| Traditional publishing | Open Access publishing |
| Scholar produces an academic manuscript, then sends it to the editor of a scholarly journal | Same |
| Editor reviews the manuscript, then sends it to peer reviewers | Same |
| Peer reviewers review the manuscript and return it to the editor with comments, suggestions, and recommendations | Same |
| Editor makes a final decision concerning acceptance, acceptance with modification, or rejection | Same |
| Author gives all copyright permissions to the publisher, who assumes all costs in publication | Costs of publication are usually funded by the authors in the form of "author fees," or "article processing fees". These costs may be offset by institutional agreements with publishers or paid for by institutions. |
| Editors play a gatekeeping role | Same |
| Journals require a subscription, books a purchase price | Materials usually are free to use |
| Creators of scholarly works must pay for access | Materials usually are free to use |
| Others paying for access: libraries and institutions | Materials are usually free to use |
| Indexed and abstracted in multiple discovery platforms | Same |