MDPI
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Reasonable if you need fast, funded open-access publication and your institution accepts MDPI journals.
New check
Comparison
MDPI vs Elsevier
MDPI and Elsevier both land on Depends.
Elsevier
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Worth using if your institution's library pays and your field's top journals are Elsevier.
| Compare | MDPI | Elsevier |
|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Depends | Depends |
| Best for | Researchers needing fast open-access publication | University libraries with big budgets |
| Who it's not for | Tenure-track researchers building prestige CVs | Unfunded authors paying APCs personally |
| Privacy | One known incident: in August 2016 manuscript submission system logs were intercepted and copied; MDPI appears in breach databases.³ | No public CVEs found, but third-party reports flag a domain hijack and leaked credentials. |
| Support quality | Mixed author reports; employees warn against company | Trustpilot 1.8, 'Poor' |
| Public sentiment | Academic forum sentiment is split: users praise the fast turnaround but heavily criticize review rigor, fees, and reputation. | Acadics vent about fees, unpaid reviewing, and clunky tools; Trustpilot sits at 1.8 'Poor'.13 |
| Biggest gotcha | Many researchers report peers and hiring committees discount MDPI lines on a CV.⁷ | APCs are set per journal; check the exact fee before submitting anything16 |
Pick MDPI when
- Researchers needing fast open-access publication
- Authors with grant or institutional APC funding
- Interdisciplinary work without an obvious journal home
- Authors whose institutions already accept MDPI titles
When MDPI is not a fit
- Tenure-track researchers building prestige CVs
- Anyone whose institution discounts or flags MDPI journals
- Authors who cannot pay an APC out of pocket
- Fields where MDPI outlets carry stigma with peers and hiring committees
Pick Elsevier when
- University libraries with big budgets
- Researchers targeting top-tier journals
- Clinicians needing decision support
- Institutions with read-publish agreements
When Elsevier is not a fit
- Unfunded authors paying APCs personally
- Reviewers expecting payment
- Open-access-only labs
- Small teams wanting a cheap literature tool
Sources
- MDPI APC Information and FAQmdpi.comofficial
- MDPI Editorial Processmdpi.comofficial
security
- Have I Been Pwned: MDPI Data Breachhaveibeenpwned.comsecurity
- Trustpilot reviews of mdpi.comtrustpilot.comreview
- MDPI AG Reviews . Glassdoorglassdoor.comreview
review
- Reviewing papers for MDPI . Academia StackExchangeacademia.stackexchange.comreview
- Is MDPI a predatory publisher? . Paolo Crosettopaolocrosetto.wordpress.comreview
review
- Risk of publishing with MDPI . Redditreddit.comreview
- MDPI . Wikipediaen.wikipedia.orgnews
- Trustpilot reviews of elsevier.comtrustpilot.comreview
- Journal pricing policyelsevier.comofficial
