OpenAlex pricing
9 plans read from openalex.org
Pay as you go$1 a month Prepaid usage expires 3 months after the most recent purchase$1 increments Read 20 Sep 2026 · help.openalex.org
Member$5,000 a year Annual plan$20/day API budget · $7,300/year of usage Read 20 Sep 2026 · help.openalex.org
Member+$10,000 a year Annual plan$100/day API budget · $36,500/year of usage Read 20 Sep 2026 · help.openalex.org
Partner$20,000 a year Starts at $20,000 and scales with use case$200+/day API budget · 3 power-user accounts · 5 consulting hours per year Read 20 Sep 2026 · help.openalex.org
FreeFree $1 API usage per day; resets dailyNo payment method · API key · suitable for most research and personal projects Read 15 Oct 2026 · help.openalex.org
Pay as you go$1, paid once Prepaid in $1 increments; expires 3 months after most recent purchaseAdds usage after free daily budget is exhausted Read 15 Oct 2026 · help.openalex.org
Member$5,000 a year $5,000/year$20/day API budget · admin dashboard · advisory-board nominations · quarterly supporter meetings · community support Read 15 Oct 2026 · help.openalex.org
Member+$10,000 a year $10,000/year$100/day API budget · daily database snapshot and changed-since filters · critical API bug support · all Member benefits Read 15 Oct 2026 · help.openalex.org
Partner$20,000 a year Starting at $20,000/year; scales with use case$200+/day API budget · full ticket support · three academic/government power users · five consulting hours/year · all Member+ benefits Read 15 Oct 2026 · help.openalex.org
In short
- OpenAlex has a free plan (Free).
- Paid plans published: 8, from $1 a month.
What the alternatives costAll alternatives →
| Tool | From | Free plan | Free trial |
|---|---|---|---|
| MAXQDA | $41/mo | Yes | Yes |
| CORE | — | Yes | Yes |
| JSTOR | $16.58/mo | Yes | No |
| Academia.edu | — | Yes | Yes |
| Project MUSE | $174.58/mo | No | Yes |
| HeinOnline | — | Yes | Yes |
| Academic Search Ultimate | — | No | Yes |
| EconLit | — | Yes | Yes |