Publication Guide
MDPI (Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute) is one of the world's largest fully open-access publishers. Founded in Basel in 1996 by chemist Shu-Kun Lin - originally as a rare chemical-sample archive whose first journal was Molecules - it now runs 539 journals (530 peer-reviewed plus 9 conference journals) spanning every discipline, with a strong tilt toward science, technology, and medicine. Every article is published under a CC BY license, free for readers, and funded by an article processing charge (APC).
MDPI's defining traits for authors are speed and scale: median time to first decision was under 18 days in the first half of 2026 (MDPI-reported), and accepted papers typically go online about a week after acceptance. That speed, together with heavy use of Special Issues, is also why MDPI attracts recurring debate about editorial selectivity - covered honestly in the FAQ below. This guide walks through choosing a journal, APCs, peer review, and submission via SuSy.
Which MDPI journal fits your paper?
MDPI titles vary widely in size, indexing, and APC. Match your manuscript and budget with the table below.
| You're most likely to... | Choose this route |
|---|---|
| Want a large, established, Impact Factor-carrying venue in life sciences | International Journal of Molecular Sciences, Cells, Nutrients, or Cancers - MDPI's biomedical flagships (APCs CHF 2,700 - 2,900). |
| Publish applied engineering, sensing, or materials work quickly | Sensors, Applied Sciences, Materials, or Electronics - broad-scope, high-volume titles (CHF 2,400 - 2,600). |
| Publish sustainability, environment, or energy research | Sustainability (CHF 2,400), Energies, or Land - large multidisciplinary venues with wide readership. |
| Publish chemistry with a long-standing journal | Molecules - MDPI's original journal, running since 1996 (CHF 2,700). |
| Minimize APC cost | Newer MDPI titles start at CHF 1,000, Molbank is CHF 500, and a handful of recently launched journals are currently free - check the live APC list. |
| Respond to a Special Issue invitation | Confirm the Special Issue's guest editors and scope fit your work, and check whether a discount or waiver was offered in the invitation before assuming one applies. |
What MDPI actually publishes
539 journals under a single MDPI imprint - no sub-brands. The portfolio includes:
- Flagship mega-journals - International Journal of Molecular Sciences, Sustainability, Sensors, Nutrients, Molecules, Cells, and Applied Sciences each publish thousands of papers a year and anchor MDPI's citation footprint.
- Established mid-size titles - Cancers, Materials, Energies, Remote Sensing, Viruses, Polymers, and hundreds more discipline-specific journals.
- Newer incubator titles - several hundred journals launched since 2018 at CHF 1,000 - 1,600 APCs, many not yet indexed; verify indexing before submitting if your institution requires it.
- Conference journals and proceedings - 9 conference journals plus the Proceedings series.
MDPI reports that at least 330 of its journals have a Journal Impact Factor, with 70% ranked in the top two quartiles of their fields. It also reports publishing research from more than 4.6 million authors since 1996.
Open access & APCs
MDPI is 100% Gold OA - there is no subscription route and no hybrid option. All articles are CC BY. APCs below are from the 2026 price list (CHF, before tax); MDPI revises prices regularly, so check the live APC page before submission.
| Title tier | APC (CHF) | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Biomedical flagships | 2,700 - 2,900 | IJMS (2,900), Nutrients (2,900), Cancers (2,900), Cells (2,700), Molecules (2,700) |
| Engineering / broad-scope flagships | 2,400 - 2,600 | Sensors (2,600), Materials (2,600), Applied Sciences (2,400), Sustainability (2,400) |
| Established mid-size titles | 1,800 - 2,400 | Chemosensors (2,000), Education Sciences (2,000), Medicina (2,200) |
| Newer titles | 1,000 - 1,600 | Most journals launched since ~2020 |
| Special cases | 0 - 500 | Molbank (500); a few new titles currently free |
Ways to pay less: IOAP (Institutional Open Access Program) discounts if your institution participates - some agreements cover the APC fully; reviewer vouchers earned by reviewing for MDPI, applicable before acceptance; invited-submission discounts or waivers; and discretionary waivers for authors without funding, granted case by case rather than by a published country list.
Peer review process
- Model: single-anonymized review is the default across MDPI journals; some titles offer open review (signed reports published alongside the article at author/reviewer option).
- Pre-check: every submission passes a technical and ethics pre-check (plagiarism screening via iThenticate, scope fit) before external review.
- Speed: median first decision under 18 days and publication about 7 days after acceptance (MDPI-reported, first half of 2026) - among the fastest in the industry. Reviewers are typically given short deadlines, which is the main driver of both the speed and the criticism.
- Decisions: an external Academic Editor makes the accept/reject decision; MDPI's in-house Managing Editors run the process.
How to submit
- Pick the journal. Browse mdpi.com's journal list, filter by discipline, and verify the title's indexing (Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed) if it matters for your evaluation or funder.
- Read the Instructions for Authors. Every MDPI journal has a title-specific page; article types and any journal-specific rules live there.
- Prepare your manuscript. Use the MDPI LaTeX template or the journal's Word template - both available on SciSpace - and MDPI's numbered citation style (ACS-like; some journals accept APA-style variants).
- Submit via SuSy. MDPI's proprietary Submission System handles submission, review, revisions, and proofs for all journals.
- Respond fast. Revision windows are short (often 5 - 10 days); build that into your planning.
Special Issues - what to know
Special Issues are central to MDPI's model: guest-edited, themed collections that generate a large share of its output, often via email invitations. A Special Issue paper gets the same peer review as a regular submission, but evaluate invitations critically: check that the guest editors are recognizable in your field, that the topic genuinely fits your paper, and whether any promised discount is stated in writing. Unsolicited invitations far outside your area are a signal to decline.
Ethics, integrity, and the indexing debate
MDPI is a member of COPE and OASPA, follows COPE guidance on retractions, screens submissions with iThenticate, and archives all content with the Swiss National Library and CLOCKSS. Its own materials also list STM Association membership. The legitimacy picture is nuanced rather than binary: most established MDPI titles are indexed in Scopus and Web of Science, but Clarivate delisted two journals in February 2023 - including the then-flagship International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH) - for publishing content outside their scope, and in December 2024 Finland's Publication Forum downgraded 193 MDPI journals to its lowest rating. Practical advice: judge the specific journal, not the publisher - check its current indexing status and its standing in your field's evaluation lists before submitting.
