How Much Does a Press Release Cost?

"How much is a press release?" is the first question almost every Calgary business owner asks us. Fair. But it's a bit like asking how much a car costs. A used hatchback and a new pickup are both cars.

A press release has three possible price tags stacked on top of each other: writing, distribution, and pitching. Let's break each one down so you can budget like a pro.

1. Writing the release

This is the words on the page. Your options:

Do it yourself: $0 in cash, a few hours of your time, and a real risk of it sounding like a brochure.
Freelance writer: commonly a few hundred dollars per release, sometimes more for experienced PR writers.
PR agency: often higher, because you're usually paying for strategy, angle-finding and editing on top of the writing.

What changes the price? Complexity (a funding round is harder than a new-hire announcement), turnaround time, and how much digging the writer has to do to find the actual news. If you're weighing a freelancer against an agency, we break that decision down in Freelancer or PR Agency for Press Releases?.

2. Distribution (the newswire)

Distribution means paying a wire service to push your release out to news sites, search engines and media databases. As of 2026, published rate cards look roughly like this (USD):

Budget wires such as EIN Presswire: around $150 for a single release, cheaper in bulk.
PRWeb: roughly $100 to $500 per release depending on the tier.
Premium wires like PR Newswire: a national US release can run past $1,000 for 400 words, with extra charges for every additional 100 words, images or video.

Prices shift often, so always check the current rate card before you buy. And know this: a wire gets your release published. It doesn't guarantee a journalist writes a story about you. We dig into that gap in Is Paying for Press Release Distribution Worth It? and compare the big players in Press Release Distribution Services: Which Ones Actually Work?.

3. Pitching (the part that gets coverage)

Here's the bit most people skip. Real coverage — a story in the Calgary Herald, a segment on CBC Calgary, a feature in a trade publication — usually comes from a human pitching a human. That means:

Researching which reporters cover your industry
Writing a short, personal pitch for each
Following up without being annoying

Pitching is where agencies earn their keep, and it's often priced as part of a campaign or monthly retainer rather than per release.

So what should a Calgary small business budget?

A rough way to think about it:

Goal	What you need	Typical spend
Get something online for SEO	Writing + budget wire	Low hundreds
Look credible to investors or clients	Strong writing + mid-tier wire	Mid hundreds
Get actual media coverage	Writing + targeted pitching (+ optional wire)	Higher, often campaign-based

The cheapest option isn't always the best value. A $150 release nobody reads costs more than a well-pitched one that lands you in front of your ideal customer.

Hidden costs to watch for

Word-count surcharges on premium wires
Multimedia fees for images, logos or video
Annual memberships some wires charge before you can send anything
Rush fees for same-day writing

Questions to ask before you pay anyone

Before you hand over a credit card, ask what's included, who's actually writing it, and how success gets measured. We've put together a full checklist in What Questions Should I Ask Before Hiring a Press Release Writer?.

The bottom line

A press release can cost you almost nothing or well into four figures. The right number depends on one question: do you want to be published, or do you want to be covered? Those are two very different budgets.

Want a clear number for your announcement? Blastily writes, places and amplifies press releases for Calgary businesses and founders — no fluff, no guesswork. Start your Blast at blastily.com.