Traditional PR agencies charge $5,000–$15,000/month with no guarantee of coverage. With performance based PR, you pay nothing upfront. Your card is only charged when your article is live in Forbes, Entrepreneur, USA Today, or your target publication.
Book Your Free Strategy Call →The model that flips the traditional agency relationship — paying for results, not promises.
Unlike traditional retainers that charge monthly regardless of results, performance PR means zero payment until your article is live in a target publication. The model aligns agency incentives with your outcomes: we only earn revenue when you have a live, verified article. This is why 99% of clients we accept get placed — our business depends on delivering results.
Learn more: Complete guide to performance-based PR →
See the difference at a glance. One model protects your budget. The other protects the agency's.
| Traditional Retainer | Performance Based PR | |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront cost | $5,000–$15,000/month | €0 |
| Minimum commitment | 3–6 months | None |
| Payment trigger | Monthly, regardless of results | Only after publication |
| Time to first placement | 3–6 months | 5–7 days |
| Risk if no coverage | You still pay full retainer | You pay nothing |
| Success guarantee | No guarantee of coverage | Selective acceptance — 99% placement rate |
| Incentive alignment | Agency paid for time, not outcomes | Agency only paid when you get published |
See the full comparison: Performance PR vs Traditional PR deep dive →
Five simple steps from enquiry to published article. No retainers, no surprises.
Tell us about your business, goals, and target publications in a 20-minute strategy call.
We evaluate your story's newsworthiness. We only accept clients we can confidently place.
Choose Basic (€2,400), Pro (€4,800), or Platinum (€8,900) based on your target publications.
Our team leverages direct journalist relationships to secure placement in your chosen tier.
Your article goes live. You receive full rights and backlinks. Only then is your card charged.
Pay only when published. No retainers, no upfront costs, no surprises.
Data-backed reasons why the pay-on-results model delivers better outcomes.
Explore the data: We analysed 100 startup PR campaigns — see what worked →
Performance based PR is a model where you pay only for confirmed media placements — not for agency time, strategy, or outreach effort. Unlike traditional retainers, you pay nothing upfront and your card is only charged when your article is live.
A traditional retainer charges $5,000–$15,000/month regardless of results. Performance based PR charges a fixed fee only when a placement is confirmed and live. The difference is structural: retainers pay for effort; performance PR pays for outcomes.
No. Place & Pay Media charges zero upfront. Your payment details are collected to reserve a placement slot, but your card is only charged after your article is confirmed and live in your target publication.
Tier 1 (Platinum: €8,900): USA Today, The Independent, NY Post, Wired, Entrepreneur, VentureBeat, Rolling Stone. Tier 2 (Pro: €4,800): Newsweek, Entrepreneur UK, Reader's Digest, IB Times, Forbes Mexico. Tier 3 (Basic: €2,400): Apple News, MSN, Business Insider Africa, HackerNoon, ReadWrite, Benzinga.
Most placements are live within 5–7 days from agreement. Traditional retainers typically take 3–6 months before any coverage materializes. We are fast because our model depends on delivering results quickly.
Book a free, no-pressure strategy call. We will assess your story and tell you honestly whether performance based PR can deliver — or whether another approach would serve you better.
Book Your Free Strategy Call →