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Figshare Review

Depends

Should I use Figshare?

credit for all your research - figshare.com

· 5 hours ago

Universities, libraries, and researchers publishing citable, DOI-backed outputs should buy — proven at Springer Nature, PLOS, and University of Malta. Businesses wanting general data storage, or anyone with sensitive data, should not — it is an open academic repository, not commercial storage.

Confidence

Medium. Based on 25+ public sources; pricing and security-incident evidence thin.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of useNo usability evidence in sources
  • Feature depth
  • Support qualityNo support-quality evidence found
  • Security posture

Pricing

Free

Individual (figshare.com)

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierYes
Figshare for InstitutionsCustom quote (unpublished)
Figshare+Paid (unpublished)

Best for

  • Universities and libraries
  • Researchers needing citable DOIs
  • Publishers and funders
  • FAIR data compliance

Not for

  • Businesses wanting general data storage
  • Sensitive or human-subjects data
  • Buyers wanting self-serve transparent pricing
  • Solo researchers content with free Zenodo

Gotchas - check before you buy

high

Takedown allegations exist; don't treat it as sole storage for irreplaceable data.

medium

Institutional contracts are sales-led with unpublished pricing; Figshare+ costs extra for big files.

medium

Guess: DOI lock-in — migrating repositories later means metadata rework and redirect risk.

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Free public repository where researchers publish citable, DOI-backed outputs.
  • Handles datasets, figures, posters, preprints, and other non-traditional outputs.
  • Institutional portals with API, custom reporting, and metadata management.
  • Strong publishing-ecosystem integrations: Springer Nature, PLOS, Dimensions, Symplectic.
  • Proven impact tracking for institutions, e.g. Bath Spa's Hidden REF work.

Cons

  • Some users report content removed without explanation.
  • Large-file hosting requires the paid Figshare+ tier.
  • Institutional pricing unpublished; sales-led quote process.

Sources & method

- 13 sources - No known vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.

official x3review x7security x1news x2

Key stats

  • Value for money: 4/5

    Rating

  • Free

    Starting price

  • 13

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 4/5. Free individual tier; institutional pricing unpublished
  • Ease of use. No usability evidence in sources
  • Feature depth: 4/5. DOIs, API, dashboards, large-file tier
  • Support quality. No support-quality evidence found
  • Security posture: 4/5. No known issues; documented API auth
  • Yes Free tier Public repository for individual researchers
  • 2011 Founded Digital Science portfolio company
  • 10+ Institutional adopters Universities seen in reviewed sources
  • 4+ Named integrations Springer Nature, PLOS, Dimensions, Symplectic

Pricing

Individual (figshare.com)

Free

  • Public uploads with DOI
  • Citable, discoverable outputs

Figshare for Institutions

Not disclosed

  • Branded institutional repository
  • Admin dashboards, API, reporting

Figshare+

Paid (unpublished)

  • Large-file storage
  • Impact tracking

Security

No known vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.

What users say

Institutional adopters report successful rollouts, while some individual researchers complain about unexplained takedowns.

“Figshare arbitrarily erases academic posts without explanation - is this platform trustworthy for researchers?”
Quora

Alternatives

Compare Figshare with each alternative.

  • Zenodo

    Free CERN-run repository with DOIs for individual researchers.

    Figshare vs Zenodo

  • Dryad

    Curated home for life-science datasets with domain review.

    Figshare vs Dryad

  • OSF

    Guess: free open-science framework for multi-output research projects.

Companies that use it

  • University of Malta⁹
  • Bath Spa University10
  • Springer Nature
  • PLOS
  • ICES
Full analysis

Based on 25+ public sources; pricing and security-incident evidence thin.

Buy for academia: DOI-backed research outputs at institutional scale. Skip for business or sensitive data.

Methodology

Based on 25+ public sources; pricing and security-incident evidence thin.

Read how a report is made.

Sources

  1. figshare - credit for all your researchfigshare.com
    official
  2. figshare Pricing & Reviewstechjockey.com
    review
  3. The best free Research Data Repositoryevodify.com
    review
  4. Generalist Repositories - UT Austinguides.lib.utexas.edu
    review
  5. figshare | Data Management - Harvard Medical Schooldatamanagement.hms.harvard.edu
    review
  6. Sharing Your Poster on Figsharefocalplane.biologists.com
    review
  7. Figshare Integration offers enhanced discoverabilitydimensions.ai
    news
  8. Qatar's Research Reach Grows with Figshare Repositorydigital-science.com
    news
  9. University of Malta case studyinfo.figshare.com
    official
  10. Bath Spa University Hidden REF case studydigitalscience.figshare.com
    official
  11. Figshare and Zenodo DOI Removals (Reddit)reddit.com
    review
  12. Figshare takedown complaint (Quora)quora.com
    review
  13. Figshare Authentication - APIs.io Securityapis.io
    security

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