- Home
- Academic Research Databases
- bioRxiv
bioRxiv
What it is
bioRxiv is a free online archive and distribution service for unpublished preprints in the life sciences. It gives researchers a way to make findings available and receive feedback before submitting manuscripts to journals. The archive accepts work across life sciences subjects, including genetics, neuroscience, ecology, and bioinformatics. Articles are not peer-reviewed, edited, or typeset before they appear, and posting does not endorse their scientific quality. Submissions are checked for completeness and scope, analyzed automatically for possible plagiarism or prior online posting, and reviewed by volunteer Affiliates for biological relevance and potential public harm. Screening generally takes 24–48 hours, though it may take longer over weekends, holidays, or when additional discussion is needed. Research articles must contain data; narrative reviews, commentaries, opinion pieces, and step-by-step protocols are not accepted. Authors can revise work until formal journal acceptance, but cannot remove posted articles. Readers may add moderated public comments. bioRxiv also provides free article access, metadata through RSS feeds and APIs, and bulk full text for text and data mining. Its B2J service can send manuscripts and metadata to participating journals or peer review services.
For and against
For
- Free access to articles
- Covers subjects across the life sciences
- Offers metadata through RSS feeds and APIs
- B2J can transfer manuscripts to participating services
Against
- Posted articles are not peer-reviewed
- Research articles must contain data
- Posted articles cannot be removed
- Screening may take longer than 24–48 hours
The verdict
bioRxiv offers a free route for sharing life sciences research before journal submission, with screening, public comments, and revision before formal acceptance. Its preprints are not peer-reviewed, and authors cannot remove work after posting.
Who it suits
bioRxiv suits life science researchers who want to share findings and receive feedback before journal submission. Readers seeking peer-reviewed articles should note that posted preprints have not undergone peer review.
Plans and prices
Free
Free online archive and distribution service · manuscript submissions free of charge
Read 9 Oct 2026 · biorxiv.org
On the record
- API
- The API provides article metadata endpoints with JSON, XML, and HTML formats and paginates multi-paper results.api.biorxiv.org · read 9 Oct 2026
- Comments
- Readers may add public comments to articles, and comments are moderated for standards of normal professional discourse.biorxiv.org · read 9 Oct 2026
- Coverage
- It accepts preprints covering all aspects of life sciences research, organized into subject categories including genetics, neuroscience, ecology, and bioinformatics.biorxiv.org · read 9 Oct 2026
- Intended users
- It lets life science researchers make findings immediately available and receive feedback before submitting manuscripts to journals.biorxiv.org · read 9 Oct 2026
- Journal transfer
- bioRxiv can transmit manuscript files and metadata directly to participating journals or peer review services through its B2J service.biorxiv.org · read 9 Oct 2026
- 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.biorxiv.org · read 9 Oct 2026
- Operator
- bioRxiv is operated by openRxiv, a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing science communication.biorxiv.org · read 9 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- bioRxiv is a free online archive and distribution service for unpublished preprints in the life sciences.biorxiv.org · read 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.biorxiv.org · read 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.biorxiv.org · read 9 Oct 2026
- Revision and permanence
- Authors may submit revisions until formal journal acceptance, but posted articles cannot be removed.biorxiv.org · read 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.connect.biorxiv.org · read 9 Oct 2026
- Screening time
- Screening typically takes 24–48 hours and may take longer over weekends, holidays, or when further discussion is needed.connect.biorxiv.org · read 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.connect.biorxiv.org · read 9 Oct 2026
