Figshare review
A repository for publishing, organizing, and tracking research outputs, with free and paid options.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
Figshare provides repository services for individual researchers and organizations that need to store, share, showcase, and manage research outputs. Researchers can publish datasets, papers, code, media, and theses, while institutions can use repository solutions for broader research workflows. Its combination of persistent identifiers, metadata, access controls, and reporting suits teams that want outputs to be discoverable and citable; it is less suited to groups whose main need is a data-management-plan tool, since its focus is repository access and publishing.
The individual figshare.com repository is free. According to the published plans, Figshare Plus starts with 21GB–250GB for a one-time $1,225 and includes dataset curation and expert review support. Higher storage tiers are 251GB–500GB for $2,450, 501GB–750GB for $3,675, and 751GB–1TB for $4,900, also one-time charges. These prices are tied to a specific project or publication. Institutional and publisher repository services follow a separate route that requires contacting Figshare, so Plus is the clearest published paid option for larger datasets.
For sharing and reuse, published items can receive persistent DataCite DOIs and DataCite-schema metadata. Users can make datasets public, set embargoes, or share private links, then arrange related outputs into collections and projects. Browser previews support selected file types, and metrics cover views, downloads, citations, and Altmetric attention. API access supports automated publishing and bulk work with files or metadata. Integrations include Symplectic Elements, Elsevier Pure, GitLab, GitHub, Bitbucket, Altmetric, Dimensions, and ReadCube. These capabilities make Figshare a fit for institutions seeking an integrated repository and for researchers needing a free publishing option; those wanting a standalone planning tool or a published institutional price should consider alternatives.
Figshare pros and cons
- Where it wins
- Publishes datasets, papers, code, media, and theses with DataCite DOIs
- Supports public, embargoed, and private-link sharing
- Connects with research systems, code hosts, and analytics services
- Where it doesn't
- Figshare Plus is a one-time charge tied to storage and a project or publication
- Paid Plus tiers start at $1,225
- Institutional and publisher services require contacting Figshare
Figshare fact sheet, pricing and score →
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