Research published in Royal Society journals in 2026 to be free to access as libraries back Subscribe to Open

The Royal Society is pleased to confirm that its eight world-class subscription journals will be published as open access in 2026 as libraries support its Subscribe to Open (S2O) strategy.

This means new research published in leading journals like Proceedings of the Royal Society and Philosophical Transactions – the world’s oldest scientific journal – will be free to access for researchers and readers around the world.

Article publishing charges (APCs) for researchers to publish open access will also be removed for the S2O journals. This aligns with open access mandates from research funding bodies.

Subscribe to Open is a simple and cost-effective way for publishers to quickly transition to full open access, only made possible through the continued support of libraries and international subscribers.

It marks an important step in the Society’s 360-year history of scientific publishing and its current journey to make the high-quality research in its journals open and accessible to all.

The transition means the last ten years of research will be free to read and access for all. Subscribers will benefit from having access to an additional 20 years of content to the journals they subscribe to, as well as retaining perpetual access to the years they have bought.

The Royal Society will repeat its S2O offer in subsequent years while continuing to work with its community of subscribers and consortia to sign so-called Read and Publish agreements. These provide a tailored model of open access, removing charges to read and publish in all the Society’s journals and offer publishers financial sustainability for the long term.

The Royal Society Open Access Equity scheme will continue to support researchers from more than 100 low-and-middle income countries and automatically waive article processing charges fees for publishing in the Society’s two open access journals Royal Society Open Science and Open Biology.

Rod Cookson, Royal Society Publishing Director said:

“We are grateful to our passionate international community of libraries, research institutes and consortia who have backed our Subscribe to Open plan. With their support, we are able to make all our research journals open access this year.

“The simplicity and equity of S2O in making the latest research available to all, regardless of institution or subscription, made it a natural choice for Royal Society Publishing. This will enable the Society to fully deliver on its mission to promote outstanding science and share it for the benefit of researchers and people all around the world.”