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Looking for APC in a legal or professional context, such as the Assessment of Professional Competence for chartered surveyors? That's a different thing entirely. This page is about Article Processing Charges in academic publishing.
If you've looked up a journal and seen a fee of £2,500 just to publish your own research, I understand the reaction. That charge has a name, an Article Processing Charge, and understanding it properly is one of the most useful things you can do before deciding where to submit.
I've written this to cover what APCs actually are, what they cost across the major publishers, and, most importantly, how to make sure you're never paying one out of your own pocket.
Updated August 2026, for the 2026 to 2027 publishing cycle. Written by Katherine Alexander, PhD, UK Academic Editor at Premier Dissertations.
What Is an Article Processing Charge?
An APC is a fee journals charge authors to make their research freely available online, immediately, with no subscription or paywall.
The logic is simple even when the amounts aren't. Someone pays for the editorial system, peer review coordination, copyediting, and hosting. In a subscription journal, libraries cover that through access fees. In an open access journal, the author, or whoever funds the author's research, covers it instead.
- Students and early-career researchers rarely pay APCs personally. There are specific funding routes set up to cover them, and I've covered these below.
- The APC has nothing to do with university fees. It's purely the journal's own publishing charge, separate from any dissertation editing or proofreading you might have paid for.
- Not every open access route requires an APC. Diamond and Green OA cost nothing. I've explained the difference further down.
- Costs vary enormously. From around £370 at some SAGE journals to over £8,000 for Nature-branded titles. Always check the specific journal, never assume from the publisher's name alone.
- Your university library is the first place to check. Most UK universities have agreements with major publishers that mean affiliated researchers pay nothing.
APC Costs at Major Publishers
Prices vary significantly across publishers and between journals within the same publisher's own portfolio. These are realistic ranges, but always check the specific journal's APC page directly before making a decision.
| Publisher | Typical APC (GBP) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Elsevier | £1,500 to £3,500 | Gold OA journals sit at the higher end |
| Springer Nature | £1,200 to £3,000 | Large portfolio, many mid-range titles at the lower end |
| Wiley | £1,500 to £3,000 | Wide variation, check individual journal pages |
| Taylor & Francis | £1,100 to £2,500 | Often more affordable than Elsevier or Wiley |
| SAGE | £370 to £2,590 | Strong social science and education portfolio |
| MDPI | £800 to £1,500 | Fully OA, generally lower than the major commercial publishers |
| Nature-branded journals | £8,000+ | Nature, Cell Reports, The Lancet and similar sit at the extreme end |
The range within a single publisher can be enormous. An Elsevier journal you've never heard of might charge £1,600, while a flagship title charges three times that. Always verify on the journal's own APC page before deciding.
How to Fund Your APC Without Paying It Yourself
Most guides list this as a few bullet points. I want to be specific about how each route actually works.
1. Your university library, start here
Most UK universities have either a central open access fund or a transformative agreement (also called a read-and-publish deal) with major publishers. Both can cover your APC entirely.
A central OA fund is a pot of money the library holds for publication fees. You apply, explain your situation, and if the journal is eligible, the library pays. A transformative agreement works differently, the university has already negotiated the deal, so as a corresponding author you may never see an invoice, you simply confirm your institutional affiliation during submission.
Check your library's open access page for the full list of publishers covered, or speak to your scholarly communications librarian before choosing where to submit. If you're already working on preparing your dissertation for journal submission, this is worth doing early, since it can genuinely shape which journal makes sense.
2. Research funders: UKRI, Wellcome, Horizon Europe
If a major funder backed your research, open access publication is almost certainly a condition of that funding, and the funder usually provides money to cover the APC.
- UKRI requires all peer-reviewed outputs acknowledging its funding to be open access, and provides block grants to universities specifically for APCs.
- Wellcome Trust has a similar policy, and grant holders can use Wellcome funds directly.
- Horizon Europe requires open access and allows APCs to be charged to project budgets.
Identify who funded your research, find their open access policy, and follow it. If it's unclear, email their grants team directly.
3. Academic societies and professional bodies
Some learned societies offer small grants or publication awards toward APCs. These are less common and often oversubscribed, but worth checking for your discipline. Your supervisor will usually know if something exists.
Can You Publish Open Access Without Paying an APC?
Yes, and this is genuinely underused by students.
Diamond OA journals charge nothing to authors or readers. They're usually run by academic societies, universities, or non-profits. The Directory of Open Access Journals lets you filter for journals with no APC. More common in humanities and social sciences than STEM, but they exist in both.
Cost: zero, published immediately.
You publish in a standard subscription journal, no APC, then deposit the accepted manuscript in your university's repository. After an embargo, usually 6 to 24 months, it becomes freely available. Meets most UK funder requirements.
Cost: zero. Best if you can't secure APC funding but don't want to limit yourself to diamond OA journals.
| Model | APC? | Live When? |
|---|---|---|
| Gold OA | Yes | Immediately |
| Hybrid OA | Yes, for that article | Immediately |
| Green OA | No | After embargo |
| Diamond OA | No | Immediately |
Requesting an APC Waiver
Most major publishers have a waiver policy. Using it isn't complicated or embarrassing, it's a standard part of the process.
- Elsevier: full waivers for authors from World Bank-designated low-income countries, discretionary waivers case by case
- Springer Nature: similar country-based policy plus discretionary routes
- Wiley: automatic waivers for low-income countries, discretionary for unfunded early-career researchers
- MDPI: a limited number of waivers for genuinely unfunded early-career researchers
- SAGE: formal waiver applications, plus many UK institutional agreements that eliminate the charge entirely
Three things that make a request more likely to succeed:
- Request it at submission, not after acceptance. Almost every journal requires this upfront.
- Be specific. "I'm a PhD student. My university has no open access fund. I have no grant to cover this" is stronger than a general appeal to hardship.
- Provide evidence if asked. A department letter confirming no institutional funds are available strengthens the case.
If a waiver is refused and green OA isn't an option, a different journal in the same field may be more generous. The DOAJ can help you find one.
Get Your Manuscript Right Before Any of This Matters
Whatever route you take on the APC, your article needs to be in strong shape before it reaches an editor. A poorly prepared manuscript gets rejected at desk review before peer review even starts, which makes the whole APC question moot.
- A proper edit catches the language and structural issues that give editors a reason to desk reject
- A plagiarism check before submission avoids an unexpected flag at the worst possible moment
- An AI content check catches anything a journal's own screening might flag
- Knowing your target journal's APC situation before you start converting saves you targeting somewhere you can't actually afford
Not Sure Which Route Fits Your Situation?
Send me your target journal and I'll tell you honestly whether your university or funder is likely to cover the APC, and what your manuscript needs before you submit.
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Last reviewed: August 2026 · Reviewed by UK Academic Editor, PhD
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Guides
- Open Access vs Subscription Journals
- How to Choose the Best Journal for Your Dissertation
- Dissertation Publication Cost
- Scopus Publication Support
Cost figures drawn from publisher APC pages current as of August 2026. Publisher rates change, so always confirm on the specific journal's own page before budgeting.
