PR Newswire vs Business Wire: Price, Features & What’s Best
Alana specializes in offering content strategy, marketing project management, and content writing services to Fortune 500 brands. Her expertise is featured across Fit Small Business’s marketing content.
This article is part of a larger series on Press Release.
Business Wire’s strengths lie in its robust targeting, outlet-type choices, and multimedia options, as well as its ability to distribute to 100,000 premium outlets across broadcast, digital, and print. Its weakness lies in its price. It is better suited for large businesses with large PR and marketing budgets. PR Newswire, on the other hand, is best for mid-sized businesses needing affordable but effective press release distribution and the ability to tightly track their investment’s performance to justify and get the most out of their PR dollars.
- Business Wire: Best for high-reach, highly targeted multimedia press release distribution.
- PR Newswire: Best for advanced custom press release performance reporting.
PR Newswire vs Business Wire Overview
Price | $760 for first 400 words, $195 for additional 100 words | $350-$805 per release, $195 membership fee |
Reach | 100,000 media outlets | 5,800+ outlets |
Outlet Types | Digital, print, and broadcast newsrooms, niche news websites (Yahoo! Finance, Dow Jones MarketWatch); individual reporters, editors, bloggers, and consumers; social media networks (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn) | PR Newswire niche-specific social media handles, premium digital niche websites (Forbes, Tech Crunch, Reuters, WebMD, Computer World, R&D Magazine), Digital billboards, broadcast, print |
Newswire Placements | Business Wire | PR Newswire |
Subscribing Journalists | 92,000 | 39,000 |
Targeting | Geographic markets, industry, audience demographics, niche platforms, languages | Audience demographics, geographic, industry, audience interest, languages, audience interest |
Links | Unlimited | 1 every 100 words |
Multimedia Inclusions | Up to 9 multimedia inclusions allowed in each press release, including video, links, images, slides, Tweet-this boxes, downloadable content, audio files | $350 additional fee for video, audio, or image, PDF file, infographic inclusion |
Analytics Reports | Audience, online mobile postings, social media coverage, syndicated channel coverage, earned coverage, multimedia, engagement, press release comparison | Media coverage across print, broadcast and digital outlets; return on investment, social media engagement and shares, multimedia engagement, audience demographics, click-throughs |
Social Media Distribution | ✔ | ✔ |
Press Release Proofreading | ✔ | ✔ |
Unique Features | Interactive multimedia press release distribution | In-depth custom and shareable analytics reporting |
Customer Support | Phone, email, 24/7 support globally | Phone, email, live chat, 8 a.m.-10 p.m. Eastern Time |
Takeaway: Both PR Newswire and Business Wire offer robust press release distribution services across premium channels and with advanced targeting and reporting. Both have price ranges in line with the budgets of small to mid-sized businesses looking for premium press coverage.
However, Business Wire offers highly interactive press releases suitable for businesses looking for high engagement across print, media, broadcast, and digital outlets. Because it offers so many brand touchpoints in one press release, it stands the chance of offering faster awareness-to-conversion journeys for target audience members. However, if you are on a tight budget and are looking to prove the value of your investment in premium press release distribution, PR Newswire is a good fit for your company.
High-reach Press Release Distribution: Why Business Wire Beats PR Newswire
PR Newswire vs Business Wire High-reach Distribution Features
Business Wire | PR Newswire | |
|---|---|---|
Number of Outlets | 100,000 | 5,800 |
Subscribing Journalists | 92,000 | 39,000 |
Types of Outlets | Digital, print, broadcast; niche websites like Yahoo! Finance and Dow Jones MarketWatch); Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn; direct to bloggers, editors, reporters, and consumers | Niche-specific PR Newswire social media Twitter handles; digital niche websites like Forbes, TechCrunch, and WebMD; digital billboards, broadcast, print |
Newswire Placements | Business Wire | PR Newswire |
Both PR Newswire and Business Wire:
- Distribute each press release to thousands of outlets
- Offer a database of tens of thousands of subscribing journalists
- Offer digital, print, and broadcast distribution
- Place releases on a popular news wire
- Offer global distribution
While both have robust reach-enabling features, Business Wire offers far more outlets than PR Newswire at 100,000 (compared to PR Newswire’s 5,800). Business Wire also offers the ability to place your press release on Business Wire, which has the potential to reach 92,000 subscribing journalists; in comparison, PR Newswire only offers the ability to reach 39,000 subscribing journalists with placement.
Further, Business Wire offers the ability to distribute your press release to more outlet types than PR Newswire. For example, Business Wire offers distribution to comparatively more social media platforms, including LinkedIn and Facebook.
Business Wire: Best for Highly Targeted Press Release Distribution
Business Wire vs PR Newswire Targeting Features
Targeting Options | Business Wire | PR Newswire |
|---|---|---|
National Location | ✔ | ✔ |
Industries | 160 | 60 |
Countries | The Americas, Europe, Asia-pacific, Middle East, and Africa | 170 countries |
Contact Types | Reporters, columnists, journalists, public officials, social and civic community leaders, writers, grassroots leaders, radio and television broadcasters, editors | Journalists, bloggers, influencers |
Social Media | N/A | 50 industry-, cultural-, and niche-specific Twitter handles |
Ethnicity | ✔ | ✔ |
Age | ✔ | ✔ |
Interests | ✔ | ✔ |
Religion | ✔ | ✔ |
Gender | ✔ | ✔ |
Lifestyle | ✔ | ✔ |
PR Newswire and Business Wire both:
- Offer location-specific targeting, including across, states, regions, and nations
- Offer industry-specific targeting options
- Offer targeting by demographics, including gender, ethnicity, and lifestyle
Takeaway: While PR Newswire does offer targeting based on demographics, industry, and location, Business Wire always seems to go a step further in just how specific you can get with targeting. For example, if you want to target by country, while you can choose from 60 countries to target under a PR Newswire, using Business Wire, you can choose from 160 different industries to target. Likewise, while using PR Newswire, you can target journalists, bloggers, and influencers, but Business Wire takes it a step further, allowing you to target broadcasters, editors, and social and civic leaders as well, among others.
Business Wire industry, location, ethnicity, and language targeting (Source)
PR Newswire, however, does shine in one targeting option: social media. The company has over 50 industry-, cultural-, and interest-specific Twitter handles on which they can distribute your press release. Collectively, these handles offer a potential audience of over 55,000 following influencers, bloggers, and reporters.
PR Newswire visibility reports Twitter niche-specific handles (Source)
Business Wire: Best for Multimedia Interactive Press Release Distribution
PR Newswire vs Business Wire Multimedia & Interactive Inclusions
Business Wire | PR Newswire | |
|---|---|---|
Multimedia Inclusions | Up to 9 multimedia inclusions in each release (video, images, slides, Tweet-this, boxes, infographics, images with clickable video hover boxes, downloadable content, audio files) | Video, audio, image, PDF file, infographics (for a per-asset added fee of $350) |
Links | Unlimited | 1 per 100 words |
PR Newswire and Business Wire both:
- Allow you to include videos, audio, images, PDF files, and infographics with your press release
- Allow you to include links within your press release to content such as the company website, hashtags, free demos, and landing pages
While both Business Wire and PR Newswire offer the ability to add multimedia content and links that take readers to more interactive content, Business Wire by far offers a more interactive experience. You can include up to nine multimedia assets to a Business Wire-distributed press release; however, you must pay a hefty fee ($350) to add even one multimedia asset to be distributed by PR Newswire. Further, while PR Newswire only allows one link to be embedded per 100 words in your release, Business Wire allows you to include unlimited links within your distributed release.
Diverzify multimedia interactive press release distributed by Business Wire (Source)
PR Newswire: Best for Custom Advanced Press Release Performance Reporting
PR Newswire and Business Wire both:
- Offer lists of publications that cover your press release
- Offer metrics to track press release views, potential audience, social media engagement and shares, and multimedia engagement and views
- Offer the ability to track historical data around multiple press release projects over time
With PR Newswire, you can customize your campaign reports and share them with stakeholders who are invested in the campaign. You can consult with PR Newswire’s Professional Services team to create custom reports for time-sensitive campaigns or multiple campaigns at once. Reports can give you a snapshot of one moment in time or trends over set periods of time across one or more projects. You choose the metrics that show up on such reports. Then, share custom reports with stakeholders you deem appropriate.
Business Wire’s analytics reports offer insights into how many people viewed your press release (including trends over time and from certain sources and locations), your release’s potential audience, who published your release, multimedia views, sentiment around your release, clicks and clicks per link, press release shares, and press release performance compared across all your releases. Compared to some of its competitors, this type of analysis is competitively in-depth.
But, it does not touch the depth of the analytics reports and advanced reporting capabilities PR Newswire offers. For example, instead of just tracking multimedia clicks, it allows you to also track multimedia click-throughs, shares, Tweets, and downloads.
PR Newswire account performance report, tracking engagement and traffic sources (Source)
PR Newswire vs Business Wire User Reviews
Business Wire User Reviews
Business Wire users like that the news wire and distribution service is easy to use, allows you to distribute your press release to a large and targeted audience, and offers extensive press release reporting. They also appreciate that a company representative reviews submitted press releases before distribution just to ensure there are no glaring errors. However, Business Wire users wish the price to submit a press release wasn’t so high. They also feel that the user-friendliness of the Business Wire site design could use some improvements.
PR Newswire User Reviews
PR Newswire users praise the press release distribution service for their long-standing experience in the industry, their user-friendly site, the ability to save targeting selections for use with future press releases, and the timely and comprehensive reports the service offers for tracking press release performance. Users say the PR Newswire offers excellent customer support. However, they say the cost is likely to be too high for very small or boutique businesses on tight budgets.
When to Choose PR Newswire
PR Newswire Strengths & Weaknesses
PR Newswire Strengths | PR Newswire Weaknesses |
|---|---|
Lots of targeting options on local, regional, national, and global levels | Relatively few outlets |
Extremely in-depth and customizable reporting | Relatively few industry targeting options |
The ability to track your return on investment | Pricey for small business budgets |
Excellent customer support | Hefty fees to include multimedia elements |
Advanced social media distribution | Only digital distribution |
PR Newswire is best for small businesses that don’t need a complicated process weighed down by too many features. These companies are looking for something that is affordable but still extremely effective in getting their news releases before the right audiences in a particular location. Specifically, PR Newswire’s strength lies in its reporting features. As a smaller business, they are also looking for a distribution service that will enable them to deeply track press release performance and thereby learn insights that will help them justify and improve on the effectiveness of their investment.
When to Choose Business Wire
Business Wire Strengths & Weaknesses
Business Wire Strengths | Business Wire Weaknesses |
|---|---|
100,000 premium outlets across print, digital, and broadcast | Very pricey for small business budgets |
In-depth targeting options | Requires a budget to create a premium press release assets for distribution |
Exhaustive multimedia options | |
Excellent 24/7 customer support |
Business Wire is best used by companies needing highly targeted reach to a large audience for their press releases. For example, a company needing nationwide reach to target a specific industry, like the automotive or public policy industry, would benefit from Business Wire. Companies that use this service should have the budget to invest in professionally designed and produced multimedia suitable for a premium audience.
PR Newswire & Business Wire Alternatives
Alternative Distribution Service | Best For |
|---|---|
Affordable press release writing and location-specific targeted distribution across traditional and digital outlets | |
Targeting press release distribution by industry for local, state, or national audiences | |
Professional press release writing and targeting for industry-specific, hand-picked journalists |
For more press release distribution service alternatives, read our Best Press Release Service Buyer’s Guide 2020.
Bottom Line
While Business Wire wins most of the categories that we named here, it doesn’t mean it is a winner for every company. It can be pricey and it may have more options than most small businesses need. If you are looking for a service that offers you endless targeting, multimedia, and distribution options and don’t mind spending a pretty penny to produce a suitable press release and distribute it, Business Wire is for you. However, if you need an option affordable for a smaller budget that gets the job done and helps you closely manage your investment, PR Newswire is a better bet.
