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PR Newswire vs Newswire: Pricing, Feature, and Review Comparison
Newswire provides the only media and marketing communications platform that generates greater brand awareness through earned media, increased online visibility through improved SEO recognition, and more sales inquiries through targeted marketing campaigns.
Your press release may have a killer headline, an exciting subhead, and a story that any journalist would love to cover. But, if your press release fails to reach your target audience, it’s about as impactful as an unread email.
You could reach out to reporters, editors, radio hosts, producers, bloggers, and other people in media on your own to pitch your story and communicate its value. But, without any sort of reputation or credibility, it can be an uphill battle to get worthwhile responses.
As a result, many businesses turn to press release distribution services to get their content onto major news outlets and relevant media contacts in a specific industry. For many, this service provides substantial value and is more time- and cost-effective than doing it alone.
Two major players in the space today are Newswire and PR Newswire. In this guide, you'll learn about the differences between the brands with side-by-side comparisons of pricing, features, and reviews.
Pricing overview
Newswire’s standard word count limit for a press release is 500 words. PR Newswire offers a 400-word limit.
This might not seem like a significant difference and to be fair, readers likely won't stop to consider the word count of a press release mid-way through reading it.
However, having more leeway with your announcement to say what you’d like without incurring extra charges allows for more creativity and less restrictiveness when crafting the perfect statement.
Because let's be honest, people don't enjoy getting nickel and dimed over something as inconsequential as word counts.
| Newswire | PR Newswire | |
|---|---|---|
| Base price | $899 | $805 per release, up to 400 words |
| 100 additional words | $175 | $245 |
| Membership | $0 | $0 |
| Logo | $0 | $495 |
| Multimedia attachment | $0 | $3,253 |
Picture this
Web admins and content creators have long used images to attract readers to their content. Think about how effective YouTube thumbnails can be; the right image and headline often mean the difference between success and failure.
It’s no different in press release distribution; a blurry or low-quality image can result in low readership.
Your feature image can have just as much of an impact as your headline, subheadline, and lede paragraph combined.
These elements paired with a good story can potentially stop scrolling thumbs and lock eyeballs onto a specific piece of content.
But what if you can’t include an image due to high costs? Will your preview link receive even a fraction of the clicks it would if it had an image?
Newswire includes one logo or image free of charge, with fees for additional image placements. PR Newswire charges $495 to include one company logo.
Feature comparison
The most critical benefit these two companies offer is obvious - distribution. So how do they stack up?
A side-by-side comparison shows that Newswire’s National distribution edges out PR Newswire as the best-performing press release distribution package. Reaching over 6,000 online, local, regional, national, and industry media outlets, Newswire National beats out PR Newswire’s leading package by roughly 2,000 outlets.
| Newswire | PR Newswire | |
|---|---|---|
| Included words | 500 | 400 |
| Included links | unlimited | 1 for every 100 words |
| Writing Services | Yes | No |
| Editorial and proofreading service | Yes | No |
| Social media distribution | Yes | Yes |
| Support | Phone, e-mail & chat | Phone, e-mail & chat |
| Analytics and reporting | Yes | Yes |
| Media monitoring | Yes | Yes |
| Media database | Yes | Yes |
| Pitching services | Yes | No |
The most significant product differentiator between these two press release services is the availability of Newswire’s Press Release Optimizer, also known as PRO.
As the industry’s only media and marketing communications utility designed to convert owned media into earned media opportunities to accelerate business growth, PRO includes press release distribution, press release writing, media databases, media monitoring, and newsroom services.
Through Press Release Optimizer, businesses can:
- Generate brand awareness through earned media mentions;
- increase their brand awareness and online visibility through enhanced SEO recognition;
- drive higher sales inquiries through targeted marketing campaigns
Newswire’s team of industry experts is committed to customer satisfaction. Driven by a collective passion for campaign performance, Newswire’s strategists ensure that each press release includes relevant messaging that speaks to the customer’s desired target audiences. From there, the strategists work to maximize campaign reach through targeted distribution plans.
Review #1
“There are plenty of press release and content distribution networks in the industry today, all competing for market share,” said Joe Esposito, CEO of Newswire. “In terms of value creation and customer satisfaction, businesses continue to reach the same conclusion — Newswire continues to be the best option for media, marketing, and communications campaigns.
Review #2
“We offer a combination of best-in-class science, process, and technology to help our customers launch tailored campaigns to meet their business goals. Those goals often include increased media coverage, lead generation, competitive advantage through industry leadership, or a better return on marketing spend. Our platform has proven time and again that it’s capable of delivering results that matter,” added Mr. Esposito.
Through its disruptive PRO, Newswire is automating media and marketing communications for small and midsize businesses seeking to deliver the right message to the right audience at the right time for the right purpose.
To learn more about Newswire's PRO and its integrated media solutions, please visit Newswire.com.
User reviews
On-paper comparisons are important, as they lay out the product details, services, fees, and the other core elements of two services.
Hearing from past and current users through online reviews highlights the key insights that cannot be captured within pricing charts and feature descriptions.
Here’s what people are saying on popular review websites:
G2 calculates its scores with real-time data from verified user reviews. As of September 2022, Newswire has a 4.5 out of 5.0 rating, with 459 reviews. PRNewswire has a 4.0 out of 5.0 rating, with 726 reviews.
Between Newswire and PR Newswire, G2 concluded that:
- Reviewers felt that Newswire meets the needs of their business better than Cision PR Newswire
- When comparing the quality of ongoing product support, reviewers felt that Newswire is the preferred option
- For feature updates and roadmaps, our reviewers preferred the direction of Newswire over Cision PR Newswire.
Check out G2’s comparison of PR Newswire vs. Newswire for their side-by-side analysis of the press release distribution providers.
TrustRadius is the most trusted research and review platform for business leaders to find and select the right software for their needs. Decision-makers across industries rely on verified, peer-based guidance and research from TrustRadius.
As of September 2022, Newswire has 96 reviews, 83 of which are positive and 13 that are negative. PRNewswire has 14 total reviews, with 11 positive reviews and 3 negative reviews.
Newswire has also earned several accolades on Trust Radius, including:
- Top Rated 2022
- Best of 2022: Best Feature Set
- Best of 2022: Best Relationship
- Best of 2022: Best Value for Price
Newswire differentiators
At first glance, wire services offer similar packages for press release distribution. In reality, this is far from the truth. Subtle differences in feature capability, pricing, and content distribution separate premium distributors from the rest of the pack.
When crafting a press release, hyperlinked keywords provide vital opportunities to drive traffic to a company’s website. Suppose your company wanted to link its homepage, product page, demo form, blog, newsroom, and team contact site all within a single press release. In that case, it could incur some costly fees from most press release distributors.
That isn’t the case with Newswire. While PR Newswire allows for one hyperlink per 100 words (four links for a standard 400-word release), Newswire allows for up to six hyperlinks per press release, regardless of word count. More opportunities to click provide significant value and is especially useful if your company needs to distribute a concise message with links to landing pages or other valuable resources.
When crafting a story about your company, you’ll likely have a lot to say. And while brevity is essential when relaying information to the media or the general public, telling a great story is even more effective.
To learn more about Newswire and its Press Release Optimizer, visit Newswire.com and discover why our customers have named us #1 for Customer Satisfaction and Ease of Use for four years in a row.
About Newswire
Newswire is a media technology company that provides its clients the Press Release Optimizer consisting of press release distribution, media databases, media monitoring, and newsrooms: greater brand awareness through earned media, increased online visibility through greater SEO recognition, and more sales inquiries through targeted digital marketing campaigns.
Through its disruptive Press Release Optimizer, relentless commitment to customer satisfaction, and passion for customer performance, Newswire is automating media and marketing communications for large and small businesses seeking to deliver the right message to the right audience at the right time for the right purpose.
