specification: FinOps Framework
specificationVersion: '1.0'
provider: DataCite
providerId: datacite
created: '2026-06-12'
modified: '2026-06-12'

description: >
  DataCite operates a membership-based non-profit financial model. Cost drivers are annual
  membership fees, shared infrastructure fees (scaled by organization type and socioeconomic
  context), and tiered DOI volume fees above 100,000 registrations per year. Public API
  read access carries no direct charge. FinOps practitioners should track DOI registration
  volume against the 100,000 annual threshold to anticipate overage fees and plan consortium
  participation to optimize per-unit cost.

billingModel:
  type: subscription_plus_consumption
  period: annual
  currency: EUR
  invoicingCycle: annual
  invoicingNote: >
    Invoiced at the beginning of each calendar year. New members receive pro-rated first-year
    invoices in the month after joining, adjusted quarterly. Payment due within 30 days via
    bank transfer, check, or credit card.

focusColumns:
  - ChargeCategory: Recurring
    ChargeSubcategory: Membership Fee
    ServiceName: DataCite DOI Registration
    ServiceCategory: Data & Analytics
    BilledCurrency: EUR
    PricingUnit: organization/year

  - ChargeCategory: Recurring
    ChargeSubcategory: Shared Infrastructure Fee
    ServiceName: DataCite DOI Registration
    ServiceCategory: Data & Analytics
    BilledCurrency: EUR
    PricingUnit: organization/year

  - ChargeCategory: Usage
    ChargeSubcategory: High-Volume DOI Overage
    ServiceName: DataCite DOI Registration
    ServiceCategory: Data & Analytics
    BilledCurrency: EUR
    PricingUnit: DOI/year

meters:
  - name: DOI Registrations
    description: Number of DOIs minted or updated per calendar year
    unit: dois
    threshold: 100000
    overageApplies: true
    overageTiers:
      - from: 100001
        to: 250000
        price: 3500
        currency: EUR
        period: annual
      - from: 250001
        to: 1000000
        price: 8500
        currency: EUR
        period: annual
      - from: 1000001
        to: 2000000
        price: 13000
        currency: EUR
        period: annual
      - from: 2000001
        to: 5000000
        price: 18500
        currency: EUR
        period: annual
      - from: 5000001
        to: 10000000
        price: 25500
        currency: EUR
        period: annual
      - from: 10000001
        to: 20000000
        price: 32500
        currency: EUR
        period: annual

  - name: API Requests (Public Read)
    description: Public REST/GraphQL read requests — no direct charge; rate limits apply
    unit: http_requests
    charged: false
    rateLimited: true

  - name: API Requests (Authenticated Write)
    description: Authenticated DOI creation/update requests — included in membership; rate limits apply
    unit: http_requests
    charged: false
    rateLimited: true

fixedCosts:
  - name: Institutional Direct / Consortium Lead Membership Fee
    amount: 2000
    currency: EUR
    period: annual
    applicableTo:
      - Institutional Direct Member
      - Consortium Lead Member

  - name: Shared Infrastructure Fee (Non-Profit, base)
    range:
      min: 200
      max: 700
    currency: EUR
    period: annual
    applicableTo:
      - All Member Types (non-profit)

  - name: Shared Infrastructure Fee (For-Profit)
    description: Revenue-based tiered fee for commercial organizations
    range:
      min: 1000
      max: 10000
    currency: EUR
    period: annual
    applicableTo:
      - For-Profit Members

principles:
  - name: Visibility
    description: >
      Monitor annual DOI registration counts via the Fabrica dashboard and Usage Reports API
      to track consumption against the 100,000 DOI threshold. Set alerts when approaching
      80% of the annual quota to allow budget planning for potential overage fees.

  - name: Optimization
    description: >
      Joining via a consortium rather than as a direct member eliminates the EUR 2,000
      membership fee. Organizations with <100,000 annual DOIs can minimize costs by
      choosing the consortium path and selecting the appropriate socioeconomic infrastructure
      fee tier. Use batch registration and metadata management APIs to reduce operational
      overhead.

  - name: Accountability
    description: >
      Allocate DataCite costs to research data management budgets or per-project cost
      centers tracking DOI volume per repository or dataset collection. Use the Event Data
      API and Usage Reports API to demonstrate ROI from DOI adoption.

references:
  - name: DataCite Fees Page
    url: https://datacite.org/fees/
  - name: DataCite Fee Wizard
    url: https://fees.datacite.org/