If you’re running an early-stage startup, PR probably sits somewhere below “hire a second developer” on the list. Fair enough. But there’s a moment, usually around a launch or a first funding round, when people start Googling your company. What they find matters.
You’re also in crowded company. India had 2,07,135 DPIIT-recognised startups by December 2025. Karnataka alone had 21,163, second only to Maharashtra, and more than 70% of those are in Bengaluru. Add the fact that 83% of Indian shoppers research online before they buy, and a few credible news mentions start to look less like a luxury and more like a way to stand out.
The good news is you don’t need a ₹1 lakh-a-month retainer to show up. Here’s what a budget of under ₹20,000 actually buys you, and how to get the most out of it.
What you can get for under ₹20,000
We have three packages that fit, before GST:
| Package | What you get | Turnaround | Price (+ GST) |
|---|---|---|---|
| ToI or ET | Your release published on Times of India and Economic Times platforms | — | ₹110,000 |
| ANI + BS + 200 | ANI, Business Standard, The Tribune, LatestLY, Lokmat Times + 200 sites, potential reach ~162 mn, DA 79 | 2 days | ₹17,500 |
| PTI + T20 | PTI Wire, HT Syndication, The Tribune, Sakshi Post, The Daily Jagran + 240 sites, potential reach ~19 mn, DA 66 | 48 hours | ₹18,500 |
To be upfront about GST: at 18%, the two bigger packages come to roughly ₹20,650 and ₹21,830 all-in. Still well under what most agencies charge for a single month.
Each package includes 0 to 2 backlinks. Pickups are frequent rather than guaranteed.
What you won’t get
It’s worth being clear about this so nobody’s disappointed.
You won’t get a journalist writing an original feature about you. Distribution packages publish your press release, in your words, on news sites. That’s different from a reporter interviewing your founder. You also won’t get a guaranteed headline on a newspaper’s homepage, and anyone promising that for this budget is selling something else.
What you do get is real, findable coverage on recognisable news sites, within a couple of days, for a fixed price. For most startups at this stage, that’s exactly what’s needed.
Which one should you pick?
Launching a product or website? Go with ANI + BS + 200. The wide spread of sites gives you lots of brand mentions, and “featured in Business Standard” looks good on a landing page.
Announcing funding or a partnership? PTI + T20. PTI carries weight with investors and the business press, and the mix of regional outlets broadens the reach.
Just need a credible name to point to? The ToI & ET package is the cheapest way to get those two logos on your “As featured in” strip.
How to make one release work harder
The release is the start, not the end. A few things that make a real difference:
- Have actual news. “We launched” is fine. “We launched and 1,200 people joined the waitlist in a week” is better. Numbers get picked up.
- Write it like news, not an ad. Who, what, when, why it matters. Save the adjectives.
- Include a proper founder quote. One or two sentences that sound like a person said them.
- Link to a page that converts. If someone reads the story and clicks through, they should land somewhere useful, not your homepage carousel.
- Use the coverage everywhere. Add an “As featured in” strip to your website, share the links on LinkedIn, put the logos in your pitch deck and add them to sales emails.
- Time it well. Weekday mornings are better than Friday evenings. Avoid days when big national news will drown you out.
Is this enough PR for a startup?
For a launch or a first round, usually yes. As you grow, you might add one release every quarter or so around genuine milestones. When you reach the point where journalists are calling you, that’s the time to think about a retainer. Until then, paying per release keeps your PR spend tied to actual news.
FAQs
What’s the cheapest digital PR package for startups? ₹15,000 + GST.
Can a startup get on PTI or ANI without a big budget? Yes. Our PTI + T20 package is ₹18,500 + GST and our ANI + BS + 200 package is ₹17,500 + GST.
How quickly will the coverage go live? Within 48 hours to two days of approval for most packages.
Will it help our SEO? It helps. You get up to 2 backlinks plus many brand mentions, which also help AI tools recognise your brand. That matters more every year: Google’s AI Overviews alone reach over 2 billion people a month.
Get your launch covered
Tell us what you’re announcing and when. We’ll suggest the right package and get it moving. MarketingAdvisor.in is a cost-effective digital PR agency in Bangalore. Email abhay@marketingadvisor.in or call +91 80996 11325.
Related reading: How much does digital PR cost in Bangalore? · How to choose a digital PR agency
References
- The Federal, “Maharashtra tops India startup list, Karnataka comes second” (DPIIT data as of December 2025), January 2026. Read
- MediaNews4U, “Digital dominates as 64% prefer shopping fully online and 83% research online first” (InMobi Advertising and Glance, 2025). Read
- TechCrunch, “Google’s AI Overviews have 2B monthly users”, July 2025. Read