IJMS APC and Open Access: What MDPI's Largest Journal Costs in 2026

IJMS is fully gold open access. Every published article is immediately free to read under a Creative Commons license (CC BY is the default and standard option). There is no subscription track.

This means:

• You can't avoid the APC by choosing a paywall route
• The fee applies to every accepted article
• All content is permanently open access from publication day

For researchers whose funders mandate OA, this is straightforward. For those without OA mandates or dedicated publication budgets, the CHF 2,900 is a real cost that needs to come from somewhere.

MDPI's institutional program is different from the Read & Publish agreements common with Elsevier, Springer Nature, or Wiley. MDPI offers its own Institutional Open Access Program (IOAP):

MDPI IOAP:

• Participating institutions receive a 10% discount on APCs across all MDPI journals
• The discount is applied automatically based on institutional email recognition
• Over 500 institutions participate globally
• Some institutions negotiate higher discounts (up to 15-20%)

Important distinction from major publishers: MDPI's IOAP provides discounts, not full APC coverage. Your institution reduces the price by 10%, but you still pay the remaining 90%. This is fundamentally different from the Springer Nature or Elsevier model where the institution covers the entire APC.

Some national library consortia have arranged MDPI agreements. These vary in generosity:

The bottom line is that MDPI authors are far more likely to pay at least part of the APC themselves or from grant funds, compared to authors publishing in major Elsevier or Springer Nature journals where institutional coverage is common.

Country-based waivers: MDPI provides automatic fee support for authors in low-income countries. Full waivers apply to the least-developed countries, with partial discounts for lower-middle-income nations. MDPI uses its own country classification rather than strictly following Research4Life categories.

Editorial board member vouchers: MDPI editorial board members sometimes receive APC vouchers (full or partial waivers) that can be applied to their own submissions or shared with colleagues. This is an unusual arrangement in academic publishing and has drawn criticism as a potential incentive for editorial board participation.

Invited reviews: Guest editors of special issues sometimes offer fee waivers to invited reviewers. If you receive an invitation to contribute a review to an IJMS special issue, ask whether a waiver is included.

Hardship waivers: Available on request, but the approval rate is reportedly lower than at Springer Nature or ACS. Researchers at well-funded Western institutions shouldn't expect approval.

Early submission discounts: MDPI occasionally offers promotional discounts for new journals or during launch periods. IJMS itself is long past this stage, but it's worth knowing that the practice exists across MDPI's portfolio.

IJMS satisfies all major OA mandates. The CC BY license is the standard for MDPI journals, which is exactly what Plan S and most European funders require.

MDPI has also been registered in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) for all its titles, which is a Plan S requirement for gold OA journals.

MDPI has become one of the world's largest publishers by article count. Understanding its model helps you evaluate IJMS:

Volume-driven business. MDPI's revenue depends directly on the number of articles it publishes. This creates incentives that differ from subscription-based publishers. Critics argue it leads to lower selectivity. Defenders point out that volume doesn't inherently mean low quality.

Fast review. MDPI is known for rapid peer review, often completing the first round in 2-3 weeks. This speed is attractive, but it also raises questions about review depth. Some researchers report receiving superficial reviews. Others find the process efficient and thorough. The experience varies by editor and reviewer.

Special issue invitations. MDPI sends a high volume of special issue invitation emails, often to researchers who have recently published in related areas. These invitations are legitimate (they're real special issues with real guest editors), but the aggressive outreach has generated backlash. Being invited doesn't mean your paper will be accepted without review, but the perception persists that special issues are less selective.

Editorial board size. IJMS has a very large editorial board, numbering in the thousands. This is unusual for a single journal and reflects MDPI's distributed editorial model. Each editor handles papers in their specific subfield.

Legitimate indexing. Despite the criticism, IJMS is indexed in PubMed, Web of Science (with JCR impact factor), and Scopus. It has Q1 ranking in multiple categories. The journal is not predatory. But "not predatory" and "uniformly excellent" are different standards, and researchers should evaluate IJMS on its own merits rather than on the broader MDPI debate.

• No page charges beyond the APC
• No color figure fees
• Currency risk: The APC is priced in CHF. If the Swiss Franc strengthens against your currency between submission and acceptance, the effective cost increases. The CHF has appreciated against the USD and EUR over the long term.
• VAT: Some European authors may have VAT added
• No embargo considerations since IJMS is fully gold OA. All articles are immediately free.
• MDPI's formatting requirements are specific. The journal provides Word and LaTeX templates. Submissions that don't conform will be returned for reformatting before entering review.

IJMS makes sense when:

1. Your molecular sciences research is technically sound and you want an indexed, Q1 publication
2. You value fast review and publication timelines
3. Your budget can handle ~$3,150 and you don't have institutional APC coverage
4. The IF of 5.6 matters for your career or grant reporting

Think carefully if:

1. You're paying out of pocket and PLOS ONE ($1,695) or Scientific Reports ($2,850, potentially institution-covered) would serve the same purpose
2. You're concerned about the perception of MDPI in your field (some review panels and hiring committees are skeptical)
3. Your institution has Springer Nature or Elsevier agreements that would make a comparable journal free

Before submitting, make sure your manuscript meets the standards reviewers will apply. Even at high-volume journals, methodological rigor and clear presentation matter. Run a free readiness scan to catch the issues that slow down review and lead to unnecessary revision rounds.

For more on how publication costs factor into journal selection, see our guide to understanding the full picture.