Nature Communications vs Nature Physics
Nature Communications: $7,350 · Nature Physics: $12,850 (gold OA; subscription route free) — list APC checked 6 October 2026. Waivers, read-and-publish and indexing below.
Nature Communications charges $7,350 per article and is open access only. Nature Physics charges $12,850 for gold open access (list price before tax, checked 6 October 2026) but also publishes under the subscription route at no charge to the author — the article is then not open access. If you need open access and have no agreement, Nature Communications is $5,500 cheaper at list; a read-and-publish agreement at your institution can cover either.
Where each stands
| Nature Communications | Nature Physics | |
|---|---|---|
| Publisher | Springer Nature | Springer Nature |
| Field | multidisciplinary | physics |
| Quartile | Q1 | — |
| APC (list) | $7,350 | $12,850 (gold OA; subscription route $0) |
| Waiver basis | World Bank income | World Bank income |
| Read & Publish | Yes | Yes |
| Scopus | Yes | Yes |
| Web of Science | Yes | Yes |
| PubMed | Yes | — |
| DOAJ | Yes | No (hybrid) |
| Licence | CC BY 4.0 | CC BY 4.0 for OA articles |
Which should you submit to
- At list price for open access, Nature Communications is $5,500 cheaper — $7,350 against $12,850.
- Nature Physics has a route Nature Communications does not: subscription publishing at no author charge. That makes it the cheaper option when open access is not required by your funder.
- Both carry the same Springer Nature waiver policy (low-income economies, request at submission) and both are covered by many read-and-publish agreements; check your library before paying list price.
- "—" in the table means not checked on a primary source; Quartile and PubMed coverage for Nature Physics were not verified for this page.
Sources: Nature Communications open access page (16 September 2026); Nature Physics publishing options (6 October 2026). Reconfirm before submitting.