Why charge an article processing fee?

Open access publishing is not without costs.  Because under open access subscription fees are not charged to readers, these costs are defrayed through article processing fees.  These allow us to provide immediate, world-wide barrier free access to full open access articles.

What does the article processing fee cover?

Your APF allows the publisher to invest in high quality service for you and continuing improvements in the services we offer to all authors and readers.  Here's just a few examples of recent improvements:

• Introduction of article metrics for all articles including Altmetric, Pubmed Central and COUNTER data

• On-going expansion of journal indexing

• Improvements to journal RSS feeds to enhance article visibility

• Introduction of new code to improve speed and efficiency of several key elements of production workflow management

• Identification and remuneration of world-leading contractors

How much do Libertas Academica journals charge?  What discounts are available?

View the article processing fee page.

How do Libertas Academica's fees compare with other publishers?

Our fees are lower than many other comparable commercial publishers.  A comparison of fees charged by different commercial and society publishers is available below. 

Our fees are lower because generally our journals are newer and also because we don't have the legacy cost overheads of many other commercial publishers.  Despite this we aim to provide the same or better level of service to authors and readers.

This table compares Libertas' standard fees with those of other publisher offering a comparable level of services.  The column on the right shows additional fees.  Libertas and many others offer discounts or waivers, which are not shown here.  

Libertas Academica	USD 950-1980
Commercial OA publisher 1	USD 1660-1950
Commercial OA publisher 2	USD 1350-2900
Commercial OA publisher 3	USD 3000
Commercial publisher 1	USD 1850-3930
Commercial publisher 2	USD 2800	USD 650 per color printed page
Commercial publisher 3	USD 2700
Commercial publisher 4	USD 5000
Commercial publisher 5	USD 3000-5000
Commercial publisher 6	USD 3000
Commercial publisher 7	USD 3000-5000	USD 200 per page after 10th page
Commercial publisher 8	USD 1000-3000
Commercial publisher 9	USD 990-3300
Commercial publisher 10	USD 1850-3000
Society publisher 1	USD 3000
Society publisher 2	USD 2500	USD 100 per figure USD 50 per table USD 1000 for color reproduction USD 300 for supplementary data USD 75 submission fee
Society publisher 3	USD 3000	Additional fees for more than 8 pages USD 285 for supplementary data
Society publisher 4	USD 2000	USD 75 per page for research articles USD 400 per color figure USD 3000 for review articles

To which articles do article processing fees apply?

All articles that have been accepted for publication in an open access publication.  The only exception is where we invited you to submit a paper on a specific drug or drug therapeutic class.

Why a flat charge rather than one based on page numbers?

A substantial proportion of the work that goes into processing and producing an article does not vary by page count.  A more accurate measure might be the state in which a manuscript is presented and the complexity associated with converting it into a publishable article, but this cannot be objectively measured.

Who is responsible for making the payment?

Whoever submits the manuscript is responsible for arranging payment, usually via their institution.

When are authors informed of fees?

Information about fees is displayed prominently on each journal's About webpage and in the submission terms and conditions. During the process of submitting a paper the author is asked to tick a box to confirm that they understand that an APF will be charged.  The submission in progress may be halted or temporarily paused at this point without any penalty.

Which funding agencies explicitly allow direct use of their grants to cover article processing fees?

A large an increasing number of agencies permit this.  A partial list is given below:

• Academy of Finland (Finland)

• BIOTEC (Thailand)

• California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (US)

• Canadian Institutes of Health Research (Canada)

• Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (France)

• Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (Spain)

• Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (Italy)

• Danmarks Grundforskningsfond (Denmark)

• Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (Germany)

• FAPESP (Brazil)

• Fondazione Telethon (Italy)

• Fonds zur Forderung der wissenschaftlichen Forschung (Austria)

• Fonds voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (Belgium)

• Health Research Board (Ireland)

• Howard Hughes Medical Institute (US)

• Indian Council of Medical Research (India)

• INSERM (France)

• International Human Frontier Science Program Organization (International)

• Israel Science Foundation (Israel)

• Max Planck Society (Germany)

• Medical Research Council (UK)

• National Institutes of Health (US)

• National Science Foundation (US)

• Natural Environment Research Council (UK)

• Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (Netherlands)

• Rockefeller Foundation (US)

• South African Medical Research Council (South Africa)

• Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research (Sweden)

• Swedish Research Council (Sweden)

• Swiss National Science Foundation (Switzerland)

• Wellcome Trust (UK)

 

Can charges be waived if the author cannot pay?

Applications may be made for waivers before submission if the author is unable to pay.  A limited quantity of waivers are available and if one is not available a discount may be offered instead.  Once the waiver application has been decided submission of the paper may continue.  Waivers are not available after submission, and are given strictly at the publisher's discretion.

Will the fee I am given during submission change?

No, the fee that will be charged is set at the time of submission and will not vary.  If the fee goes up between submission and publication you will still pay the lower fee.  If the exchange rates change the author still pays the amount in the applicable currency that they agreed to pay on submission.