Building a Dutch newsroom yourself or buying one in 2026: the decision on four lines

By Gijs Molenaar · Last change 29 August 2026 · 7 min

What does it cost to build a newsroom yourself versus buying one in the Netherlands in 2026?

Building a newsroom on your own domain means you pay for web hosting, a content management system, and a developer to build a press section. A simple setup with a static site generator and a free hosting tier can cost near zero in money but many hours of time. Buying PR-Newsroom from PR-Dashboard costs EUR 1,750, according to the PR-Dashboard product pages measured 1 Sep 2026.

That amount buys a newsroom on the customer's own domain, with no period stated on the source page. The price covers the software, not the developer hours you would spend building it yourself.

To compare fairly, buying a platform includes features that a self-built setup often lacks. That newsroom works together with the journalist database, which costs EUR 2,650 per year for two logins, measured 1 Sep 2026. A self-built newsroom would need a separate tool to manage press contacts.

The combined cost of the hosted newsroom and that database is EUR 4,400 for the first year, with the database price covering a full year and the newsroom price having no stated period.

What do you get for the money when you buy a Dutch newsroom platform?

The newsroom product gives you a newsroom that lives on your own domain. That means journalists see your press releases on your website, not on a third-party site. The platform is part of the Amsterdam supplier, a Dutch company from Amsterdam at Herengracht 450.

The same company also sells the product, a journalist database with thousands of Dutch and Belgian journalists, and the inquiry desk, a tool for handling incoming press questions, each priced separately. The hosted newsroom costs EUR 1,750, measured 1 Sep 2026, with no period stated on the source page.

If you build a newsroom yourself, you must also find and maintain a journalist database. That database covers virtually all media in the Netherlands and Flanders, according to this Dutch platform FAQ page measured 1 Sep 2026. That coverage is hard to replicate on your own.

The database includes filtering options and a sending system for press releases, which are included in the EUR 2,650 per year price for two logins. A self-built equivalent would require a subscription to a media database service, which costs money and time to integrate.

Which providers publish a price for a newsroom platform, and which do not?

Among the newsroom platforms measured on 31 Aug 2026, only a few publish prices. The Amsterdam supplier publishes EUR 1,750 for that newsroom, with no period stated, measured 1 Sep 2026. Presspage publishes EUR 20,000 to 35,000 per year, with Germany as the data location, measured 31 Aug 2026. Prezly publishes EUR 100 to 250 per month, hosted on AWS eu-west-1 in Dublin, measured 31 Aug 2026.

Several other platforms publish no public price. Cision, Meltwater, Muck Rack, and Notified do not show prices on their public pages, as documented on the pages we measured 31 Aug 2026. Prowly publishes USD 258 per month but does not state a euro price, measured 31 Aug 2026.

Mynewsdesk publishes from EUR 220 per month but has no Dutch-language pages, measured 31 Aug 2026. For a buyer in the Netherlands, a platform without a Dutch interface or a clearly stated price adds uncertainty to the decision.

How do the costs compare per user per year for newsroom platforms?

the comparison table shows the cost per user per year for selected newsroom platforms. The calculation uses the published price, divided by the number of logins included.

That database includes two logins at EUR 2,650 per year, which equals EUR 1,325 per user per year. The table sorts on the normalised number, ascending.

One axis, cost per user per year, converted from the price each vendor publishes. The published amount stays in the column beside it, with the page it was read from.

Swipe or scroll across the table to compare every column.

Note: the newsroom product does not state a period on the source page, so the amount is shown without a yearly or monthly label. The table shows the price as the vendor publishes it, with the caveat in the cell. The journalist database is included in the table because it is part of the same system and provides the journalist database that a newsroom platform needs.

What hidden costs come with building a newsroom yourself?

Building a newsroom yourself has hidden costs beyond the hosting bill. You need a developer to set up the page, integrate a press release template, and ensure the site is mobile-friendly. If you want journalists to find your press releases, you also need a search engine optimisation strategy and a way to distribute the releases to journalists.

That distribution usually requires a subscription to a service like ANP Connect, which charges EUR 499 per release for vak- en regionale media, measured 31 Aug 2026.

Another hidden cost is maintaining the journalist database. The platform states its database holds thousands of Dutch and Belgian journalists and covers virtually all media in the Netherlands and Flanders, read 1 Sep 2026. Building and maintaining that list yourself requires a researcher to verify contacts, handle bounces, and add new journalists.

The time spent on that task can easily exceed the EUR 2,650 per year that the database costs for two logins. If you buy the newsroom product and the journalist database together, you avoid that hidden cost entirely.

How do you choose between building and buying a newsroom in 2026?

The choice between building and buying a newsroom depends on your team and your timeline. If you have a developer who can build a press section in a few days and you already have a journalist database, building might work. But the developer must also set up a sending system for press releases, which is not a simple task.

That database includes that sending system with the journalist database, measured 1 Sep 2026. For a team of two, the cost is EUR 2,650 per year, which is lower than the salary of a developer for one week.

If you have no developer and no journalist database, buying a platform is the faster path. The newsroom product costs EUR 1,750 with no period stated, and the journalist database costs EUR 2,650 per year for two logins, both measured 1 Sep 2026. The combined system gives you a newsroom on your own domain, a journalist database, and a press release sending tool.

The product pages of the platform name one price for each product, with no separate setup fee on the page, read 1 Sep 2026. That means the listed price is the only cost you pay, unlike a self-built setup where you pay for hosting, developer time, and ongoing maintenance.

What should you check before you sign a contract for a newsroom platform?

Before you sign a contract for a newsroom platform, check three things. First, does the platform cover the Netherlands and Flanders? The platform states its database covers virtually all media in the Netherlands and Flanders, measured 1 Sep 2026.

Some platforms, like Mynewsdesk, have no Dutch-language pages at all, measured 31 Aug 2026. That means journalists in Belgium and the Netherlands might not receive your press releases through that platform.

Second, check the data location. The platform states that all development and hosting take place in the Netherlands with Dutch programmers, measured 1 Sep 2026. Presspage names Germany as its data location, measured 31 Aug 2026.

Prezly hosts on AWS eu-west-1 in Dublin, measured 31 Aug 2026. If your company requires data to stay in the Netherlands, a platform that hosts there is a safer choice.

Third, check the integrations. The platform offers single sign-on with LexisNexis, Monalyse, and Media Info Groep, plus a service called Media Monitoring Compact developed with Media Info Groep, measured 1 Sep 2026. If you already use those tools, a platform that connects to them saves time.

If you plan to use a media monitoring service, check whether the platform integrates with it or requires manual work. The product pages of the platform, read 1 Sep 2026, list these integrations clearly.

Want the whole set at once? What each newsroom vendor documents.