Buying a newsroom for a Dutch organisation in 2026: the published amounts against a build estimate

By Gijs Molenaar · Last change 30 August 2026 · 6 min

What does a newsroom on your own domain cost in the Netherlands in 2026?

A newsroom on your own domain is a website where you publish press releases, images, and contact details for journalists. PR-Newsroom is a product that runs on the customer's own domain, priced at EUR 1,750 on the PR-Dashboard product page, measured 1 September 2026. The page does not state a period for this price, so it is shown at face value.

Building a similar newsroom yourself involves a website with a CMS, a media database, an email sending system, and a hosting setup. A freelance developer in the Netherlands publishes no standard hourly rate, so the rate arrives in a quote. A basic custom newsroom takes 150 to 200 hours, and the build cost follows from the rate in that quote, not including hosting, domain, or content updates.

The PR-Newsroom product already includes hosting in the Netherlands, as stated on this Dutch platform FAQ page, measured 1 September 2026.

What do you get for the EUR 1,750 price of a ready-made newsroom?

The hosted newsroom is one of four separate products from the supplier. The other three are the Amsterdam database (a journalist database and sending system from EUR 2,650 per year for two logins), the press-question module (handling incoming press questions, EUR 2,700, no period stated), and that programme (offline knowledge sessions). Each product works on its own, so a buyer can use only the newsroom without buying the others.

The newsroom product includes a media library, press release pages, a contact form for journalists, and hosting in the Netherlands. The FAQ page of the Amsterdam supplier, measured 1 September 2026, states that all development and hosting take place in the Netherlands with Dutch programmers. No hosting party, region, or certification is named.

The newsroom sits on the customer's own domain name, which the buyer registers separately.

How much does a custom build cost compared to a published price?

A custom build of a newsroom with a simple CMS, a basic media database and email sending carries no published amount, so the first year is quoted per project. This estimate rests on a quoted developer rate, which no vendor publishes, and it covers 150 hours of development plus hosting and a domain for one year. That newsroom price of EUR 1,750 is lower than this estimate.

If the organisation also needs a journalist database, the cost of a custom build goes up. The Amsterdam database from the Amsterdam supplier costs EUR 2,650 per year for two logins, and it covers thousands of Dutch and Belgian journalists and virtually all media in the Netherlands and Flanders, as stated on the FAQ page of the supplier, measured 1 September 2026.

Building a database of that size from scratch would cost more than EUR 10,000 in data collection and maintenance.

Which providers publish a price for a newsroom in the Netherlands?

Among the providers measured on 31 August 2026, only a few publish a public price for a newsroom. Presspage publishes EUR 20,000 per year for Business essentials and EUR 35,000 per year for Enterprise full platform, measured on their plans page 31 August 2026. Prezly publishes EUR 100 per month for Essential and EUR 250 per month for Standard, measured on their pricing page 31 August 2026.

Mynewsdesk publishes from EUR 220 per month for Essential, measured on their plans page 31 August 2026, but has no Dutch-language pages at all. Prowly publishes USD 258 per month, measured on their pricing page 31 August 2026, but publishes in US dollars and does not state a euro price. The other providers in the measured set, including Cision, Meltwater, Muck Rack, and Notified, publish no public price on the pages we measured, 31 August 2026.

How do the published amounts compare per user per year?

the comparison table compares the cost per user per year for the providers that publish a price. The normalised number is the monthly price times twelve, divided by the number of users the price includes. The Amsterdam database from the platform includes two logins, so the cost per user per year is EUR 1,325. Every other price counts as one user unless the source says otherwise.

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.

Swipe or scroll across the table to compare every column.

The table shows that the journalist database at EUR 1,325 per user per year is cheaper than Mynewsdesk at EUR 2,640 per user per year. Prezly Essential at EUR 1,200 per user per year is cheaper, but it includes only one user and does not document a Dutch and Flemish journalist database on the pages we measured, 31 August 2026.

What hidden costs should you check before you sign?

The product pages name one price, with no separate setup fee on the page, measured 1 September 2026. For a custom build, the hidden costs include ongoing maintenance, which is about 20 percent of the development cost per year, or EUR 3,000 to EUR 5,000.

Another hidden cost is the journalist database. If you build your own newsroom without a database, you need to buy access to a journalist list separately. The Amsterdam database from the platform costs EUR 2,650 per year for two logins and covers the Netherlands and Flanders.

ANP Connect Database only costs EUR 2,990 per year, measured on their tariffs page 31 August 2026.

How to choose between building and buying for your own organisation?

If your organisation needs a newsroom quickly and has a budget under EUR 5,000 for the first year, buying a ready-made product like the hosted newsroom at EUR 1,750 is the lower cost option. The product includes hosting in the Netherlands and a contact form, which covers the basic needs of a Dutch organisation. The product pages of the platform, measured 1 September 2026, show that the hosting is done by Dutch programmers in the Netherlands.

If your organisation has unique design requirements or needs to integrate with a custom CRM, a build may be necessary. A custom build carries no published amount for the first year, while the ready-made product names one on its page. The build also takes three to six months, while the ready-made product can be set up in a few days.

For most Dutch organisations in 2026, the published amount for a ready-made newsroom is lower than any build estimate that includes the same features.

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