f1000research.com

One-line Overview

f1000research.com is an open-access research publishing platform under Taylor & Francis, the well-known UK academic publishing group. It provides researchers with fast, transparent peer review and article publication services. Its core selling point is “open peer review”: manuscripts are published online first after submission, and expert reviewers are then invited to review them publicly, greatly shortening the traditional publishing cycle. For researchers who value speed and want open feedback, it is an innovative alternative to conventional journals.

Business Details

f1000research was founded in 2012, originally as an independent platform under Faculty of 1000 (F1000), and was later acquired by Taylor & Francis Group in 2020. The platform focuses on open-access (OA) publishing and primarily serves researchers in biomedicine, life sciences, medicine, and related fields. Its core model is “publish first, review later”: after a manuscript passes an initial editorial check, it is immediately published on the website, after which at least two peer experts are invited to provide signed public reviews. Review reports, author responses, and revised versions are all made public, ensuring that the entire process is traceable and accountable.

The platform also supports data sharing, article versioning, ORCID integration, and other features, with an emphasis on academic transparency and research reproducibility. To date, f1000research has published more than 10,000 articles and is recognized by many well-known research institutions and funders, such as Wellcome Trust and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Its main users are researchers who need to disseminate findings quickly or who want to avoid the long review cycles and drawbacks of anonymous peer review in traditional journals.

Who It’s For

f1000research is best suited for the following groups. First, PhD students or postdocs who urgently need to publish research results—for example, before graduation, promotion review, or grant applications. Second, researchers who want open and transparent peer review, especially those who distrust traditional anonymous review or want to reduce reviewer bias. Third, scholars with large datasets or who need to attach datasets or code, as the platform supports various types of supplementary materials.

It is less suitable for authors who prioritize journal impact factor (IF), because f1000research itself is not a traditional journal and does not have an IF. It is also not ideal for researchers who require their papers to be indexed by mainstream databases such as Web of Science or Scopus—some articles may be indexed, but not all. In addition, if your research field is outside biomedicine and life sciences, the platform’s coverage is relatively limited.

Key Features and Highlights

• Open peer review: After publication, review reports are publicly signed, and authors can respond and revise. The process is transparent and traceable.
• Fast publication: Once a manuscript passes the initial editorial check, it can usually be published online within 7 days, without waiting through the long review cycle of traditional journals.
• Article versioning: Multiple revisions are supported. Each revision creates a new version while preserving the history, making it easy to track how a paper evolves.
• Data sharing and reproducibility: Authors are encouraged to upload raw data, code, figures, and other supplementary materials to support research verification.
• Institution and funder partnership programs: Partnerships with Wellcome Trust, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the UK National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), and others provide publication discounts or free services for funded researchers.
• Article processing charge (APC) waivers or coverage: Some partner institutions or funders can cover all or part of the publication fees, reducing or eliminating out-of-pocket costs for authors.

Pricing Analysis

f1000research is moderately expensive within the open-access publishing market. According to publicly available platform information, standard article processing charges (APCs) start at around USD 1,000, approximately RMB 7,200. The exact price varies depending on article type—such as research articles, reviews, data notes—and whether additional services such as language editing are required.

For Chinese users, this means self-funded publication can be relatively costly. However, if the author’s institution or funding body has a partnership with the platform, publication may be free or discounted. There are no annual or monthly fees; charges are applied per article. There is no clearly stated refund policy, and once a submission has been made and processing begins, fees are usually non-refundable.

Overall, the value for money depends heavily on whether a partnership discount applies. If paying fully out of pocket, cheaper open-access journals may be more attractive—such as journals under MDPI, where APCs are around USD 1,500-2,000 but some have higher impact factors. If publication is covered through a funder or institution, however, f1000research can be a very cost-effective option.

How Chinese Users Can Use It

In terms of network accessibility, f1000research.com is generally accessible from mainland China, though speeds can sometimes be slow, especially when loading article PDFs or uploading large files. A VPN is not required to open the site, but a stable connection is recommended, such as a university network or corporate leased line.

For payments, the platform mainly accepts international credit cards such as Visa and MasterCard, PayPal, and certain institutional or funder payment arrangements. Common Chinese payment methods such as Alipay and WeChat Pay are not supported, so users need a dual-currency credit card or must pay through an institutional account.

As for invoices, the platform can provide electronic invoices, but they are usually denominated in USD and must be requested by the user. For reimbursement through Chinese research institutions, additional translated documents or explanatory materials may be required, making the process relatively cumbersome.

Domestic alternatives include the Science China series published by Science Press and Tsinghua Science and Technology by Tsinghua University Press. However, these platforms usually use traditional anonymous peer review and have longer publication cycles. If speed and transparency are priorities, f1000research remains a distinctive option.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

• ✅ Fast publication, usually only 1-2 weeks from submission to online publication
• ✅ Open and transparent review process, with review reports and author responses publicly available
• ✅ Supports data sharing and version management, improving research reproducibility
• ✅ Recognized by multiple internationally known funders and institutions, and can support funding applications
• ✅ APCs may be covered by some partner institutions, reducing author costs

Cons:

• ❌ No traditional impact factor (IF), so it may not be recognized for promotion reviews or grant applications
• ❌ Article processing charges are relatively high, creating a burden for self-funded authors
• ❌ Mainly covers biomedicine and life sciences, with limited support for other disciplines
• ❌ Average access speed in mainland China; uploading large files may be slow or unstable
• ❌ Does not support Alipay or WeChat Pay, making payment less convenient for Chinese users
• ❌ No clear refund policy; fees may be incurred once a manuscript is submitted

Comparison with Similar Products

The most direct competitor to f1000research is PLOS ONE, operated by the Public Library of Science. It is also an open-access platform, but PLOS ONE uses traditional anonymous peer review, has a publication cycle of around 2-3 months, charges an APC of about USD 1,700, and has an impact factor of around 3.2, making it more suitable for authors who need an IF.

Another alternative is PeerJ, which uses a subscription-style model involving membership fees plus APCs. Its annual fee is around USD 99, and publication costs are lower, but the review cycle is also longer. There are also preprint platforms such as bioRxiv and medRxiv, which are completely free and even faster to publish on, but they do not provide formal peer review.

By comparison, f1000research has a unique position: it is neither a traditional journal nor a pure preprint server, but a hybrid “publish first, review later” model. It is best suited for researchers who need a public peer-review record but do not want to wait too long.

Final Recommendation

f1000research is best suited for the following scenarios: you urgently need to publish a research result, such as for graduation or a grant application; your research falls within biomedicine or life sciences; your institution or funder has a partnership with the platform and can cover the APC; or you want a public, transparent peer-review record to strengthen the credibility of your work.

It is not suitable if your institution only recognizes journals with impact factors, if your research area is outside the platform’s coverage, or if you cannot afford the self-funded APC and have no partnership channel. Before submitting, it is advisable to check the partner institution list on the official website and confirm whether you qualify for free or discounted publication. If paying out of pocket, compare your budget against traditional OA journals such as PLOS ONE. Overall, f1000research is an innovative platform for specific needs, not a one-size-fits-all solution.