Pick the package that matches the job your release has to do. For routine news or a first release, Quick Start ($15, 100+ outlets) is enough. When the story matters in more than one region or industry, Wider Reach ($29, 300+ outlets plus 1 premium outlet) is usually the better buy.
Full Zen ($149) is for a major launch: all 7 premium outlets on top of the 300+ network, with a white-label report. And if you only need to reach one specific audience, pick that premium outlet on its own.
Decide by goal, audience and budget
Start with the goal
Most announcements have one main job:
- Visibility and links. You want the news live on news sites, with working links back to you, so customers and partners who look you up can find it. This covers most small-business news: a new service, a hire, an award, an opening. A network package does the job.
- A specific audience. Investors, buyers in Japan, crypto developers, podcast listeners. Here the outlet matters more than the outlet count, so pick the premium outlet whose audience matches.
- A major launch. The product or campaign you've spent months on, where national titles and the wide network both earn their place. That's the case for Full Zen.
Then the audience
Name the people who need to see it. A story for customers in one city needs less reach than one that touches several industries or states, which is where 300+ outlets starts to pay off. If the audience fits in a few words, such as policy watchers or personal-finance readers, look at the premium outlets before you buy a bigger network.
Then the budget
Match the spend to the stakes. New opening hours don't need $149, and a launch that took a year to build deserves more than the smallest package. Agencies should weigh the report as well as the reach: Wider Reach includes a full publication report, and Full Zen adds a white-label report you can pass straight to a client.
The packages side by side
All 3 are one-time prices per release, with no subscription. The pricing page has the same details in one place.
| Package | Price | Reach | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quick Start | $15 | 100+ outlets | A first release, routine or local company news |
| Wider Reach | $29 | 300+ outlets plus 1 premium outlet | News that crosses regions or industries, funding rounds, agency clients |
| Full Zen | $149 | 300+ outlets plus all 7 premium outlets | Major launches that need national and specialist placements at once |
Quick Start, $15
One press release on a broad news network of 100+ outlets, with images and links included and a live-link delivery report at the end.
Wider Reach, $29
An expanded publisher network of 300+ outlets with regional and industry reach, 1 premium outlet included, a same-day processing target and a full publication report. For $14 more than Quick Start, you go from 100+ outlets to 300+ and get a premium placement that costs at least $20 on its own.
More outlets means more live pages carrying your news and links. That helps because people come to news by several routes: Pew Research Center's news platform fact sheet lists news websites or apps, social media and search engines as the most common ways US adults get news on their devices. What extra reach can't do is guarantee readers. No package can promise traffic, rankings, AI citations or a journalist picking up the story.
Full Zen, $149
All 7 premium outlets on top of the 300+ network, plus the audio distribution option and a white-label report. Bought one by one, those 7 outlets add up to $340, so the package costs less than half their separate price.
Quick math. If the premium outlets you want add up to more than $149, Full Zen is the cheaper way to get them, and the 300+ network comes with it. USA Today ($70) plus Nikkei ($80) already comes to $150.
Premium outlets, one at a time
Each premium outlet can also be picked on its own, per release:
| Outlet | Price | Focus | Good fit for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spotify | $20 | Audio and podcast distribution | Founder stories and books |
| TheStreet | $30 | Markets, companies and personal finance | Investor updates, financial products, corporate milestones |
| The Dispatch | $30 | News, policy and public affairs | Research and policy announcements |
| MPost | $50 | Web3, AI and emerging technology | Crypto, AI and Web3 launches, funding news, partnerships |
| Digital Journal | $60 | Business, technology and current affairs | Startups and tech products |
| USA Today | $70 | National reach in the United States | Consumer launches, nationwide services |
| Nikkei | $80 | Business and Asia-focused audiences | Asia-Pacific expansion, trade, manufacturing |
Pick an outlet because its readers match your story. A big name with the wrong readers is money spent on people who won't care. Editorial review still applies, and for premium titles, fit counts most. The publishers are independent and availability can change, so check each premium outlet's profile before you choose.
Which option fits your news
A local business update: Quick Start
A second location, new opening hours, a community sponsorship, a new manager. The goal is a public, linkable record that customers and local partners can find, and 100+ outlets covers it for $15. Keep the premium outlets for news with a wider audience.
Startup funding news: Wider Reach
A funding round matters to investors, customers, future hires and trade press, often in different places. Wider Reach covers that spread for $29 and includes 1 premium outlet. For a finance audience specifically, TheStreet ($30 on its own) is the natural pick. For a crypto, AI or Web3 company, MPost ($50) is the closer fit, as long as the release avoids investment or performance claims it can't support.
A national consumer launch: USA Today or Full Zen
If one national placement is the goal, USA Today costs $70 on its own. Make the national angle obvious in the first paragraph, since local-only stories usually need a clearer reason for a wider audience to care. If you also want the 300+ network and the other 6 premium titles, Full Zen covers all of it for $149.
Expanding into Japan or Asia: Nikkei
Nikkei ($80) is the premium outlet for business and Asia-focused audiences. Put the regional angle up top: which market, which city, which partner and what changes for customers there. Spell out company names and locations in full, and give measurable details.
A founder story or podcast audience: Spotify
Some stories work better heard than read, like a founder's backstory or a new book. For $20, the Spotify option turns your release into audio for a podcast distribution bundle that includes Spotify, so you get an audio placement rather than a written article. Podcasts are a mainstream habit: Edison Research's Infinite Dial 2026 found that 58% of Americans aged 12 and up had listened to or watched a podcast in the last month. Read how the Spotify audio option works, then write sentences short enough to say out loud.
If you're unsure, start small
Send your next release with Quick Start and read the report. You'll see where it landed, and the next choice gets easier. If you plan to announce news regularly, work out how many releases a month makes sense and set your budget per release from there.
Whatever you choose, put the report to work: add the live links to your website's news page and share them on your own channels. Averaged across 48 markets, the Reuters Institute's Digital News Report 2026 found that social media and video networks (54%) have overtaken news organizations' own websites and apps (51%) as the most widely used way to get news online. Your own posts are part of the distribution.
Every release sent through PR Zen's distribution network goes through editorial review, whichever option you pick, and if something needs a fix, you get one clear note saying exactly what. When you're ready, request access on the get started page and choose a package or single outlets for your release.
