If you are using BioRender for your thesis, it's important to understand the subscription requirements based on where your thesis will be shared. This article outlines the guidelines for unpublished and published theses and provides a detailed breakdown of BioRender's licensing and usage.
Unpublished thesis
If your thesis will only be uploaded to a university database or library and will not be published in a journal or article, you can use BioRender's free basic version without requiring a paid subscription.
Published thesis
If your thesis will be published in an article, journal, or any publicly distributed publication, it is considered a published thesis. In this case, we recommend upgrading to one of our paid premium subscriptions to obtain the necessary publication license.
Subscription plan usage
For a detailed breakdown of where you can use BioRender figures across different plans, please refer to our article: Licensing and usage of figures made in BioRender.
Citing BioRender figures
If your thesis includes BioRender figures, ensure proper citation.
- For any published or printed material (including websites and social media), include “Created with BioRender.com” or your unique figure URL.
- For more details, refer to our Citing BioRender article.
Common questions
If you're unsure whether your thesis qualifies as published or unpublished, consider these common issues:
- My thesis is available in my university’s library. Does this count as published?
No, theses stored in university databases without public journal publication are considered unpublished.
- I want to publish my thesis later. What should I do?
If you plan to publish later, consider upgrading to a paid premium subscription to ensure compliance. Publication rights are associated with the account status at the time of export. If you export your figures on an active, paid plan and not the free trial, you have the right to publish your figures, even if you choose to downgrade.
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What if I don’t want the watermark on my BioRender figures in my thesis?
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If you are using BioRender’s free basic version, exported figures will include a watermark. To remove the watermark for your thesis, consider upgrading to a paid premium subscription.
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What’s next?
If you're considering using BioRender for professional or published work, explore our Academic Individual, Lab, or Institutional Licenses to ensure compliance with publishing standards.
Need help?
If you have any questions or concerns:
- Email Support: support@biorender.com
- Live Chat: Available by clicking on the "Help" bubble in the app on the bottom right-hand corner.