Short answer: Embase has no public price. Elsevier sells it on institutional licences and quotes each organisation separately. Most researchers get access free through their library. Publishing in an Embase-indexed journal is a completely different cost: it is the journal's author fee, and you do not need an Embase subscription to publish.
"Embase pricing" is one of the most common searches we see from researchers, and it usually hides one of two questions. Some people want to search Embase and need to know what a subscription costs. Others want to publish in an Embase-indexed journal and are trying to understand the fees. This guide answers both.
What is Embase?
Embase is a biomedical and pharmacological literature database run by Elsevier. It includes the MEDLINE records you can also find in PubMed, plus thousands of journals that MEDLINE does not cover, with particularly strong coverage of drug research, medical devices and journals from Europe and Asia. Every record is indexed with Emtree, Elsevier's controlled vocabulary, which makes it a standard source for systematic reviews, clinical guidelines and pharmacovigilance.
How much does an Embase subscription cost?
There is no fixed Embase price list. Elsevier sells Embase as an institutional product and prepares a quote for each customer. You will not find a reliable per-user figure online, and any number you see quoted second-hand is likely out of date or specific to one organisation's deal.
What affects the Embase subscription cost
- Type of organisation. Universities, hospitals, government bodies and pharmaceutical companies are typically priced differently. Commercial use is usually the most expensive.
- Number of users. Pricing often scales with the number of researchers, students or employees who can log in, or with full-time-equivalent counts for academic sites.
- Access platform. Embase can be searched directly on embase.com or through third-party platforms such as Ovid. The platform you choose changes the package.
- Bundles and add-ons. Institutions that already license other Elsevier products sometimes receive Embase as part of a wider agreement.
- Region and contract length. Multi-year agreements and regional consortia can change the final figure.
How to get a quote
If you are buying for an organisation, contact Elsevier's sales team through the Embase product pages. Have your organisation type, the approximate number of users and your preferred platform ready, as these are the first things you will be asked.
How to use Embase without paying for it yourself
- Ask your library first. Many medical colleges, research hospitals and universities already subscribe. Access is often listed under "databases" on the library website, sometimes as "Embase via Ovid".
- Check consortium access. In many countries, national or regional library consortia negotiate access for member institutions.
- Use free sources for scoping. PubMed, Europe PMC and Google Scholar are free. They are fine for an initial search; use Embase when you need comprehensive coverage, such as for a systematic review.
- Check whether a journal is indexed without logging in. Elsevier publishes the Embase journal title list, so you can confirm a journal's coverage for free. Our guide on how to check if a journal is Embase indexed walks through it.
Embase subscription vs publishing in an Embase-indexed journal
This is where most of the confusion comes from. The two costs are paid by different people, for different things.
| Embase subscription | Publishing in an Embase-indexed journal | |
|---|---|---|
| Who pays | An institution (library, hospital, company) | The author or their funder |
| Paid to | Elsevier | The journal or publisher |
| What you get | The right to search and read Embase records | Peer review, editing, publication and a DOI for your paper |
| How it is priced | Custom quote per organisation | A published article processing charge (APC), if the journal charges one |
| Needed to publish? | No | Yes, if the journal charges an APC |
Indexing is an agreement between the journal and Elsevier. Once a journal is accepted into Embase, its new articles are added to the database. The author doesn't pay Elsevier anything for that.
What publishing with IndexedPub costs
Our fees are author publication charges for our Embase-indexed partner journals, not a database subscription. We offer standard, fast track and express plans, and the fee depends on the journal and plan you choose. You pay only after your manuscript is accepted. For a current quote, message us on WhatsApp or use our contact form.
A word of caution: be wary of anyone who tells you that you must pay for "Embase registration" or an "Embase indexing fee" to get a single paper indexed. Individual articles are not registered with Embase by authors. If a journal is indexed, its articles are covered as part of that journal's agreement with Elsevier.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Embase cost?
Elsevier does not publish a list price for Embase. It is sold on institutional licences, and the price is quoted per organisation based on factors such as the number of users, the type of organisation and the access platform. Most researchers use Embase through their university, hospital or company library at no personal cost.
Can an individual researcher subscribe to Embase?
Embase is designed for institutional licensing. Individual researchers should first check whether their library already provides access, either directly on embase.com or through a platform such as Ovid. If not, contact Elsevier sales for a quote.
Do I need an Embase subscription to publish in an Embase-indexed journal?
No. Authors never need an Embase subscription to publish. Indexing is arranged between the journal and Elsevier. Any cost to the author is the journal's own publication fee, which is separate from Embase pricing.
Is there a free alternative to Embase?
PubMed is free and covers MEDLINE, which overlaps heavily with Embase. Europe PMC and Google Scholar are also free. They do not replace Embase for systematic reviews or pharmacovigilance, where Embase's extra journal coverage and Emtree indexing matter, but they are a good starting point.
Want to know more about how indexing works across databases? Read what an indexed journal is and how Embase, PubMed and Scopus compare, or see our Embase indexed publication service.