Glossary
Plan S
Plan S is a set of principles adopted by a group of research funders under cOAlition S, requiring that work they fund be published open access without embargo. It reshaped publisher behaviour and accelerated transformative agreements.
Reviewed 1 August 2026
In practice
Effect on authors outside the funding bloc
Plan S applies to grantees of participating funders. An unfunded author is not bound by it, and for them the subscription route in a hybrid journal remains available at no cost.
Effect on hybrid journals
Plan S pressure is part of why publishers separate hybrid from fully open access titles in their policies, including in waiver eligibility.
Common misconceptions
Plan S does not require paying an APC. It requires open access, which a repository deposit can satisfy under some conditions.