What does it cost to publish open access?

The Article Publishing Charge (APC) is the fee that you, your institution or funder need to pay to publish open access. APCs vary between journals and publishers. Consult the journal homepage under the 'Open Access' section for information about the open access publication fees. To find the journal homepage:

• Search for a journal on ScienceDirectopens in new tab/window. When you find a journal, click its name to visit its homepage. journal author's page.
• Search for a journal title in our Journal Catalogopens in new tab/window.

Please note: some journals are fully open access journals and if you submit your article to such a journal the APC needs to be paid. Read more about open access journalsopens in new tab/window.

Open access publication fees for Elsevier titles or APCs, are journal-specific and range from 500 - 5000 US dollars.

How

To request open access, find the link you received in your email to the Rights and Access form. Order open access by completing all the steps on the form. If the form has previously been submitted and open access has not been ordered, you may still be able to order open access by re-submitting the form. Please note: this form is sent to the corresponding author once the article has been moved to production.

To learn more about publishing your research as open access, visit:

• Your funding body agreementsopens in new tab/window
• Elsevier's Guide to Publishing Open Accessopens in new tab/window
• The APCs page from the Elsevier websiteopens in new tab/window

If you ordered open access, once your article has been published, it will be immediately and permanently free for everyone to read and download. The invoice will be sent via email within 48 hours.

If you would like your article to be published open access, but you genuinely can't afford the fees to get your article published open access, read about Elsevier's waiver policy for open access fees. 

In some cases your funder or institution may have additional funds to pay for these costs, in other cases you may need to use part of your grant money. Always check with your funder's and institution's open access policies.

Still have a question?

We can help. Click “Chat with us” at the bottom right to reach Eva, our virtual assistant. If none of the suggested topics match your question, choose the option for other topics. Then tell Eva your open access query, including your article reference or invoice number if you have one, and Eva will help directly or connect you with the right team.