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Beyond APCs: Explore Your Open Access Publishing Options

There are many ways to make your research openly available without paying an article processing charge (APC).

Under the Gates Foundation’s Open Access Policy, foundation-funded manuscripts must be made freely available immediately under a CC BY 4.0 license or equivalent open terms. The foundation does not pay individual APCs, but grantees can choose from several no-cost and alternative publishing routes.

Start with policy compliance

    All preprints must be freely available and openly licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (CC BY), or equivalent terms, so others can build on and reuse the research.

    To comply, post your manuscript as a preprint on a recognized preprint server, such as VeriXiv, under a CC BY license. Preprints are free to post and update.

    If you did not post a preprint before your article was accepted, deposit the Author Accepted Manuscript in an open repository. Grantees can use PubMed Central or another recognized repository, such as Zenodo. There is no charge to deposit a manuscript through these routes.

    Visit How to Comply for step-by-step guidance and tips on navigating the process.

    Explore foundation-supported options


    The foundation supports publishing platforms and models that expand open access and reduce financial barriers for authors.

    PLOS journals
    Eligible Gates-funded authors can publish in any PLOS journal without paying an APC through the foundation’s partnership with PLOS.

    VeriXiv and Gates Open Research
    VeriXiv is a verified preprint server that enables Gates-funded researchers to share their manuscripts rapidly and openly. Authors may also use Gates Open Research to publish Gates-funded research through an open and transparent publishing model.

    eLife
    eLife publishes research through a reviewed-preprint model. Authors who cannot afford its publication fee may request a waiver, and some authors may be covered by an institutional publishing agreement.

    Consider other ways to cover or avoid publishing fees

    Before paying an APC, authors can:

    • Check whether their institution—or a co-author’s institution—has a publisher agreement or an open access fund.
    • Determine whether a co-author or another non-Gates funding source can cover the fee.
    • Ask the publisher whether a full or partial APC waiver is available.
    • Consider another journal or publishing venue that does not charge authors.
    • Contact the Open Access team to ask about current publishing partnerships or alternative models.
    • Grantees should not use their foundation grant budget to pay publishing fees or seek reimbursement from the foundation. The foundation cannot reimburse fees already paid to a publisher or service provider.

    Find journals that do not charge authors

    Many reputable journals make articles freely available without charging authors. This approach is often called diamond open access.

    Use the following resources to identify no-fee and community-led publishing options:

    Choose the route that works for you

    Posting a preprint or depositing an Author Accepted Manuscript allows you to comply with the foundation’s policy without paying a fee. From there, you can select the journal, platform, funding arrangement, or no-fee publishing option that best meets your needs.

    View the graphic for a quick overview of your publishing options.

    For additional guidance, visit the Gates Foundation Open Access website or contact the Open Access Help Center.