Pricing Transparency

In support of the aims of the Open Science community, Pluto Journals is flipping its journals to Open access in 2021 in partnership with Knowledge Unlatched. As part of this, and in compliance with the requirements of cOAlition S and Plan S the following pricing breakdown is provided following the recommendations from the Fair Open Access Alliance.

The following breakdown is based on the latest available budget for Pluto Journals (2020). It may change when the journals flip to open access.

Service Functions

Service buckets

Specify

%

1.     Journal operations

outsourced

43%

2.     Publication

Outsourced

35%

3.     Fees

Not applicable

Not applicable

4.     Communication

Outsourced

3%

5.     General

In-house

14%

6.     Surplus

 

5%

1. Journal Operations

These costs cover the running of the Pluto Journals platform, and also the hosting of the journals on the JSTOR platform, including all the charges that they make for registering DOIs, archiving, etc. Included within JSTOR costs is communication and outreach to librarians (see communication below).

2. Publication

These costs cover the actual production and publication of the journals, including editorial costs, copyediting, typesetting, proofreading and printed copy production and distribution.

3. Fees, discounts and waivers

Pluto Journals does not charge any author fees for publication or submission

4. Communication

These costs exclude marketing which is managed through JSTOR’s outreach to librarians and only include the direct costs incurred by Pluto Journals in outreach activities.

5. General

These costs include management and administration salaries, taxes and other administration and operational business costs.

6. Surplus

Any surplus generated by Pluto Journals is paid into the Pluto Educational Trust. This charity was founded in 2010 and supports a variety of organisations, projects and initiatives that share in its mission. Currently, these include Pluto Press, the Walter Rodney Programme @ PET, the Left Book Club, the Ameena Gafoor Institute and the Journal of Fair Trade. Pluto Journals is also supported by the Charity.