Chicago Tribune advertising cost

The clearest example of where metro pricing actually lives now: inside a self-serve order flow, shown after you type the ad.

The Tribune splits its desk in two. Classifieds, obituaries, and legal notices run through the placeanad self-serve portal, which prices your ad in the order flow, after you enter the text, so no citable open card exists. Display advertising is quote-only through the ad sales desk. In-flow pricing is real pricing; it just cannot be quoted in advance by anyone, including this site.

Source: Chicago Tribune self-serve ad portal (placeanad.chicagotribune.com), retrieved Jul 31, 2026.

Rate posture

Quote-only

Self-serve portal (placeanad.chicagotribune.com) prices classifieds, obituaries, and legal notices inside the order flow; display is quote-only via the ad desk.

Source: Chicago Tribune self-serve ad portal (placeanad.chicagotribune.com), retrieved Jul 31, 2026.

Cheapest published figure

None

In-flow pricing only: the portal shows a price after you enter your ad, so there is no citable open rate card.

Verified 2026-07-31. Recent changes: None verified.

Using an in-flow portal like a buyer

The portal is the metro tier’s most honest instrument, if you use it as one: enter your real text, walk the flow to the price screen, and record the figure before deciding. The meter is visible as you type, lines and days for classifieds and death notices, which makes the portal a free quoting tool for the classified and obituary math this site teaches. Add-ons (bold, boxes, photos) appear as separate line items; the same skepticism applies in-flow as on the phone.

Display buyers call the desk, where the standard metro conversation applies: request the card, get the per-inch figure in writing, and open the frequency conversation before accepting an open rate. Section deadlines follow the two-clock pattern, with the portal products holding the latest cutoffs.

The Illinois angle

Legal notices and the Tribune

The Tribune’s portal handles Illinois legal notices, but Illinois law does not require the county’s most famous paper; qualifying community papers in Cook County run the same statutory notice at much lower rates. The rules, the citation, and the cheaper-qualifying-paper strategy are on the Illinois notice page.

Source: Chicago Tribune self-serve ad portal (placeanad.chicagotribune.com), retrieved Jul 31, 2026. Portal product coverage verified at retrieval.