Last updated · reviewed by the Essentras editorial team
Forbes Councils
Forbes Technology Council: cost, requirements and whether it is worth it
Forbes Technology Council is a fee-based membership for senior technology executives whose company has $1M in revenue or $1M in funding. Forbes Councils' dues page lists $2,800 a year plus a $600 initiation fee. Members publish edited, labeled Council Posts on Forbes.com: paid membership content, not Forbes newsroom coverage.
Sources: Forbes Councils' own pages, 3 live Tech Council posts and our catalog API, all read 3 Nov 2026.
What you will do
- Check the 2 gates: a senior technology role, and $1M in revenue or funding.
- See the 3 packages and the renewal rules as Forbes Councils states them.
- Read the article rules: length, originality, no AI drafting, no promotion, 4 to 6 weeks.
- Decide if it is worth it, with a cost-per-article table and a 2-question route finder.
- Compare fixed-price articles on named tech and business outlets, priced live from our catalog.
Start here in 1 click
Forbes Councils sells the membership itself, after approval. Essentras sells fixed-price placements on named outlets. 3 things you can do in 1 click, each with what it states before you pay.
Business Insider article
$420
- Turnaround
- 3 to 5 business days
- Goes live on
- businessinsider.com
- Link
- Nofollow
- Label, as the listing states it
- Published as a standard editorial article, with no sponsored label.
- If it does not publish
- Refunded if not published, or if the turnaround is missed.
The Next Web article
$3,333
- Turnaround
- 1 week
- Goes live on
- thenextweb.com
- Link
- Nofollow
- Label, as the listing states it
- Published as a standard editorial article, with no sponsored label.
- If it does not publish
- Refunded if not published, or if the turnaround is missed.
Forbes Technology Council: apply on Forbes Councils' form
$2,800 a year + $600
- Who qualifies
- Senior technology executives; company with $1M in revenue or $1M in funding
- Decision
- Within 2 to 4 business days, per Forbes Councils
- Packages
- Standard $2,800 a year, Executive $5,000 for 2 years, Premium $6,800 a year, each plus $600
- Label on posts
- "COUNCIL POST" and "Membership (fee-based)"
- Sold by
- Forbes Councils. Essentras does not sell it.
Every option side by side, from $317
Essentras sells paid placements: they are not earned coverage, and each runs with the label its listing states. Essentras is not affiliated with Forbes, Forbes Media or Forbes Councils, and sells no Council membership and no forbes.com placement.
Definition
What the Forbes Technology Council is, and who runs it
Forbes Technology Council is 1 of 9 Forbes Councils: a paid, vetted membership that lets senior technology executives publish labeled articles on Forbes.com and add quotes to roundups.
Forbes.com calls it "an invitation-only, fee-based organization comprised of leading CIOs, CTOs and technology executives." Member posts live in their own section, forbes.com/councils/forbestechcouncil, apart from the newsroom.
It runs under license. The membership terms are an agreement with The Community Company, which they name as owner and operator of Forbes Councils; Forbes is a trademark of Forbes Media, LLC; and every post says "Expertise from Forbes Councils members, operated under license."
Expect company in that section. On 3 Nov 2026 its latest 40 posts were all dated 2 or 3 November, at least 21 of them on 2 November alone.
What membership includes, per Forbes Councils
Bylined articles on Forbes.com
Edited with Council editors to the publication's guidelines, with your headshot, bio and an author page.
Expert Panels
Monthly questions you answer in under 400 characters; editors pick answers for a roundup with your name, headshot and links.
Executive Profile and badges
A profile page on Forbes.com, member badges, email signatures and press release templates.
Network and events
A member app with groups and messages, virtual events and a support team.
Perks
Access to EXEC, a travel and business benefits program, and a free 30-minute strategy session for qualified members.
Extras at a cost
Private business coaching costs extra. The Premium package adds articles written for you.
Eligibility
Requirements: who qualifies for the Forbes Technology Council
2 gates, a role and a money threshold, plus a list of excluded businesses. Forbes Councils says meeting the criteria "does not guarantee acceptance".
| Gate | What Forbes Councils says | How to check yourself |
|---|---|---|
| Role | A "senior-level technology executive": founders, partners and CEOs of technology companies, CTOs, CIOs and VPs of technology teams. | Your title and scope read as technology leadership on LinkedIn and your company site. |
| Money | $1,000,000 in annual revenue, or $1,000,000 in funding to date. The Agency, Business Development, Communications, Finance and HR councils use the same rule. | Funding counts, so a startup with $1M raised passes this gate before it has $1M in revenue. |
| Excluded businesses | MLM, gambling, adult, cannabis, crypto companies tied to ICOs, and marketing agencies with a conflict of interest, "such as link sellers or guaranteed media placements". | If you sell links or guaranteed placements, the application page says you are not allowed. |
| Location | The terms list being "located in the United States" among the statements a member makes; the home page says members come from the US, the UK, Singapore and India. | Outside the US? Ask in writing how section 3.1 of the terms applies to you before you pay. |
1. Check both gates
A senior technology role, and $1M in annual revenue or $1M in funding to date.
2. Apply on councils.forbes.com
Use the form on the qualification page. Forbes Councils says the answers go only to its selection committee.
3. Wait 2 to 4 business days
The selection committee answers in that window, per the application page.
4. If approved, choose a package
Standard $2,800 a year, Executive $5,000 for 2 years or Premium $6,800 a year, each plus $600. Get the renewal date and price in writing.
5. Plan your first article
Read the guidelines in the member dashboard, pick a topic from your own work and allow 4 to 6 weeks.
A service that offers to "get you in" can only fill in the same form. The selection committee decides.
The money
What it costs: $2,800 a year plus $600, as Forbes Councils lists it
No price appears on the Technology Council or application pages. The membership dues page, which opens without a login and is marked noindex so search engines leave it out, lists 3 packages.
| Package | Dues | First payment, with the initiation fee | What it adds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard, 1 year | $2,800 a year | $3,400 | Publishing on Forbes.com, monthly Expert Panels, Executive Profile, community, events, badges, editorial support, press release tools, EXEC. |
| Executive, 2 years | $5,000 for 2 years | $5,600 | Standard, plus a welcome post on Forbes Councils social media, a Member Spotlight on its blog and EXEC Unlimited. |
| Premium, 1 year | $6,800 a year | $7,400 | Standard, plus 3 industry articles written for you, a company bio, a personal bio, a strategy call and a dedicated writer. |
- The initiation fee is paid once and, per the terms, is not refunded.
- Older third-party estimates for the Technology Council ($1,500 to $3,000 a year, Max Borges Agency, April 2023) sit below what the dues page lists today.
The terms (last revised 11 Jun 2024) set the money rules. A membership renews automatically for the term you bought, 1 or 2 years. Written notice within 15 days after a renewal starts stops it and returns that fee. In the first 30 days you can cancel for a refund of the annual fee only if you have not used certain benefits, such as submitting an article or contacting another member.
The terms also say the fee "does not guarantee any benefits or results", and that the fee can change for the next term on 30 days' notice. Extras such as Premium writing renew separately and need notice 60 days before renewal.
First-year cost per published article
| Articles published in year 1 | Standard ($3,400) | Premium ($7,400, 3 written for you) |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | $1,133 | $2,467 |
| 6 | $567 | $1,233 |
| 12 | $283 | $617 |
- The Forbes Councils pages we read state no yearly article limit. An agency review (AceIt, 16 Mar 2026) says roughly 1 a month; ask for your allowance in writing.
- For comparison: 1 article on Business Insider costs $420 and on The Next Web $3,333 in our catalog (3 Nov 2026), paid once, with no renewal.
Send this after approval and before you select a package. Replace everything in [brackets].
Questions to Forbes Councils before you pay
After the approval email, before you choose a package.
Subject: Questions before I select a Forbes Technology Council package
Hi [Name],
Before I choose a package, could you confirm in writing:
1. Which packages are open to me, and whether your dues page prices apply: Standard $2,800 a year, Executive $5,000 for 2 years, Premium $6,800 a year, each plus the $600 initiation fee.
2. My renewal date, the renewal price, and how to give notice if I do not renew.
3. How many bylined articles I can submit per year, and the current editing time.
4. Whether links to my company site in articles and Expert Panels are nofollow.
5. How section 3.1 of your terms ("located in the United States") applies to a member based in [country].
6. Whether Premium writing renews separately, and its notice period.
Thank you,
[Your name]
[Title, company]Editorial rules
The editorial rules for Forbes Technology Council articles
A Council Post is not a guest post you can fill with your product. These are the rules Forbes Councils publishes for member articles, and what we saw on live Tech Council posts.
| Rule | What Forbes Councils says | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Length | An idea that "can be covered in 500 to 1,000 words"; the benefits page says about 700 to 800. | Publishing guide (5 May 2025); benefits page |
| Originality | "None of the text you submit can be previously published, even on your own blog or LinkedIn account." | Publishing guide |
| No AI drafting | AI-generated content is prohibited; on submission you confirm the content "is not AI-generated". | Publishing guide |
| Formats refused | Press releases and interviews, as well as AI-generated content. | Publishing guide; planning post (3 Jan 2018) |
| No promotion | Free of "selling, promoting, vendor recommendations, politics, and religion"; takeaways "unbiased and non-promotional". | Benefits page; publishing guide |
| Links | A link should "edify the reader": credit a statistic or quote, or explain a term. | Publishing questions post (7 Dec 2016) |
| Disclosure | Disclose any material connection to what an article endorses; member content may run as "native advertisements". | Terms, section 2.2.3 |
| No paid mentions | Members may not include a third party's services, products or links, or portray them positively, for a fee. | Terms, section 2.2.3 |
| Timing | 4 to 5 weeks of editing; live within 4 to 6 weeks; you approve the final copy first. | Publishing guide; benefits page |
| Removal | Once published, Forbes Councils "may not be able to remove" member content. | Terms, section 2.2.3 |
- An article under your byline, marked "Forbes Councils Member", in the Tech Council section of forbes.com
- Edited to Forbes Councils' guidelines and approved by you before it runs
- Labeled "COUNCIL POST" and "Membership (fee-based)" on every post we read
- Not newsroom coverage, and not a place for product news
- Not a followed link: 31 of 31 outbound links in the 3 posts we checked were nofollow
- Not something you can count on removing later, per the terms
- Labels and link attributes read on 3 live Tech Council posts of 2 and 3 Nov 2026, on 3 Nov 2026.
An outline that fits the published rules. A planning aid: the editor still decides.
Outline for a first Tech Council article
Before you draft in the member dashboard.
Working title: [1 specific lesson from your own work] Opening, 80 to 120 words: the problem, who has it, and the 1 lesson the reader leaves with. Part 1, 150 to 200 words: what your team tried first and why it did not work, with 1 fact from your own experience. Part 2, 150 to 200 words: the approach that worked, in steps another team can copy. Part 3, 150 to 200 words: the trade-offs, and when this approach does not apply. Close, 60 to 100 words: 3 takeaways in plain sentences. Links: only to credit a statistic or a quote, or to define a term. No product pages, no calls to buy. Before you submit: written by you, not AI-generated, never published anywhere else, including your blog and LinkedIn.
Decide
Is the Forbes Technology Council worth it?
It turns on 2 things: whether you will write regularly under its rules, and whether a labeled member post serves your goal. 2 questions give you a route, its price and what it will not do.
Pick an answer to see your route.
Every answer, in a table
| If | Route | Price | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| You want a recurring byline and a peer network, and you will write | Apply to the Technology Council, Standard package | $2,800 a year plus $600 ($3,400 in year 1) | Decision in 2 to 4 business days; 4 to 6 weeks per article |
| You want the byline but will not write | Premium package, or 1 placement with writing included | Premium $6,800 a year plus $600; a placement from $420 | Premium: 4 to 6 weeks per article; Business Insider: 3 to 5 business days |
| You want 1 credible article on a known outlet this month | A fixed-price placement on a named outlet | $420 (Business Insider) to $3,333 (The Next Web) | 3 to 5 business days to 1 week |
| You want to announce funding, a launch or a hire | A press release route, not a Council post | $317 (AP News), $667 (Yahoo Finance), or $833 for both plus Business Insider | 3 to 5 business days |
| You want a Forbes journalist to write about your company | Pitch the reporter who covers your beat | $0, plus your time or a PR firm's fees | No date: the reporter decides |
- You will publish several articles a year from your own experience
- You value a standing author page and Expert Panel quotes
- Your buyers read "Membership (fee-based)" as expertise, not as news
- You want newsroom coverage, product news or followed links
- You will not write: Premium covers 3 written articles for a first payment of $7,400
- You fail a gate or sit on the excluded list
- The terms say the fee "does not guarantee any benefits or results". Count only what you will use.
Alternatives
Forbes Technology Council vs fixed-price articles on named outlets
If the goal is a credible article on a name your buyers know, these are the tech and business outlets a technology executive usually weighs, priced from our catalog on 3 Nov 2026. Every row is a paid placement, whatever label the outlet uses: not earned coverage, and to be described as paid.
| Outlet | Price | Turnaround | Link | Label, as the listing states it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AP News; Press Release, apnews.com | $317 | 3 to 5 business days | Nofollow | Published with a sponsored or partner label. |
| Business Insider, businessinsider.com | $420 | 3 to 5 business days | Nofollow | Published as a standard editorial article, with no sponsored label. |
| HackerNoon, hackernoon.com | $650 | 1 week | Nofollow | Published as a standard editorial article, with no sponsored label. |
| Yahoo News/Finance; Press Release, finance.yahoo.com | $667 | 3 to 5 business days | Nofollow | Published with a discreet disclosure. |
| Business Insider / Yahoo / AP News; Press Release, markets.businessinsider.com | $833 | 3 to 5 business days | Nofollow | Published with a discreet disclosure. |
| Benzinga; Contributor, benzinga.com | $1,000 | 1 week | Nofollow | Published with a discreet disclosure. |
| Fortune, fortune.com | $2,333 | 1 to 3 business days | Nofollow | Published with a sponsored or partner label. |
| The Next Web, thenextweb.com | $3,333 | 1 week | Nofollow | Published as a standard editorial article, with no sponsored label. |
| Entrepreneur, entrepreneur.com | $6,500 | 1 to 2 weeks | Dofollow | Published as a standard editorial article, with no sponsored label. |
| Geekwire, geekwire.com | $6,667 | 3 to 5 business days | Nofollow | Published with a discreet disclosure. |
| Venture Beat, venturebeat.com | $6,667 | 1 week | Dofollow | Published as a standard editorial article, with no sponsored label. |
| Business Journal Silicon Valley (bizjournal.com), bizjournals.com | $7,500 | 1 to 2 weeks | Nofollow | Published with a discreet disclosure. |
| Wired, wired.com | $8,400 | 8 to 12 weeks | Nofollow | Published as a standard editorial article, with no sponsored label. |
| Ars Technica, arstechnica.com | $11,667 | 2 to 3 weeks | Nofollow | Published with a sponsored or partner label. |
| Forbes Australia, forbes.com.au | $11,667 | 3 to 4 weeks | Dofollow | Published as a standard editorial article, with no sponsored label. |
| Tech Crunch; Includes Social Posts, techcrunch.com | $23,333 | 2 to 3 weeks | Nofollow | Published with a sponsored or partner label. |
- Essentras list prices, not the outlets' rate cards. Live price and terms are on each listing page.
- Forbes Australia is a regional edition on its own domain, not forbes.com. The catalog has 10 regional Forbes editions, $5,000 to $85,750: see the Forbes contributor guide.
Want 1 article on a named outlet instead of a membership?
Business Insider: $420, 3 to 5 business days, with the label and link type shown on the listing before you pay. Refunded if it does not publish.
Optional add-ons, and cheaper starts
Optional. You can publish without any of these.
Often added
Business Insider, Yahoo and AP News in 1 order
$833 instead of $1,404
Bought separately the 3 cost $1,404; the bundle saves $571 (41%). The listing states: "Published with a discreet disclosure."
See the bundleGoogle Knowledge Panel
$650 individual, $1,200 business
Once coverage about you exists, a panel can show beside your name or company. A placement is a source Google may read, not a promise of a panel.
See the Knowledge PanelVolume discount
10% off 3 or more, 15% off 5 or more
Taken off the basket at checkout when you order 3 or more placements.
Browse outlets
Not ready yet?
HackerNoon, a technology outlet
$650, 1 week
1 tech article for a fraction of a Council's $3,400 first year. The listing shows its label and link type before you pay.
Publish on HackerNoonPress Monthly
$97 a month
1 press placement every month, on an outlet matched to your niche and shown to you before we write. Cancel any time; plan months have no fixed turnaround.
See Press MonthlyStart free
$0
Price a placement in the calculator, or read the price index, before you decide.
Open the calculator
Measured
What AI assistants tell buyers about Forbes Councils
Buyers now ask assistants how to get into Forbes. On 18 Oct 2026 we put 2 Forbes questions to 7 assistants through their APIs, with web search on, and kept every answer.
| Measure | Answers |
|---|---|
| Picked Forbes Councils as the first route | 12 of 14 (the other 2 led with Forbes's own BrandVoice) |
| Linked at least 1 councils.forbes.com page | 5 of 14 |
| Linked the Forbes Councils dues page | 2 of 14 |
| Gave the $2,800 figure the dues page lists | 3 of 14 |
| Named the Technology Council | 4 of 14 |
| Named Essentras | 0 of 14 |
- The tasks: price a sponsored article on Forbes for a B2B software company; and "My CEO wants a feature in Forbes. Tell me who legitimately sells that, what it costs, and what is a scam."
- Across all 349 benchmark answers, Forbes Councils was picked first 12 times, more than any other vendor on media placement tasks. 1 answer per task and assistant; the API is not the consumer app.
Assistants send buyers who want "Forbes" to Forbes Councils, then quote whatever fee their sources state. Only 2 of 14 answers linked the dues page, and the fees the others gave varied from answer to answer.
The dues page is marked noindex, which asks search engines not to list it. Our reading: an assistant repeats the pages it can find, so if your own prices sit only on pages search engines leave out, expect assistants to quote someone else's version.
Read the full benchmark and the method
The by-model results, what counts as a pick or a citation, and the limits of 1 answer per cell are on our GEO research page. The LLM SEO playbook turns them into a weekly routine.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
How much does the Forbes Technology Council cost?▾
Forbes Councils' dues page lists $2,800 a year (Standard), $5,000 for 2 years (Executive) or $6,800 a year (Premium), each plus a $600 initiation fee, read 3 Nov 2026. A first Standard year costs $3,400.
What are the requirements to join the Forbes Technology Council?▾
A senior-level technology role, and a company with $1,000,000 in annual revenue or $1,000,000 in funding to date. A selection committee answers in 2 to 4 business days; meeting the criteria does not guarantee acceptance.
Is the Forbes Technology Council worth it?▾
It can be if you will write several original, non-promotional articles a year: at 6 articles a first Standard year works out to $567 each. It is a weak fit for newsroom coverage, product news or followed links.
Is the Forbes Technology Council legit?▾
Yes. It is a real membership run under license by Forbes Councils, with posts on forbes.com labeled "COUNCIL POST" and "Membership (fee-based)". The criticism is about members who present a paid post as editorial coverage. Apply only on councils.forbes.com.
Is the Forbes Technology Council invitation-only?▾
Forbes.com calls it invitation-only, and Forbes Councils takes applications. Both hold: you apply, the selection committee vets you, and if approved you are "invited to select and purchase a membership package".
Can I use AI to write my Forbes Technology Council articles?▾
No. Forbes Councils does not publish AI-generated content, and you confirm on submission that the article is not AI-generated. Premium members can use Forbes Councils' own writers for 3 articles a year.
Do Forbes Technology Council articles give dofollow backlinks?▾
Not on the posts we checked: on 3 Nov 2026, all 31 outbound links in 3 Tech Council posts carried rel="nofollow", including company links in an Expert Panel roundup.
How long does it take to publish an article?▾
Forbes Councils describes 4 to 5 weeks of editing, and says articles go live within 4 to 6 weeks. You approve the final copy before it enters the publishing queue.
Can I cancel and get a refund?▾
Per the terms, within 30 days of your first term you get the annual fee back only if you have not yet used certain benefits, such as submitting an article. Notice within 15 days after a renewal starts returns that renewal. The initiation fee is not refunded.
Does Essentras sell Forbes Technology Council memberships?▾
No. Essentras is not affiliated with Forbes or Forbes Councils and sells no membership or forbes.com placement. Forbes Councils excludes agencies that sell links or guaranteed media placements, which describes Essentras. We sell fixed-price placements on named outlets, from $317.
Next steps
- 01
Check the 2 gates
A senior technology role, and $1M in revenue or funding. Missing either? Compare the alternatives.
- 02
Price the whole first year
$3,400 for Standard or $7,400 for Premium, plus the renewal date. Divide by the articles you will really publish.
- 03
Decide who writes
Original, non-promotional, 500 to 1,000 words, no AI drafting, 4 to 6 weeks each.
- 04
Compare 1 named-outlet article
Business Insider at $420 or The Next Web at $3,333, label and link type shown before you pay.
- 05
Describe it exactly
Say "member of Forbes Technology Council" or "author of a Council Post", never "featured in Forbes".
Want a named outlet at a fixed price instead?
Business Insider: $420, 3 to 5 business days, refunded if it does not publish. Every listing shows its label and link type before you pay.
Publish on Business Insider Browse all outlets and pricesChecked on . Every price, turnaround and label on this page comes from an Essentras listing or a page named in the sources below, read on the date shown there. Verify at the source before you pay.
Sources, with the date we read each one
- Forbes Councils, Technology Council page, read 3 Nov 2026
- Forbes Councils, application and qualifications, read 3 Nov 2026
- Forbes Councils, membership dues (noindex), read 3 Nov 2026
- Forbes Councils, membership terms (last revised 11 Jun 2024), read 3 Nov 2026
- Forbes Councils, publishing guide (updated 5 May 2025), read 3 Nov 2026
- Forbes Councils, member benefits: visibility, read 3 Nov 2026
- Forbes Councils, publishing planning post (3 Jan 2018), read 3 Nov 2026
- Forbes Councils, publishing questions post (7 Dec 2016), read 3 Nov 2026
- Forbes Councils, home page, read 3 Nov 2026
- Forbes.com, Technology Council section, read 3 Nov 2026
- Forbes.com, Tech Council post of 3 Nov 2026, read 3 Nov 2026
- Forbes.com, Tech Council Expert Panel of 2 Nov 2026, read 3 Nov 2026
- Forbes.com, Tech Council post of 3 Nov 2026, read 3 Nov 2026
- Max Borges Agency, Forbes Tech Council costs (20 Apr 2023), read 3 Nov 2026
- AceIt Agency, Forbes Councils review (16 Mar 2026), read 3 Nov 2026
- Essentras agent benchmark, 18 Oct 2026: method on our GEO research page
- Essentras catalog API, read 3 Nov 2026
- Essentras refund policy
Essentras sells paid placements, including the outlets on this page. Essentras is not affiliated with Forbes, Forbes Media, LLC, Forbes Councils, LLC or The Community Company, and sells no Council membership or forbes.com placement. Membership prices and rules are Forbes Councils' own, read on 3 Nov 2026; only Forbes Councils can confirm what it charges you. Paid placements are not earned coverage.
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