Of the 56 active titles listed on the Frontiers website as of April 11, 2018, 22 or close to 40% have increased pricing for type A articles by 18 – 31% from a year earlier. These high percentage increases come on top of already high prices. For example, Frontiers in Psychology has increased from $2,490 USD to $2,950 USD, an increase of $460 USD or 18%, while Frontiers in Pediatrics has increased from $1,900 USD to $2,490 USD, an increase of $590 or 31%. One journal, Frontiers in Digital Humanities, has decreased in price, the others have not changed and there is one new title. The following table shows titles, APC pricing copied from the Frontiers website April 11, 2017 and April 11, 2018, and the change in pricing in $ and percentage. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems is new.
| Title | 2018 APC Type A article Frontiers website in USD | 2017 APC Type A article Frontiers website in USD | 2018 – 2017 | 2018 – 2017 percentage change |
| Frontiers in Endocrinology | 2,490 | 1,900 | 590 | 31% |
| Frontiers in Genetics | 2,490 | 1,900 | 590 | 31% |
| Frontiers in Neurology | 2,490 | 1,900 | 590 | 31% |
| Frontiers in Pediatrics | 2,490 | 1,900 | 590 | 31% |
| Frontiers in Psychiatry | 2,490 | 1,900 | 590 | 31% |
| Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience | 2,950 | 2,490 | 460 | 18% |
| Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience | 2,950 | 2,490 | 460 | 18% |
| Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology | 2,950 | 2,490 | 460 | 18% |
| Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience | 2,950 | 2,490 | 460 | 18% |
| Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience | 2,950 | 2,490 | 460 | 18% |
| Frontiers in Human Neuroscience | 2,950 | 2,490 | 460 | 18% |
| Frontiers in Immunology | 2,950 | 2,490 | 460 | 18% |
| Frontiers in Microbiology | 2,950 | 2,490 | 460 | 18% |
| Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience | 2,950 | 2,490 | 460 | 18% |
| Frontiers in Neural Circuits | 2,950 | 2,490 | 460 | 18% |
| Frontiers in Neuroanatomy | 2,950 | 2,490 | 460 | 18% |
| Frontiers in Neuroinformatics | 2,950 | 2,490 | 460 | 18% |
| Frontiers in Neurorobotics | 2,950 | 2,490 | 460 | 18% |
| Frontiers in Neuroscience | 2,950 | 2,490 | 460 | 18% |
| Frontiers in Pharmacology | 2,950 | 2,490 | 460 | 18% |
| Frontiers in Physiology | 2,950 | 2,490 | 460 | 18% |
| Frontiers in Plant Science | 2,950 | 2,490 | 460 | 18% |
| Frontiers in Psychology | 2,950 | 2,490 | 460 | 18% |
| Frontiers in Digital Humanities | 950 | 1,150 | -200 | -17% |
| Frontiers in Communication | 950 | 950 | 0 | |
| Frontiers in Education | 950 | 950 | 0 | |
| Frontiers in Research Metrics and Analytics | 950 | 950 | 0 | |
| Frontiers in Sociology | 950 | 950 | 0 | |
| Frontiers in Applied Mathematics and Statistics | 1,150 | 1,150 | 0 | |
| Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences | 1,150 | 1,150 | 0 | |
| Frontiers in Built Environment | 1,150 | 1,150 | 0 | |
| Frontiers in ICT | 1,150 | 1,150 | 0 | |
| Frontiers in Mechanical Engineering | 1,150 | 1,150 | 0 | |
| Frontiers in Nutrition | 1,150 | 1,150 | 0 | |
| Frontiers in Robotics and AI | 1,150 | 1,150 | 0 | |
| Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology | 1,900 | 1,900 | 0 | |
| Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine | 1,900 | 1,900 | 0 | |
| Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology | 1,900 | 1,900 | 0 | |
| Frontiers in Chemistry | 1,900 | 1,900 | 0 | |
| Frontiers in Earth Science | 1,900 | 1,900 | 0 | |
| Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution | 1,900 | 1,900 | 0 | |
| Frontiers in Energy Research | 1,900 | 1,900 | 0 | |
| Frontiers in Environmental Science | 1,900 | 1,900 | 0 | |
| Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience | 1,900 | 1,900 | 0 | |
| Frontiers in Marine Science | 1,900 | 1,900 | 0 | |
| Frontiers in Materials | 1,900 | 1,900 | 0 | |
| Frontiers in Medicine | 1,900 | 1,900 | 0 | |
| Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences | 1,900 | 1,900 | 0 | |
| Frontiers in Oncology | 1,900 | 1,900 | 0 | |
| Frontiers in Physics | 1,900 | 1,900 | 0 | |
| Frontiers in Public Health | 1,900 | 1,900 | 0 | |
| Frontiers in Surgery | 1,900 | 1,900 | 0 | |
| Frontiers in Synaptic Neuroscience | 1,900 | 1,900 | 0 | |
| Frontiers in Veterinary Science | 1,900 | 1,900 | 0 | |
| Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience | 2,490 | 2,490 | 0 | |
| Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems | 950 |
Cite as: Morrison, H. (2018). Frontiers: 40% journals have APC increases of 18 – 31% from 2017 to 2018. Sustaining the Knowledge Commons / Soutenir Les Savoirs Communs. Retrieved from https://sustainingknowledgecommons.org/2018/04/12/frontiers-40-journals-have-apc-increases-of-18-31-from-2017-to-2018/
Sustaining the Knowledge Commons / Soutenir les savoirs communs 
Hi Heather. Do you or some organizations you know of collect these price list data systemtically? I’d be interested to contribute and possibly sustain an open database that we all could benefit from and push towards our researchers in combination with other relevant info a head of submission?
Best, Michael
We are conducting a longitudinal study to observe trends in APCs over time. We capture data systematically, generally on an annual basis for APC charging publishers. Our data is designed for trends analysis and would not be useful as a tool for researchers. Other possible data sources: Crawford’s global open access journals (2017 just released), DOAJ (based on publisher input; I don’t think it is realistic to keep this up to date; OpenAPC. If you would like to discuss methods please send an e-mail to book a phone meeting, or if you are at ELPUB next month, we can chat there.