Hybrid journal
A hybrid journal earns money from subscriptions and additionally offers authors the option to pay so that their own article is open access. The rest of the issue stays behind the paywall. This dual income is why hybrid titles are treated differently in waiver policies.
Reviewed 16 September 2026
In practice
Why waivers usually exclude hybrids
Publishers reason that an author without funds can still publish in a hybrid journal at no cost by taking the subscription route. The article is simply not open access. On that logic the waiver is unnecessary, so it is not offered.
The catch for funded authors
Some funders will not accept the subscription route because they require immediate open access. For those authors the hybrid exclusion is a real barrier rather than a theoretical one.
The exception
Of the publishers checked here, IOP Publishing states that its discounts apply equally to article charges in fully open access and hybrid open access journals.
Examples: free through the subscription route
| Journal | Subscription route | Open access APC |
|---|---|---|
| Behaviormetrika Springer Nature (Springer) | $0 | $3,390 |
| Current Addiction Reports Springer Nature (Springer) | $0 | $5,090 |
| Current Epidemiology Reports Springer Nature (Springer) | $0 | $4,390 |
| European Economic Review Elsevier | $0 | $3,870 |
| Journal of Cryptographic Engineering Springer Nature (Springer) | $0 | $3,490 |
| Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization Elsevier | $0 | $3,640 |
| Journal of Iberian Geology Springer Nature (Springer) | $0 | $3,290 |
| Journal of Reliable Intelligent Environments Springer Nature (Springer) | $0 | $3,190 |
| Journal of Remanufacturing Springer Nature (Springer) | $0 | $3,090 |
| La Rivista del Nuovo Cimento Springer Nature (Springer) | $0 | $3,190 |
| Lithos Elsevier | $0 | $3,230 |
| Sankhya B Springer Nature (Springer) | $0 | $3,190 |
Read from each journal's own page on 16 September 2026. List prices before tax.
Common misconceptions
Publishing in a hybrid journal does not have to cost anything. The subscription route is free to the author.
Hybrid is not a quality tier. It describes the business model, not the standard of the journal.