New Features and Usage-Based Pricing - OpenAlex blog
peter.suber's bookmarks 2026-02-27
Summary:
"Different API operations cost us different amounts to run. Doing stuff with PDFs is expensive, but looking up a single work by ID is nearly free. We think it’s essential that our pricing reflects these actual costs. Usage-based pricing is a natural fit for this: it’s transparent, sustainable, and fair....
The data remains free. The full OpenAlex dataset—all 480M works, all the metadata—is free to download, share, remix, and build on. We’re committed to keeping it sustainably free by charging for a service (the API) built on that dataset. Free data, paid service–this is the path laid out in the POSI principles, which we’ve signed and enthusiastically support."