Article Processing Charge (APC)

An article processing charge is a fee paid to a journal to publish an accepted article, funding editorial handling, production and open-access hosting. It shifts the cost of access from the reader to the author or their institution, and typically falls due after acceptance rather than at submission.

Charges vary widely — from a few hundred dollars at smaller open-access journals to several thousand at leading hybrid titles. Fully open-access journals charge to make the article free to read; hybrid subscription journals charge only if the author chooses the open-access option, and publishing without it usually costs nothing.

Many publishers offer full or partial waivers for authors from low- and middle-income countries, and institutional agreements sometimes cover the fee entirely, so ask your library before assuming you must pay personally. A charge is not itself a sign of a predatory journal — most reputable open-access titles levy one — but fees revealed only after acceptance, or pressure to pay quickly, are genuine warning signs.