Publishing without an APC: finding a workable route

An author with no APC budget still has several publishing routes to investigate. The difficult part is identifying which route works for the actual paper, the intended readership and any access obligations. “Free publishing” is too broad a label to make that decision.

Separate three questions. Does the journal charge authors? Will this author personally receive a bill? Will readers have immediate access to the published article? A journal can be free for authors while charging readers, or charge an APC that an institution pays on the author’s behalf. Those arrangements have different implications even when the author’s immediate cost is zero.

Diamond open access is one distinct route

Diamond open access describes a model without charges to authors or readers. The 2026 landscape report by FECYT authors examines community-owned diamond publishing across Africa, Europe and Latin America. Its regional scope and discussion of supporting infrastructure make it useful context, not a worldwide list of recommended journals. 1

For a candidate journal, verify the current fee policy rather than relying on the label alone. Ask whether there are submission, page, colour or other mandatory charges for your article type. Confirm the access and licence terms. “No APC” should not be silently expanded into “no possible author charges” unless the policy supports that conclusion.

Then assess the journal as a scholarly venue. Read recent articles, editorial criteria, review arrangements and preservation information. A fee-free model does not exempt a journal from those checks; it also should not be treated as evidence that the journal must be less capable or less serious.

Do not dismiss a relevant journal because its website is modest or because it publishes in a language less familiar to you. Investigate its actual readership, publication record and policies. The task is to find a workable scholarly home, not to infer quality from the size of its commercial operation.

Find candidates without trusting a static “free journals” list

Start with the literature and scholarly communities relevant to the paper. Ask a subject librarian about field-specific directories, society journals and university-supported publishing. Use DOAJ to investigate fully open access candidates and inspect each matching journal record.

DOAJ’s application criteria distinguish immediate open access and licensing from other publishing arrangements. Its remit is fully open access journals; it is not a directory of every legitimate subscription or hybrid journal. 2

Use any search filter or directory fee field as a lead, then verify the official journal page. Record the date and article type. A list assembled for a different discipline, year or author category may not answer your question.

When a candidate looks promising, use the shortlist worksheet. A no-fee option that does not accept your article type is not a practical option. A journal outside the paper’s audience may also be a poor trade-off, even if it solves the budget problem.

Do not ask for a list of journals that will “accept without fees”. Acceptance depends on editorial assessment. Ask instead for journals that currently consider the relevant article type under a route with no mandatory author charge.

Subscription publication may avoid an APC

Some journals offer a subscription route without an open access APC. That does not automatically mean there are no other author charges, and it does not mean the publisher’s final article will be freely available to everyone. Check the specific journal and article type.

If this route fits the paper, investigate whether an accepted manuscript can be shared through an appropriate repository. That may provide an access route without buying publisher-hosted open access, but the version, timing and permission must be checked together.

Elsevier’s sharing policy illustrates why those details matter: it distinguishes preprints, accepted manuscripts and published articles, and sets different conditions for destinations and versions. It also identifies journal-specific exceptions. Treat this as a publisher example, not a universal repository rule. 3

Bring the proposed route to the library before signing a publishing agreement if a funder or institution has access requirements. A general statement that “self-archiving is allowed” is not enough if the permitted version, embargo or licence conflicts with those requirements.

Keep the final accepted manuscript when the article is accepted. Waiting until publication to reconstruct it from the typeset PDF can leave you without the correct file for the route you intended to use.

A waiver changes the bill, not necessarily the model

A waiver can make an APC journal affordable for a particular author or paper. It does not turn the journal into a diamond journal, and it should not be represented to colleagues as a permanently fee-free venue.

Read the waiver’s eligibility, application stage and scope. A partial reduction still leaves a balance. A discretionary application is not confirmed support. Ask whether the decision covers the article type and whether other charges remain.

PLOS’s assistance programme is an example of a process that requires an application at submission and evaluates financial need case by case. Do not assume that a later request will be considered, or that another publisher uses the same timetable. 4

In your comparison, use separate entries for the list charge, support requested, support approved and remaining amount. If approval is pending, decide whether you can wait or need another route. Do not send a manuscript into a process that depends on funding nobody has agreed to provide.

A waiver is also not a promise of acceptance. Keep the financial decision and editorial assessment separate in your records and in the way you describe the opportunity to co-authors.

Institutional coverage means someone is funding publication

An agreement may remove the individual author’s APC bill while the institution funds the publishing arrangement. That can be a useful route, but the funding model should be described accurately.

Check whether the journal, article type and corresponding author are eligible. Jisc warns that an agreement found in its lookup tool still requires further checks and that some caps are not represented there. 5

Ask the library for written confirmation of the relevant conditions. Record whether eligibility is assessed at submission or acceptance, whether approval is required and whether available allocation could change. If your appointment or institution will change, raise that before relying on the agreement.

Do not arrange authorship or affiliations to create a misleading appearance of eligibility. The publishing route must work with the real contribution and responsibility arrangements. If it does not, investigate another route or ask the institution what support is legitimately available.

When telling another author about the journal, describe the condition: “Our article was covered through our institution’s agreement.” That is more useful than “This journal is free”, which may lead someone without the same eligibility toward an unaffordable commitment.

Compare routes against the same requirements

Use this table to identify what still needs checking. It describes questions, not promises about any named journal.

Route	Why the author might avoid an APC	What remains to verify
Diamond open access	No author-facing publication fee in that model	Current policy, other charges, scope and licence
Subscription publication	Open access APC is not selected or required	Other fees, reader access and sharing permission
Repository sharing	A permitted manuscript version can be deposited	Version, destination, release date and licence
Full waiver	The publisher approves removal of an applicable charge	Eligibility, application timing and excluded charges
Institutional coverage	An agreement funds the applicable publishing route	Journal, author, article type, allocation and approval
Partial discount	The applicable APC is reduced	Remaining cost and an authorised payer

A partial discount belongs in the table because it is often advertised beside fee-free options. It is not itself a no-cost route. Keep it only if the remaining cost has a realistic funding source.

Likewise, a repository route does not automatically remove a journal’s mandatory publication charge. It addresses access to a version of the work. If the journal charges every accepted article, separate permission to share does not waive that charge.

A route-selection procedure

First, identify any non-negotiable access requirements from the actual funder or institution. Obtain the text and ask the library how it applies to your article. Do not rely on a colleague’s recollection of a different grant or an older policy.

Second, build a small set of journals that fit the manuscript. Include fee-free candidates where they exist, but do not assume that every field or article type offers the same options.

Third, check the complete author charges for each candidate. If there is no mandatory charge, examine access and licensing. If there is a charge, investigate confirmed coverage or a waiver before treating it as affordable.

Fourth, assess repository permissions where publisher-hosted open access is not the selected route. Match the actual manuscript version and destination. If the permitted route does not meet an obligation, ask for help resolving the conflict before signing terms.

Finally, record the decision and unresolved dependencies. If a journal is viable only if a waiver is approved, label it conditional. A clear conditional option is more useful than an apparently finished decision resting on an unanswered application.

Complete a route record for this manuscript

The following blank record can sit beside the journal shortlist. Complete it for the preferred route and one feasible alternative.

Question	Answer and evidence
Which readers must be able to access the work?	___
Which access or licence obligation applies?	___
Which journal and article type are proposed?	___
What mandatory author charges apply?	___
What support has actually been confirmed?	___
Which version can be shared, where and when?	___
Who checked the publishing terms?	___
Which condition could make this route fail?	___
What is the next viable alternative?	___

Do not put “open access” in the version field. Identify the preprint, accepted manuscript or version of record. Do not put “online” in the destination field. Name the repository or platform and check the permission that applies there.

Creative Commons licences also need to be selected with care: permissions already granted to compliant recipients are not simply withdrawn because a later publishing choice becomes inconvenient. Obtain advice on rights you do not control and on third-party material before applying a licence. 6

Questions that expose an incomplete offer

When a journal advertises “free publication”, ask what exactly is free. Is the policy permanent or a time-limited offer? Does eligibility depend on submission or acceptance before a date? Are all article types covered? Are there mandatory extras? Obtain the answer from the official journal or publisher contact.

When an institution advertises “unlimited publishing”, ask whether your journal and appointment type are included. When a waiver page says “eligible countries”, check whose affiliation is used and whether other criteria apply. Do not infer the details from the headline.

When someone recommends repository sharing, ask which file and permission they mean. A permission for private sharing with collaborators is not necessarily permission for a public repository. A licence attached to a preprint is not automatically the licence of the publisher’s final version.

These questions should narrow the decision, not produce endless administration. Resolve conditions that could make the route unaffordable or incompatible, record the evidence, and move on to preparing the manuscript.

Keep a reserve route that is genuinely feasible

A backup should be more than the next journal name on a list. Confirm that it accepts the article type, that its financial route is plausible and that its access conditions can be checked without starting the whole search again.

Record the event that would trigger the switch, such as a waiver refusal or an unresolved funding condition. Agree that event with the co-authors before a deadline creates pressure. If you switch, make sure the first submission’s status is resolved before beginning another journal’s consideration. A reserve route is useful when it removes uncertainty, rather than merely postponing it.

Preserve the distinction when you share advice

Once the article is published, retain the route record and update it with what actually happened. That record can help a future author, but present its limits: journal, article type, date, author eligibility and funding arrangement.

Avoid circulating a successful waiver as a guarantee that others will receive one. Avoid describing an institution-funded article as evidence that the journal never charges. Avoid turning a dated fee policy into a permanent recommendation.

The most useful advice to a colleague is a reproducible route: where you found the policy, which conditions applied, whom you asked and what was confirmed. It gives them a starting point while leaving room for their manuscript, institution and obligations to differ.