At a glanceFee waived for anyone who cannot afford it, decided case by case; no country list. Case by case Case by case, on application
Check eLife's waiver for your author team
Co-authors from other countries
No country rule: the publisher decides case by case, or has no waiver scheme.
'the fee is waived for anyone who cannot afford to pay'
How to get the waiver
Request; corresponding author explains need.
Programmes: Discretionary need-based waiver; no country list.
Official sources: elifesciences.org ↗
eLife journals on ScholarsColab
Each journal page shows its indexing, impact factor, review time, reviewer comments and this waiver.
Publishers with a similar waiver scheme
MDPIFrontiersIGI GlobalPensoftTech Science PressIntechOpenUbiquity PressTsinghua University PressElsevierSpringer NatureSAGEOxford University Press
Schemes used: Discretionary hardship waivers. All publishers and schemes →
Frequently asked questions
Does eLife offer APC waivers?
Fee waived for anyone who cannot afford it, decided case by case; no country list. Case by case, on application.
Does the eLife waiver apply if my co-authors are from other countries?
No country rule: the publisher decides case by case, or has no waiver scheme.
How do I apply for an APC waiver at eLife?
Request; corresponding author explains need.
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: Medium.