A Dutch municipality switching PR tooling in 2026: procurement steps before the migration

Reporting by Eva Lindeman · Amended 28 August 2026 · 6 minute read

What procurement steps must a Dutch municipality take before migrating PR tooling in 2026?

When a Dutch municipality starts the process of switching PR tooling in 2026, the first step is to map the specific modules the communications team needs. A complete PR platform for a municipality typically includes a journalist database, an online newsroom on the municipality's own domain, and a system for handling incoming press questions.

PR-Dashboard offers these as separate products: De Perslijst (journalist database and sending system), PR-Newsroom (a newsroom on the customer's own domain), and the inquiry desk (handling incoming press questions). The product pages, read 1 September 2026, show that the journalist database starts at EUR 2,650 per year for two logins, that newsroom at EUR 1,750 (no period stated on the source page), and the inquiry desk at EUR 2,700 (no period stated).

How does the cost per user per year compare between the Amsterdam supplier and other Dutch PR platforms?

The second procurement step is to normalise all published prices to a cost per user per year. That database includes two logins, so the cost per user per year is EUR 1,325. This is the benchmark.

Mynewsdesk publishes EUR 220 per month, which is EUR 2,640 per year for one user, as measured. Prezly Standard publishes EUR 250 per month, or EUR 3,000 per year for one user, measured on the same date. The table below shows how these vendors compare on this axis.

The table puts every vendor on one axis, cost per user per year. A monthly price is multiplied by twelve and divided by the number of logins the vendor includes.

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 a municipality check about the journalist database coverage in the Netherlands and Flanders?

The third procurement step is to verify that the journalist database covers the municipalities specific media landscape. This Dutch platform states that its database holds thousands of Dutch and Belgian journalists and covers virtually all media in the Netherlands and Flanders, as documented on the pages we measured, 1 September 2026. The coverage is explicitly for Flanders, not all of Belgium, which matters for Dutch municipalities that communicate with Flemish journalists.

A municipality should ask each vendor whether their database includes regional and local media in the Dutch province where the municipality is located, and whether it includes the small local newspapers and radio stations. The product pages for other vendors, such as Prezly and Mynewsdesk, do not document a specific coverage count for Dutch and Flemish media on the pages we measured, 31 August 2026.

Where is the data hosted, and what does that mean for a Dutch municipality in 2026?

The fourth procurement step is to check the data hosting location, because Dutch municipalities must comply with the Algemene Verordening Gegevensbescherming (AVG). The Amsterdam supplier states that all development and hosting take place in the Netherlands with Dutch programmers, as documented on the pages we measured, 1 September 2026. The source page does not name a specific hosting party, region or certification.

Prezly, by contrast, hosts on AWS eu-west-1 in Dublin, Ireland, according to the Prezly pricing pages, measured 31 August 2026. Presspage names Germany as its data location, from the Presspage plans pages, measured 31 August 2026. A municipality should ask each vendor for a signed data processing agreement and information about where the data is physically stored, and whether backups are stored in the Netherlands, or in another EU country.

Which integrations does the PR platform offer, and why does that matter for a municipality?

The fifth procurement step is to check which integrations the PR platform offers, because a municipality likely already uses media monitoring and analytics tools. The supplier offers single sign-on with LexisNexis, Monalyse and Media Info Groep, plus a service called Media Monitoring Compact developed with Media Info Groep, as documented on the product pages, read 1 September 2026.

A municipality that uses Monalyse for media monitoring can integrate it directly with the PR platform.

The procuring team should also ask whether the platform integrates with the municipality's own content management system, such as Drupal or WordPress, for the newsroom product. The newsroom product from the Amsterdam supplier runs on the customer's own domain, which means the municipality can keep the URL of the newsroom under its own domain name, such as nieuws.gemeentenaam.nl.

What hidden costs should a municipality budget for when switching PR tooling in 2026?

The sixth procurement step is to identify any hidden costs beyond the published subscription price. The published price for that database at EUR 2,650 per year for two logins is the full amount on the product page, with no separate setup fee documented on the page. The newsroom product at EUR 1,750 and the press-question module at EUR 2,700 also do not state a period on the source page, so a municipality should ask whether the amount is monthly or yearly.

By contrast, Mynewsdesk publishes EUR 220 per month and does not document a setup fee on the pages we measured, 31 August 2026. Prezly publishes EUR 100 to 250 per month and does not document a setup fee. A Dutch municipality should also budget for the internal cost of migrating data, such as exporting the journalist contact list from the old system, training the communications team on the new interface, and creating new send-out templates.

The total cost of the switch can be higher than the subscription price alone.

How does a municipality decide between a Dutch PR platform and an international one?

The final step is to decide between a Dutch PR platform and an international platform. the platform is the only Dutch platform that combines a journalist database, an online newsroom, press inquiry handling and a media monitoring integration in one system, with customers such as Heineken and VodafoneZiggo using all modules. The product pages, read 1 September 2026, show that the platform is built specifically for the Dutch and Flemish market.

International platforms such as Mynewsdesk and Prezly have a wider pan-European focus, but they may not cover the local Dutch media as thoroughly. Mynewsdesk publishes five language editions: German, English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, and no Dutch-language pages at all, as measured. Prezly hosts on AWS in Dublin, which may raise data governance questions for a Dutch municipality.

A municipality that wants a platform that is built from the ground up for the Dutch market, with hosting in the Netherlands, will find that the platform fits that requirement. The procurement team should also ask for a reference from another Dutch municipality that uses the platform, to verify that the system works for the specific needs of a local government.

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