PLOS ONE APC Waiver and Discount Policy: Who Qualifies and How to Apply

At a glancePLOS's own Research4Life fee assistance: free for Group A and USD 940 for Group B (instead of USD 2,477), both only for research without external funding; otherwise need-based fee assistance. Not stated by the journal Must be requested, usually at submission Part of PLOS

Check PLOS ONE'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 PLOS ONE

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

100% waiver 82 countries Research4Life Group A list, only if the research has no external funding

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

Discount 42 countries Research4Life Group B list, USD 940 instead of USD 2,477, only without external funding

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

The journal does not say whose affiliation counts. This result uses the corresponding author's country; confirm for co-authors from other countries when you request it.

'Publication in any PLOS journal is free for authors based at institutions located in a Research4Life Group A country who do not have external funding'

The waiver is only for research without external funding.

How to get the waiver

Request at submission ('Authors must indicate they require Research4Life fee assistance at the time of manuscript submission').

Programmes: Research4Life (Group A free in all PLOS journals; Group B USD 940 for PLOS ONE); Publication Fee Assistance (need-based); APC USD 2,477; not an ONOS publisher.

Official sources: plos.org ↗

PLOS ONE journals on ScholarsColab

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

Schemes used: Research4Life, Discretionary hardship waivers. All publishers and schemes →

Frequently asked questions

Does PLOS ONE offer APC waivers?

PLOS's own Research4Life fee assistance: free for Group A and USD 940 for Group B (instead of USD 2,477), both only for research without external funding; otherwise need-based fee assistance. Must be requested, usually at submission.

Who gets a full APC waiver at PLOS ONE?

Authors affiliated in 82 countries qualify for a 100% waiver. The journal does not say whose affiliation counts. This result uses the corresponding author's country; confirm for co-authors from other countries when you request it.

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

The journal does not say whose affiliation counts. This result uses the corresponding author's country; confirm for co-authors from other countries when you request it.

How do I apply for an APC waiver at PLOS ONE?

Request at submission ('Authors must indicate they require Research4Life fee assistance at the time of manuscript submission').

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 (fees, Research4Life rule); the page does not say whose affiliation counts.