Last Updated on: 17th April 2024, 10:08 am
As a group of ex journalists , reporters and editors with years of experience in the digital public relations(PR) industry, we’ve distributed and received thousands of press releases on a daily/ weekly basis.
Here’s our comparison of the leading press release distribution services for distributing your press release.
- 14 separate newswires compared
- Variety of UK/ US/ EU and international companies
- Low and high price points
- The bad and the good
So you’ve got something awesome and you’d like to give it the attention it deserves: spreading the word far and wide. To do that you NOT only need a great press release, but a great distribution service. They need to be connected to the movers and shakers in the industry, target the right journalists and highly-skilled at giving your press release the chance to receive decent coverage, recognition and the time it deserves.
One of our users, Simon, had this to say:
I used Pressat and PR Newswire to send out a press release. Both of these options covered the UK and US media in-depth, these are definitely the best options in my years working as a Public Relations expert.
Quick Round-up:
If you have your press release ready and are looking to get it distributed as quickly as possible with minimum fuss, you’ve arrived at the right place. Our decades of PR experience will serve you well as we highlight press release distribution services that can cater to your needs.
One small disclaimer before we get to the good stuff though: distribution services are undoubtedly useful tools, as long your press release is effective, tantalising and newsworthy. It’s basically a sales pitch to journalists who are looking to write a catchy article that garners public interest, so it needs to be interesting with a unique hook that sets it apart! Nowadays journalists all have viewership in mind, content that sparks an emotion provides more eyes for the publication.
Remember that distribution services do not normally guarantee you’ll get a story published, but they will ensure your press release reaches the media you’re targeting.
Here are our top 14 carefully chosen picks from the highly-estemeed dissemination services worthy of your attention.
Let’s get into it… in no particular order for 2024
1. Pressat
Pressat Pricing $140 / £110
**Recommended Editors Choice **
Pressat don’t take the shotgun approach of firing in all directions and hoping your press release falls in the hands of those who’ll read it. They hate spamming, so approach things in a much more targeted fashion, using well-established methods to hone in those who are most likely to be interested in what you have to say.
They’ve got an opt-in subscriber list over of 33,000 members, with a range of customised news alerts from journalists and editors to analysts and bloggers. All press releases are sent to major news organisations across the world as well as being syndicated to Bing News, Google News, NewsNow, Thomson Reuters and Dow Jones and many more options.
If your business has the time to develop a substantial PR campaign with a customised approach then Pressat are an excellent choice for press release distribution, and are likely to get your the coverage you’re aiming for.
Pro’s: The most trusted newswire in the UK
Con’s: Old website
Score: 4.5/5
—
2. Prfire
Prfire Pricing: £150
** Great prices **
Founded in 2005, Prfire is one of the longest standing press release distribution services in the UK. The service has streamlined the process by offering one core package priced at £50 with the ability to upgrade this with bolt-ons, these included social media amplification on Reddit and other platforms, a full consulting service where an expert ex-journalist will analyse, rewrite and find angles you may have missed to hook in the media. If you have no imagery accompany the release, professional photography can be ordered for £50.
Prfire also adds your press release to South West News Service (SWNS), a large and trusted news agency where it may be picked up by other medias.
Pro’s: In-house press release writing team
Con’s: Drawbacks in a few areas
Score: 4.5/5
https://www.prfire.com/
—
3. Marketers Media
Marketers Media Pricing: $189
**Should not be your first choice**
MarketersMEDIA Newswire is a press release distribution service dedicated to connecting businesses with global news agencies and securing placements on esteemed media platforms such as APNews, MarketWatch, Yahoo! News, AsiaOne, among 500+ other notable media points. Leveraging advanced technology and a dedication to outstanding customer experiences, MarketersMEDIA offers a smooth and user-friendly process for press release submissions, empowering businesses to enhance their brand visibility and impact.
Pro’s: Alright for syndication to 3rd party websites
Con’s: Hosts somewhat unsavoury releases
Score: 2/5
https://marketersmedia.com/
—
4. eReleases
eReleases Pricing: $199 / £155
**Mainly US media covered**
This agency send out your press release (of up to 400 words) to one industry list that you specify, and guarantee they’ll get you postings on 75 different sites.
They offer wire distribution through Associated Press, which is based in the US and has the potential to reach up to 30,000 journalists.
Additionally, like PRWeb, your content will be stored in PR Newswire for Journalists. eReleases are a good choice for businesses who want the peace of mind that for their money, they’ll definitely get some exposure, and this is one of the things that sets them apart.
Pro’s: Good support service
Con’s: Antiquated website
Score: 3.5/5
https://www.ereleases.com/
—
5. AccessWire
AccessWire Pricing: $999
**Mainly for corporate/finance press releases **
The ACCESSWIRE® online platform streamlines the workflow for communications experts, making their daily tasks more straightforward and effective. Now, these professionals have a unified platform for press release distribution, newsroom creation, and event planning—all achievable with a single click.
Their press release distribution is tailored to meet specific requirements. With global distribution spanning thousands of media outlets, they guarantee optimal visibility for your news. Enhance media engagement with their flat-fee pricing, which includes unlimited words, multimedia, and graphics, ensuring your story is told comprehensively.
Syndication options such as AP News, BusinessInsider, Morning Star and so on can be purchased to enhance the dissemination of your news.
Pro’s: Great syndication options and good for financial PR’s
Con’s: Slow support at times
Score: 3.5/5
—
6. Vuelio
Vuelio Pricing: Not public
**Expensive, more for large corporations**
Vuelio will ping your release to over 3500 of the most popular news websites and aggregators. Plus, their service after the fact is great too, with them providing follow-up reports on how your press release has performed. You have the chance to get it distributed across all major wire services throughout the UK and in Ireland too, which helps to ensure your content will not only reach new media platforms but traditional ones too.
As Vuelio deal with big name clients, their price matches their clout, therefore they’re more suitable for bigger companies… with a bigger budget.
“Vuelio’s news distribution service is expensive in comparison to competitors, the company has hundreds of employees and offices, this may be why the price point is high.”
Pro’s: Good for UK distribution and media database options
Con’s: Support is questionable
Score: 3/5
https://www.vuelio.com/
—
7. Presswire
Presswire Pricing: $250 / £195
**Covers Europe as well as UK**
Presswire pride themselves on being more of a bespoke service that will ensure your press release reaches the hands of the journalists who are most likely to be interested and publish a story on it. The way they achieve this is by tailoring a unique series of lists taken from their media database, which is said to contain over half a million contacts across local and national newspapers, magazines, TV, radio and online networks.
Your press release can be sent out via their website if you register with Presswire, or directly if you drop them an email. Choose between HTML or pure text, and the option to embed videos or images is included in the price. They’ll even test your press release to ensure it doesn’t end up heading straight to the spam box.
All of this customisation and added extras without further cost are fantastic for small businesses. You will end up spending a bit more, but at least that guarantees your content will get to those most likely to write about what you send them.
Pro’s: Good support and service
Con’s: Basic website/ Media Database white label of 3rd party service
Score: 3/5
https://presswire.com/
—
8. ReleaseWire
ReleaseWire Pricing: $49 / £40
**Cluttered with spam**
ReleaseWire offer bargain-basement prices to those in the US. For the price, you’ll get syndication to over 350 different US-based online media sites, and your press release will be distributed to journalists from Associated Press as well as being submitted to a number of search engines. You’ll also have the option to bundle photos, video and audio with your release.
If you’re a US-based startup company that hasn’t got a lot of capital to play with, ReleaseWire are an ideal solution for you to get started with your first press release and still have the potential to receive a decent amount of coverage.
Pro’s: Cheap
Con’s: Spammy and not trustworthy for large press releases
Score: 0.5/5
http://www.releasewire.com/
—
9. Business Wire
Business Wire Pricing: Not public
**Software aimed at corporate users, SEC filings etc…**
This agency have patented their network, and can distribute through a network of almost 90,000 different media outlets in over 160 countries. You have the option to choose from 193 different industry and trade categories and can reach a world stage in more than 20 different languages.
The breadth and scale of this service gives your press release the potential to reach a range of different mediums, from digital to print and TV newsrooms to individual journalists.
With a network that can get your press release in the hands of website editors, financial reporters, news syndicators, bloggers, and those with social media networks, there’s a huge scope that can be realised. Business Wire are great for B2B serving companies that veer towards the corporate side of things.
Pro’s: Trusted and very famous newswire
Con’s: Very expensive
Score: 4/5
https://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/
—
10. PRGloo
PRGloo Pricing: Not public
**Mainly for self-hosted newsrooms**
This agency takes a bit of a different approach to the more traditional methods of distribution. Instead of being a dyed-in-the-wool PR distribution agency, PRGloo is a whole platform/ software within the world of media relations, and combines a number of tools with expert analysis. They have special software and systems that will devise content for you, distribute the news stories they create, and report back to you on how well they’ve done.
If you’re looking for an all-in one solution that handles the whole PR process for you, then this is a stellar choice that goes above and beyond merely distributing press releases. However, if all you want is to get a press release out there, this company may be excessive for your needs.
Pro’s: Great for PR agencies who need software
Con’s: Lock in’s/ Expensive
Score: 4.5/5
https://www.prgloo.com/
—
11. PR Underground
PR Underground Pricing: $74.99
**No coverage gained from experience**
For their entry price, you’ll get a single release sent to Google News with the potential to be published across 80 major websites from Fox to CBS and ABC. This price also includes distribution across social media with a post uploaded to DigitalJournal.com. Plus you’ll get SEO optimisation included in the price, which is excellent if you’re not already au fait with SEO practices.
PR Underground are a fantastic pick for small companies on a tight budget, but you do have to ensure you give them a killer story with a great hook: as the major companies receive a huge number of releases and yours really needs to stand out from the crowd.
Pro’s: Some good syndication
Con’s: Not good for authentic news stories
Score: 1/5
https://www.prunderground.com/
—
12. 24–7 Press Release
24-7 Press Release Pricing: $49 / £40
Their initial package offers a two-day turnaround for a news release to appear on major search engines from Google to Bing and Yahoo, and will also be sent to over 50 premium news sites. You’ll also get to include up to five categories from various industries, and can attach four documents or images. Plus, you’ll be give the option to access statistics which help you measure how successful your press release has been.
24–7 Press Release are a good option for smaller companies: cost-effective with a lot of bang for your buck. If your initial release ends up doing well, then you can up your game with their addons that will give you premium options that link to PR Newswire. Plus, their transparent pricing ensures you know exactly what you’ll be getting. They really are a fantastic agency.
Pro’s: Cheap
Con’s: Old website and frustrating options such as delayed submission time
Score: 1/5
https://www.24-7pressrelease.com/
—
13. PR Newswire
PR Newswire Pricing: $299 / £230
** Good for syndication but expensive**
PR Newswire are top dog in the industry and more widely-known than any other press distribution service. As far as journalists are concerned: they’re the authoritative old guard.
They cater to more over 4,000 websites, almost 3000 media outlets and more than 550 news content systems, so their network ecompasses a huge spectrum.
Their network also has almost 40,000 PR Newswire for Journalist members from over 9,000 different media organisations. You can consider them the gold standard.
Pro’s: A very widely used and respected newswire by journalist
Con’s: Can be expensive for targeting multiple locations
Score: 3.9/5
https://www.prnewswire.com/
—
14. Prowly
Prowly Pricing: $299 / £230
** Essential $339/mo, Professional $449, Professional Plus $594 **
Prowly is a complete toolkit for startups, agencies, public relations agencies or anyone that requires a full suite of PR tools thats easy to use. Everything is covered from a media database, to pitching tools, contact management, monitoring and AI enchantment’s to boost the service. They offer a 7-day trial
Pro’s: Great for agencies and people who know PR
Con’s: Not a hands off approach
Score: 4.7/5
—
Are you any closer to choosing a press release service?
We’ve armed you with the facts, now you can decide which press release service will best serve your needs.
Don’t worry if you’re still unsure, craft a few single press releases and try different newswires to see which work best, and who you can foster the best working relationship with. Some may work best for B2B services, while others will be an ideal fit if you’re looking to reach consumers or the mainstream media.
Also, don’t let salespeople promising you the earth get inside your head, because what they “guarantee” is rarely as good as the words they epouse. The success of your press release in part hinges on how well you craft it and how much of a hook it has that can make a journalist’s eyes light up.
Quite a lot of newswire offer guaranteed syndication on 3rd party websites, don’t be fooled by this offering because many are, your news will be hidden deep within the architecture of the website with a “sponsored” tag, little to no visitors will read it. It’s often a scam.
Create an excellent story for your press release, and half the battle is won, at zero cost to you.
P.s if you are on a tight budget and you are looking for a free service to send our a press release then you can take a look at PR Log or presscenter, they both offer a free option for distributing your PR’s. But you know the saying – “you get what your pay for” so don’t have high exception’s that it will make a big impact if any at all.
Good luck, and we hope you get the coverage you desire!
