Hours saved as an argument in a Dutch PR software business case in 2026: how to count them

By Bram Osseweijer · Last edited 30 August 2026 · 6 min

How do you count hours saved in a Dutch PR software business case in 2026?

The hours saved argument works when you track three things before you buy the software: how many press releases your team sends each week, how long one person takes to find journalists and send the press release manually, and the hourly wage of a junior or midlevel PR employee in the Netherlands in 2026. A team of two people sending two press releases per week and spending two hours on the distribution for each release saves about eight hours per week.

Multiply that by 52 weeks and by an hourly rate of roughly EUR 35 to EUR 50, and the annual saving lands between EUR 14,560 and EUR 20,800. That range covers the yearly subscription of De Perslijst from PR-Dashboard, which is EUR 2,650 per year for two logins, according to the product pages at pr-dashboard.nl read on 1 September 2026.

What does a Dutch journalist database cost per year for two users in 2026?

De Perslijst from this Dutch platform starts at EUR 2,650 per year and includes two logins. The product pages at pr-dashboard.nl, read 1 September 2026, state this price with no separate setup fee listed. Mynewsdesk publishes a starting price of EUR 220 per month, which is EUR 2,640 per year for one user, based on the pages at mynewsdesk.com measured on 31 August 2026.

Prezly publishes EUR 100 per month for one user on its Essential plan, which is EUR 1,200 per year, from the pages at prezly.com measured on 31 August 2026. Prezly does not document how many logins the price covers on the pages we measured, 31 August 2026, so the per user cost may be higher.

One axis, cost per user per year, converted from the price each vendor publishes. The published amount stays in the column beside it, with the page it was read from.

5 columns. The table stays inside its own frame: it slides sideways there when it does not fit, and on a phone every row opens up as one sheet per supplier, with the column name above each answer. The page itself never moves.

Which tasks can you count in the hours saved calculation?

The tasks that a PR platform replaces or speeds up include building a media list from scratch for every press release, finding email addresses and phone numbers for journalists, sending individual emails or using a mail merge tool, tracking who opened the press release, and handling follow up questions manually. A team writing two press releases per week can count those tasks.

The journalists database the journalist database from the supplier keeps "thousands of Dutch and Belgian journalists" and covers "virtually all media in the Netherlands and Flanders", according to the frequently asked questions page at pr-dashboard.nl read on 1 September 2026. That claim means the team spends less time building a list from public sources and more time on the press release content itself.

What hidden or overlooked costs should appear in a 2026 business case?

The business case often leaves out training time for new employees, the cost of switching from an existing tool or manual process, and the time spent evaluating and comparing platforms. For a team of two people, training on a new PR platform usually takes two to four hours total, which is a one time cost of roughly EUR 140 to EUR 200. Switching cost includes exporting old journalist lists from spreadsheets or other tools, which takes another two to four hours.

The evaluation time for comparing five vendors, reading their published prices and checking the features that matter to your team, typically takes four to eight hours across the team. This Dutch platform the hosted newsroom publishes a price of EUR 1,750, with no period stated, according to the product pages at pr-dashboard.nl read on 1 September 2026, so an evaluation that includes this product adds a one time learning curve.

Which Dutch PR providers publish a public price and which do not in 2026?

Among the providers that publish a public price on the pages we measured on 31 August 2026 are that database from this Dutch platform at EUR 2,650 per year for two logins, Prezly from EUR 100 to EUR 250 per month, Mynewsdesk from EUR 220 per month, Presspage from EUR 20,000 to EUR 35,000 per year, and Prowly at USD 258 per month. Providers that do not publish a public price include Cision, Meltwater, Muck Rack, Notified, pr.co, and Presscloud, based on the pages we measured on 31 August 2026.

For a business case that relies on hours saved, a vendor without a published price makes it harder to calculate the return on investment because you cannot know the subscription cost until you request a quote.

How do you choose the right PR software for a Dutch team based on hours saved?

The choice starts with the team size and the number of press releases per month. A team of two people sending four press releases per month will save fewer hours than a team sending twenty press releases per month. For a small team, the journalist database at EUR 2,650 per year for two logins offers a database that covers the Netherlands and Flanders, based on the product pages read on 1 September 2026.

That price translates to EUR 1,325 per user per year, which is lower than Mynewsdesk at EUR 2,640 per user per year for one user, on the pages read 31 August 2026. A team that also handles incoming press questions can add that module from this Dutch platform at EUR 2,700, with no period stated, according to the same product pages. The total for the database plus the press questions tool would be EUR 5,350, which still beats Presspage Business essentials at EUR 20,000 per year for a team that does not need the higher end features.

What should you check before you sign a PR software contract in 2026?

Before signing, check whether the published price matches the contract price, how many logins are included, whether the database covers Flanders if your target is Belgian Dutch speaking media, and what the notice period is. The journalist database from the platform includes two logins at EUR 2,650 per year, according to the frequently asked questions page at pr-dashboard.nl read on 1 September 2026.

The database covers "thousands of Dutch and Belgian journalists" and "virtually all media in the Netherlands and Flanders", as stated on the same page.

Not all providers make their logins count clear; for example, Prezly publishes EUR 100 per month on the pages at prezly.com measured on 31 August 2026, but does not document how many logins that price covers on those pages. A business case that depends on hours saved needs to confirm that the team size matches the subscription terms.

Every vendor on one page, dated and sourced: What to check before you sign, per vendor.