S. newspapers for editorial consideration | Partly |
| $149 | EIN Presswire Basic | Targeted journalists and editorial rooms, plus AP News, the USA TODAY Network and partner sites (by relevance) | Yes |
| $150 (£95 + VAT) | PR Fire press release distribution (UK) | A bespoke targeted media list and a campaign manager; no guaranteed publication | Yes |
| £110 (no USD price shown) | Pressat pay-as-you-go (UK) | Targeted distribution to journalists, 33,000 opted-in subscribers by beat, guaranteed syndication, human review | Yes |
Pressat’s packages page shows no VAT wording; PR Fire and openPR quote their prices plus VAT. The full source list, with links, is at the end of this guide.
Under $50: posting, not press
For $0 to $49 you get a public, indexed copy of your release and, at the top of the band, guaranteed copies on a network of partner sites. PRLog’s $49 Premium plan adds Google News and 200+ industry and news sites; 24-7 Press Release’s $49 Visibility Boost promises 100+ placements. IssueWire’s $21 Tier 1 promises 145+.
That is useful for a searchable record of an announcement, a link a customer can find, or a company page that looks active. It is not a way to reach a reporter. Most of the partner sites in these networks republish feeds automatically and are rarely read by the journalists you want.
Watch the small print on words and links. PRLog includes 500 words and charges $10 per extra 100. Several services cap links per release, and some cap them per 100 words.
$50 to $130: bigger networks, same limitation
The middle band mostly buys a larger syndication network. PR Underground’s $74.99 Basic reaches 300+ news and TV websites and includes editorial review. 24-7 Press Release’s $89 plan raises the guarantee to 200+ placements and adds the AP Newsroom platform, a site journalists can browse, which is not the same as a send to their inboxes.
Two cheaper options do reach journalists in part. PR.com’s $60 package includes its opt-in list of “journalists and end users”, although editorial feedback and the posting report start at $100. PRWeb, owned by Cision, starts at $120 for posting and search visibility; its syndication network starts at $245 and its first journalist-list email at $360.
Around $150: the first real journalist sends
This is the point where the money starts buying delivery to newsrooms rather than posting alone.
- EIN Presswire, $149. One release of up to 700 words with one image, sent to targeted journalists and editorial rooms from its media directory, plus AP News, the USA TODAY Network and partner sites, all “based on relevance”. EIN Presswire is a separate company from Presswire.
- PR Fire, $150 (£95 + VAT). A UK service that builds a targeted media list for each release, with a campaign manager and a distribution report. Its FAQ is clear that coverage is at journalists’ discretion, and it sells guaranteed publishing separately.
- Pressat, £110. Another UK service: targeted distribution to journalists, editors and reporters, a send to 33,000 opted-in subscribers by beat, syndication to partners such as NewsNow, Dow Jones Factiva and LexisNexis, and human review.
- 24-7 Press Release, $139. Adds headline distribution to 1,500+ U.S. newspapers for editorial consideration on top of 300+ guaranteed placements.
At this price the question to ask is who is on the list. A send “based on relevance” from a large database and a list built by a person for your release are different products, even when both are called targeted.
What the next $100 buys at Presswire
Presswire is not the cheapest option, and this guide shows services that cost less. Presswire charges $250 per release for one region (the UK, Europe, North America or Asia) 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 is sent. Each release gets its own media list, built by region and sector, and goes direct to journalists. There are no word-count fees, images and video are included, and releases are normally sent within one hour of receipt. You can add delivery to the Press Association’s newswire through PA Mediapoint for $235, or online syndication to 400+ news sites led by the Associated Press for $290. See every price on the Presswire pricing page and how press release distribution works at Presswire.
If you need a searchable record of an announcement, a sub-$50 posting service may be all you need. If you need a reporter to read it, pay for a send to journalists, whoever you buy it from.
How to judge a cheap service before you pay
- Does it send to journalists, or post on websites? Read the plan’s feature list, not the headline. Look for words like “journalists”, “editors” or “media list”.
- Who builds the list? A database match “based on relevance”, a subscriber list or a list built for your release.
- Is there editorial review? Some cheap tiers include it; others reserve feedback for higher plans.
- What costs extra? Extra words, images, links and faster delivery are common add-ons.
- What does the report show? A list of sends and opens tells you who received it; a list of postings tells you where it was copied.
When free is enough
Free posting is fine for a record you will link to yourself, such as an announcement on your own news page that you want indexed. It is not enough when the point is coverage. We cover the trade-offs in free press release distribution: what you get and what you don’t, and every published rate in one place in our press release distribution pricing guide.
Sources
All read on each provider’s own website on October 21, 2026: EIN Presswire, PRLog, PR.com, openPR, 24-7 Press Release (prices, plan comparison), IssueWire, PR Underground, PRWeb, NewswireJet, PR Fire, Pressat and Presswire. Prices change; check the provider’s page before you buy.
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest way to distribute a press release?
Free posting services such as PRLog’s free plan or openPR’s one free release every 30 days. They publish your release on their own sites but don’t send it to journalists.
What does $150 buy in press release distribution?
Around $150 is where targeted sends to journalists begin: EIN Presswire’s $149 Basic package and PR Fire’s $150 (£95 + VAT) distribution. Below that, most packages buy posting on partner websites.
What does “guaranteed placement” mean?
It means your release will be posted on a set number of sites in the provider’s network. It does not mean a journalist will write about it.
How much does Presswire cost?
$250 per release for one region (the UK, Europe, North America or Asia) and $400 worldwide, with editorial review by former BBC journalists and no word-count fees. Prices exclude VAT. Any VAT is shown at checkout before you pay.