Publication fees · October 2026
What Scopus journals charge to publish
A publication fee is known for 11,945 of the journals Scopus indexes now. 396 charge nothing. Among those that charge, the median is US$3,190. Every journal below links to a page that shows its Scopus quartile, Web of Science coverage and ABDC or ABS rating.
How the fees are spread
Journals in Scopus now with a known list price. Source: OpenAlex.
Lists by price
Fees by subject
| Subject | Journals with a known fee | Charge nothing | Median fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business & Management | 610 | 13 | US$3,400 |
| HRM & Organizational Behavior | 124 | 3 | US$3,550 |
| Marketing | 87 | 0 | US$3,400 |
| Finance | 176 | 3 | US$3,290 |
| Accounting | 77 | 0 | US$3,380 |
| Economics & Econometrics | 612 | 24 | US$3,290 |
| Tourism & Hospitality | 47 | 1 | US$3,440 |
| Operations & Transportation | 203 | 10 | US$2,990 |
| Computer Science & IT | 1,158 | 50 | US$2,896 |
| Law | 508 | 21 | US$3,400 |
| Mathematics & Statistics | 1,102 | 29 | US$3,137 |
| Medicine & Health | 4,452 | 118 | US$3,190 |
| Psychology | 641 | 4 | US$3,460 |
| Education | 584 | 16 | US$3,390 |
| Social Sciences | 1,497 | 50 | US$3,400 |
| Communication & Media | 341 | 19 | US$2,760 |
| Arts & Humanities | 932 | 35 | US$3,400 |
| Linguistics & Language | 250 | 23 | US$3,090 |
| Engineering | 2,077 | 94 | US$2,995 |
| Chemistry & Chem. Eng. | 1,579 | 64 | US$3,450 |
| Physics & Astronomy | 1,089 | 29 | US$3,230 |
| Materials Science | 672 | 28 | US$3,325 |
| Life Sciences & Biology | 2,688 | 68 | US$3,290 |
| Agriculture & Food | 807 | 28 | US$2,740 |
| Environment & Earth Sciences | 2,172 | 89 | US$3,060 |
| Multidisciplinary | 97 | 7 | US$2,495 |
Before you pay any journal
- Check the index yourself. A website that says “Scopus indexed” is not proof; the journal’s page here shows whether Scopus lists it now and since when.
- A real journal asks for the fee after acceptance, on an invoice from the publisher. Be careful with a fee asked before review, or payment to a personal account.
- Be careful with a promise to publish within days. Peer review takes weeks.
- A fee does not show quality, in either direction. Compare the quartile and ratings.
Questions people ask
What is an article processing charge (APC)?
It is the fee a journal charges an author to publish an article as open access, so that anyone can read it free. It is paid after acceptance. It is not a fee for peer review and it does not buy acceptance.
Do all Scopus journals charge a fee?
No. Scopus indexes about 32,103 active journals. A list price is known for 11,945 of them, and 396 of those charge nothing. Most of the rest are subscription journals, where the author pays nothing unless open access is chosen.
Is a journal that asks for money a predatory journal?
Not because of the fee. Reputable open access journals charge too. Warning signs are different: a promise to publish within days, a fee asked before review, indexing claims that the index’s own list does not confirm, and contact only by WhatsApp or a free email address. Check the journal’s page here before you pay anything.
How can an author in India publish without paying?
Three routes. Choose the subscription route of a hybrid journal. Pick a journal with no fee from the free list. Or use the journals whose fee is covered under One Nation One Subscription (ONOS), listed on the ONOS page.
How current are these fees?
They are publisher list prices recorded by OpenAlex, mostly from DOAJ, and the index data is dated 2026-10-04. Publishers change prices, and some offer waivers. The journal’s own website is the final word.