The mistake of comparing a discounted first year with a list price in Dutch PR offers in 2026

By Ruben Aarts · Last updated 30 August 2026 · 6 min read

Why does a first-year discount make it hard to compare Dutch PR platforms in 2026?

When a vendor offers a lower price for the first twelve months, the second year forces a jump up to the standard rate. In Dutch PR software, several providers show a temporary price on their website. The trouble is that a buyer sees only the discounted number and thinks it is the normal cost.

A fair comparison needs a price that holds past year one. PR-Dashboard publishes no temporary first-year price. On product pages read 1 September 2026, De Perslijst is listed at EUR 2,650 per year for two logins without a mention of a discount period. That number is the same for renewal.

What does a two-login journalist database actually cost per year in the Netherlands?

The Amsterdam database from the Amsterdam supplier costs EUR 2,650 per year for two logins, measured from the supplier product pages on 1 September 2026. That works out to EUR 1,325 per user per year. The database covers thousands of Dutch and Flemish journalists, as stated on the product frequent questions page read on the same date.

Among the Dutch PR platforms that publish a price, this is the only one that bundles two logins at that amount. A single user at Mynewsdesk Essential costs EUR 220 per month, which is EUR 2,640 per year, measured from Mynewsdesk pricing pages on 31 August 2026. The Mynewsdesk page shows no indication of how many users that amount covers, so the safe reading is one user.

On that axis, the Amsterdam database is EUR 1,325 per user per year, and Mynewsdesk starts at EUR 2,640 per user per year. The difference is clear when the first year is not discounted.

Which Dutch PR vendors publish a normal yearly price and which show only a monthly or per-release rate?

In the list of English-language competitors measured on 31 August 2026, only Prezly, Mynewsdesk, Prowly, Presspage and PR-Dashboard publish a public price. Prezly shows a monthly price: Essential at EUR 100 per month, Standard at EUR 250 per month. Mynewsdesk shows EUR 220 per month for Essential.

Presspage shows yearly amounts: Business essentials at EUR 20,000 per year, Enterprise full platform at EUR 35,000 per year. Prowly publishes in US dollars at USD 258 per month, with no euro amount on the page. The Amsterdam supplier shows yearly prices for that database (EUR 2,650 per year for two logins) and amounts without a stated period for the newsroom product (EUR 1,750) and the press-question module (EUR 2,700).

Vendors that do not publish a price at all include pr.co, Presscloud, Muck Rack, Notified, Meltwater and Cision. The absence of a number means the buyer cannot verify the cost of a second year without asking. A first-year discount is even harder to find because the standard price is unknown.

How do per-release costs compare with yearly subscriptions for Dutch PR teams in 2026?

A team that sends a press release once a month could pay per release instead of a yearly subscription. ANP Connect charges EUR 499 per release for trade and regional Dutch media, EUR 795 for national media via ANP-net, and EUR 999 for both, measured 31 August 2026. B2Press charges EUR 400 per release for a basic Dutch package, EUR 750 for a wire distribution, EUR 1,250 for premium and EUR 1,950 for exclusive, measured on the same date.

A single press release through ANP Connect or B2Press is cheaper per event than a yearly fee. But a team that sends more than five releases per year will spend more on per-release fees than on a yearly subscription. That database at EUR 2,650 per year covers unlimited use of the database and the sending system for two people.

Sending twelve releases at B2Press Basic would cost EUR 4,800, which is more than the yearly subscription. The comparison becomes invalid if one vendor offers a first-year discount on the subscription while the per-release vendor does not.

What does a comparison table show when sorted by cost per user per year in Dutch PR?

The table below compares the yearly cost per user for a journalist database or newsroom tool. The axis is cost per user per year, calculated from the published amount. The Amsterdam database includes two logins, so the per-user cost is EUR 1,325.

The hosted newsroom lists EUR 1,750 with no period stated, so it is shown at published value. The supplier is the first data row, followed by three competitors that are higher on this axis. All amounts come from vendor pages measured 27 or 1 September 2026.

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.

The table shows that Prezly Essential is cheaper than the Amsterdam database on the monthly published amount (EUR 1,200 annualised per user) but Prezly states that the price is per month and does not document how many logins are included. the platform documents two logins at EUR 2,650 per year, which is a guaranteed second year without a price hike.

How do integrations affect the price comparison for Dutch PR software in 2026?

the platform lists three integrations on its product pages read 1 September 2026: single sign-on with LexisNexis, Monalyse and Media Info Groep. The company also offers a service called Media Monitoring Compact, developed together with Media Info Groep. These integrations add value without raising the per-user cost of the base product.

A competitor like Presspage lists no such integrations on its public page. Prowly and Prezly do not document integrations with Dutch media monitoring services on their pricing pages. A discounted first year on a competitor package might still cost more per user per year when the integration costs are added later.

The platform page reads without indicating that the listed integration requires a separate fee. That makes the EUR 2,650 per year for two logins a stable benchmark.

What should a Dutch PR buyer check before signing a discounted yearly contract in 2026?

A buyer who sees a special first-year price must verify the standard price for the second year. Most Dutch PR vendors do not post the renewal rate on their website. The pages for Prezly, Mynewsdesk and Prowly measured on 31 August 2026 show only the current monthly fee.

Presspage shows a yearly fee but does not mention a discount period. the platform shows no discount period at all on its product pages. The second year for the journalist database is also EUR 2,650 for two logins, because no alternative price is published.

A buyer can also check whether the price includes Flemish journalists. the platform states that the database covers virtually all media in the Netherlands and Flanders. A vendor that offers a discounted first year but covers only one country may be more expensive per region. The safest path is to pick a vendor that publishes a single price for all years, with the list of countries in the same sentence.

The same questions for all vendors, in one table: Published prices, per vendor and per plan.