Publishers
Publisher waiver policies, side by side
39 publishers, 7 classification systems, eight different rules about which author counts. The differences are not cosmetic: they decide whether you pay nothing, half, or everything.
All policies checked 20 August 2026
39policies recorded
8rules about which author counts
6cover hybrid journals
7classification systems
The policies
| Publisher | Which author counts | Hybrid | Applied |
|---|---|---|---|
| ElsevierResearch4Life | All authors must be in the same group | No | Automatic |
| WileyResearch4Life | Corresponding author only, using the affiliation given at submission | No | Automatic |
| Taylor & FrancisWorld Bank income class plus a GDP ceiling | Corresponding author's primary affiliation | No | Request required |
| Springer NatureWorld Bank income class plus a GDP ceiling | Corresponding author | Not stated | Request required |
| SageResearch4Life; some journals use World Bank income levels instead | Corresponding author | No | Automatic |
| IOP PublishingWorld Bank income class | Automatic when all authors are in an eligible country | Yes | Automatic or on request |
| PLOSResearch4Life | Institution, not the individual author | Not stated | Automatic through the Global Equity agreement |
| Oxford University PressResearch4Life, EIFL and government affordability metrics | Corresponding author | No | Automatic |
| IEEEWorld Bank GNI per capita | All authors must qualify | No | Automatic |
| MDPIMDPI internal classification, described as broadly aligned with Research4Life | Corresponding author, assessed individually | Not stated | Request required |
| PeerJWorld Bank income classification | Submitting author for a single waiver; if every co-author is from a low-income economy, the requirement is waived for all of them and publication is free | Not stated | Request required |
| Cambridge University PressResearch4Life | Corresponding author of research articles | Not stated | Automatic, plus a discretionary route on request |
| BMJBMJ's own waiver list, built on low-income economies | The strictest set of conditions found | Not stated | Request required |
| ACMACM agreements with EIFL and Research4Life, plus the World Bank list of economies | Author location; ACM Open institutional licences are applied first | Not stated | Automatic for geographic waivers; discretionary route on request |
| BMCWorld Bank income classification, through Springer Nature | Corresponding author | No | Automatic for the country route; request required for the discretionary route |
| American Physical SocietyResearch4Life (Group A full, lower-middle reduced) | Corresponding author at an eligible institution | Yes — hybrid + gold Physical Review | Automatic; no waiver request since 1 Jan 2024 |
| American Chemical SocietyWorld Bank income class (July 2022 snapshot), Group A / Group B | Submitting corresponding author only | No — fully OA titles only | Automatic on acceptance |
| AIP PublishingResearch4Life guidelines extended with World Bank low + lower-middle income | Not stated on the policy page | No — Gold OA titles | Automatic at billing; others case-by-case on request |
| Optica Publishing GroupOwn list of qualifying low-income countries, plus Ukraine through 2026; Optics Continuum uses low + middle income | Corresponding author only; requires an accurate address on file | Not stated | Automatic |
| FrontiersNo country list; authors in World Bank low and lower-middle income countries may apply for APC discounts, plus institutional agreements | Not stated | n/a (fully OA) | Request required (fee support form) |
| Copernicus PublicationsResearch4Life plus European Economically Disadvantaged (EED) — a distinct classification system | Corresponding author's institution | n/a (fully OA) | Fully automated: 100% R4L, 50% EED on 20+ titles |
| The Royal SocietyOwn "Open Access Equity" list, 100+ countries including Ukraine, Serbia, Georgia | Corresponding author | Yes — all Royal Society journals | Automatic, plus a discretionary need-based route |
| Microbiology SocietyHINARI Group A (100%) and EIFL agreement, 33 countries (100%) | Corresponding author | Yes — whole portfolio, hybrid and fully OA | Automatic for HINARI Group A and EIFL countries; partial waiver otherwise on request at submission |
| De Gruyter BrillWorld Bank income class — 80%/30%, not 100%/50%; Brill side runs on EIFL partner countries | Corresponding author | Yes on the Brill/EIFL route; not stated for the De Gruyter country discount | Automatic on acceptance by country of residence |
| JMIR PublicationsWorld Bank income class, aligned to Plan S guidance | All authors must be in a low-income economy for a full waiver; all in lower-middle for a discount | n/a (fully OA) | Request required (form) |
| KargerCountry income, low and lower-middle | Not stated | No — explicitly no waivers for Author's Choice hybrid OA | Request required, after acceptance |
| ThiemeResearch4Life Group A 100%, Group B 50% | Corresponding author | No — Gold OA only | Request required; eligibility indicated at the payment stage after acceptance |
| American Society for MicrobiologyResearch4Life Group A | Corresponding author | Not stated | Automatic for R4L Group A; other need-based requests at acceptance |
| Mary Ann LiebertResearch4Life Group B, 50% discount; World Bank lower-middle prioritised for others | Corresponding author | No — gold OA journals | Request required, case-by-case |
| Portland Press (Biochemical Society)Research4Life / HINARI Group A full, Group B discount | Not stated | Not stated | Group A full, Group B discount; individual circumstances by request |
| Emerald PublishingWorld Bank low + lower-middle income; Research4Life list for ICE Publishing titles | Not stated | No — fully OA titles only | Automatic at submission |
| Wolters Kluwer (Lippincott)Research4Life eligibility criteria | Corresponding author at participating institution | Not stated | Institutional R&P agreements only; no standalone country-based waiver published |
| AACRWorld Bank low + lower-middle income | Not stated | Yes — AACR journals are hybrid with an OA option | Geographic full or partial; hardship waivers case-by-case |
| eLifeNo country list — case-by-case on financial need; LMIC authors typically covered | Corresponding author provides the explanation | n/a (fully OA) | Request required |
| PensoftLow + middle income, plus PhD students, retired and independent researchers — set per journal, not centrally | Not stated centrally | n/a (fully OA) | Request required, varies by journal |
| Royal Society of ChemistryResearch4Life (automatic waiver) | Not stated | Not stated | Automatic under Research4Life; other waivers case by case; RSC member discount 15%; 50% discount for authors in India, Indonesia and the Philippines |
| Company of BiologistsWorld Bank low and lower-middle income (automatic, corresponding author) and EIFL countries; hardship waiver on request | Corresponding author | Not stated | Automatic for eligible countries, no application; hardship waiver requested on acceptance |
| Bristol University PressResearch4Life alignment | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| EDP SciencesResearch4Life Group A waiver; 20% discount for CAS institutes and TIB-affiliated German institutions; French institutions via transformative agreement | Not stated | Not stated | Research4Life Group A waiver; institutional discounts and agreements |
Eight rules about which author counts
| Rule | Publishers |
|---|---|
| Corresponding author onlyThe affiliation given for the corresponding author at submission decides it. Co-authors elsewhere do not affect the outcome. | Wiley, Taylor & Francis, Springer Nature, Sage, Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, MDPI |
| All authors, same groupEvery author must sit in the same Research4Life group. A mix of Group A and Group B authors reduces a full waiver to 50%. | Elsevier |
| All authors, or most on requestApplied automatically when all authors qualify. Granted on request when the corresponding author and a majority of co-authors qualify. | IOP Publishing |
| All authors, lowest tier wins, one failure voids itIf entitlements differ between authors, the smallest applies. A single author in an ineligible country removes the discount entirely. | IEEE |
| Institution, not the authorThe institution holds the agreement. Researchers at a covered institution are never charged. | PLOS |
| All authors, plus where the research was done, plus funding statusEvery author must be in a listed country, the research must have been carried out in one, and it must be unfunded. | BMJ |
| All authors, same group — including for the discountEvery author must be in the same income bracket. Unlike Elsevier, JMIR applies this rule to the partial discount as well, not only the full waiver. | JMIR Publications |
| Career stage, not just geographyPhD students, retired researchers, and independent researchers qualify regardless of country — a category unique to this publisher. | Pensoft |
This is the single most consequential difference between publishers, and the one authors are least likely to check before choosing where to submit. Full answer.
Known policies not yet recorded
These publishers appear in Research4Life's index of APC waiver policies. We have the address but have not yet verified the terms, so we link rather than summarise.
British Institute of Radiologypolicy published, terms not yet recordedCSIRO Publishingpolicy published, terms not yet recordedCCSDpolicy published, terms not yet recorded
Source: Research4Life — Open Access titles with zero or reduced publication charges, checked 2026-08-05.
Check your country
Do you qualify for a fee waiver or discount? Enter your country to see which publishers offer reduced APCs for authors at your institution.
WAIVERS BY COUNTRY →