Reference notes
Coverage
57 journals · 4 funder policies
Sources
Publisher APC pages + funder policies
Last reviewed
February 2026
Prepared by the Manusights editorial team.
Publishing-route 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.
Quick orientation
Use this page when the journal decision is constrained by funder policy, APC budget, or the practical route to compliance.
This guide is designed for manuscript planning, not just policy reading. It helps teams map the mandate first, then compare journal models, then check whether institutional agreements or waiver routes change the real cost.
Best used with
Author rights guide
Use it when the next question is what rights you keep after publication or repository deposit.
Journal submission specs
Check journal-level package requirements once the open-access route is clear.
Data sharing requirements
Pair article-access planning with repository and dataset obligations before submission.
In this guide
The five sections that matter most for OA planning
Start with the mandate only if a funder is setting the rules. Most submission teams should move quickly from policy to journal model, then into the APC dataset and the practical cost-reduction routes.
Funder mandates
NIH, UKRI, Wellcome, and ERC rules that change where and how you can publish.
OA models
Gold, hybrid, and green routes and what each one buys you.
Journal dataset
Compare OA model, APC range, waiver availability, and compatibility in one place.
APC advice
Budget, waiver, and transformative-agreement choices before acceptance arrives.
Source notes
Know what is approximate, what changes often, and where to verify the latest policy.
Major OA Mandates in Biomedicine
NIH (USA)
Immediate OAEffective: 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 OAEffective: 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 OAEffective: 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 OAEffective: 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.
Gold and hybrid open-access options by journal
Use the dataset below to compare fully open-access journals, hybrid journals with optional OA, waiver availability, and basic funder compatibility in one place. The default view includes both fully OA and hybrid titles so you can compare the tradeoff directly.
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 ↗]
Practical note
Three mistakes that make OA planning harder than it needs to be
Ready to apply this to a real draft?
Move from reference guidance to a manuscript-specific check
Use the public submission-readiness path when you already have a manuscript and need a draft-specific signal, not just a general guide.
Best for researchers who want a fast readiness read before deciding whether to revise, retarget, or submit.
Related reference pages
Author Rights and Copyright
Use this when the open-access question shifts from APCs to what rights you keep after publication.
Data Sharing Requirements
Pair funder mandate planning with repository and data-availability requirements.
Reference Library
Return to the full publishing reference library for timelines, acceptance rates, and submission specs.
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.