Conclusion
The data in this white paper shows the sustained and increasing impact of gold OA, with increased citations, downloads and access to the trusted VOR, delivering on the mission of OA. Despite the 5 years between this white paper and its predecessor, and the growth in OA publication over the intervening years, no evidence of a normalisation effect can be observed in the data. This shows that gold OA continues to be the most effective and sustainable route through which to achieve the global transition to OA.
The gold OA advantage is most noticeable in terms of downloads, with gold OA articles gaining almost 7 times as many downloads as non-OA articles and over 5 times as many downloads as green OA articles. Gold OA is reducing barriers to peer-reviewed research for everyone to read, share and build on.
The gold OA advantage can also be clearly seen in the number of citations and Altmetric score received. Gold OA articles receive around 1.5 times higher citations than non-OA and green OA articles. In the Altmetric score, gold OA articles receive a score 5.12 times higher than non-OA articles and 1.85 times higher than green OA articles. The citation advantage shows that researchers are building on gold OA articles and the Altmetric advantage demonstrates that gold OA articles are amplifying the broader reach and influence of research beyond academia.
Gold OA can accelerate the dissemination and visibility of research.
The inclusion of data for downloads over time and by country income classification has also shown the importance of gold OA to the speed of impact and increasing global reach. As the usage data shows, the gold OA download advantage is felt immediately, and a gold OA article has more downloads by 3 months than a non-OA article has by 12 months – almost 3 times as many in a much shorter time. Gold OA articles were also found to have a greater impact in LMICs and LICs. Whereas gold OA articles were found to have 6.94 times as many downloads as non-OA articles, this increases to 7.24 times as many downloads in LMICs and 8.82 times as many downloads in LICs. Together this shows that gold OA can accelerate the dissemination and visibility of research.
Gold OA articles have a greater reach and impact than both green OA articles and non-OA articles.
The gold OA advantage can also be seen in both downloads and citations across a wide range of disciplines and subject areas, from Computer Science and Medicine and Public Health to the Humanities and Social Sciences: gold OA articles have a greater reach and impact than both green OA articles and non-OA articles.
The measurable differences in the reach and impact of different publishing models have important implications for all those involved in the research process. Across every comparison explored in this study, gold OA was associated with stronger performance across the indicators examined, including downloads, citations, online attention, speed of dissemination and geographic reach. Gold OA continues to be the most impactful way to disseminate research and drive research impact, supporting the case for sustained collaboration and investment from governments, funders, policymakers, institutions, academic libraries, and publishers.
Recommendations
Based on the findings presented in this white paper, the following considerations are recommended to stakeholders seeking to maximise the impact of peer-reviewed research, as we tackle global challenges together. Realising this will require coordinated action across the research ecosystem.
For authors:
Choose publishing routes that maximise the visibility, accessibility and potential impact of research. The findings suggest that immediate and open access to the VOR can help research reach wider audiences, accelerate engagement and increase impact.
For institutions and libraries:
Support researchers in making informed publishing choices through gold OA funding, guidance and open access agreements. Maximising the value of research investment requires ensuring that outputs can be discovered, accessed and used as widely as possible.
For funders, governments and policymakers:
Align OA policies and funding mechanisms with approaches that maximise research visibility, engagement and reach. Assessment of impact should extend beyond citations to include broader indicators of dissemination and use.
For publishers and the scholarly communications community:
Continue investing in research integrity, peer review, metadata quality and discoverability. These factors play an important role in ensuring that increased access translates into trusted and meaningful impact.
Recommendations
Based on the findings presented in this white paper, the following considerations are recommended to stakeholders seeking to maximise the impact of peer-reviewed research, as we tackle global challenges together. Realising this will require coordinated action across the research ecosystem.
For authors:
Choose publishing routes that maximise the visibility, accessibility and potential impact of research. The findings suggest that immediate and open access to the VOR can help research reach wider audiences, accelerate engagement and increase impact.
For institutions and libraries:
Support researchers in making informed publishing choices through gold OA funding, guidance and open access agreements. Maximising the value of research investment requires ensuring that outputs can be discovered, accessed and used as widely as possible.
For funders, governments and policymakers:
Align OA policies and funding mechanisms with approaches that maximise research visibility, engagement and reach. Assessment of impact should extend beyond citations to include broader indicators of dissemination and use.
For publishers and the scholarly communications community:
Continue investing in research integrity, peer review, metadata quality and discoverability. These factors play an important role in ensuring that increased access translates into trusted and meaningful impact.
Acknowledgements
This white paper has been prepared by David Stuart (Independent Information Professional) on behalf of Springer Nature.
How to cite this report
Springer Nature (2026). From access to impact: How open access shapes research reach, citations, and global visibility. https://stories.springernature.com/from-access-to-impact-open-access-research/index.html
About open access at Springer Nature
At Springer Nature, we want to share knowledge and bring greater understanding to the world, to help solve urgent challenges. We can do this faster and for the widest benefit when research is open: transparent, trustworthy, equitable, accessible and available to all to use, reuse and build on. The foundation for this is OA, something we have been committed to for over 25 years.
We remain committed to pushing the boundaries of OA through:
Collaboration
Working with our global partners and industry bodies to be an active voice in the OA landscape
Innovation
Investments in technology, solutions and services to support the growth and development of OA
Working with partners
Tailoring our approaches to their needs and building on the heritage of our leading OA brands such as BMC, with more than 25 years of OA innovation
All stakeholders are part of the OA transition and future. By continuing to foster progress across these 3 pillars, we are confident in our ability to drive OA adoption globally and deliver on our vision of a more inclusive open science ecosystem.
For more information on our approach to OA, please read our 2025 OA report and our 2025 annual report.
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