Publication Cost Calculator

Work out publication cost instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About Publication Cost Calculator

The article processing charge is rarely the whole bill. A 2400 APC with three colour figures at 250 each and 350 of language editing comes to 3500, so the APC is only 69% of the cost. Colour charges have largely disappeared from online-only journals but persist where a print edition remains.

Formulas

Total cost

total = APC + colour figure charges + language editing

APC share

share = APC / total x 100

Worked example

With the default values below, Publication Cost Calculator returns Total Publication Cost of $3,500.00. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Article processing chargeminimum 0: 2,400
Colour figuresminimum 0: 3
Charge per colour figureminimum 0: 250
Language editingminimum 0: 350

Results

Total Publication Cost: $3,500.00
Colour Figure Charges: $750.00
Share That Is The Processing Charge: 68.6%
Costs Beyond The Processing Charge: $1,100.00

Step by step

1Values used
2Total cost
3APC share
4Total Publication Cost= 3,500.00
5Colour Figure Charges= 750.00
6Share That Is The Processing Charge= 68.6
7Costs Beyond The Processing Charge= 1,100.00

Assumptions and limits

The result is derived only from the 4 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax or compounding frequency into account.
Figures are rounded for display to 2 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are APCs negotiable?

Often. Many publishers offer waivers for low-income countries and institutional read-and-publish agreements that cover the charge entirely.

Can I avoid APCs altogether?

Yes - diamond open access journals charge neither authors nor readers, and green open access lets you self-archive a subscription-journal article for free.