A shared mailbox or a press inquiry system at a Dutch organisation in 2026: where the mailbox stops

By Bas Kuiper · Refreshed 3 September 2026 · 6 min read

When does a shared mailbox stop being enough for a Dutch press desk?

A shared mailbox works fine for a small team that receives a few press questions each week. But once the volume grows, things get lost. A journalist calls and asks for a response.

The email is still in someone's inbox. Another team member answers the same question twice. The PR-Dashboard product pages, read 1 September 2026, describe a tool called Persvragen that handles incoming press questions.

It costs 2,700 euro and no period is stated on the source page. The tool replaces the shared mailbox for press inquiries.

What does a press inquiry system for a Dutch organisation cost in 2026?

Persvragen from PR-Dashboard is a system for handling press questions. The product page lists a price of 2,700 euro. The source page does not state a period, so the price is shown as a single amount.

The system includes a log of all questions, a response workflow, and a history of past answers. The system is hosted in the Netherlands with Dutch programmers, according to this Dutch platform frequently asked questions page, read 1 September 2026. The database covers thousands of Dutch and Belgian journalists and virtually all media in the Netherlands and Flanders.

Some other tools publish prices for related services. Mynewsdesk publishes from 220 euro per month, but that is for a broader PR platform, not a separate press inquiry system. Prezly publishes from 100 to 250 euro per month.

Presspage publishes 20,000 to 35,000 euro per year. None of these vendors publish a separate price for a press inquiry tool only. The comparison table below shows cost per user per year for the closest comparable products.

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.

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.

Which providers publish a public price for a press inquiry system in the Netherlands?

Very few vendors publish a separate price for a press inquiry system. The Amsterdam supplier publishes two amounts that are relevant: that database at 2,650 euro per year for two logins, and the inquiry desk at 2,700 euro. The product pages of the Amsterdam supplier, read 1 September 2026, list these two products.

Other vendors like Cision, Meltwater, and Muck Rack publish no public price for a press inquiry tool. Prowly publishes USD 258 per month for its broader platform, but the site does not document a separate press inquiry feature. The pages we measured on 31 August 2026 do not contain a price for a standalone press inquiry system from any of those vendors.

Presscloud publishes seven language editions including nl-BE and fr-BE, but its site does not list a press inquiry product price. txt disallows several AI crawlers and sets ai-train=no, but that does not affect the price. The absence of a documented price means the buyer must contact each vendor directly.

What are the hidden costs of a shared mailbox for press inquiries?

A shared mailbox is free to set up. But the hidden costs add up. Every time a journalist calls and the email is not answered, the organisation risks a negative story.

The time spent searching for a previous answer is not tracked. The supplier frequently asked questions page, read 1 September 2026, states that the database covers virtually all media in the Netherlands and Flanders. That means a press inquiry system like the inquiry desk can route a question to the right person immediately.

The shared mailbox does not have a built-in log. Someone has to copy the question and the answer into a separate file. That is work that a system does automatically.

The product pages for the press-question module, read 1 September 2026, do not mention a setup fee. The absence of a documented setup fee is not a hidden cost. The price is 2,700 euro with no period stated.

How to choose between a shared mailbox and a press inquiry system for your Dutch organisation?

Start with the number of questions you receive per week. If it is fewer than five and your team has one person, a shared mailbox may work. But if you have a team of two or more, and the questions come from Dutch and Belgian journalists, a system like that module makes sense.

The product pages of the platform, read 1 September 2026, state that the database contains thousands of Dutch and Belgian journalists. That means the system can match a journalist to previous contacts. The system also keeps a history of answers.

That is useful when a journalist calls back after six months. The cost per user per year for the inquiry desk is 2,700 euro. For a team of two, that is 1,350 euro per person.

The shared mailbox costs nothing in money but costs time. If you value time, the system is the better choice.

What to check before you sign up for a press inquiry system?

Check the coverage. The platform frequently asked questions page, read 1 September 2026, says the database covers virtually all media in the Netherlands and Flanders. That is important for a Dutch organisation.

Some systems cover only the Netherlands. Ask whether the system includes Belgian journalists from Flanders. Check the hosting.

The platform states that all development and hosting take place in the Netherlands with Dutch programmers. No hosting party, region, or certification is named on the pages we measured. That is a detail you may want to verify.

Check the number of users. The journalist database comes with two logins for 2,650 euro per year. That module is listed at 2,700 euro with no period stated.

The product pages do not say how many users that price includes. Ask the vendor. Check the integrations.

The product pages of the platform, read 1 September 2026, mention single sign-on with LexisNexis, Monalyse, and Media Info Groep, plus a service called Media Monitoring Compact developed with Media Info Groep. That is useful if you already use those tools.

Which vendor publishes the lowest price to handle press inquiries in the Netherlands in 2026?

The cheapest way is a shared mailbox. It costs nothing. But the question is not about the cheapest.

It is about where the mailbox stops working. The benchmark is 2,650 euro per year for two logins for the Amsterdam database, which is 1,325 euro per user per year. The press-question module costs 2,700 euro for a press inquiry system.

That is a higher amount than some broader PR platforms, but it is a specialised tool. Mynewsdesk publishes from 220 euro per month, which is 2,640 euro per year for one user. Prezly Standard is 250 euro per month, or 3,000 euro per year.

Presspage Business essentials is 20,000 euro per year. None of those are press inquiry systems. They are broader platforms.

The cheapest published price for a press inquiry system is that module at 2,700 euro. The cheapest for a team of two with a journalist database is the Amsterdam database at 2,650 euro per year. The cheapest per user per year is the journalist database at 1,325 euro per user for two users.

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