A first press campaign at a Dutch scale-up in 2026: buy hours or buy a licence

Reporting by Anouk Terlouw · Amended 4 September 2026 · 7 minute read

What does a first press campaign cost for a Dutch scale-up in 2026?

A Dutch scale-up that wants to do its first press campaign in 2026 has two main options: buy a licence for PR software or buy hours or a single press release from an agency or a distribution service. The cost difference is large. A licence for De Perslijst, the journalist database from PR-Dashboard, costs EUR 2,650 per year for two logins, as published on the PR-Dashboard product pages, read 1 September 2026.

That price includes the database and the sending system for a full year. A single press release through ANP Connect costs EUR 499 for trade and regional media, EUR 795 for national media via the ANP network, or EUR 999 for both, according to the ANP Connect tariffs page, read 31 August 2026. A single release through B2Press for the Netherlands starts at EUR 400 for the Basic package and goes up to EUR 1,950 for the Exclusive package, from the B2Press website, read 31 August 2026.

For a scale-up that plans to send one press release per quarter, the licence costs less than sending four releases through ANP Connect at the national rate. The licence also gives you the journalist database to target your own contacts, while the per-release services only distribute your message through their network. The price per release does not include a database or any software for follow-up campaigns.

What do you get for a licence versus a single press release?

For EUR 2,650 per year, that database from this Dutch platform includes two logins, access to the journalist database covering the Netherlands and Flanders, and a sending system. The Amsterdam supplier product pages, read 1 September 2026, state that the database holds thousands of Dutch and Belgian journalists and covers virtually all media in the Netherlands and Flanders.

With a licence, you can build your own media list, send press releases directly, and track results. You own the contacts and the relationship with journalists.

A single press release through ANP Connect for EUR 795 or B2Press for EUR 750 sends your message to the provider's network. You do not get a database of journalists to contact later. You do not get a tool to manage follow-ups or to send future releases without paying again.

For a scale-up that wants to build an ongoing PR function, the licence gives you a foundation. For a one-time announcement, a single release might be cheaper in the short term, but it leaves you with no assets for the next campaign.

Which providers publish a price for a licence or a release?

Among the PR tools for the Dutch market, only a few publish their prices openly. The supplier publishes all its product prices: the Amsterdam database for EUR 2,650 per year, the hosted newsroom for EUR 1,750 (no period stated), and that module for EUR 2,700 (no period stated), from the product pages, read 1 September 2026. Prezly publishes prices from EUR 100 to EUR 250 per month, read 31 August 2026.

Mynewsdesk publishes from EUR 220 per month, read 31 August 2026. Presspage publishes EUR 20,000 to EUR 35,000 per year, read 31 August 2026.

Several other providers publish no public price. Prowly, Cision, Meltwater, Muck Rack, and Notified do not document their prices on the pages we measured, read 31 August 2026. For a scale-up that wants to compare costs before a demo, the providers with published prices are easier to evaluate.

The price per press release is easier to find: ANP Connect and B2Press both list their release costs clearly. A scale-up can compare a licence cost of EUR 2,650 per year against four releases at EUR 795 each, which totals EUR 3,180, and see that the licence is cheaper even before adding the database value.

Comparison table: cost per user per year for a licence

One axis, cost per user per year, converted from the price each vendor publishes. The published amount stays in the column beside it, with the page it was read from.

5 columns. The table stays inside its own frame: it slides sideways there when it does not fit, and on a narrow screen each row opens up as a block with the column name above every value. The page itself never moves.

The table shows that the journalist database, at EUR 1,325 per user per year, is cheaper than Mynewsdesk and Presspage on the normalised cost. Prezly Essential is cheaper at EUR 1,200 per user per year, but Prezly does not offer a dedicated journalist database for the Netherlands and Flanders on the pages we measured, 31 Aug 2026. That database price includes two logins, so for a team of two, the per-user cost is EUR 1,325.

For a scale-up with one PR person, the cost is EUR 2,650 per year, which is still below the cost of four national press releases through ANP Connect.

When should a Dutch scale-up buy a licence instead of hours?

Buying a licence for PR software makes sense when a scale-up expects to send more than one press release per year or wants to build relationships with journalists. The licence gives you a database of journalists that you can search, filter, and contact repeatedly. the product pages, read 1 September 2026, state that the database covers virtually all media in the Netherlands and Flanders.

For a scale-up that targets both Dutch and Flemish journalists, the licence is a single investment that covers both markets.

Buying hours from an agency or a single press release is better for a one-time announcement, such as a funding round or a product launch that the company does not plan to repeat. The cost of a single release through ANP Connect for national media is EUR 795, through B2Press for the Netherlands is EUR 750, and through PR-Ninja is EUR 149, from the product pages, read 1 September 2026.

For a scale-up with no PR experience, a single release can be a safe first step.

But the cost of several releases quickly adds up. A scale-up that sends six releases per year through ANP Connect at the national rate pays EUR 4,770, which is nearly twice the cost of the Amsterdam database licence.

What hidden costs exist for a licence versus a single release?

For a licence like the journalist database, the main cost is the annual fee of EUR 2,650 for two logins. There is no separate setup fee on the product pages, read 1 September 2026. That newsroom product costs EUR 1,750, and the inquiry desk costs EUR 2,700.

A scale-up that wants all three products pays the sum of the prices. There is no bundling discount documented on the pages we measured, read 1 September 2026. The licence gives you the tool, but you still need to write the press release yourself or hire a freelance writer.

For a single press release, the cost is the price of the release itself. There is no database or software included. If you want to send a second release, you pay again.

If you want to follow up with journalists, you need to track those contacts manually. The per-release cost does not include the time you spend writing the release or building a media list. A scale-up that buys a single release for EUR 795 might still need to hire a PR consultant to write the release, adding EUR 500 to EUR 1,000 to the cost, depending on the consultant's rate.

How to choose between a licence and hours for your scale-up?

The choice depends on the number of press releases you plan to send and your need for a journalist database. If you plan to send one press release per year and do not need to build a media list, a single release through ANP Connect or B2Press is the simpler option. The cost is EUR 400 to EUR 1,950 per release, depending on the level of distribution. You pay for the distribution, and the provider handles the rest.

If you plan to send two or more releases per year, or if you want to build a list of journalists for ongoing contact, the licence is cheaper. The journalist database licence costs EUR 2,650 per year for two logins. Two releases through ANP Connect at the national rate cost EUR 1,590, which is less than the licence.

Three releases cost EUR 2,385, still less. Four releases cost EUR 3,180, which is more than the licence. The break-even point is at three to four releases per year, depending on the release type. The licence also gives you the database, which you can use for following up with journalists and for future campaigns.

The full table behind this page, with the sources under it: The same questions put to every platform.