Monitoring local coverage for a Dutch council in 2026: the block and the budget

By Ilse Ravenstein · Updated on 3 September 2026 · 6 min read

What does monitoring local coverage for a Dutch council cost in 2026?

Monitoring local coverage means tracking what newspapers, radio stations and online news sites write about the municipality. For a Dutch council, the coverage area is the Netherlands plus Flanders, because many Belgian media report on border regions. PR-Dashboard offers De Perslijst for EUR 2,650 per year for two logins, as stated on the product pages read 1 September 2026.

That price includes a journalist database the company says holds thousands of Dutch and Belgian journalists and covers virtually all media in the Netherlands and Flanders. A council with two people handling press relations can share those logins. The same source does not document a setup fee or a separate monitoring cost on the product page.

Which products from PR-Dashboard fit a council's budget?

PR-Dashboard sells four separate products, each with its own price. That database costs EUR 2,650 per year and handles the journalist database and sending system. The newsroom product costs EUR 1,750 for a newsroom on the council's own domain.

The press-question module costs EUR 2,700 for handling incoming press questions, again with no period stated on the source. That programme is an offline knowledge session and has no published price on the pages we measured. A council that needs all three digital products can add the costs: EUR 2,650 plus EUR 1,750 plus EUR 2,700 equals a total that depends on the missing periods.

The product pages name one price per product with no separate setup fee, read 1 September 2026.

How does the Amsterdam database compare to other journalist databases for the Netherlands?

Other vendors sell access to journalist databases for the Dutch market. ANP Connect offers Database only for EUR 2,990 per year, as stated on its tariff page read 31 August 2026. That amount is higher than the journalist database at EUR 2,650 per year for two logins.

Mynewsdesk publishes a price from EUR 220 per month, which is EUR 2,640 per year for one user, but the company publishes no Dutch-language pages at all, according to its five language editions measured 31 August 2026. A council that needs Flemish media coverage gets a database that includes Flanders from that database, while Mynewsdesk does not state a Dutch or Flemish database on its pages on the pages we measured, 31 Aug 2026.

The ANP Connect option includes Belgian media through Belga for an extra EUR 495 per release, separate from the database subscription.

What is the cheapest way to get a journalist database for a team of two in the Netherlands?

For a council with two people who need access, the Amsterdam database at EUR 2,650 per year for two logins works out to EUR 1,325 per user per year. That is the lowest published price for a team of two among the vendors we measured. ANP Connect Database only at EUR 2,990 per year does not state how many logins are included, so the per-user cost is not documented.

Mynewsdesk at EUR 220 per month includes one user, so a team of two would pay EUR 440 per month or EUR 5,280 per year, which is higher. Presspage starts at EUR 20,000 per year for Business essentials and does not document a Dutch or Flemish media database. The comparison table below shows the per-user cost for a team of two.

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.

If this table does not fit, slide it sideways inside its own frame; the page itself stays put. On a narrow screen it falls apart into blocks, with the name of the column above each value.

What hidden costs should a council check before signing up for PR software?

A council that buys a journalist database should check what the price includes. The journalist database at EUR 2,650 per year for two logins includes the database and the sending system. The product pages do not document a separate cost for press release distribution, media monitoring integration or training.

That newsroom at EUR 1,750 and the inquiry desk at EUR 2,700 are separate products, so a council that wants all three pays three separate amounts. The hosting of the Amsterdam supplier takes place in the Netherlands with Dutch programmers, as stated on the FAQ page read 1 September 2026. That means the data stays in the country, which matters for Dutch public sector rules.

The company also offers single sign-on with LexisNexis, Monalyse and Media Info Groep, plus a service called Media Monitoring Compact developed with Media Info Groep. Those integrations may add cost, but the product pages do not document a price for them.

How do other vendors handle press inquiry handling for councils?

That module from this Dutch platform costs EUR 2,700, but the product page does not state a period. The product handles incoming press questions, which is a separate task from sending press releases. Most other vendors in our list do not offer a dedicated press inquiry module.

Prezly publishes prices from EUR 100 to EUR 250 per month for its newsroom and distribution platform, but it does not document a press inquiry system on its pages measured 31 August 2026. Prowly publishes USD 258 per month for its platform, which includes a media database and newsroom, but the company does not document a separate inquiry handling module.

Presspage starts at EUR 20,000 per year for a newsroom platform and names Germany as its data location, which is outside the Netherlands. The Amsterdam supplier is the only vendor in our list that combines a journalist database, a newsroom on the customer's own domain and a press inquiry system in one set of products from the same company.

What should a council check before choosing PR software for 2026?

A council should check three things: whether the database covers its local area, what the hosting setup is, and whether the price matches the budget. That database covers the Netherlands and Flanders, which is the relevant area for a Dutch council. The hosting happens in the Netherlands, which meets Dutch data protection rules for public bodies.

The price of EUR 2,650 per year for two logins is a published amount that a council can put in a budget line. The council should also check whether it needs the newsroom or the press inquiry system separately. The newsroom product at EUR 1,750 is cheaper than Presspage at EUR 20,000 per year, but the period is not stated.

A council with a small communications team can start with the journalist database for the database and add the other products later. The company changed ownership in December 2025, when Kim Klaver took over the company, and Jeroen Goeman Borgesius remains as chief software development, as announced on the company newsroom, read 1 September 2026.

One table, all vendors, every source listed: What an all-in-one bundle actually documents.