bioRxiv
bioRxiv is a free online archive for sharing unpublished life sciences preprints.
What bioRxiv is
bioRxiv is a free online archive for sharing unpublished life sciences preprints. Researchers can post findings for immediate access and receive feedback before submitting manuscripts to journals. Submissions span life sciences subjects such as genetics, neuroscience, ecology, and bioinformatics. Articles are not peer-reviewed, edited, or typeset before posting, and publication does not signal endorsement of their scientific quality. Before posting, submissions undergo completeness and scope checks, automated checks for possible plagiarism or prior online posting, and review by volunteer Affiliates for biological relevance and potential public harm. Screening usually takes 24–48 hours, though it can take longer on weekends, holidays, or when discussion is needed. Research articles must contain data; narrative reviews, commentaries, opinion pieces, and step-by-step protocols are not accepted. Authors can revise articles until journal acceptance, but cannot remove posted work. bioRxiv offers public comments, journal transfer through B2J, free article access, metadata feeds and APIs, and bulk full text for text and data mining.
Good
- Free access to articles and manuscript submissions
- Covers broad life sciences subject areas
- Offers metadata through RSS feeds and APIs
- Supports journal transfers through B2J
- Readers can leave moderated public comments
Watch out
- Posted articles are not peer-reviewed
- Reviews, commentaries, opinions, and protocols are excluded
- Posted articles cannot be removed
- Screening may take longer than 24–48 hours
Who it suits
It suits life sciences researchers who want to share data-containing research manuscripts before journal submission and invite reader feedback. Readers looking for preprints can access articles without charge, while keeping in mind they have not been peer-reviewed.
Verdict
bioRxiv provides a free route to make life sciences research manuscripts accessible before journal review, with multiple discovery and reuse options. Its preprint status and permanent posting are important considerations for both authors and readers.
Plans and prices
From bioRxiv's own pricing page, checked 9 Oct 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | Free online archive and distribution service · manuscript submissions free of charge · Free |
The facts
Each one read from bioRxiv's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- API
- The API provides article metadata endpoints with JSON, XML, and HTML formats and paginates multi-paper results.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Comments
- Readers may add public comments to articles, and comments are moderated for standards of normal professional discourse.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Coverage
- It accepts preprints covering all aspects of life sciences research, organized into subject categories including genetics, neuroscience, ecology, and bioinformatics.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Intended users
- It lets life science researchers make findings immediately available and receive feedback before submitting manuscripts to journals.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Journal transfer
- bioRxiv can transmit manuscript files and metadata directly to participating journals or peer review services through its B2J service.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Operator
- bioRxiv is operated by openRxiv, a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing science communication.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- bioRxiv is a free online archive and distribution service for unpublished preprints in the life sciences.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Reuse
- Authors retain copyright and choose among listed reuse options including CC BY, CC BY-NC, CC BY-ND, CC BY-NC-ND, CC0, or no reuse.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Review status
- Articles are not peer-reviewed, edited, or typeset before posting, and their appearance does not imply endorsement of their scientific quality.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Revision and permanence
- Authors may submit revisions until formal journal acceptance, but posted articles cannot be removed.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Screening
- Submissions receive completeness and scope checks, automated analyses for potential plagiarism or prior online posting, and review by volunteer bioRxiv Affiliates for biological relevance and potential public harm.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Screening time
- Screening typically takes 24–48 hours and may take longer over weekends, holidays, or when further discussion is needed.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Submission limits
- Narrative reviews, commentaries, opinion pieces, and step-by-step protocols are not accepted as article types; research articles must contain data.checked 9 Oct 2026
The company
- Founded
- 2013checked 28 Sep 2026
Where it runs
- Machine access
- The service provides free and unrestricted article access, metadata through RSS feeds and APIs, and bulk full text for text and data mining through an Amazon S3 resource.checked 9 Oct 2026
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