Yes, HowNet also needs to charge for downloading its own papers. Most of the articles on HowNet come from periodicals, dissertations and so on. When these articles were uploaded, the authors had obtained the corresponding copyright permission. However, after uploading these articles to the platform, HowNet needs to store them digitally, which requires a certain cost. Therefore, HowNet charges users a certain download fee to compensate for the cost of providing services.

However, for the subscribers of some institutions or universities, they may be able to download the papers on HowNet for free. In addition, some articles in the public domain or articles that have entered the public domain may also be downloaded without charge.