Elsevier APC Waiver and Discount Policy: Who Qualifies and How to Apply

At a glanceAutomatic 100% waiver for Research4Life Group A and 50% for Group B in fully open access journals, but only when every author is in an eligible country. Every author Applied automatically from the affiliation

Check Elsevier's waiver for your author team

Co-authors (where they work)

Only the country is needed: without a journal you get every publisher's result for your author team. Free. No sign-up. Uses the publishers' published rules, last verified 27 October 2026.

Which countries qualify at Elsevier

Countries are matched by the author's institutional affiliation, not nationality.

100% waiver 82 countries Research4Life Group A list

Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Belau, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo (Brazzaville), Congo (Kinshasa), Cook Islands, Djibouti, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Kiribati, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Maldives, Mali, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Micronesia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Niue, North Korea, Palestinian Territory, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, Saint Helena, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Suriname, Syria, São Tomé and Príncipe, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, Vanuatu, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe

50% off 42 countries Research4Life Group B list

Albania, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Fiji, Gabon, Georgia, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kosovo, Libya, Mauritius, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam

Co-authors from other countries

Every author must be affiliated in an eligible country. One co-author from an ineligible country cancels the waiver; with authors from different groups, the lowest discount applies.

All authors: waiver applies to gold open access articles 'for which all author groups are based in a country eligible for the Research4Life program'

Country-specific arrangements

  • India (ONOS): Elsevier geographical pricing pilot gives up to 80% lower APC in about 300 gold open access journals.

How to get the waiver

Automatic after acceptance in rights forms; fully open access journals only.

Programmes: Research4Life (all fully open access journals); Geographical Pricing (GPOA) pilot ~300 gold open access journals; discretionary hardship; ONOS publisher.

Official sources: elsevier.com ↗ · elsevier.support (2) ↗

Elsevier journals on ScholarsColab

Each journal page shows its indexing, impact factor, review time, reviewer comments and this waiver.

Cell PressLancet open access journalsSpringer NatureOxford University PressBMJSAGECambridge University PressPLOSBioMed Central (BMC)Copernicus PublicationsMIT PressThieme

Schemes used: Research4Life, Country-tiered APC pricing, National agreements (ONOS India), Discretionary hardship waivers. All publishers and schemes →

Frequently asked questions

Does Elsevier offer APC waivers?

Automatic 100% waiver for Research4Life Group A and 50% for Group B in fully open access journals, but only when every author is in an eligible country. Applied automatically from the affiliation.

Who gets a full APC waiver at Elsevier?

Authors affiliated in 82 countries qualify for a 100% waiver. Every author must be affiliated in an eligible country. One co-author from an ineligible country cancels the waiver; with authors from different groups, the lowest discount applies.

Does the Elsevier waiver apply if my co-authors are from other countries?

Every author must be affiliated in an eligible country. One co-author from an ineligible country cancels the waiver; with authors from different groups, the lowest discount applies.

How do I apply for an APC waiver at Elsevier?

Automatic after acceptance in rights forms; fully open access journals only.

Are there national arrangements with Elsevier?

India (ONOS): Elsevier geographical pricing pilot gives up to 80% lower APC in about 300 gold open access journals.

Before you submit

Source, method and date. Each publisher's rule was read from its official waiver page (linked on every row) and the country lists from Research4Life, EIFL, the World Bank income classification and the publishers' own lists. Last verified: 27 October 2026. Policies change, Research4Life updates its lists every January and the World Bank every July, and some waivers are temporary or decided case by case. The checker reads the published rules; it cannot promise a waiver. Confirm on the publisher's page before you submit. ScholarsColab is not affiliated with any publisher listed here; logos are trademarks of their owners, shown only to name the publishers whose rules we read.

Confidence of this entry: High.