Free APC journals can make open dissemination possible without shifting publication costs to the author. They are often supported by universities, scholarly societies, funders, government organisations, or institutional publishing programmes.
No APC is not a quality category. Evaluate the same fundamentals you would use for any journal: scope, audience, indexing, editorial standards, recent articles, publication model, and the evidence behind each metric.
Quick answer: A free APC journal does not charge an article processing fee in the catalog record. Confirm the current policy on the official journal page before submission because funding models can change.
Journal list and current catalog signals
The table presents 12 examples from 1,430 matching catalog records. SJR, H-index, and quartile refer to the linked SCImago data year in the catalog. Fees and policies must be verified on the official journal website.
| Journal | Quartile | SJR | H-index | Fee | Country | Pre-review |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Living Reviews in RelativitySpringerOpen | Q1 | 14.227 | 107 | No APCPublication fee | Germany | Pre-review |
| Living Reviews in Solar PhysicsSpringer | Q1 | 8.871 | 79 | No APCPublication fee | Switzerland | Pre-review |
| International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher EducationSpringerOpen | Q1 | 7.947 | 97 | No APCPublication fee | United Kingdom | Pre-review |
| Military Medical ResearchKeAi Communications Co., Ltd. | Q1 | 5.898 | 68 | No APCPublication fee | China | Pre-review |
| Organization TheorySAGE Publishing | Q1 | 4.852 | 43 | No APCPublication fee | United Kingdom | Pre-review |
| International Journal of Extreme ManufacturingIOP Publishing | Q1 | 4.098 | 73 | No APCPublication fee | United Kingdom | Pre-review |
| Nano Research EnergyTsinghua University Press | Q1 | 4.016 | 49 | No APCPublication fee | China | Pre-review |
| Journal of Sport and Health ScienceElsevier | Q1 | 3.715 | 87 | No APCPublication fee | Netherlands | Pre-review |
| Journal of the European Mathematical SocietyEMS Press | Q1 | 3.687 | 73 | No APCPublication fee | Germany | Pre-review |
| Journal of Statistical SoftwareFoundation for Open Access Statistics | Q1 | 3.677 | 199 | No APCPublication fee | United States | Pre-review |
| Opto-Electronic ScienceEditorial Office of Opto-Electronic Journals, Institute of Optics and Electronics, CAS, China | Q1 | 3.494 | 33 | No APCPublication fee | China | Pre-review |
| Energy Material AdvancesAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) | Q1 | 3.459 | 39 | No APCPublication fee | United States | Pre-review |
Data note: The list uses a strict catalog flag: currency FREE and APC USD 0. It does not treat a missing fee as free. Search the complete Journal Finder.
How to choose from this list
Confirm what “free” covers
Check whether the policy applies to every article type and whether optional services, colour figures, excess pages, or open-access upgrades have separate charges.
Verify indexing and year
Quartiles and SJR values can change by reporting year. Use the linked official and SCImagoJR records to confirm the latest status.
Prioritise scope over rank
A high-ranked journal is not useful when the manuscript falls outside its audience, methods, or article types.
Prepare for editorial screening
No-fee journals may receive high submission volumes. Make the contribution, methods, evidence, and relevance easy to identify from the title and abstract.
Check the manuscript against the journal you selected
PapeReview evaluates clarity, methods, evidence, contribution, limitations, and journal-target fit before you enter the publisher submission system.
Frequently asked questions
Are free APC journals the same as subscription journals?
No. Some are diamond open-access journals, while others may offer a non-open-access publication route without an APC. Always check the access model.
Does no APC mean easier acceptance?
No. Fees and editorial selectivity are separate. Scope fit and manuscript quality still determine whether a paper advances.
How often should I verify the fee?
Verify it immediately before submission and again before accepting any publication agreement.
Sources and verification
PapeReview combines catalog fields from journal and publisher records with DOAJ and SCImagoJR-linked information. These services answer different questions: DOAJ focuses on open-access journal records, while SCImagoJR presents Scopus-based citation indicators. PapeReview adds filtering and a manuscript pre-review workflow but does not replace official publisher verification.