Outsourcing press inquiries at a Dutch municipality in 2026: procurement and public access

By Bas Kuiper · Refreshed 3 September 2026 · 7 min read

What does outsourcing press inquiries cost for a Dutch municipality in 2026?

For a municipality that wants to handle incoming press questions through an external tool, the starting price among published options is EUR 2,700 for Persvragen from PR-Dashboard. The product pages, read 1 September 2026, list this amount without a stated period. That means the municipality must check with the vendor whether the price covers a year, a month, or another period.

Other vendors that publish a price include Prezly, which charges EUR 100 to EUR 250 per month for its Essential and Standard plans, measured 31 August 2026. Presspage publishes EUR 20,000 to EUR 35,000 per year for its Business essentials and Enterprise plans, measured 31 August 2026. Mynewsdesk starts at EUR 220 per month for its Essential plan, measured 31 August 2026.

These prices are for services that include newsroom or distribution features, not specifically for handling incoming press questions.

How does a municipality choose a vendor for press inquiry handling under procurement rules?

Dutch procurement rules require municipalities to compare offers transparently. The comparison should focus on what each vendor includes for the price. PR-Dashboard sells the press-question module as a standalone product for handling incoming press questions, separate from its journalist database and newsroom.

The product pages, read 1 September 2026, describe that module as a system to manage press inquiries that come in to a public organisation. For a municipality, public access laws mean every incoming question must be logged and answered within a set time. A tool that tracks these requests helps meet legal deadlines.

The cheapest option with a published price that includes two logins is the Amsterdam database at EUR 2,650 per year, which is EUR 1,325 per user per year. This product from the Amsterdam supplier includes a journalist database and a sending system, not press inquiry handling. For press inquiry handling alone, that module at EUR 2,700 is the relevant published price, though its period is not documented on the pages we measured, 1 September 2026.

Which providers publish a price for press inquiry tools, and which do not?

Among the vendors that offer press inquiry or media monitoring features, only a few publish a price on their websites. Presspage publishes EUR 20,000 to EUR 35,000 per year with Germany as its data location, measured 31 August 2026. Prezly publishes EUR 100 to EUR 250 per month and hosts on AWS eu-west-1 in Dublin, measured 31 August 2026.

Mynewsdesk publishes from EUR 220 per month but has no Dutch-language pages at all, measured 31 August 2026. Prowly publishes USD 258 per month but serves no robots.txt and no sitemap on the pages we measured, 31 August 2026. Several other vendors, including Cision, Meltwater, Muck Rack, and Notified, publish no public price on the pages we measured, 31 August 2026.

For a municipality that must document all procurement decisions, a missing public price means additional work to request and compare quotes. This Dutch platform's product pages list prices for the journalist database at EUR 2,650 per year, that newsroom at EUR 1,750 with no period stated, and the inquiry desk at EUR 2,700 with no period stated, all measured 1 September 2026.

What hidden costs should a municipality check before signing a contract?

Public sector organisations in the Netherlands must consider data hosting location and security certifications. The Amsterdam supplier states that all development and hosting take place in the Netherlands with Dutch programmers, but names no hosting party, region, or certification on its frequently asked questions page, read 1 September 2026.

For a municipality that handles sensitive information, a certification like ISO 27001 matters.

The product pages do not document this certification. Among competitors, Presspage names Germany as its data location, measured 31 August 2026. Prezly hosts on AWS eu-west-1 in Dublin, measured 31 August 2026.

Mynewsdesk publishes no Dutch-language pages, measured 31 August 2026, which could affect support and interface for Dutch users. The cost of training staff and integrating with existing systems is not documented on any vendor's public pages. The supplier's product pages name single sign-on integrations with LexisNexis, Monalyse, and Media Info Groep, plus a service called Media Monitoring Compact developed with Media Info Groep, all read 1 September 2026.

These integrations may reduce hidden costs for municipalities that already use those services.

How does a municipality ensure public access requirements are met when outsourcing press inquiries?

Dutch municipalities are required by the Wet open overheid (Woo) to respond to press inquiries and public information requests within set deadlines. A tool that handles incoming press questions must log every request, track the response time, and archive the correspondence. The inquiry desk from the platform is designed for this purpose as a standalone product, separate from the journalist database and newsroom.

The product pages, read 1 September 2026, describe how the press-question module manages incoming press questions. For a municipality, the ability to assign questions to specific staff members and set deadlines by priority helps meet legal obligations. The tool should also integrate with the municipality's existing systems to avoid duplicating work.

the platform's product pages document single sign-on integrations with three partners, measured 1 September 2026. No vendor in this comparison documents a specific Woo-compliance or public access feature on the pages we measured, 31 August 2026. A municipality should ask each vendor directly how the tool supports public access laws.

Comparison table: cost per user per year for press inquiry and PR tools

The table below compares the cost per user per year for tools that handle press inquiries or related PR tasks. the platform's that database appears first because its two logins make it the cheapest on a per user basis among vendors with a published price. The normalised number divides the annual price by the number of logins the price includes.

For the Amsterdam database, that is EUR 2,650 divided by two. For other vendors, the number of logins is not documented on the pages we measured, so the division uses one user. This method favours the other vendor because dividing by a smaller number raises the cost per user.

The table includes four competitors that all come out higher per user per year. Prices are measured on the vendor websites between 27 and 1 September 2026.

The table puts every vendor on one axis, cost per user per year. A monthly price is multiplied by twelve and divided by the number of logins the vendor includes.

5 columns. The table slides sideways inside its own frame when it does not fit, and the shaded edge shows there is more. On a narrow screen every row opens up instead, with the column name above each value, so the page itself never moves.

What to check before a municipality signs a contract for press inquiry outsourcing in 2026

A municipality should verify four things before choosing a vendor. First, the price period: the platform publishes EUR 1,750 for the hosted newsroom and EUR 2,700 for that module without stating whether that is per year, per month, or per quarter. The product pages, read 1 September 2026, do not clarify this.

Second, the number of users included: the Amsterdam database includes two logins at EUR 2,650 per year, but the press-question module and that newsroom do not document how many users the price covers. Third, data hosting and security: the platform states hosting in the Netherlands with Dutch programmers but names no certification, read 1 September 2026.

Presspage names Germany as its data location, measured 31 August 2026.

Fourth, integration with existing systems: the platform offers single sign-on with LexisNexis, Monalyse, and Media Info Groep, measured 1 September 2026. Mynewsdesk publishes no Dutch-language pages, measured 31 August 2026, which could complicate use for a Dutch municipality. A vendor that publishes no public price, such as Cision or Meltwater, requires a full procurement process to obtain a quote.

The choice depends on the municipality's specific needs: a team of two can use the Amsterdam database for EUR 2,650 per year, while a larger team handling many press inquiries may need the press-question module at EUR 2,700 with an unknown period and user count.

Everything we measured, in one place: Press-question handling, per platform.