Publication Fees

To provide Open Access, PLOS uses a business model to offset expenses—including those of peer review management, journal production and online hosting and archiving—by charging a publication fee to the authors, institutions or funders for each article published.

Authors’ ability to pay publication fees will never be a consideration in the decision whether to publish.

Publication fees vary by journal. Fees are per article and and are billed upon acceptance. There are no additional charges based on color, length, figures, or other elements.

PLOS Biology	$2,900 USD
PLOS Medicine	$2,900 USD
PLOS Computational Biology	$2,250 USD
PLOS Genetics	$2,250 USD
PLOS Pathogens	$2,250 USD
PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases	$2,250 USD
PLOS ONE	$1,495 USD (Effective October 1, 2015 10:00 AM)

PLOS has specific terms and publication charges for articles that are part of a Special Collection. To find out more visit our Special Collection Fees page.

Publication Fee Support

PLOS believes that lack of funds should not be a barrier to Open Access publication. Since its inception, PLOS has provided individual fee support and institutional fee support programs. The current offering includes:

PLOS Global Participation Initiative (Low- and Middle-Income Country Assistance)

Authors' research which is funded primarily (50% or more of the work contained within the article) by an institution or organization from eligible low- and middle-income countries will receive partial (group 2 countries) or full (group 1 countries) fee funding paid by the PLOS Global Participation Initiative (GPI). Group 2 PLOS GPI country authors who need to request additional support should apply for PLOS Publication Fee Assistance instead of the PLOS GPI.

PLOS Publication Fee Assistance (PFA)

Publication Fee Assistance is intended for authors who demonstrate financial need. Information about an applicant's application status for fee assistance will not be disclosed to journal editors or reviewers. PLOS publication decisions will continue to be based solely on editorial criteria.

PLOS Institutional Fee Support Program

PLOS currently offers an institutional program to support Open Access scientific publishing. Participating institutions have arrangements with PLOS to administer payment for full publication fees for their institutions' authors. To be eligible, authors must be a corresponding author affiliated with the institution or agency in the Institutional Account Program (fully paid or restricted). (Special note to UK authors — certain institutions will restrict payment to cover for Wellcome Trust and RCUK research grant recipients only.) Authors who need to request additional support should apply for PLOS PFA.

Additional External Funds

Authors may also be eligible for direct funding from their institution or funder, which may be different from the PLOS Institutional program. See additional Open Access funds for examples. To confirm amounts and details of funding and eligibility, contact the organization as indicated.

Learn More

Questions about a bill or invoice? Please contact the Author Billing department. Journal staff are unable to assist with billing and payment queries.

Email: authorbilling@plos.org

Phone: +1 (415) 624-1200