Key takeaways
- Published prices start around $149 for a single basic wire release (EIN Presswire, October 2026).
- Resellers of PR Newswire distribution list packages from $399 to $699 (eReleases, October 2026).
- Writing, word count, images, target region and premium outlets all raise the price.
- Ask where your release will actually appear and whether those pages are indexed, not just how many sites it reaches.
Ask five PR firms what a press release costs and you'll get five answers. That's because "a press release" can mean anything from a single basic wire posting to a professionally written story placed on major national outlets. Here's what the published prices actually look like and what drives them.
Published prices, October 2026
Some distribution services publish their rates. These are the list prices on their own pricing pages when we checked on October 18, 2026:
| Service | Package | Listed price |
|---|---|---|
| EIN Presswire | Basic, 1 release | $149 |
| EIN Presswire | Pro+, 5 releases | $499 |
| EIN Presswire | Corporate, 15 releases | $999 |
| eReleases (PR Newswire distribution) | Buzz Builder | $399 |
| eReleases (PR Newswire distribution) | Newsmaker | $499 |
| eReleases (PR Newswire distribution) | PR Pro | $699 |
Prices change and promotions come and go, so always check the provider's current page. Some of the largest wires don't publish rates at all and quote by region, word count and add-ons.
What drives the cost up
- Writing. Most distribution prices assume you supply a finished release. Professional writing is often a separate fee.
- Length. Some wires charge by word count, with extra fees beyond a base length.
- Images and video. Multimedia is often an add-on.
- Region. Local, state, national and international distribution are priced differently.
- Premium outlets. Guaranteed placement on major named outlets typically costs more than general network distribution.
What you're really paying for
The number of sites a release reaches matters less than which sites, and whether those pages can be found. Before you buy, ask:
- Where exactly will it appear? Ask for example links from recent releases.
- Are those pages indexed? Some outlets mark press pages noindex. They can add credibility, but they won't show up in search.
- Who writes it? A well-written release with real facts, numbers and a quote is far more likely to be picked up and cited. (See how to write a press release that AI will cite.)
- Are the links natural? Google's spam policies treat keyword-optimized anchor-text links in distributed press releases as link spam. A good release links your business name, not a string of keywords.
- What do you get afterward? A report with live links (clippings) lets you see and share every placement.
Why the cost is worth it now
Press releases do more than they used to. AI assistants read and cite them: Muck Rack's December 2025 report found press release citations in AI answers grew five-fold in the second half of 2025. A release on trusted, indexed news sites can keep feeding ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google's AI Overviews long after the day it goes out. (More in why AI engines read the news.)
How AImpact prices press
We don't sell one-off releases. Every AImpact plan is a monthly program that includes the writing, your approval, publication across the news channels in your plan (including premium outlets like USA Today, TheStreet and Street Insider on higher tiers), cloud stacks, an AI-ready SEO foundation and AI visibility tracking, month-to-month. See how our PR campaigns work and current pricing.
Our team plans and writes press campaigns, builds cloud stacks and runs AI visibility tracking for businesses every month. We check every claim in our articles against the sources listed below.
Sources
- EIN Presswire: Pricing (checked October 18, 2026)
- eReleases: Pricing (checked October 18, 2026) — distribution through Cision PR Newswire
- Google Search Central: Spam policies for Google web search — link spam in distributed press releases
- Muck Rack (via MarTech Series): Earned Media Still Drives Generative AI Citations as Press Release Visibility Grows, December 2025
Keep reading
- Best press release distribution services: how to compare them
- AI visibility tools: what they track and how to choose one
- Press release format: the structure editors and AI expect
- How to rank in ChatGPT: an honest guide
- GEO vs SEO vs AEO: what's the difference?
- How to write a press release (that AI will actually cite)
- What is generative engine optimization (GEO)?
- How to track what ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity say about you
- How to show up in Google AI Overviews
- Perplexity SEO: how Perplexity chooses what to cite
- How ChatGPT decides which businesses to recommend
- USA Today, TheStreet, Street Insider: what a premium placement does
- What is LLM SEO? Optimizing for ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity
- Why AI engines read the news: press releases in the age of AI search
- SEO isn't dead. It's how AI finds you
- Is ChatGPT good for SEO? What it can and can't do
- What is a cloud stack, and why 14+ platforms beat one
- The benefits of press releases for small businesses (in the age of AI)
