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Journal cost transparency

We strive to publish high-quality journals as efficiently as we can. We have a diverse portfolio of journals and business models, with more than half of the journals we publish being owned and editorially managed by our society partners.

The cost of our journal publishing program

This chart shows how our journal revenues are spent across our full journals publishing programme, supporting investment decisions from authors, funders and institutions.

  • Editorial support (20%): Investment into the journal editorial and peer review process, including honoraria to editors, maintenance of submission platforms and peer review administration, and publishing programme management and administration.
  • Cost of production (12%): Investment into the production of journal articles and issues, including the copyediting and typesetting of manuscripts, metadata creation, content accessibility, printing and distribution, and content production management and administration.
  • Society & partner contribution (23%): The share of revenues returned to partners for reinvestment into their own endeavours, including reinvestment in the development of their journals.
  • Press surplus (0% - target 10%): We are a department of the University of Cambridge and, when achieved, a portion of our surplus is returned to the University for reinvestment. Any remaining surplus is reinvested back into the Press, supporting the delivery of our mission.

A pie chart showing, by percentage, the costs of journal publication. This text is available in full in section: The cost of our journal publishing programme
The cost of our journal publishing programme

The cost of our journal publishing program

A pie chart showing, by percentage, the costs of journal publication. This text is available in full in section: The cost of our journal publishing programme
The cost of our journal publishing programme

This chart shows how our journal revenues are spent across our full journals publishing programme, supporting investment decisions from authors, funders and institutions.

  • Editorial support (20%): Investment into the journal editorial and peer review process, including honoraria to editors, maintenance of submission platforms and peer review administration, and publishing programme management and administration.
  • Cost of production (12%): Investment into the production of journal articles and issues, including the copyediting and typesetting of manuscripts, metadata creation, content accessibility, printing and distribution, and content production management and administration.
  • Society & partner contribution (23%): The share of revenues returned to partners for reinvestment into their own endeavours, including reinvestment in the development of their journals.
  • Press surplus (0% - target 10%): We are a department of the University of Cambridge and, when achieved, a portion of our surplus is returned to the University for reinvestment. Any remaining surplus is reinvested back into the Press, supporting the delivery of our mission.

  • Promotion & discoverability (12%): Investment into distribution, dissemination, and marketing published content and services to libraries and end-users globally.
  • Unfunded open access (4%): In 2023, 63% of our research articles were published under an open access (OA) licence; of these, 6% were unfunded. Those unfunded open access research articles represent authors publishing in journals that are newly launching or newly flipping to open access; and those who simply do not have access to an open access publishing agreement or funds for paying APCs. Also included is OA funding for authors from low- and middle-income countries covered by the Research4Life programme and the Cambridge Open Equity Initiative.
  • Technology & systems (16%): Investment in the maintenance and development of our content platforms. This covers, but is not limited to, design, user experience, and accessibility.
  • General & administrative overheads (13%): Overall operating costs, including finance, facilities, business systems, HR, legal, customer services, tax and insurance.