Open Access Journal Publishing 2023-2027


Attention: There is an updated edition available for this report.

Open Access Journal Publishing 2023-2027


The transformation underway in global scholarly publishing can appear as orchestrated movement from 1,000 feet, but the impact of open access is very different for every publisher at the ground level. It requires a clear line of sight into the ever-changing dynamics of scholarly and professional publishing. Rely on Simba Information’s Open Access Journal Publishing 2023-2027 to build your growth plan for this year and beyond.

This report explains the origins of the open access movement, gives a timeline for its development, but most importantly, Simba Information quantifies open access’ position as a fast growing subsegment of scholarly journal publishing. Simba used the information it gathered through primary and secondary research to develop a financial outlook for open access journal publishing including leading competitors’ performance through 2023 and market projections through 2027. This research was conducted in conjunction with a larger study of the overall market for scholarly and professional publishing.

Open Access Journal Publishing 2023-2027 contains separate chapters covering the market, key competitors, and issues and forecast that include:
  • Simba’s exclusive analysis of market size and structure
  • Revenue and market share rankings of 10 leading global publishers
  • Title and article growth metrics
  • A breakdown of players in the open access ecosystem including public and private research funders.
  • A breakdown of open access publishing in key geographic regions: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of World
  • Simba’s exclusive market projections to 2027 and more.
Publishers and investment professionals can trust Open Access Journal Publishing 2023-2027 to provide the inside intelligence needed to evaluate growth potential, understand trends affecting the industry, and size up the competition.

Examples of some of the issues discussed include:
  • The impact of policy shifts in the U.S. to mandate immediate OA
  • The acceleration of transformative agreements
  • Meeting the challenge of research integrity
  • Evolving models, new sources of funding
  • Opportunities in open data and preprints
  • Global R&D Spending forecast.
Open Access Journal Publishing 2023-2027 is an essential tool for publishing executives, M&A advisors, market analysts, and industry consultants who need to understand the business strategies driving the scholarly and professional publishing industry.

Simba has a knowledge base from more than 30 years’ worth of perspective on these markets. This is not a static industry. It’s one that’s affected by rapid changes in technology, the economy, mergers, partnerships and public policy and library budgets. Simba’s experienced analysts and daily coverage is the bedrock for these reports.


  • Methodology
    • Definition of Open Access Journal Publishing
    • Scope of the Report
    • Sources of Information
    • Methodology for Projecting/Estimating Results
  • Executive Summary
    • Introduction
    • What is Open Access Publishing?
    • Key Facts & Trends
      • Open Access Sales Reach $1.8 billion in 2022
      • Open Access Has 15% of the Journal Market Share, Center of Conversation
      • Millions of Open Access Articles Published, Growing 15% Per Annum
      • Normalization of Research Outputs
      • Research & Development Spending Maintains Strong Outlook
      • Plan S Falling Short of Journal Transition Goals
      • Research Integrity a Rising Challenge
  • Open Access Journal Market
    • Introduction
    • Key Developments in Open Access
      • Internet, Economics Launch Open Access Movement
      • Plan S Takes Aim at Hybrid Journal Model
      • Biden Changes US Open Access Policy
    • Open Access Definitions and Publishing Models
      • Open Access Journals
      • Gold
      • Green
      • Hybrid
      • Diamond
      • Bronze
      • Megajournals
      • Article Processing Charges (APCs)
      • Institutional Memberships
    • The Open Access Ecosystem
      • Public Funding Agencies
      • National Institutes of Health
      • European Research Council
      • UK Research and Innovation
      • The Wellcome Trust
      • Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI)
      • Institutional Mandates
    • Market Size
      • Table Open Access Journal Market by Metric, 2020 - 2022
      • Table Research Outputs on Science Direct, 2019 - 2022
      • APC Journal Revenue
      • Direct Support
      • Premium Services
      • Memberships
      • Transformative Agreements
        • Table Largest Transformative Agreements by Number of Publications Covered
      • Other Measures of Market Size
    • Open Access by Discipline
      • Medical & Biosciences
      • Scientific & Technical
      • Social Science and Humanities (SSH)
    • Open Access Publishing by Geography
      • North America
      • Europe
      • Asia-Pacific
      • Rest of the World
      • Language
  • Leading Open Access Journal Publishers
    • Introduction
    • Leading Open Access Journal Publishers
      • Table Leading Open Access Journal Publishers' Revenue, 2020 - 2022
    • Springer Nature
      • Company Overview
      • Recent Company Performance
      • Open Access Strategy
        • Table Most Cited Journals, 2022
    • Elsevier
      • Company Overview
      • Recent Company Performance
      • Open Access Strategy
        • Table Leading Publishers by Titles in the Directory of Open Journals 2023
    • MDPI AG
      • Company Overview
        • Table Top-Cited Journals in Chemistry & Materials Science, 2022
      • Recent Company Performance
      • Open Access Strategy
    • John Wiley & Sons
      • Company Overview
        • Table Most Active Peer Reviewed Open Access Journal Titles 2023
      • Recent Company Performance
      • Open Access Strategy
    • Frontiers
      • Company Overview
      • Recent Company Performance
        • Table Top-Cited Journals in Neuroscience, 2022
      • Open Access Strategy
    • IEEE
      • Company Overview
        • Table Top-Cited Journals in Engineering, 2022
      • Recent Company Performance
      • Open Access Strategy
    • Informa PLC
      • Company Overview
      • Recent Company Performance
      • Open Access Strategy
    • Sage Publishing
      • Company Overview
      • Recent Company Performance
      • Open Access Strategy
    • Public Library of Science (PLOS)
      • Company Overview
      • Recent Company Performance
      • Open Access Strategy
    • Wolters Kluwer
      • Company Overview
      • Recent Company Performance
      • Open Access Strategy
    • Other Notable Publishers
      • De Gruyter
      • Oxford University Press
        • Table Top-Cited Journals in Health Professions, 2022
      • American Chemical Society
        • Table Leading Journal Publishers by Average Citation per Article, 2022
    • Mergers & Acquisitions in the OA Journal Market
      • Table OA Journal Publishing M&A Activity, 2021-2022
      • Table OA Journal Publishing M&A Activity, 2022-2023
  • Trends & Forecast
    • Introduction
    • Trends in Open Access Publishing
      • Plan S Falling Short of Journal Transition Goals
      • Research Integrity a Rising Challenge
      • Normalization of Research Outputs
      • Research & Development Spending Maintains Strong Outlook
        • Table Research & Development Spending Forecast by Country, 2023 - 2027 ($ in billions)
      • Library Budgets Remain Stretched
      • APCs and Inflation
      • Drive for New Sources of OA funding
      • Preprints Rise in Importance
      • Open Data Ripe for Publishers
      • Non-Open Access Journals Garner Slightly More Citations per Paper
      • Peer Review Most Prevalent in Open Access Journals
    • Open Access Publishing Forecast
      • GDP Growth Projected to Slow in North America and Europe
        • Table World GDP Projected Growth by Region, 2023 - 2027
      • Market Forecast
        • Table Open Access Journal Forecast by Metric, 2023 - 2027
      • Forecast Leading Publishers
        • Table Leading OA Journal Publishers Forecast, 2022 - 2023P ($ in millions)

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