Advanced Functional Materials APC and Open Access: Wiley Pricing, DEAL Agreements, and Alternatives

Wiley has built a substantial Read & Publish network, anchored by the German DEAL agreement (one of the largest transformative deals in academic publishing):

The German DEAL agreement is particularly relevant for materials science researchers. Germany produces a large share of the world's materials science research, and the DEAL agreement means German authors can publish OA in any Wiley journal, including the entire Advanced Materials family, at no cost.

For US researchers: Wiley doesn't have a national US agreement (no publisher does), but many major research universities have individual Wiley R&P deals. Check your library's Wiley agreement status.

AFM is one member of Wiley-VCH's materials science flagship family:

All are covered by the same Wiley institutional agreements. If your agreement covers one, it covers all.

AFM publishes roughly 5,000 articles per year, making it one of the higher-volume selective materials journals. It's more accessible than Advanced Materials (which is extremely selective at IF ~27) but more selective than Scientific Reports or PLOS ONE.

Automatic waivers: Wiley offers full APC waivers for corresponding authors in Research4Life Group A countries (low-income). Group B countries (lower-middle-income) receive partial discounts.

Institutional discounts: Beyond full R&P coverage, some institutions have negotiated partial APC discounts with Wiley. These are applied automatically during the production process.

Financial hardship: Case-by-case requests are accepted. Wiley's stated policy is that inability to pay should not prevent publication of quality research.

Society memberships: AFM is not associated with a specific scientific society, so there are no society-member discounts (unlike ACS journals, which offer ACS member discounts).

For German DFG-funded researchers, the DEAL agreement makes compliance seamless and free. For European Plan S funders, the OA option with CC BY satisfies mandates. For US funders (NSF, DOE), the free subscription track with embargo deposit works.

• No page charges beyond the APC
• Online color is free. Print color charges may apply for print issues, but the journal is primarily online.
• Graphical abstract recommended but not required. No charge for including one.
• Supporting Information is free to host.
• Transfer doesn't reset the APC clock. If you transfer from Advanced Materials to AFM after rejection, the APC at AFM is the same price as it would have been for a direct submission.

For materials scientists targeting AFM:

1. Check your Wiley agreement. If your institution has DEAL or another Wiley R&P deal, publish OA at no cost.
2. No Wiley deal but have ACS deal? Consider ACS Nano (IF ~15, similar APC but covered by ACS agreements).
3. No agreements at all? Publish via subscription for free. AFM has universal library access in materials science departments.
4. Rejected from Advanced Materials? Transfer to AFM within the Wiley system. Same APC terms, lower selectivity bar.

Before submitting to any of the Advanced Materials family journals, make sure your materials characterization is thorough and your functional demonstration is convincing. Run a free readiness scan to catch issues before they become reviewer objections.