Scope: 57 journals · 4 funder policies·Data: Publisher APC pages + funder policies·Last reviewed: February 2026·Source: Manusights editorial team (researchers with publications in Cell, Nature, Science)·Cite this guide ↓

Open Access Publishing in Biomedicine: APCs, Mandates, and Journal Options

If your research is funded by the NIH, UKRI, Wellcome Trust, or certain European funders, you're required to publish open access. That requirement changes the calculus on where to submit, and how much it's going to cost.

This guide covers the main OA mandates, what they require, and the APC costs for 57 top biomedical journals. All figures are approximate: APCs change regularly and institutional agreements can reduce or eliminate the cost.

Major OA Mandates in Biomedicine

NIH (USA)

Immediate OA

Effective: January 2025 (for grants awarded from Jan 2025)

All peer-reviewed publications from NIH funding must be freely available in PubMed Central (PMC) immediately upon publication, with no embargo. Authors may deposit the accepted manuscript (AAM) if the published version isn't immediately open. NIH does not mandate a specific license: unlike cOAlition S funders, papers can retain journal copyright while still being deposited in PMC.

UKRI (UK)

Immediate OA

Effective: April 2022 (fully in effect)

All peer-reviewed research articles and review articles resulting from UKRI funding must be published OA immediately on publication. CC BY license required. Applies to all UKRI funders: EPSRC, MRC, BBSRC, etc.

Wellcome Trust

Immediate OA

Effective: January 2021

Requires immediate open access with a CC BY license. Supports APCs for publishing in fully OA journals or via the hybrid route. One of the strictest mandates: no embargo, CC BY only.

European Research Council (ERC)

Immediate OA

Effective: January 2021 (Plan S)

Part of cOAlition S / Plan S. Requires immediate open access to all peer-reviewed publications. CC BY license required. Authors can publish in fully OA journals, hybrid journals with transformative agreements, or deposit accepted manuscripts in approved repositories.

Practical implication: If you're funded by NIH, UKRI, Wellcome, or ERC, submitting to a subscription-only journal and doing nothing to make it OA is no longer compliant. Most researchers either (a) submit to a fully OA journal, (b) pay the hybrid APC to make the article OA, or (c) post the accepted manuscript to a repository (like PubMed Central or an institutional repository) where the funder mandate allows it.

OA Models: Gold, Hybrid, and Green

🟡 Gold OA

The journal is fully open access: all articles are freely available to anyone, immediately on publication. The author (or their funder) pays an APC.

Examples: PLOS ONE, Nature Communications, Genome Biology, eLife

🔵 Hybrid OA

The journal is subscription-based, but authors can pay an additional APC to make their specific article OA. Most major journals offer this.

Examples: Nature, NEJM, Lancet, JAMA, and Cell all offer hybrid OA

🟢 Green OA

The accepted manuscript (not the final typeset PDF) is posted to a repository like PubMed Central, Europe PMC, or an institutional repository. No APC required. Compliance depends on the journal's self-archiving policy.

All major journals permit some version of green OA: embargo periods and version rules vary. Check SHERPA/RoMEO for specific journal policies.

Fully Open Access Journals (Gold OA)

These journals publish all articles open access. Submitting here automatically satisfies most OA mandates without requiring a separate OA election or hybrid APC.

Journal	IF (2024)	APC	Waiver?	Notes
PLOS ONE	2.6	$1,931	Yes	PLOS has an institutional membership program that can reduce or waive APCs
PLOS Medicine	9.9	$3,500	Yes	Global South waivers available; institutional memberships reduce cost
eLife	N/A	~$2,000	Yes	Revised model (2023): all accepted manuscripts published as reviewed preprints at no cost; ~$2,000 fee applies only for enhanced eLife-format article. No rejection after peer review.
Nature Communications	15.7	$9,750	No	Most expensive fully OA journal in this list; read-and-publish deals may reduce cost
Science Advances	12.5	$5,000	No	AAAS fully OA journal; some institutional agreements reduce APC
Genome Biology	9.4	$2,890	Yes	BioMed Central; institutional agreements common at research universities
BMC Medicine	8.3	$3,290	Yes	BioMed Central; membership discounts widely available
Scientific Reports	3.9	$2,490	No	Springer Nature; institutional read-and-publish agreements often cover APCs
Frontiers in Immunology	5.9	$1,299	No	Frontiers lowest-APC option in this list; institutional deals available
BMJ Open	2.3	$2,500	Yes	BMJ; waivers for low-income country authors

Hybrid OA Journals (Subscription with OA Option)

These journals are subscription-based but allow authors to pay an APC to make their individual article open access. The APC listed is the price to elect OA: standard submission is free unless the paper is accepted. Check with your institution, since many have transformative agreements with major publishers that cover or reduce these APCs.

Journal	IF (2024)	OA APC	Notes
The Lancet	88.5	~$5,500	Hybrid OA option; OA election at submission
NEJM	78.5	~$6,000	Authors can make accepted articles OA at extra cost; NIH-funded authors often required to do so
JAMA	55.0	~$4,500	JAMA Network journals all offer hybrid OA
Nature Medicine	50.0	~$11,690	Among the highest APCs; Springer Nature transformative agreements at some institutions
Nature	48.5	~$11,690	Same APC as other Nature flagship journals
Science	45.8	~$4,500	AAAS hybrid; lower APC than Nature family
Lancet Neurology	45.5	~$5,500	Standard hybrid OA terms apply
Cancer Cell	44.5	~$9,900	Cell Press journals use same APC structure
The BMJ	42.7	~$4,200	BMJ hybrid; several institutional read-and-publish deals
Cell	42.5	~$9,900	Cell Press flagship
Journal of Clinical Oncology	41.9	~$4,000	Standard hybrid OA terms apply
Nature Biotechnology	41.7	~$11,690	Springer Nature hybrid
Circulation	38.6	~$4,500	AHA journals offer OA option
The Lancet Oncology	35.9	~$5,500	Standard hybrid OA terms apply
European Heart Journal	35.6	~$4,000	Standard hybrid OA terms apply
Nature Methods	32.1	~$11,690	Standard hybrid OA terms apply
Lancet Infectious Diseases	31.0	~$5,500	Standard hybrid OA terms apply
Cell Metabolism	30.9	~$9,900	Standard hybrid OA terms apply
Nature Genetics	29.0	~$11,690	Standard hybrid OA terms apply
Nature Immunology	27.6	~$11,690	Standard hybrid OA terms apply
Immunity	26.3	~$9,900	Standard hybrid OA terms apply
GUT	25.8	~$4,200	Standard hybrid OA terms apply
Gastroenterology	25.1	~$4,000	Standard hybrid OA terms apply
Blood	23.1	~$4,500	Standard hybrid OA terms apply
JACC	22.3	~$4,500	Standard hybrid OA terms apply
Cell Stem Cell	20.4	~$9,900	Standard hybrid OA terms apply
JAMA Oncology	20.1	~$4,500	Standard hybrid OA terms apply
Nature Neuroscience	20.0	~$11,690	Standard hybrid OA terms apply
Cell Host & Microbe	18.7	~$9,900	Standard hybrid OA terms apply
Molecular Cell	16.6	~$9,900	Standard hybrid OA terms apply
Circulation Research	16.2	~$4,500	Standard hybrid OA terms apply
Hepatology	15.8	~$4,000	Standard hybrid OA terms apply
Neuron	15.0	~$9,900	Standard hybrid OA terms apply
Science Translational Medicine	14.6	~$4,500	Standard hybrid OA terms apply
JAMA Cardiology	14.1	~$4,500	Standard hybrid OA terms apply
Nature Chemical Biology	13.7	~$11,690	Standard hybrid OA terms apply
Journal of Clinical Investigation	13.6	~$3,500	Standard hybrid OA terms apply
Nucleic Acids Research	13.1	~$3,000	Oxford University Press; some institutional agreements cover APCs
Brain	11.7	~$3,500	Standard hybrid OA terms apply
Nature Structural & Molecular Biology	10.1	~$11,690	Standard hybrid OA terms apply
Molecular Psychiatry	10.1	~$11,690	Standard hybrid OA terms apply
PNAS	9.1	~$2,250	PNAS Plus option available; OA surcharge optional but required for NIH-funded work
Developmental Cell	8.7	~$9,900	Standard hybrid OA terms apply
The EMBO Journal	8.3	~$5,000	Standard hybrid OA terms apply
Current Biology	7.5	~$9,900	Standard hybrid OA terms apply
Cell Reports	6.9	~$9,900	Cell Press journals all require same hybrid APC if OA is elected

Practical Advice on APCs

Check institutional agreements first

Many research universities have read-and-publish agreements with Springer Nature, Wiley, Elsevier, and other publishers that let corresponding authors publish OA at no direct cost. Before paying an APC out of pocket, ask your library whether a transformative agreement covers your target journal. Many researchers don't know these agreements exist.

Budget OA costs before you submit

If your grant requires open access, budget for APC costs in your grant application. NIH and UKRI both explicitly allow OA publication costs as an allowable grant expense. Waiting until after acceptance to figure out funding creates unnecessary stress.

Waivers are real and underused

PLOS and BMC both have formal waiver programs. Researchers at institutions without library subscriptions or in low-income countries often qualify. Even where formal waivers don't exist, editors at some journals have discretion: if you're unfunded, it doesn't hurt to ask.

Preprint posting is free

Posting to bioRxiv or medRxiv before or during peer review satisfies some OA requirements (especially green OA deposit requirements) and gets your work visible immediately. Most major journals accept preprinted manuscripts. Check SHERPA/RoMEO for the specific policy of your target journal.

Data Sources & Disclaimers

• APC figures: Publisher-listed prices as of early 2026. APCs change regularly. Always verify on the journal's author instructions page before submitting.
• Mandate information: Based on publicly available funder policies as of February 2026. Funder policies evolve. Check your funder's website for the latest requirements.
• Institutional agreements: Coverage varies by institution and changes as agreements are negotiated. Your library is the authoritative source.
• Impact factors: Clarivate JCR 2024.
• NIH compliance note: "NIH compliant" refers to the ability to make an article OA through that journal: not that all articles are automatically free. Authors must elect OA (or have it elected) per the mandate requirements.

References

Budapest Open Access Initiative. (2002). Budapest Open Access Initiative. Open Society Institute. [budapestopenaccessinitiative.org ↗]
National Institutes of Health. (2023). NIH Public Access Policy: Ensuring open access to NIH-funded research. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. [publicaccess.nih.gov ↗]
UK Research and Innovation. (2022). UKRI Open Access Policy. Retrieved February 2026. [ukri.org ↗]
Wellcome Trust. (2021). Open access policy for Wellcome-funded research. Retrieved February 2026. [wellcome.org ↗]
SHERPA/RoMEO. (2026). Publisher copyright and self-archiving policies database. Jisc. [sherpa.ac.uk/romeo ↗]
Creative Commons. (2013). Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) License. [creativecommons.org ↗]
cOAlition S. (2018). Plan S: Principles and Implementation. Retrieved February 2026. [coalition-s.org ↗]

Suggested Citation

APA

Manusights. (2026). Open access publishing in biomedicine: APC costs and mandates. Retrieved from https://manusights.com/resources/open-access-guide

MLA

Manusights. "Open Access Publishing in Biomedicine: APC Costs and Mandates." Manusights, 2026, manusights.com/resources/open-access-guide.

VANCOUVER

Manusights. Open access publishing in biomedicine: APC costs and mandates [Internet]. 2026. Available from: https://manusights.com/resources/open-access-guide

CC BY 4.0 - share and adapt freely with attribution to Manusights (manusights.com/resources).

About these resources: Manusights is a pre-submission manuscript review service staffed by researchers with publications in Cell, Nature, Science, and related journals. These reference guides are produced as free, independent resources for the research community. No sign-up required. Data sources and methodology are cited on each page. Browse all 25 resource guides or learn about Manusights.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between gold, green, and diamond open access?

Gold open access means the final published version is immediately freely available, typically funded by an article processing charge (APC) paid by the author or their institution. Green open access means the author self-archives an accepted manuscript version in a repository (institutional or subject-based like PubMed Central) after a publisher embargo period, with no APC required. Diamond open access is a subset of gold where neither authors nor readers pay - the journal is funded by institutions, grants, or societies. Most major subscription journals now offer a hybrid gold option for authors who need to comply with funder mandates.

Do I have to pay an APC to publish open access?

Not always. Many funders (NIH, Wellcome Trust, Gates Foundation, UK Research and Innovation) cover APCs through grants or institutional agreements. If you don't have APC funding, green open access is free - you self-archive your accepted manuscript after the embargo period. Diamond OA journals charge no APC at all. Some publishers also offer APC waivers for authors from low-income countries. Before paying out-of-pocket, check whether your institution has a transformative agreement with the publisher that covers APCs automatically.

Which Creative Commons license should I choose for my open access paper?

Most funders that mandate open access (NIH, Wellcome, Gates, UKRI) require CC BY (Attribution), the most permissive license. CC BY allows anyone to share, adapt, and build on your work - including commercially - as long as they credit you. If you want to prevent commercial reuse, choose CC BY-NC. If you also want to prevent derivative works, choose CC BY-ND. CC BY-SA requires derivatives to use the same license. Most academic publishers default to CC BY for APC-funded papers; always verify the license before accepting the proofs.

Related guides in this collection

Author Rights Guide →Preprint Guide →Data Sharing Requirements →Predatory Journals →

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