Direct comparison
Gold Oa Vs Hybrid Oa: Key Differences & Comparison | CASRAI
Gold and hybrid open access both make individual articles free to read at the version of record, but they differ in the journal model. A Gold journal is fully open access — every article is open; a hybrid journal is a subscription title that also offers a paid open-access option per article, a model criticised for "double dipping" and restricted under Plan S.
Side-by-side comparison
| Dimension | Gold OA | Hybrid OA |
|---|---|---|
| Journal model | Fully open-access journal — all articles open | Subscription journal with a paid open-access option |
| What is open | Every article in the journal | Only the individual articles whose OA fee is paid |
| Who pays to read | No one — free at the version of record | Subscribers, for the non-open content |
| Author-side cost | Often an APC; some (Diamond) charge nothing | An APC to open the individual article |
| Double dipping | Not applicable — no subscription income | A key criticism: subscriptions plus APCs in one title |
| Plan S stance | Compliant route to open access | APCs not funded except under transformative arrangements |
| Reader experience | Whole journal freely available | A mix of open and paywalled articles |
| Indexing | Fully OA journals can be listed in DOAJ | The journal as a whole is not a DOAJ-listed OA journal |
| Direction of travel | The intended destination of the OA transition | Treated as transitional, to be flipped to full OA |
Common questions
FAQ
What is the core difference?+
In Gold open access the whole journal is open — every article is free to read. In hybrid open access only the specific articles for which an open-access fee is paid are free, while the rest of the journal remains behind a subscription paywall.
What is "double dipping"?+
It is the criticism that a hybrid journal can earn twice from the same title — subscription income from libraries to read the paywalled content, plus article processing charges from authors to open individual articles. This concern is central to why Plan S restricts the funding of hybrid APCs.
Does Plan S allow publishing in hybrid journals?+
Under Plan S, cOAlition S funders do not fund APCs in hybrid journals as a standalone route. Hybrid open-access publishing is generally only supported when it falls under a transformative arrangement that commits the journal to increasing open-access output and ultimately flipping to full open access.
Going deeper
