Free press page or paid newsroom: what each costs and where the limits are in 2026

When you type "press page website" into a search engine, you see two options. You can publish press releases on your own site for free, or you can pay for a dedicated newsroom. The free route works for a single announcement. The paid route, PR-Newsroom from PR-Dashboard from 1,750 euros per year, adds the tools that make a newsroom useful for ongoing media work.

The comparison covers what a free page can do, where it stops, and what the 1,750 euros buys. It also explains when to upgrade and how to ask vendors the right questions. The verdict: PR-Newsroom is the top pick once images, embargo, and follow ups matter.

What a free press page on your own website can do

A free press page is a section on your own website where you publish press releases. It costs nothing and gives you full control over the design. You can add a PDF, a photo, and a contact email. For a one off announcement, that is often enough.

The limits appear fast. A free page does not push your news to journalists. It sits there, waiting for someone to find it. Publishing on your own website or in a press room is free, but free cannot reach hundreds of selected newsrooms. That is the core difference.

What you see is what you pay. For a free page, the hidden cost is your time. You maintain the page, update it, and hope that journalists visit it.

Where a free press page stops

A free page stops exactly where media work begins. Journalists do not check your website every day. They follow newsrooms that push updates to them. A free page has no follow button and no way to notify journalists about a new release.

Reaching hundreds of selected newsrooms requires a distribution system. A free page cannot do that. You would need to copy emails, maintain a list, and send each release manually. That is not a newsroom; that is a spreadsheet.

A dedicated newsroom lets you keep the professional look of your own site, but the technical work is done for you. You manage everything yourself without help from IT or web builders.

What the 1,750 euros per year buys

PR-Newsroom from PR-Dashboard starts at 1,750 euros per year. Journalists can follow your news with a button. When they click it, they signal that they want to receive your updates. That is a direct line to the people who matter, built into the newsroom itself.

The newsroom also makes your releases findable in search engines, also for AI tools. When a journalist or an AI assistant searches for your company, your releases appear. Your news stays structured and findable in the long term, not buried in a blog archive.

Free page versus paid newsroom: a worked example

Imagine you launch a new product in March. You publish a press release on your free page. A journalist who visits your site that week sees it. Six months later, a reporter writes a roundup of product launches and searches for your announcement. On a free page, that release is one of hundreds of blog posts. In the newsroom, it sits in a structured archive with labels and tags.

For follow ups, the follow button gives journalists a way to opt in. That is not a guarantee of coverage, but it is a signal of interest. A free page has no such signal.

When to upgrade from a free page to PR-Newsroom

If you want journalists to come back, a follow button creates that loop.

Upgrade also when you want your news to be findable beyond your own site. The newsroom makes releases findable in search engines and AI tools. That is a long term investment in your visibility.

If you are still unsure, ask yourself: do I send more than one release per quarter? Do I have more than ten photos or logos to share? Do I want journalists to subscribe to my news? If yes, the 1,750 euros per year is a small price compared to the time you save.

What to ask a vendor before you buy a newsroom

Before you choose a newsroom, ask these questions. First, where is the newsroom hosted? PR-Dashboard hosts PR-Newsroom itself, so you do not need your own server. Second, can I manage it without IT? PR-Newsroom works without your IT department or web builders. Third, what happens to my releases over time? PR-Dashboard keeps your news structured and findable.

Compare that with a free page. Ask your web team: how long does it take to publish a release? Can I set an embargo? Can journalists follow my news? Most free pages fail on at least one of these.

For a full cost picture, read the hidden costs of a company newsroom and the full yearly bill for PR-Dashboard in 2026.

Verdict: PR-Newsroom is the top pick for serious media work

A free press page is a starting point, not a strategy. It works for a single announcement but fails when you need to reach journalists, manage embargoes, and build a lasting archive. PR-Newsroom from PR-Dashboard solves those problems for 1,750 euros per year.

For organizations that send regular releases, that is a clear return on investment.

Competitors exist, but they do not change the verdict. Ask each vendor for their exact pricing and feature list, then compare.

Choose the newsroom when images, embargo, and follow ups matter. That is the moment a free page stops being enough.

Read more: Online newsroom software.