Making research immediately open
Gold OA offers the most sustainable route to open science – advancing knowledge around the world
“Gold OA means the final version is immediately available for all to use from the moment of publication. It is the version researchers want to use as it can be trusted, is curated, supports open science and is not dependent on subscriptions. It also drives more visibility for research and use.
OA articles on average are downloaded six times more than non-OA articles, and for books it’s 10 times more. It is why we are committed to transitioning all primary research we publish to gold OA so that this authoritative version, one that is linked to data, code and the academic record, is immediately available to all.”
Vice President, Open Access, Springer Nature
15% increase in downloads of our OA content
146 million more downloads between 2021 and 2022
1.25 million+ OA articles published to date
154,000+ published in 2022
Our OA content has the highest usage
A Springer Nature article is cited on average 6.6 times.
Our OA content achieved the highest total OA citation rate for the second year in a row.
Authors publishing with us (across fully OA and hybrid) benefit from higher usage and visibility of their work.
Top five publishers by total OA citations
| # | Publisher | Average citation per article |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Springer Nature |  6.6 |
| 2 | Mixed model publisher |  6.3 |
| 3 | Pure OA publisher |  5.1 |
| 4 | Pure OA publisher |  5.0 |
| 5 | Mixed model publisher |  4.8 |
Source: Digital Science, Dimensions – reflecting 2020/2021 average citations per article for fully OA articles published in 2020.
Our journals cover the broadest range of disciplines
Springer Nature’s journal portfolio continues to appear in the highest number of Journal Citation Reports (JCR) categories, supporting all researchers with an outlet to publish their work.
Over 570 titles received their first impact factor, including 180+ Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) journals.
Our journals rank in the top quarter of 183 unique categories, placing as the leading journal in 60 of these.
Top five publishers ranked by number of JCR category listings
| # | Publisher | Number of JCR category listings |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Springer Nature |  242 |
| 2 | Mixed model publisher |  236 |
| 3 | Pure OA publisher |  186 |
| 4 | Mixed model publisher |  182 |
| 5 | Mixed model publisher |  152 |
Source: Clarivate’s Journal Citation Reports 2023 (including ESCI and AHCI categories).
Open Access at Springer Nature
Reach and impact of our fully OA portfolio
With over 600 fully OA journals across six imprint brands, we are proud of our world-leading fully OA portfolio.
Transitioning our hybrid portfolio
At least half the primary research articles we publish will be OA by the end of 2024.
Why publish OA with Springer Nature
Our authors’ papers benefit from higher use and greater visibility, driving knowledge globally.