ACS Catalysis APC and Open Access: ACS Pricing, Institutional Deals, and Catalysis Journal Alternatives

ACS stands apart from other publishers by offering meaningful member discounts on APCs:

If you're an active researcher in catalysis and don't have an ACS membership, getting one before submitting can save $1,000+ on the APC. Annual ACS membership costs $175 for professionals, making the ROI obvious if you plan to publish OA.

ACS Catalysis is hybrid. Two paths:

1. Subscription track (default): Your article appears on ACS Publications behind the paywall. Readers access it through institutional subscriptions. You pay $0.
2. Open access track (optional): Your article is immediately free to read. You pay the APC.

One ACS quirk: ACS "encourages" voluntary page charges for subscription-track articles. This is a legacy practice from when page charges were standard in chemistry publishing. In practice, many authors and institutions don't pay voluntary page charges, and ACS doesn't enforce them. Your paper won't be held or penalized for declining. But be aware that the prompt exists in the production workflow.

ACS has been building its Read & Publish network, though it's still smaller than Elsevier's or Springer Nature's:

ACS R&P coverage is strongest in the United States, which makes sense given that ACS is an American publisher and most catalysis researchers at US institutions are ACS members. However, even in the US, coverage is institution-specific. There's no single national deal the way Germany has DEAL for Elsevier.

For European and Asian researchers, Elsevier or Springer agreements are more likely to be available than ACS agreements. This makes Journal of Catalysis (Elsevier) or Applied Catalysis B (Elsevier) potentially cheaper in practice, even though their listed APCs are similar or lower.

Check your library's ACS agreement page. ACS provides a lookup tool on its website where you can check if your institution has an active agreement that covers ACS Catalysis.

ACS Catalysis has carved out a specific identity in the catalysis landscape:

Mechanistic depth. The journal favors papers that go beyond "new catalyst, good performance." Reviewers expect detailed mechanistic studies, whether through kinetics, spectroscopy, DFT calculations, or isotope labeling experiments. Pure screening studies with no mechanistic insight rarely make it through review.

Broad catalysis coverage. Unlike Journal of Catalysis (strongest in heterogeneous catalysis) or ACS Chemical Biology (biocatalysis), ACS Catalysis covers the full spectrum: heterogeneous, homogeneous, bio, electro, and photocatalysis. This breadth is a strength for interdisciplinary work.

High selectivity. With IF ~12 and roughly 2,000 papers per year, the acceptance rate is estimated at 20-25%. Reviewers are experienced catalysis researchers who look for clear advances over existing catalysts.

Communication format. ACS Catalysis publishes both full articles and shorter communications. The communication format allows for rapid publication of time-sensitive results without sacrificing the journal's standards.

ACS offers "ACS AuthorChoice," which is their branded OA option. Make sure to select CC BY if your funder requires it. ACS also offers CC BY-NC-ND, which is cheaper but doesn't satisfy Plan S.

For NIH-funded work, ACS participates in the PMC deposit program. Your article can be deposited in PubMed Central for public access after 12 months if you don't choose immediate OA.

• Voluntary page charges. ACS may prompt you to pay voluntary page charges (~$80/page) even for subscription-track articles. These are truly voluntary. Declining has no impact on your publication.
• Color figures online are free. Color in print costs extra, but most researchers opt for online-only color.
• Supporting Information is hosted for free on the ACS website.
• Reprints cost extra for physical copies.
• ACS Author Rewards. ACS offers a rewards program that gives points for publishing. These can be redeemed for ACS products but don't meaningfully offset APC costs.
• Preprint policy. ACS permits preprint posting before submission. This doesn't affect your submission to ACS Catalysis.

1. ACS member at an institution with an ACS R&P deal? Choose OA. It may be fully covered, and membership already reduces the APC by $1,000+.
2. Institution has Elsevier but not ACS deal? Journal of Catalysis or Applied Catalysis B may be effectively free for OA through Elsevier R&P. Consider these unless ACS Catalysis' higher IF is specifically needed.
3. Budget is limited? The subscription track is free. Green Chemistry (RSC, ~$3,100) is a strong, cheaper OA alternative with similar IF.
4. Work is exceptional? Nature Catalysis (IF ~40) is worth the effort if your results justify it, and Springer Compact deals may cover the APC.
5. Environmental catalysis focus? Applied Catalysis B (IF ~22, ~$4,200, Elsevier R&P) offers higher impact at a lower price.

Before submitting, make sure your mechanistic data, control experiments, and catalytic performance benchmarks meet ACS Catalysis' standards. Incomplete mechanistic stories are the most common reason for rejection. Run a free readiness scan to check your manuscript before submission.

For more on impact factors and what they mean for your submission strategy, see our detailed guide.