The preprint platform XSci is offering to pay researchers for reviewing papers, a move that puts a price on work that is usually done for free. Reviewers who complete an assessment can earn US$200 per review, provided they deliver it within five days. The scheme applies to preprints, the early versions of research papers posted publicly before they go through a journal's formal process.
The offer, reported by Nature in a piece published on 6 November 2026, is aimed at speeding up feedback on work that is circulating before peer review. Peer review is traditionally unpaid and depends on the goodwill and time of busy academics, so a fixed fee and a short deadline set this scheme apart from the norm. The reporting makes clear that the scheme is designed around that tight window rather than open-ended review.
Several important questions remain unanswered. The available material does not explain how the quality of the reviews would be checked, nor how they would be verified or weighted when a paper is being judged. It is also unclear whether paying reviewers could create conflicts of interest, since a financial incentive might shape what a reviewer is willing to say about a paper. The full article is expected to address these concerns, and they will determine whether a paid model can earn the trust that unpaid peer review has built over decades.
Credit. Based on reporting by Xiaoying You for Nature. Is this your work? Write to us.
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