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Open access: gold, green and diamond
Gold, green and diamond open access explained simply: who pays APCs, what repositories and preprints are, how Creative Commons licences differ and where free routes exist.
Open access means that readers can reach a scientific text without an ordinary subscription paywall, but there are different ways to achieve that. Gold, green and diamond describe routes of access and financing, not the quality of the research.
Gold open access
In the gold model, the final published article is openly available on the journal's website immediately after publication. The publisher often charges an APC to the author, funder or institution, but “gold” does not automatically mean “the author pays.” Some gold journals have no APC because costs are covered elsewhere.
Check the licence as well as the price. Open access is not only free reading; it should also be clear what reuse is permitted and under what conditions.
Green open access
Green open access means self-archiving an allowed version of the article in an institutional or subject repository. A journal may permit the accepted manuscript but not the publisher's final PDF, and it may impose an embargo.
Before depositing a file, check the publishing agreement and current policy: which version is allowed, where it may be stored, when it can become public and what notice or licence must accompany it. A file in personal cloud storage is not automatically compliant green open access.
Diamond open access
A diamond journal charges neither the reader nor the author. Costs are covered by a university, scholarly society, library consortium, grant or other infrastructure. No APC does not mean no cost exists; it means the cost is not charged to the individual author.
Diamond is especially valuable where APCs create barriers for researchers without grant funding, but the model still depends on sustainable institutional support.
The differences at a glance
| Model | Where the article is open | Who usually covers the cost | APC possible |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | journal website | author, grant, institution or publisher model | yes |
| Green | repository copy of an allowed version | repository infrastructure | usually not for self-archiving |
| Diamond | journal website | institution or collective infrastructure | no APC for the author |
A preprint is a separate question
A preprint is a version made public before formal journal peer review. Some disciplines use preprint servers routinely; others are more cautious. Check the target journal's policy before posting, especially in medicine, patent-sensitive work or research involving sensitive data.
Label a preprint clearly as not yet peer reviewed. Once the final article is published, update the preprint record to point readers to the version of record where the platform allows it.
Creative Commons licences
Creative Commons licences specify reuse permissions. CC BY normally requires attribution and permits broad reuse. Additional elements such as NC, ND and SA restrict commercial use, derivative works or require derivatives to use the same licence.
Do not assume that “the strictest licence is safest.” A funder, institution or journal may require a particular licence. Free-to-read access and permission to adapt a work are different questions.
Where can you publish without paying an APC?
Four common routes are worth checking: diamond journals; subscription journals that do not charge authors for standard publication; institutional agreements that cover open-access fees; and the green route through an authorised repository copy after publication. Directories can help identify options, but always confirm the current terms on the journal's own author information.
Checklist for access and cost
- does the grant require open access;
- is there an APC and who covers it;
- what licence is required;
- may the accepted manuscript be deposited;
- is there an embargo;
- does the journal allow preprints;
- has the journal been checked for transparency and indexing;
- are costs known before submission.
Who pays and who can read are different questions
“Free” has at least two sides in academic publishing. An article may be free for readers while an author, university or funder pays an APC. Or publication may cost the author nothing while the full text remains available only to subscribers. Ask two separate questions: what does the author pay, and what rights does the reader receive?
Do not confuse an APC with a fee for acceptance. In a legitimate journal, editorial judgment should be independent of the author's ability to pay. Charges and possible waivers should be described in advance. A fee that appears unexpectedly only after acceptance is a reason to stop and re-check the journal.
Which version may go into a repository?
Green open access often depends on manuscript version. A preprint is the version before peer review. The author accepted manuscript is the version after scientific revision but before publisher layout. The version of record is the final published article. A publisher may allow one version and restrict another, sometimes with an embargo.
Before upload, write down four things: the permitted version, the permitted repository, the waiting period, and the required licence or notice. The policy of the specific journal matters more than your memory of a publisher's general practice.
If a grant requires open access
A funder's requirement may concern timing, licence and repository location, not merely the existence of an “open access” button. Check grant conditions before choosing a journal. Otherwise you can pay for open access and still fail the funder's requirement because the licence is too restrictive or the text becomes open too late.
Keep evidence of the chosen route with the project documents. That simplifies reporting and avoids arguments among co-authors at the moment of acceptance.
Diamond does not mean “no one pays anything”
In diamond open access the author pays no APC and the reader pays no subscription, but publishing still requires money. It may be funded by a university, scholarly society, library consortium, grant or another organisation. For authors, the important question is whether that support model is transparent and sustainable.
Co-authors should agree on the access model and possible costs before submission. A dispute over APC after acceptance is particularly difficult because the scientific work is already complete and the financial decision becomes urgent. Checking the budget early leaves time to choose another journal or apply for a waiver if one exists.
Where to explain the work to readers
Even a fully open scientific article may remain difficult for a non-specialist. A popular-science column solves a different problem: it translates the research question and result into ordinary language without replacing the academic publication.
What Columnist provides
Through Columnist, a researcher can publish that explanation in Science Official or another Mosaic publication. It is an ordinary author column, not a scientific journal and not part of a gold, green or diamond route. The text receives an author card and publication page, but there is no scientific peer review.
After choosing your open-access route, explain the research to a wider audience through Columnist, at columnist.mib.news.
FAQ
Does gold always mean the author pays?
No. Gold describes immediate open access to the final version on the journal website. Funding may come from an APC, an institutional agreement or the publisher's budget.
Is green open access a pirated copy?
No, when the author deposits an allowed version under the journal's policy and agreement. The permitted version and timing matter.
Is diamond better than gold?
It is not a quality scale. Diamond removes charges for author and reader, while scientific quality is judged through editorial and research standards.
Which Creative Commons licence should I choose?
That depends on journal, funder and the reuse rights you want. Read the licence conditions and the publication agreement before choosing.
Reading is half of it. The other half is a column with your name on it, in a real publication.
Start writing