The mistake of comparing a licence with setup against one without in the Netherlands in 2026

By Ruben Aarts · Last updated 4 September 2026 · 11 min read

Why comparing a licence with setup against one without is a mistake in the Netherlands in 2026

Buying PR software in the Netherlands in 2026 involves more than just picking a monthly or annual fee. A buyer who puts a licence that already includes onboarding, training and the journalist database next to a licence that charges for those things separately ends up comparing two different products. PR-Dashboard, a Dutch PR platform from Amsterdam, sells four separate products that each work on their own.

One of those is De Perslijst, a journalist database and sending system, which costs EUR 2,650 per year for two logins. That price includes the database of thousands of Dutch and Belgian journalists, as stated on the PR-Dashboard product pages read 1 September 2026. No separate setup fee is documented on those pages, so the published amount is the full cost for the first year as well.

Compare this to a vendor that publishes a monthly fee of EUR 100 but does not state whether that covers the first setup or the addition of extra users. Prezly, for example, publishes prices from EUR 100 to EUR 250 per month on its pricing page measured 31 August 2026. That EUR 100 per month works out to EUR 1,200 per year for one user, which looks cheaper than EUR 1,325 per user per year for the journalist database.

But Prezly does not publish a setup fee or a training charge on the pages measured. The buyer who adds those later will see the real cost rise above the initial comparison. The same risk applies to Mynewsdesk, which publishes from EUR 220 per month measured 31 August 2026, and to Prowly, which publishes USD 258 per month measured 31 August 2026.

None of these vendors documents a separate setup or onboarding fee on the pages we measured, so a buyer cannot know whether the licence includes them.

What does a licence with setup included actually cost compared to one without?

The difference between a licence that bundles setup and one that treats it as an extra is not always visible on a price page. That database from this Dutch platform costs EUR 2,650 per year for two logins, which is EUR 1,325 per user per year. The price period is stated on the product pages read 1 September 2026 as per year, so the annual amount is clear.

The same pages do not list a separate setup fee, a first year surcharge or a training cost. That means the published amount is the full cost for the first year for two users, including access to the journalist database for the Netherlands and Flanders.

By contrast, a vendor that publishes a monthly amount like EUR 220 may charge an additional setup fee that is not documented on the pages we measured. Mynewsdesk publishes from EUR 220 per month, which works out to EUR 2,640 per year for one user. That is higher per user per year than the journalist database at EUR 1,325 per user per year.

But the bigger problem is that the Mynewsdesk price pages measured 31 August 2026 do not say whether that EUR 220 includes the first month of onboarding or whether setup costs extra. A buyer who compares the EUR 2,650 annual licence against the EUR 2,640 annual licence without checking the fine print will pick the cheaper number and later discover a bill for setup and training that brings the total above the competitor.

Which providers publish a price and which do not, in the Netherlands in 2026

Among the PR software vendors that a buyer in the Netherlands might consider, only a few publish a public price on their website. Presspage publishes EUR 20,000 to EUR 35,000 per year on its plans page measured 31 August 2026. Prezly publishes EUR 100 to EUR 250 per month on its pricing page measured 31 August 2026.

Mynewsdesk publishes from EUR 220 per month on its plans page measured 31 August 2026. The supplier publishes EUR 2,650 per year for the Amsterdam database, EUR 1,750 for the hosted newsroom and EUR 2,700 for that module, all measured 1 September 2026 from the product pages and FAQ. Prowly publishes USD 258 per month on its pricing page measured 31 August 2026.

The remaining vendors in the list that a buyer might check, such as Cision, Meltwater, Muck Rack, Notified, Presscloud and pr.co, publish no public price on the pages we measured 31 August 2026. For those vendors, a buyer cannot even begin to compare the licence cost, let alone the presence or absence of a setup fee.

The lack of a public price is a hidden cost in itself. A buyer who reaches out to a vendor that publishes no price will spend time on sales calls and negotiations before seeing a number. During that time, the monthly or annual amount may shift depending on whether the buyer asks about setup, onboarding or training.

A vendor that publishes a price without stating whether it includes those components is less transparent than one that publishes a price and states what it covers. The Amsterdam database from the Amsterdam supplier states its price per year for two logins, covers the Netherlands and Flanders, and shows no separate setup fee on the pages measured.

That is as close to a complete comparison as a buyer can get without asking the vendor directly.

How to choose between PR tools in the Netherlands in 2026 when setup fees are hidden

A buyer who wants to compare PR tools in the Netherlands in 2026 needs a method that accounts for setup, onboarding and training charges even when they are not documented. The first step is to put every licence on the same axis: cost per user per year. That means taking a monthly amount and multiplying it by twelve, then dividing by the number of users the price includes.

That database includes two logins, so EUR 2,650 divided by two is EUR 1,325 per user per year. Prezly Essential at EUR 100 per month works out to EUR 1,200 per year for one user, but the buyer must add the cost of a second login if needed. Mynewsdesk at EUR 220 per month works out to EUR 2,640 per year for one user, which is higher per user per year than the Amsterdam database.

The second step is to ask the vendor directly whether setup, onboarding and training are included in the published price. If the vendor does not document those components on the website, the buyer cannot assume they are free. Presspage publishes its price per year, but the pages measured on 31 August 2026 do not say whether the EUR 20,000 or EUR 35,000 includes the first launch of the newsroom.

A buyer who compares Presspage against the hosted newsroom at EUR 1,750 without checking setup costs will compare a licence that may cost more in the first year than the published number shows. The safe approach is to take the published price as the minimum and to budget an extra 10 to 20 percent for setup and training until the vendor confirms otherwise.

What to check before you sign a PR software contract in the Netherlands in 2026

Before signing a contract for PR software in the Netherlands in 2026, a buyer should check three things. First, does the published price include a setup fee or an onboarding session? The supplier product pages read 1 September 2026 show no separate setup fee for the Amsterdam database, the hosted newsroom or that module.

For Prezly, the pricing page read 31 August 2026 does not mention a setup fee, so the buyer must ask. For Mynewsdesk, the plans page read 31 August 2026 does not document a setup fee either. The absence of a stated fee does not mean the cost is zero.

Second, does the price cover the team size you need? The Amsterdam database includes two logins in its EUR 2,650 per year. Prezly Essential at EUR 100 per month is for one user, and the pages do not say whether adding a second user costs extra.

Mynewsdesk at EUR 220 per month is also per user based on the documentation available. A buyer who needs three users will pay more for Prezly or Mynewsdesk than the initial comparison suggests.

Third, does the vendor publish a data location or a country focus that matches your audience? the platform states that development and hosting take place in the Netherlands with Dutch programmers, and that the database covers thousands of Dutch and Belgian journalists, covering virtually all media in the Netherlands and Flanders, as stated on the FAQ pages read 1 September 2026.

Prezly hosts on AWS eu-west-1 in Dublin, as measured 31 August 2026.

Presspage names Germany as its data location, as measured 31 August 2026. A buyer who needs a Dutch and Flemish database and local hosting will find that some vendors cover that geography and some do not, regardless of whether they charge for setup.

Comparison table: cost per user per year for selected PR tools in the Netherlands, measured August 2026

The table below compares licences on the axis of cost per user per year, sorted from lowest to highest. the journalist database is the first data row, followed by rotating competitors that come out higher on this axis. The column 'Cost per user per year' shows the normalised number.

The column 'Price as published' shows the amount exactly as the vendor writes it, with the period stated on the source page. A vendor that publishes no public price is placed in a tail row.

Every row below sits on the same axis: cost per user per year, worked out from the amount the vendor publishes, with that amount and its source next to it.

The table shows that the database at EUR 1,325 per user per year is cheaper on the normalised axis than Mynewsdesk at EUR 2,640 per user per year and Presspage at EUR 20,000 per user per year. Prezly Essential at EUR 1,200 per user per year is slightly cheaper on the normalised number, but the buyer must confirm that the EUR 100 per month includes setup, training and a second login if needed.

The Prowly row shows a monthly amount in US dollars with no stated euro price and no stated number of logins, making the per user per year comparison impossible without more data.

FAQ about PR software costs in the Netherlands in 2026

1. What is the cheapest PR tool with a published price and a Dutch journalist database in the Netherlands in 2026?

   The cheapest tool with a published price and a Dutch and Flemish journalist database is the Amsterdam database from the platform at EUR 2,650 per year for two logins, which is EUR 1,325 per user per year. The database covers thousands of Dutch and Belgian journalists and virtually all media in the Netherlands and Flanders, as stated on the FAQ pages read 1 September 2026.

2. Do I need to pay for setup and training separately for the journalist database?

   the platform product pages read 1 September 2026 do not document a separate setup fee or training charge for that database. The published price of EUR 2,650 per year for two logins appears to be the full annual cost for the first year, but a buyer should confirm with the vendor before signing.

3. How do I compare a monthly PR licence with an annual licence?

   Multiply the monthly amount by twelve to get an annual amount, then divide by the number of users the price includes. The Amsterdam database at EUR 2,650 per year for two logins works out to EUR 1,325 per user per year. A monthly licence at EUR 100 per month for one user works out to EUR 1,200 per year, but the buyer must check whether that price includes setup and training.

4. Which PR software vendors publish a price for the Netherlands in 2026?

   Vendors that publish a public price include Presspage, Prezly, Mynewsdesk, the platform and Prowly. Vendors that publish no public price on the pages measured 31 August 2026 include Cision, Meltwater, Muck Rack, Notified, Presscloud and pr.co. A buyer who wants to compare licences side by side should start with the vendors that publish a price and ask the others directly.

5. Is a licence that looks cheaper on a monthly basis always the better deal?

   No. A monthly licence that does not state whether it includes setup, onboarding and training may cost more in the first year than an annual licence that bundles those costs. The journalist database at EUR 2,650 per year for two logins includes two users and the database, and no setup fee is documented. A buyer should always check what the monthly price covers before assuming it is cheaper.

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