VERDICT
PeerJ Review
Worth it
Should I use PeerJ?
Skip to main content - peerj.com
· 4 days ago
Researchers who need credible, affordable open-access publishing buy PeerJ. Software shoppers and authors chasing high-impact prestige do not.
Categories
Confidence
Medium. Based on 30 public sources, including Reddit threads, SciRev reviews, and official PeerJ pages.
Ratings
Pricing
$2,155 per article
Standard APC
ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierNo
MembershipVaries; see FAQ
Institutional membershipCustom
Best for
- Unfunded researchers needing affordable open access
- Life sciences and computer science authors
- Institutions buying blanket publishing deals
- Authors who want peer reviews published openly
Not for
- Anyone shopping for software; this is a journal
- Authors chasing high-impact-factor prestige
- Fields outside PeerJ's journal scope; check coverage first
- Corporate buyers with no publishing needs
Gotchas - check before you buy
medium
Membership and APC options coexist; the FAQ compares them, so check before committing
medium
Waivers for lower-income authors exist but are not guaranteed
medium
Individual authors pay the APC unless an institutional membership covers them
low
Taylor & Francis bought PeerJ in 2024; pricing and policies can change
Pros and cons
Pros
- $2,155 APC undercuts rivals like Cell Reports at $5,790
- Peer reviews are published openly alongside articles
- Authors report strong experiences publishing and reviewing there
- Accepts preprints and covers computer science plus life sciences
- Backed by Taylor & Francis after its 2024 acquisition
Cons
- $2,155 per article is steep for unfunded authors
- Rigorous review process slows acceptance versus lenient journals
- Academics still debate its prestige versus legacy journals
- Membership versus APC options add pricing complexity
Sources & method
official x7review x4security x1news x2
Key stats
Value for money: 4/5
Rating
$2,155 per article
Starting price
14
Sources
Analyzed
- Value for money: 4/5. $2,155 APC undercuts Cell Reports at $5,790
- Ease of use. No direct usability evidence found
- Feature depth: 4/5. Open reviews, preprints, multiple journals and article types
- Support quality. No support-quality evidence found
- Security posture: 4/5. Publishes security page; no public incidents found
- $2,155 Starting APC Per article in PeerJ journal
- $5,790 Rival APC Cell Reports, for comparison
- 16,088 Publications indexed With 27,645 citations (Scispace)
- Taylor & Francis Ownership Acquired in 2024
Pricing
Standard APC
$2,155 per article
- Open-access publication
- Open, published peer review
Membership
Varies; see FAQ
- Fixed-term publishing plans
- FAQ compares membership versus APC
Institutional membership
Not disclosed
- Blanket coverage for researchers
- Case studies at partner universities
Security
No known vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.
What users say
Authors on Reddit and forums describe PeerJ as credible and affordable, with occasional debate about prestige.
“I've published in PeerJ and also reviewed for”
“Personally I've had great experienc”
“PeerJ sometimes waives publication fees”
Alternatives
Compare PeerJ with each alternative.
PLOS ONE
Bigger-name open-access mega-journal; higher article fees.
MDPI journals
Cheaper APCs, but academics debate the reputation.
Scientific Reports
Guess: broad-scope open-access journal with a stronger brand.
F1000Research
Guess: fast open-review publishing; pay per article.
PeerJ vs F1000Research
Companies that use it
- TU Delft14
- Oregon State University
- Memorial University
- Carnegie Mellon
- Arizona State University
Full analysis
Based on 30 public sources, including Reddit threads, SciRev reviews, and official PeerJ pages.
Legit, affordable open-access journal for researchers. Not software. Skip it if you chase prestige.
Methodology
Based on 30 public sources, including Reddit threads, SciRev reviews, and official PeerJ pages.
Sources
- PeerJ homepagepeerj.comofficial
- PeerJ pricingpeerj.comofficial
- PeerJ benefits and price comparisonpeerj.comofficial
- PeerJ membership versus APC FAQpeerj.comofficial
- PeerJ published peer reviewspeerj.comofficial
- PeerJ security pagepeerj.comsecurity
- Wikipedia: PeerJen.wikipedia.orgnews
- Reddit: How legit is PeerJ?reddit.comreview
- Reddit: Thoughts on PeerJ?reddit.comreview
- Facebook Reviewer 2 group discussionfacebook.comreview
- SciRev.org reviews for PeerJscirev.orgreview
- Guardian: PeerJ low-cost open accesstheguardian.comnews
- Taylor & Francis PeerJ pagetandfonline.comofficial
- TU Delft case studypeerj.comofficial
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