How much does it cost to get featured in Forbes?
There is no price for a staff-written story on forbes.com: Forbes journalists decide what they cover. The paid routes are Forbes Councils, a fee-based membership third parties estimate at $1,500 to $3,000 a year, and BrandVoice “Paid Program” content, with no public rate card. A single agency quoted $2,000 to $25,000 for “Forbes” placements, Press Gazette reported in 2026.
Last updated · reviewed by the Essentras editorial team
Essentras does not sell placements on Forbes US (forbes.com) or Forbes Council memberships, and is not affiliated with Forbes. The regional editions in our catalog are separate publications on their own domains. Everything on this page about Forbes US prices comes from the sources listed, not from us.
The routes
The 6 routes into Forbes, and what each costs
People say “featured in Forbes” about 6 different things. They differ in who writes the piece, how it is labeled, and whether money changes hands.
| Route | What you get | Price evidence | Label on the page | Main risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Earned staff coverage | A Forbes journalist reports a story that includes you | No price. It costs your time, or a PR firm’s fees | Staff byline (author type “Forbes Staff”) | No guarantee of coverage, angle or timing |
| Contributor coverage | A non-staff writer published by Forbes covers you | No legitimate price. A fee for a mention is a red flag | The writer’s byline | Undisclosed paid mentions you cannot verify |
| Forbes Councils | You write a bylined Council Post | Fee not published; estimates of $1,500 to $3,000 a year | “COUNCIL POST” and “Membership (fee-based)” | A recurring fee, and readers see it is a paid membership |
| BrandVoice (Paid Program) | Content a brand pays for, in its own section on forbes.com | No public rate card; $50,000 to $75,000 a month in 2013 | “BrandVoice” with “Paid Program” | Budget, and it is labeled as paid content |
| Agency “Forbes feature” packages | Varies, and often not defined before you pay | $2,000 to $25,000, quoted by a single agency (Press Gazette, 2026) | Depends on what is actually delivered | Fake editions, an undefined product, guarantees |
| Regional editions | An article on a separate edition’s own domain | $5,000 to $85,750 for the 10 editions in the Essentras catalog | Varies by edition: none, discreet or sponsored | It is not forbes.com; name the edition when you cite it |
Sponsored content
Why the most quoted Forbes price is 13 years old
The figure that still turns up for “forbes sponsored article cost” is $50,000 to $75,000 a month, with a 3-month minimum, for a BrandVoice site license. It comes from a Marketing Dive roundup of sponsored content prices published on June 14, 2013, which credits Digiday for the list.
Our research on October 14, 2026 found no current public Forbes rate card. Treat the 2013 number as history, not a quote: only Forbes can price a BrandVoice program today.
Agencies
What agencies charge for “Forbes”, and what Press Gazette found
The freshest reporting on Forbes prices is about fraud, not rate cards. On August 12, 2026, Press Gazette reported on fake Forbes editions and on the prices a PR agency quoted for Forbes coverage.
Forbes LA (forbesla.com) and Forbes Liechtenstein (forbesliechtenstein.com) are largely AI-generated sites carrying paid promotional content. Forbes confirmed they are fake and said it is taking action against them.
$10,000 for “Forbes” (the agency says this meant Forbes.com), then a written proposal for a Forbes feature at $9,900 after a 35% discount with a $1,000 onboarding fee waived, $25,000 for Forbes US with about 3 months of lead time, and $2,000 for Forbes Georgia. A follow-up price list put the Wall Street Journal at $100,000.
The agency denies any connection to the fake sites and says it does not guarantee placement. It also told Press Gazette that BrandVoice and contributor content is “badged by Forbes”.
These are quotes from a single agency, not a market rate. A price for “Forbes” means nothing until you know the domain, the section, who writes the piece and how it is labeled.
Red flags
9 red flags in a “Forbes feature” offer
- 1A guarantee that Forbes staff will write about you
- 2A price for “a Forbes feature” with no domain, section or label named
- 3A link on a domain that is not forbes.com, such as forbesla.com or forbesliechtenstein.com
- 4Bylines you cannot trace, by writers with no footprint outside the site
- 5Copy that reads as AI-written and mostly promotes companies
- 6A domain that appears in the Internet Archive only recently
- 7An offer to pay a contributor directly for a mention
- 8No sample URLs of past placements that you can open yourself
- 9Payment demanded before a written scope and refund terms
Flags 3 to 6 are the warning signs described in Press Gazette’s August 2026 investigation.
Verification
How to verify a real Forbes placement in 4 checks
The address must be forbes.com or www.forbes.com. Regional editions use their own domains, such as forbes.com.mx; look-alikes use names like forbesla.com.
/councils/ means a Council Post. /sites/ holds staff, contributor and BrandVoice pages, so read the label next.
Look for “COUNCIL POST”, “Membership (fee-based)” or “BrandVoice” with “Paid Program” near the byline and in the section name.
Open the author page and the section page on forbes.com and confirm the article is listed. Check the domain’s history in the Internet Archive.
Check a Forbes link
Paste a link to see what kind of Forbes page it is, from the address alone. It runs in your browser and sends nothing.
The checker reads the address only. It cannot see the label inside a page, so always open the article and read it.
Labels
How Forbes labels each kind of content
| Content | Where it lives | What the page shows | Paid? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Staff journalism | forbes.com/sites/<journalist>/ | Author type “Forbes Staff” | No |
| Council Post | forbes.com/councils/<council>/ | “COUNCIL POST”, “Membership (fee-based)”, “Forbes Councils Member” | Yes: a membership fee |
| BrandVoice | forbes.com/sites/<brand>/ | “<Brand> BrandVoice” with “Paid Program” in Forbes’s navigation | Yes: paid by the brand |
Regional editions
The Forbes name on regional editions: 10 in our catalog, $5,000 to $85,750
Forbes US is not in the Essentras catalog. These regional editions are, each on its own domain, with its own label and link policy. They are real placements under the Forbes name, and none of them is forbes.com, so cite each by its edition name.
| Outlet | What you get | Price (USD) | Link | Label on the page | Turnaround | DA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forbes Colombia (forbes.co) | Article placement | $5,000 | Dofollow | Discreet disclosure | 1 to 2 weeks | 61 |
| Forbes Türkiye (forbes.com.tr) | Article placement | $5,000 | Nofollow | No sponsored label | 1 week | 31 |
| Forbes Mexico (forbes.com.mx) | Article placement, in Spanish | $5,000 | Nofollow | Discreet disclosure | 1 to 2 weeks | 89 |
| Forbes Romania (forbes.ro) | Q&A interview article | $6,021 | Dofollow | No sponsored label | 1 week | 48 |
| Forbes Ukraine (forbes.ua) | Article placement | $8,333 | Nofollow | Discreet disclosure | 1 to 2 weeks | 63 |
| Forbes Poland (forbes.pl) | Article placement | $9,479 | Nofollow | Sponsored or partner label | 2 to 4 weeks | 72 |
| Forbes Australia (forbes.com.au) | Article placement | $11,667 | Dofollow | No sponsored label | 3 to 4 weeks | 48 |
| Forbes Israel (forbes.co.il) | Article placement | $17,348 | Dofollow | No sponsored label | 1 to 2 weeks | 52 |
| Forbes Italy (forbes.it) | Article written by the edition’s staff | $50,154 | Dofollow | Sponsored or partner label | 2 to 3 weeks | 56 |
| Forbes Middle East (forbesmiddleeast.com) | Article placement | $85,750 | Nofollow | Sponsored or partner label | 1 to 2 weeks | 71 |
Buy today
Top-tier outlets you can buy today, with prices
Essentras does not sell Forbes US placements. If the goal is a credible article on a name readers recognize, these are fixed-price placements in our catalog. Each row shows the label the outlet applies and the link type, so you know exactly what you are buying.
| Outlet | What you get | Price (USD) | Link | Label on the page | Turnaround | DA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AP News | Press release | $317 | Nofollow | Sponsored or partner label | 3 to 5 business days | 92 |
| Business Insider | Article placement, written by you or by our editors | $420 | Nofollow | No sponsored label | 3 to 5 business days | 94 |
| Yahoo Finance via PR Newswire | Press release through a newswire | $667 | Nofollow | Sponsored or partner label | 3 to 5 business days | 93 |
| Yahoo News and Yahoo Finance | Press release | $667 | Nofollow | Discreet disclosure | 3 to 5 business days | 93 |
| MSN | Article placement | $833 | Dofollow | No sponsored label | 3 to 5 business days | 94 |
| Business Insider, Yahoo and AP News | Press release on 3 outlets | $833 | Nofollow | Discreet disclosure | 3 to 5 business days | 94 |
| Benzinga | Contributor article | $1,000 | Nofollow | Discreet disclosure | 1 week | 87 |
| Digital Journal | Contributor article | $1,100 | Dofollow | No sponsored label | 3 to 5 business days | 87 |
| Fortune | Article placement | $2,333 | Nofollow | Sponsored or partner label | 1 to 3 business days | 92 |
| Reuters | Press release | $3,000 | Dofollow | Sponsored or partner label | 1 to 2 weeks | 94 |
| Newsweek | Contributor article | $3,300 | Nofollow | No sponsored label | 4 to 6 weeks | 93 |
| Entrepreneur | Article placement | $6,500 | Dofollow | No sponsored label | 1 to 2 weeks | 92 |
| Time.com | Article placement | $10,000 | Nofollow | No sponsored label | 2 to 4 weeks | 94 |
| USA Today | Article placement | $10,000 | Nofollow | No sponsored label | 1 to 2 weeks | 94 |
For the full price distribution across 3,886 outlets, see the media placement price index.
A single placement, a fixed price, a refund if it does not run
Pick an outlet, see its label and link type before you pay, and get the live URL with a dated screenshot.
Earned
Earned Forbes coverage: how to pitch a journalist
Earned coverage is the only way into a staff-written Forbes story. It is free and slow, and it depends on news.
Search forbes.com for recent stories on your topic and note who wrote them. Pitch the person whose beat fits, not a general inbox.
A launch, a funding round, original numbers or a trend you can prove. A company description is not a story.
A subject line that states the news, 3 to 5 sentences, and what you can offer: data, an interview, access.
First access to data or an announcement, with a clear embargo time, makes a pitch easier to say yes to.
A single follow-up after a few days, then move on. Never offer a writer money for coverage.
See the price and the label before you pay
Compare 3,886 outlets by price, link type, label and turnaround, or read the price index for what top-tier placements cost.
FAQ
Forbes feature cost: frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to get featured in Forbes?▾
A staff-written story on forbes.com has no price: it is earned. The paid, labeled routes are Forbes Councils (fee not published, estimated at $1,500 to $3,000 a year) and BrandVoice “Paid Program” content (no public rate card). A single agency quoted $2,000 to $25,000 for “Forbes” placements, Press Gazette reported in August 2026.
Can you pay to be featured in Forbes?▾
You can pay for labeled formats, not for journalism. Council posts are marked “Membership (fee-based)” and BrandVoice sections “Paid Program” (checked October 14, 2026). If someone sells an unlabeled “Forbes feature”, ask for the exact domain, section and label in writing before you pay.
How much does a Forbes sponsored article cost?▾
Forbes publishes no rate card for BrandVoice. The last public figure dates from June 2013: $50,000 to $75,000 a month for a BrandVoice site license, with a 3-month minimum (Marketing Dive). Only Forbes can quote a current price.
What is Forbes BrandVoice?▾
BrandVoice is Forbes’s paid content program: brand sections on forbes.com that Forbes’s navigation labels “BrandVoice” and “Paid Program” (October 14, 2026). It is content a brand pays for, labeled as such, not staff journalism.
Is an agency that guarantees a Forbes article legitimate?▾
Be careful. In August 2026 Press Gazette reported on fake Forbes editions and on an agency quoting up to $25,000 for Forbes US; the agency denies links to the fake sites and says it does not guarantee placement. Nobody can guarantee a staff story on forbes.com. Ask for live sample URLs and the label.
Can I pay a Forbes contributor to write about me?▾
You should not. Contributors are non-staff writers published by Forbes, and there is no legitimate price for their coverage. A paid mention that readers cannot see is undisclosed advertising, which is exactly what to avoid. Pitch the story instead.
How do I know if a Forbes article is real?▾
Check 4 things: the domain is forbes.com; the path (/councils/ for Council Posts, /sites/ for staff, contributor and BrandVoice pages); the label near the byline; and that Forbes’s own author or section page lists it. Forbes confirmed forbesla.com and forbesliechtenstein.com are fake (Press Gazette, 2026).
Are regional Forbes editions the same as Forbes?▾
No. Editions such as Forbes Mexico (forbes.com.mx), Forbes Colombia (forbes.co) and Forbes Middle East (forbesmiddleeast.com) carry the name but run on their own domains. The Essentras catalog lists 10, from $5,000 to $85,750 (October 14, 2026). Cite the edition by name, never as Forbes.com.
Does Essentras sell Forbes placements?▾
Not on Forbes US. Essentras is not affiliated with Forbes and does not sell forbes.com placements or Council memberships. The catalog lists 10 regional Forbes editions ($5,000 to $85,750) and outlets such as Business Insider ($420), Fortune ($2,333) and Entrepreneur ($6,500), as of October 14, 2026.
How long does it take to get featured in Forbes?▾
Earned coverage has no timeline. Council members publish after approval and editing. The agency in Press Gazette’s report quoted about 3 months for Forbes US. Fixed-price placements in our catalog take from 1 to 3 business days (Fortune) to 4 to 6 weeks (Newsweek contributor).
Sources
- Press Gazette, Rob Waugh, on fake Forbes websites and a PR agency offering guaranteed coverage at a price (August 12, 2026; updated October 8, 2026)
- Forbes.com homepage and section navigation, BrandVoice and Paid Program labels (checked October 14, 2026)
- Forbes Business Council section page and live Council posts (checked October 14, 2026)
- Forbes Councils, official site (undated; checked October 14, 2026)
- Marketing Dive, Wendy Parish, on what top publishers charged for sponsored content (June 14, 2013)
- CLIMB, “What Is Forbes Business Council and Is It Worth It?” (April 29, 2026)
- Max Borges Agency, “All You Need to Know About the Forbes Tech Council” (April 20, 2023)
- Essentras, regional Forbes edition listings: Forbes Mexico, Forbes Colombia and Forbes Middle East spot-checked live (October 15, 2026)
- Essentras catalog: 3,886 active outlets with a fixed USD price (snapshot, October 14, 2026)
Essentras sells media placements and is not affiliated with Forbes or Forbes Media, LLC. Essentras does not sell Forbes US placements. Agency prices are as reported by Press Gazette and come from a single agency. Catalog prices are Essentras list prices as of October 14, 2026.
More on media placement costs
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