The best free press release sites in 2026

1

PRLog

Free, ad-supported releases with pressroom hosting

PRLog is the most complete free option on this list and the one to start with. A free release is ad-supported and includes distribution to search engines, a hosted page with a pressroom and company profile, your company logo, one industry, tag and location listing with RSS feeds, a PDF version, one video embed and analytics on hits and social shares. The free tier covers 500 words and 2 plain links, and you can schedule up to a day ahead. The wider reach is paid: distribution to 8,000+ subscribers and front-page listing (Basic and up), Google News (Premium and up) and syndication to 200+ or 500+ more sites. Paid releases cost $29, $49 or $99 each, with volume pricing on the Premium tiers and PR Newswire and AP add-ons on Premium2, so a bigger announcement can move up without changing platforms. PRLog's free-submission page and its comparison table differ on links and photos; we went by the comparison table.

For PR teamsAgencies set up a free pressroom for a small client and post routine announcements there, then upgrade a single release to Premium, or to Premium2 with the PR Newswire add-on, when the news is bigger.

2

openPR

One free release every 30 days, with an image and links

openPR lets you publish one free release every 30 days, and it's one of the few free sites where that release can carry an image and links. The submit page asks for at least 1,700 characters of plain text (no HTML) and an image of at least 1200 x 900 pixels; openPR's own tip is that without an image the release will not be listed by Google News. Its FAQ allows up to 3 links per release (the submit page says 5). Submitter rules are strict: no Gmail or other free email addresses, a full postal address, entrepreneurs only, and no adult, supplement, duplicate or spammy releases. Releases publish on working days only. Paid credits buy more releases, not wider distribution, from €49 for one credit to €399 for 500, plus VAT, and editing or deleting a published release costs €10 plus VAT. openPR says it hosts over 4.5 million releases from more than 285,000 authors.

For PR teamsA small in-house team posts its monthly news there with a product image, and uses the business-email and address rules as a check that the release is ready to publish.

3

PR.com

Free reduced distribution next to a clear paid ladder

PR.com sells paid distribution and keeps a free package alongside it. In its own words, the free package "receives a reduced distribution to general search engines, in PR.com, some 3rd party and news websites, and RSS feeds." Links in a free release cost $29.95 each, so plan on a text-only release unless you pay for them. The paid ladder is the main reason it ranks here: $60 adds news sites (Yahoo News and Google News among them, per its table), the news RSS subscriber database, media subscribers and an optimized image; $100 adds an online posting report, next-day distribution, editorial feedback and 10 industry and 3 regional channels; $300 adds same-day distribution, enhanced proofreading and Associated Press distribution to top media outlets and APNews.com. You choose free or paid distribution release by release, so one account covers both.

For PR teamsAgencies post a small client's announcement on the free package, then quote the $100 tier when the client wants a posting report for the next one.

4

IssueWire

Your first release free, with links, images and video

IssueWire describes itself as a paid distribution site with "limited distribution for free pr", and the free offer is one release per account: your first. That release is the most generous single free release we found: 4 anchor-text links, up to 5 images, YouTube and Vimeo embeds, scheduling, a PDF version, social sharing, an SEO audit and a publish notification. What it leaves out is reach. The free column excludes Google, Yahoo, Bing, Google News and Apple News inclusion, distribution to IssueWire's subscribers, an ad-free page and an online posting report, and the FAQ says free releases go to fewer sites than paid ones. Releases are reviewed in the order received. Paid single releases run from $21 (Tier 1) to $99 (Tier 2 Premium), with guaranteed placements from 145+ to 700+ sites depending on the tier. Use the free release for a launch you want to look finished.

For PR teamsA founder publishes the company's launch release free with product images and links, then decides from the result whether a paid tier is worth it for the next one.

5

EIN Presswire

A paid newswire that offers a free release on request

EIN Presswire is a paid newswire, and its free release is a way to try the service rather than a standing free plan. You contact EIN, it reviews the request and sends upload instructions; the free release then appears on one EIN Presswire distribution channel of your choice and comes with a detailed distribution report. Embedded images, video, RSS syndication, scheduling and wider distribution are upgrades, and EIN reviews every release before distribution. The paid packages are published: $149 for one release, $499 for 5 and $999 for 15, usable for 365 days, and EIN says all packages include AP News, Nexstar Media Group and the USA TODAY Network. That makes it the natural next step when a free post isn't enough for a client's announcement, and the free release lets you see the report format first.

For PR teamsAgencies request the free release for a smaller client to check the distribution report format, then buy a 5- or 15-release package if it fits the client's cadence.

6

1888 PressRelease

A $0 plan with the cheapest paid upgrade on this list

1888 PressRelease runs a $0 plan next to five paid ones, and its homepage says it offers "free press release submission and press release distribution." The free plan is basic: its plan table excludes a logo or image, a PDF version, a company quote, editing after submission, ad removal and hiding other companies' related releases, and free releases don't get the guarantee of staying in its database permanently. The guidelines suggest about 300 words, and releases that lack substantial content aren't approved. The upgrade path is the cheapest here: Gold at $15 per release adds the image, PDF and editing; Platinum at $25 makes the release available to its Google News feed; Diamond ($50), Ultimate ($150) and Ultimate Plus ($249) go further. It suits short, factual announcements where any public record helps and a small upgrade is acceptable.

For PR teamsA nonprofit or local business posts a short event or opening notice on the free plan, and pays $15 when it needs the logo and the ability to fix a typo.

7

PRFree

A permanent URL for your release, free since 2010

PRFree, running since 2010, gives a free release a permanent live URL, a listing on its country and category pages, share buttons, a PDF and print version and a company information display. On the free plan, distribution to search engines and AI discoverability are both marked "Subject to Quality Check", and listing priority is "Low". Its homepage says it reviews grammar, SEO tags and backlinks before publishing. The free plan doesn't include a link to your website, a company logo, photos, video, a homepage or news listing, an ad-free page or distribution within 24 hours. Standard ($29 per release) adds the website link, images and 24-hour distribution, and Premium ($49) adds up to 10 links in the body and video. Choose it when a stable URL for the announcement matters more than reach, for example a notice you want to link from your own site.

For PR teamsA small team publishes an announcement free to get a permanent third-party URL, then links it from the company's own newsroom page.