PR Newswire is a members-only press release distribution service provider, and is considered to have one of the largest networks for distribution. We compiled PR Newswire reviews from our website and available reviews from around the web to determine what their customers think about the company. We also compared the most popular pricing options for small business owners.
Want to know the top press release distribution service providers for small business? Read our PR Newswire alternatives guide.
Summary of PR Newswire Reviews
We scoured reviews online and found that PR Newswire has mixed ratings. Here’s what we found:
What PR Newswire does well:
Users who gave PR Newswire a positive review liked that the online submission form was simple and easy to use.
What PR Newswire does not do well:
Users who gave PR Newswire a negative review commented on the high price point and misleading service benefits such as the actual reach of a submitted press release.
Most Helpful Positive User Review
A positive review on G2 Crowd stated that PR Newswire was extremely easy to use and train their employees on. She said they got better and faster at submitting press releases after every use. She also mentioned that she got a call quickly after every submission and the PR Newswire team reviewed her press releases immediately.
Most Helpful Negative User Review
I agree with the other highly critical reviews that the service appeared to me to be misleading. We were highly dissatisfied with the results of our $1,000 + press release about my new Feeling Good Podcast via prnewswire.com. As others have pointed out, the press release ended up on a bunch of financial sites with commercial links to prnewswire.com, and my colleague and I could not locate it anywhere on the web, even with the help of the support staff from PR Newswire. I would give it zero stars in every category if I could! I will say they are friendly and highly professionally organized, but the goods simply did not seem to be delivered.
— David
Other PR Newswire Reviews From Users Around the Web
Here are a few other resources for finding helpful PR Newswire reviews from customers. We rated the review sites on a scale from poor to excellent based on how trustworthy and useful the reviews seemed.
| *Average rating as of date article was written: June 20, 2017 | |||
PR Newswire Pricing
PR Newswire is a members only press release distribution service provider. A client will not be able to submit a press release for review and distribution unless they become a paid member. Membership costs $195 per year if the client pays via credit card, or $249 per year if invoiced.
| Membership | $249/year (via invoice) |
| Price Range (Press Release) | Web only posting (no media): around $130 Multimedia news release: up to $3,750 |
| Industry Reach | |
| Customer Support |
The service includes permanent hosting on the PR Newswire website, targeted distribution to thousands of websites and news outlets, social media, and translation among others.
On top of the membership fee, users will also have to pay per press release. The base price for a single press release is around $800, not including the addition of multimedia (such as photos, videos or logos), which can drive up the cost per 400-word press release to $2,200 depending on how media driven it is.
PR Newswire does offer a service for non-members called iReach, but it is a completely separate entity and only does syndication and distribution online. Packages for this service cost between $129-$399 per release.
Best Pricing Option for Small Business Owners
PR Newswire is a solid option for marketers and larger businesses, but the price point is simply too high for small businesses at a base price of $800 per 400-word press release (plus the annual membership fee). Wee suggest checking out their other service iReach for a much cheaper but online-only press release distribution.
Compare PR Newswire Competitors
Not sure if PR Newswire is the right press release distribution service for your small business? Check out our press release service buyer’s guide comparing three top providers.
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Cliff Vegas
Review SourceOrganic
They really have the big board Reuters Times Square. That’s nice – for people who like to be impressed. A one-time thing. That’s kinda what I was thinking about when I ran a release. A photo of the Times Square sign with my client’s logo.
Customer service. In a word – they suck. And for the price point – you’d think that they’d have more than online chat. It’s as though they can’t be bothered with questions.
How much of a pain in the a** it is to get a press release through their so-called “editorial review.” It’s laughable. Cision (the parent company) does not appear to realize that there are other ways to get the news out. I’d use a reliable service – like PRWeb. Easier to deal with. There’s always free – as long as you don’t mind doing a lot of reposting.
Review SourceOrganic
Nick Floyd
Review SourceOrganic
This is truth that the service appeared to me to be misleading. We were highly dissatisfied with the results press release via prnewswire.com. The press release ended up on a bunch of financial sites with commercial links to prnewswire.com, and we could not locate it anywhere on the web search. I would give it zero stars.
Review SourceOrganic
Sarah
Review SourceOrganic
You can’t be a true publicist if you don’t use PR Newswire. There’s no better way to get the word out to a broad audience on behalf of your client’s news.
Review SourceOrganic
david
Review SourceOrganic
I agree with the other highly critical reviews that the service appeared to me to be misleading. We were highly dissatisfied with the results of our $1,000 + press release about my new Feeling Good Podcast via prnewswire.com. As others have pointed out, the press release ended up on a bunch of financial sites with commercial links to prnewswire.com, and my colleague and I could not locate it anywhere on the web, even with the help of the support staff from prnewsire.com. I would give it zero stars in every category if I could! I will say they are friendly and highly professionallly organized, but the goods simply did not seem to be delivered. david
Review SourceOrganic
Michael Blankenship
Review SourceOrganic
Honestly, I thought PRNewswire’s iReach offering was misleading. The main page indicates that 1,400+ websites would receive the press release but this just wasn’t the truth. After a week only five distinct websites had the news release and the only notable one was Yahoo Finance. I phoned PRNewswire’s support and they couldn’t find the item–apparently, iReach isn’t really attached to their main business unit and it’s on another website and doesn’t have phone support. *Their* contact person suggested that only one site is included with the base package, yada, yada. So for one downstream news website you’re charged $129 but for 1,400 websites the charge is $299.
My advice is to look at the FAQ page on Bloomberg.com and submit your news release to them, for free.
Review SourceOrganic