MDPI
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Reasonable if you need fast, funded open-access publication and your institution accepts MDPI journals.
New check
Comparison
MDPI vs PLOS
MDPI and PLOS both land on Depends.
PLOS
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Good fit if your funder mandates open access, your work is sound-but-not-flashy, and you or your library can cover the ~$2,477 APC.
| Compare | MDPI | PLOS |
|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Depends | Depends |
| Best for | Researchers needing fast open-access publication | Funder-mandated open access |
| Who it's not for | Tenure-track researchers building prestige CVs | Researchers needing fast turnaround . delays recur |
| Privacy | One known incident: in August 2016 manuscript submission system logs were intercepted and copied; MDPI appears in breach databases.³ | One past data-breach notification on record; current scans report no threats; no dedicated security page found. |
| Support quality | Mixed author reports; employees warn against company | Recurring complaints of long review delays |
| Public sentiment | Academic forum sentiment is split: users praise the fast turnaround but heavily criticize review rigor, fees, and reputation. | Researchers on Reddit and ResearchGate repeatedly complain about long PLOS ONE review wait times, while accepting it as a reputable open-access fallback. |
| Biggest gotcha | Many researchers report peers and hiring committees discount MDPI lines on a CV.⁷ | Published APC figures conflict: $1,931 vs $2,477 . verify the current fee before submitting16 |
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 PLOS when
- Funder-mandated open access
- Sound-but-unglamorous findings
- Interdisciplinary work
- Authors with APC funding or waivers
When PLOS is not a fit
- Researchers needing fast turnaround . delays recur
- Authors chasing prestige for hiring or grants
- Unfunded authors facing the ~$2,477 APC
- Anyone shopping for software . this is a publisher
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
- PLOS fees and fundingplos.orgofficial
- PLOS ONE Journal Informationjournals.plos.orgofficial
- PLOS ONE APC (2026) fee guidemanusights.comreview
- PLOS ONE Journal Guide 2026manusights.comreview
