Preprints.org is a free, multidisciplinary preprint server established by MDPI in 2016 and operated from Basel, Switzerland. It lets researchers share manuscripts publicly before (or alongside) journal peer review: you upload your paper, it passes a moderated screening check, and it goes online with a citable DOI - usually within days rather than the months a journal decision takes. As of March 2026 the platform hosts more than 124,000 preprints across every research field.

Unlike arXiv (physics, math, CS roots) or bioRxiv (life sciences), Preprints.org accepts work from all disciplines - natural sciences, medicine, engineering, social sciences, and humanities. It accepts research articles, comprehensive reviews, data articles, and case reports, but not editorials, discussion papers, commentaries, or coursework.

A key point of clarity: Preprints.org is a preprint server, not a journal. Nothing on it is peer-reviewed, and posting there is not "publishing" in the formal sense. It is best understood as a fast, open dissemination layer that sits in front of the journal system.

1. Prepare your manuscript. Any standard article format works; Word and LaTeX are both accepted. A SciSpace template for the Preprints.org format is available if you want a clean, consistent layout.
2. Submit on preprints.org. Create a free account, upload the manuscript and any supplementary files, and confirm all authors agree to posting.
3. Screening. Staff moderators check scope, run text-overlap (plagiarism) detection, verify data and code availability statements, and check legal and ethical compliance. This is moderation, not peer review - no verdict is given on scientific quality.
4. Posting. Approved preprints go online under a CC BY license with a version-specific DOI and a citable identifier.
5. Versioning. You can post revised versions at any time; each version gets its own DOI, and all versions remain permanently accessible.

Because no formal peer review occurs, treat any Preprints.org manuscript as unrefereed: useful for early access and priority-of-discovery, but not yet validated. The platform also supports public commenting, so readers can leave feedback that authors may use to improve the work before journal submission.

Every version carries its own DOI, so cite the specific version you read. A typical reference looks like:

Author, A.; Author, B. Title of the Preprint. Preprints.org 2026, 2026010123, version 2. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints2026...

Most citation styles (APA, Vancouver, IEEE, Chicago) now have explicit preprint rules - mark the work as a preprint, include the server name and DOI. If a peer-reviewed journal version later appears, cite that instead where possible. Preprints.org content is discoverable through the Web of Science Preprint Citation Index, Europe PMC, Crossref, Google Scholar, and is preserved in Portico.

Posting a preprint does not commit you to any journal - MDPI or otherwise. Key points:

• Not prior publication (usually). Most major publishers (Elsevier, Springer Nature, Wiley, MDPI, PLOS, and others) accept submissions previously posted as preprints. A small number of journals, especially in medicine and chemistry, still restrict this - check your target journal's preprint policy before posting.
• MDPI integration. Preprints.org is run by MDPI, and MDPI journals let authors post to Preprints.org during submission. You are free to submit the same manuscript to any non-MDPI journal afterwards.
• Funder mandates. A CC BY preprint can help satisfy open-access expectations from some funders, though most mandates apply to the accepted, peer-reviewed version.
• Independence caveat. Because the server is owned by a large open-access publisher, some researchers prefer community-governed alternatives (arXiv, OSF-hosted servers). The screening and hosting model, however, follows the same norms as other mainstream preprint servers.

Nothing. Posting is free for authors, and reading is free for everyone. There are no APCs, submission charges, or reader paywalls; MDPI funds the platform's operation. Because every preprint must carry a CC BY license, anyone may reuse the work with attribution - factor that in if you plan to submit to a journal with unusual licensing requirements.

Screening enforces plagiarism checks, authorship confirmation, and ethical-compliance statements (for example, for human or animal studies). Preprints can be withdrawn in exceptional cases, but a withdrawal notice remains - preprints are treated as part of the permanent scholarly record, so post only work you are prepared to stand behind. Competing-interest and funding disclosures are expected, and public comments are moderated for civility.