Summary
How much does it cost to publish in science? It depends on the journal’s business model (subscription, hybrid, gold open access, or diamond OA), its production choices (print vs online-only), and your own decisions (colour figures, page length, optional fast-track). Some journals charge submission fees (~$0–$100) before review; most fees arise after acceptance and may include page/length charges, colour charges (for print), and/or an article processing charge (APC) for open access. APCs range widely—from <$100 in niche venues to several thousand dollars in high-prestige OA journals.
Good news: many costs are avoidable or fundable. Waivers/discounts exist; funders and institutions often pay APCs via grants or “read-and-publish” deals; diamonds (no-APC OA) and subscription journals may cost you nothing. Your best strategy is to plan early, choose the right venue, and ask about waivers, institutional agreements, and society discounts. Use the tables and checklists below to price a target journal in 10 minutes and budget confidently in your next grant.
Bottom line: there is no single price of publishing, but there is a reliable process to forecast and reduce costs—verify the journal’s fee page, list all potential charges, match them to funder/institutional support, and avoid optional add-ons that do not advance your scientific goals.
📖 Full Length (Click to collapse)
How Much Does It Cost To Publish in Science
What fees exist, why journals charge them, and how to predict—and reduce—your bill
Scientists regularly ask, “What will this paper cost to publish?” The honest answer is: it depends. Journals differ in business models, production choices, and editorial policies; costs vary by field and article type; and many charges are optional—or fundable—if you plan ahead. This guide breaks down every common fee you may encounter, shows typical ranges, and offers practical ways to keep costs manageable without compromising quality or access.
1) Common fee types (before and after acceptance)
| Fee | When charged | What it covers | Typical range (USD) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Submission fee | At submission | Initial admin & triage; screening | $0–$100 (often ~$50) | Not universal; typically non-refundable |
| Page/length charges | After acceptance | Typesetting/print costs; over-length penalties | $0–$250/page; over-length flat $300–$2000 | More common in print or society journals |
| Colour charges (print) | After acceptance | Colour plates in print edition | $150–$250 per colour page; elaborate figure up to ~$1000 | Online-only journals usually don’t charge for colour online |
| Open Access APC | After acceptance | Peer review, production, hosting, indexing, archiving | $0 (diamond) to $5,000+; many in $800–$3,000 | Waivers/discounts common; varies by field/journal |
| Hybrid OA fee | After acceptance | Open access option in subscription journal | Often higher than pure OA (e.g., $2,000–$4,000) | “Open choice” or similar labels |
| Rapid publication surcharge | After acceptance | Expedited production | $300–$1,500 | Optional; assess benefit carefully |
| Supplementary material hosting | After acceptance | Large files, videos, datasets | $0–$500 | Many journals include at no extra cost |
| Proof/overhaul charges | After acceptance | Excessive corrections, author-initiated late changes | $50–$300+ | Avoid with careful proof review |
2) Journal business models—what you’re paying for
| Model | Reader pays? | Author pays? | Typical costs to author | Pros/Cons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subscription (paywalled) | Yes (libraries/readers) | Usually no; sometimes page/colour | $0–$1000 (if colour/pages charged) | Lower author cost; access limited without OA |
| Gold Open Access | No | Yes (APC) | $500–$5,000+ | Immediate, free access; costs must be funded |
| Hybrid | Yes for other articles | Optional OA fee | $2,000–$4,000 typical | OA in established journal; often pricier than gold OA |
| Diamond/Platinum OA | No | No | $0 | No APC; often society/consortia funded; variable capacity |
| Membership models | No | Low annual fee/membership | Membership fee (often modest) | Membership may require community service (e.g., reviewing) |
3) Realistic scenarios (order-of-magnitude pricing)
- Subscription, online + print, modest colour: $0 submission; $0 APC; $200 per colour page × 2 = ~$400; total ≈ $400.
- Gold OA mid-tier journal: $0 submission; APC $1,500–$2,500; no other fees; total ≈ $1,500–$2,500.
- Hybrid OA in high-profile outlet: $0 submission; optional OA $3,000–$4,000; total ≈ $3,000–$4,000 if OA chosen.
- Diamond OA society journal: $0 submission; $0 APC; basic pages; total ≈ $0.
4) How to fund or reduce your costs
Institutional & funder support
- Grant budgets: add an explicit “publications” line (APCs, page/colour charges). Many agencies allow this.
- Read-and-publish/transformative agreements: your university may have deals that cover APCs for selected journals. Ask your library’s scholarly communications team.
- Waivers & discounts: journals commonly waive or reduce APCs for authors without funding, early-career researchers, or authors from certain regions. Always ask—politely and early.
- Society membership: discounted fees for members or for publishing in the society’s journal.
Manuscript choices that save money
- Colour vs grayscale: use colour only when it adds information; prefer accessible colour palettes; supply grayscale-legible figures to avoid print colour fees.
- Length discipline: keep within standard limits to avoid over-length charges.
- Supplement design: host oversized datasets/videos in repositories (with DOIs) if the journal charges for large supplementary files.
- Avoid “rush” options: expedited processing fees seldom affect scientific impact; skip them unless truly mission-critical.
5) A 10-minute journal cost audit (before you submit)
- Open: Fees/Charges page; Open Access page; Instructions for Authors.
- Note: submission fee? yes/no; waiver policy? yes/no; membership discounts? yes/no.
- Record: page/over-length charges; colour charges (print vs online); APC for OA (gold/hybrid) and discount eligibility.
- Check: article type (short report vs full article) price differences.
- Email the journal (template below) if anything is unclear.
- Cross-check with your library for institutional APC agreements.
- Decide: subscription (no APC) vs OA (APC) vs diamond (no APC) given your funder’s OA mandate.
- Build a mini-budget and identify funding source (grant, department, library deal, waiver request).
6) Email templates (ask about costs & waivers)
Clarify fees
Dear [Journal/Editorial Office],
I am preparing a submission titled “[Title]” (Article type: [X]). Could you confirm (a) whether any submission/page/colour charges apply, (b) the APC for gold OA or hybrid OA, and (c) eligibility for institutional discounts or waivers? Many thanks, [Name, Affiliation].
Request a waiver/discount
Dear [Journal/Editorial Office],
Our project has no dedicated funds for APCs, but we would like to make the article open access. Does the journal offer fee waivers or discounts for unfunded/early-career authors? A brief statement of need and impact can be provided. Thank you for your consideration. [Name]
7) Frequently asked questions
Are submission fees a red flag? Not necessarily. Some reputable journals charge modest submission fees to offset handling costs. Ensure the policy is transparent and the fee is clearly not a publication fee contingent on acceptance.
Do all OA journals charge APCs? No. Diamond OA journals charge neither readers nor authors; they are funded by institutions, societies, or consortia.
Is hybrid OA “worse value” than gold OA? It can be more expensive for the same access outcome. Check whether your institution’s agreements cover hybrid APCs; if not, consider pure OA options with lower APCs.
Should I pay for fast-track? Only if there is a concrete benefit (e.g., clinical relevance with time-sensitive implications). Otherwise, save the money.
8) Cost planning for your next grant application
| Line item | Estimate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| APC (per paper) | $1,800 | Adjust to your target field/journal tier |
| Colour/page charges | $500 | Set aside for one print outlet or figure-heavy paper |
| Data/hosting | $0–$300 | Some repositories are free; others charge per GB |
| Open data curation time | $300 | Staff time for documentation/metadata |
| Professional language editing (optional) | $0–$500 | Budget if writing support is not in-house |
9) Ethical signals & red flags
- Red flags: payment demanded before peer review; vague fee descriptions; promises of “guaranteed acceptance” for a price; pressure to add irrelevant citations to the journal.
- Positive signs: clear fee tables on the website; charges only after acceptance (except stated submission fees); transparent waiver policies; indexing in recognised databases; well-described peer review.
10) Decision tool: which route fits your aims and budget?
- Is open access mandated? If yes, pick gold OA with covered APC, diamond OA, or a hybrid outlet covered by a read-and-publish deal. If no, subscription may be cost-free to you.
- Do you have APC funding? If yes, shortlist gold OA journals in your field; compare APCs and impact/fit. If no, prioritise diamond OA or subscription journals; request waivers where appropriate.
- Will colour in print matter? If your audience uses print, avoid costly colour pages by designing figures to be grayscale-legible.
- Is speed mission-critical? If not, skip fast-track surcharges.
11) Practical figure strategies (reduce colour costs without losing clarity)
- Use patterns, line styles, and symbols that remain distinct in grayscale; test by printing in black and white.
- Provide a colour-online, grayscale-print version if the journal prints in black and white but hosts colour online for free.
- Combine related panels into a single figure to reduce the number of colour pages—without crowding.
12) Mini case studies
Case A: Ecology paper, hybrid journal
The team wants OA for policy impact but lacks APC funds. Library confirms a read-and-publish deal covers hybrid APCs in this title. They choose hybrid OA at $0 out-of-pocket, avoid colour by making grayscale-friendly maps, and keep within the 7,000-word limit. Total ≈ $0.
Case B: Bioengineering, gold OA
Funder mandates OA; journal APC is $2,200. The group budgets this in the grant; they opt out of fast-track; they place 2 GB of raw data in a free repository with DOIs. Total ≈ $2,200 (grant-covered).
Case C: Materials science, subscription
Society journal charges $200 per colour page; the team condenses four colour micrographs into a single page and provides grayscale in print, colour online (no extra). No APC. Total ≈ $200.
13) One-page “cost sanity check” before you click submit
- Submission fee? Yes/No — amount: ___
- Expected article type/length within limits? Yes/No
- Colour in print required? Yes/No — cost/page: ___
- OA route chosen? Gold / Hybrid / Diamond / Subscription — APC: ___ — covered by: Grant/Library/Waiver/Department
- Waiver/discount requested (if needed)? Yes/No
- Institutional read-and-publish eligibility checked? Yes/No
- Supplementary hosting costs? Yes/No
- Any optional surcharges (fast-track) removed? Yes/No
Conclusion: there’s no “standard price”—but there is a standard process
Publishing costs in science are diverse because journals serve different communities in different ways. That variety is not a defect; it reflects choices about access, production, and sustainability. As an author, your job is to align your scientific goals with the right venue and to price the journey before you set out. Verify fees on the journal site, list all potential charges, ask about waivers and institutional deals, and design your manuscript to avoid unnecessary costs. With that approach, you can publish where your work will matter most—without unpleasant surprises.
Why Our Editing and Proofreading Services?
At Proof-Reading-Service.com we help authors navigate both writing quality and journal compliance. Our subject-specialist editors (native speakers with postgraduate degrees) provide meticulous journal article editing, dissertation proofreading and comprehensive online proofreading. We check formatting, length, figure legibility (colour vs grayscale), and fee-triggering elements (over-length, colour pages) so your manuscript is clear, compliant, and cost-aware before submission.
