Institutions pay two fees to participate in each JSTOR archive collection: an Archive Capital Fee (ACF) and an Annual Access Fee (AAF). Some collections require a one-time Network Participation Fee rather than an Archive Capital Fee. These fees vary depending upon the JSTOR Classification of your institution.

Fee Structure

• ACF: a one-time fee per collection designed to ensure that JSTOR has the necessary resources to meet its archival obligation to migrate data and software systems as technology evolves.
• AAF: a recurring fee that covers the ongoing costs of maintenance, user services, and administration required to support your access to collections in JSTOR. The AAF is invoiced on a calendar year basis.

Please note that the Archive Capital and Annual Access Fees will be reduced as appropriate to account for the overlap in content that exists between some collections. This ensures that participants contribute only once for any title, no matter which collections it resides in.

Charter Participants (those who began their JSTOR participation prior to March 31, 1997) are entitled to a 25% savings on Archive Capital and Annual Access Fees.

All fees are listed in U.S. Dollars and are exclusive of VAT and other taxes.

Payment Options

JSTOR offers a range of flexible payment options.

• Option 1: Institution pays the AAF annually and the ACF at the onset of participation.
• Option 2: Institution pays the AAF annually, and spreads the ACF payment over a period of up to 10 years. This option is available for all Arts & Sciences Archive Collections, and the Life Sciences Archive Collection.
• Option 3: Institution pays a one-time payment at the onset of participation. There are no recurring fees. The one-time payment can be spread over a period of up to 2 fiscal years. This payment option is available to institutions who currently license 7 or more Arts & Sciences Archive Collections.

U.S. Universities and Four-Year Colleges

Payment Options

JSTOR offers a range of flexible payment options.

• Option 1: Institution pays the AAF annually and the ACF at the onset of participation.
• Option 2: Institution pays the AAF annually, and spreads the ACF payment over a period of up to 10 years. This option is available for all Arts & Sciences Archive Collections, and the Life Sciences Archive Collection.
• Option 3: Institution pays a one-time payment at the onset of participation. There are no recurring fees. The one-time payment can be spread over a period of up to 2 fiscal years. This payment option is available to institutions who currently license 7 or more Arts & Sciences Archive Collections.

International Savings

Collection fees include a 20% savings for Canadian institutions. 

JSTOR and the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) have worked together for more than a decade to make available one of the most widely recognized and heavily used online resources among faculty and students globally.

JSTOR uses the JISC Bands for Higher Education (HE)/Further Education (FE) Institutions to classify participating institutions in the United Kingdom. Non-JISC sponsored institutions in the U.K., please contact us for more information.

To find your classification, please find your institution on the HE or FE alphabetical list. The Band is listed after the name. If you have any questions regarding your banding, please contact the JISC collections helpdesk.

After determining the Band for your institution, please follow the instructions provided on the JISC Collections website.

International Savings

Please note that Collection fees include a 20% savings for U.K. institutions. 

Since 1997, when JSTOR first began licensing institutions outside of the United States, we have made every effort to ensure that our fees for the international library community were both fair and consistent with our mission to preserve and provide for widespread access to the archive. We are mindful of the fact that library budgets, institutional endowments, and economic circumstances differ enormously across the globe, from one country to another. As a result of these variations in national wealth and development, we provided an additional savings to all of our international participants.

The savings categories are based on research and data regarding the specific economic circumstances that each nation faces. It is important to mention that the data we used to create these savings categories was based on leading economic indicators, as published by the World Bank in 1995. In the years that have passed, economic conditions have changed in many different parts of the world. Reviews of our international savings categories will take place every five years and the level of savings that we offer our international participants will be based on the data from the World Bank available at that time.

Community Colleges contribute an Archive Capital Fee (ACF) of $1,000 upon licensing their first JSTOR collection. No further ACF is required with the licensing of subsequent collections.

Payment Options

JSTOR offers a range of flexible payment options.

• Option 1: Institution pays the AAF annually and the ACF at the onset of participation in their first collection.
• Option 2: Institution pays a one-time payment at the onset of participation. There are no recurring fees. The one-time payment can be spread over a period of up to 2 fiscal years. This payment option is available to institutions who currently license 7 or more Arts & Sciences Archive Collections, and is offered on all Arts & Sciences Archive Collections.

After working closely with librarians in the community, JSTOR has designed a classification model and corresponding participation fee structure for the for-profit academic institutions. The model determines an institution's JSTOR classification by gauging its size and the amount of research its faculty and students conduct. The JSTOR classification, in turn, determines an institution's participation fees. Institutions self-report all required information necessary to determine classification.

The model consists of four factors:

1. Total Enrollment
2. Number of Physical/Virtual Campuses and Learning Centers
3. Number of Degree Programs Offered (trade programs excluded)
4. Annual Revenue

Please contact us in order to determine your institution’s classification and applicable collection fees.

Institutions will pay two fees to participate, an Archive Capital Fee (ACF) and an Annual Access Fee (AAF). These fees vary depending upon the JSTOR Classification of your institution.

Government and Non-Profit JSTOR participants pay a one-time ACF upon initiating participation in JSTOR. The ACF is designed to ensure that JSTOR has the necessary resources to meet its archival obligation to migrate data and software systems as technology evolves. Government and Non-Profit JSTOR participants contribute an ACF upon licensing their first JSTOR collection. No further ACF is required with the licensing of subsequent collections.