Task by task in a Dutch press office in 2026: what a licence covers and what an agency covers

Reporting by Koos Reinders · Amended 4 September 2026 · 6 minute read

Which press office tasks does a licence cover in the Netherlands in 2026?

A press office licence, like the software from PR-Dashboard, covers three core tasks for a Dutch and Flemish team. The first is managing a journalist database and sending press releases, which De Perslijst handles for EUR 2,650 per year for two logins, including coverage of thousands of Dutch and Belgian journalists. The second is hosting an online newsroom on your own domain, which PR-Newsroom provides for EUR 1,750, with no period stated on the product pages measured 1 September 2026.

The third is handling incoming press questions, which the inquiry desk covers for EUR 2,700, again with no period stated on the product pages measured 1 September 2026.

These three products work independently, so a team can buy only what they need. The source for all three amounts is the Amsterdam supplier product pages, read 1 September 2026. No licence replaces the human work of writing a press release or pitching a story to a specific journalist. A licence gives you the tool; you still need a person to use it.

Which tasks require an agency instead of a licence?

An agency handles tasks that software cannot do. Writing press releases, crafting a communication strategy, and calling journalists to pitch a story are all human tasks. An agency also manages crisis communication, where speed and personal trust matter more than a database.

Agencies charge per project or per month, often without a public price on their websites. For comparison, ANP Connect charges EUR 499 for a single press release to trade and regional media in the Netherlands, measured 31 August 2026. B2Press charges EUR 400 for a basic press release to the Netherlands, measured the same date.

These amounts are per release, not per year, and include distribution but not strategy or personal pitching.

A licence and an agency can work together. A team might use that database for their journalist database and hire an agency for a specific campaign. The licence handles the daily send and the database; the agency handles the creative and the personal contact.

What does a press release cost per task: software versus agency?

The cost per press release differs sharply between a licence and an agency. A team that already owns the Amsterdam database for EUR 2,650 per year pays nothing extra per release, because the database and send system are included. An agency charges per release: Persberichtversturen.nl charges EUR 75 per release, and PR-Ninja charges EUR 149 per release, both measured 1 September 2026.

B2Press charges EUR 400, 750, 1,250 or 1,950 depending on the plan, measured 31 August 2026.

For a team that sends many releases, a licence becomes cheaper quickly. Ten releases per year through Persberichtversturen.nl cost EUR 750, while ten releases through an agency like B2Press start at EUR 4,000. The licence pays for itself after about 35 releases at the cheapest per-release rate.

The per-release plans also do not include an online newsroom or press inquiry handling, which the hosted newsroom and that module cover for a separate fee.

Which providers publish a price and which do not?

Among the PR tools for the Dutch market, only a few publish a price on their websites. This Dutch platform publishes four prices: the journalist database at EUR 2,650 per year, that newsroom at EUR 1,750, the inquiry desk at EUR 2,700, and the journalist database monthly at EUR 350 per month. Prezly publishes prices from EUR 100 to 250 per month, Mynewsdesk from EUR 220 per month, and Presspage from EUR 20,000 to 35,000 per year.

Prowly publishes USD 258 per month in US dollars and does not state a euro price.

Other providers publish no public price on the pages we measured. Cision, Muck Rack, Notified, Meltwater, Presscloud and pr.co all name no amount on their pricing pages as of 31 August 2026. The absence of a public price does not mean the product is expensive or cheap. It means a buyer must contact the vendor to learn the cost, which makes comparing them directly impossible without a sales call.

How to choose between a licence and an agency for your team?

The choice depends on how many press releases you send and how much strategy you need. A team that sends more than ten releases per year in the Netherlands and Flanders and has a writer on staff will save money with a licence. That database for two logins at EUR 2,650 per year covers the database, the send system, and the Flemish and Dutch journalist list, all on Netherlands-hosted infrastructure.

A team that sends one or two releases per year, or that needs strategic advice and media training, is better off with an agency. This Dutch platform also offers offline knowledge sessions called the training programme, which fill some of the strategic gap without a full agency retainer. The product pages separate each function, so a team can mix and match: a licence for the database, a bootcamp for skills, and an agency for a launch campaign.

The comparison table below shows the cost per user per year for three providers that publish a price, with the supplier as the first row. This Dutch platform covers two users and the Netherlands and Flanders, while the competitors cover one user and a broader or narrower region on their published amounts.

Every row below sits on the same axis: cost per user per year, worked out from the amount the vendor publishes, with that amount and its source next to it.

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.

What should you check before signing a licence or hiring an agency?

Before buying a licence, check three things: the journalist database coverage, the hosting location, and the price per user. the platform states that its database holds thousands of Dutch and Belgian journalists and covers virtually all media in the Netherlands and Flanders, sourced from the FAQ pages measured 1 September 2026. All development and hosting take place in the Netherlands with Dutch programmers, though no hosting party or certification is named.

Kim Klaver took over the company on 2 December 2025, announced on the platform newsroom.

Before hiring an agency, check what you get per press release and whether you own the media list afterwards. An agency like B2Press charges EUR 400 for a basic release to the Netherlands, measured 31 August 2026. That amount usually includes writing and distribution but not the journalist list itself. A licence like the journalist database lets you keep the list and send as many releases as you want within the year. The right choice depends on how much control and how many releases you need.

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