KEY TAKEAWAYS

• A recent survey by Delta Think saw article processing charges (APCs) for fully open access and hybrid journals rising by around 10% and 4%, respectively, between 2023–2024.
• Delta Think concludes that because APC increases are below the rate of inflation, these costs are becoming cheaper in real terms, with authors getting slightly more value for money than in previous years.

Article processing charges (APCs) and open access (OA) have certainly been hot topics here at the Publication Plan. While OA is considered essential for broadening the impact of scientific research globally, the APCs associated with gold OA can represent a barrier to publishing equity. Monitoring trends in APCs is, therefore, important. To that end, the Delta Think group run an annual survey of >30 key publishers to assess price changes. In a recent report, they explored the realities of APC increases after adjusting for inflation.

Using the global consumer price index (CPI) to examine whether APCs are becoming cheaper or more expensive in real terms, Delta Think found:

• APC list prices rose between 2023 and 2024, with increases of ~10% and ~4% for fully OA and hybrid journals, respectively.
• Real-term APCs for all OA journals (fully OA and hybrid) fell most years since 2017, with the exception of 2021 when large increases were seen alongside a modest inflation rate.
• Fully OA journals show a slightly different picture, with real-term APCs rising as often as they have fallen over the same time period.
• Above-inflation price rises for fully OA journals were particularly notable going into 2021 and 2024.

As context to their findings, the group highlight that the average inflation rate for this period (per the global CPI) was ~4%, spiking at >8% in 2022, with a prediction of ~6% for 2024.

Delta Think conclude that, overall, OA prices are rising, but not as fast as the rate of inflation, meaning the cost of OA is actually becoming cheaper, with authors getting slightly better value for money.

Delta Think conclude that, overall, OA prices are rising, but not as fast as the rate of inflation, meaning the cost of OA is actually becoming cheaper, with authors getting slightly better value for money. They note that while the prices of fully OA journals are increasing faster than inflation, these remain cheaper than hybrid prices and are thus growing from a lower starting point. Finally, Delta Think call upon authors to be mindful of this detail: if concerns exist around OA affordability, understanding real-term costs is key.

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