The gold standard for scholarly journal publishing.
Open Journal Systems (OJS) is the world's most widely used platform for managing and publishing academic journals online. It handles everything from article submissions and peer review to final publication and global indexing — all from one place.
What makes Open Journal Systems worth launching.
Manage submissions, peer review, copyediting, and publication from a single dashboard with full tracking and notifications.
Run blind, double-blind, or open peer review with automated reminders, reviewer ratings, and deadline tracking.
Get your articles discovered in Google Scholar, DOAJ, Crossref, PubMed, and other major research databases automatically.
Publish your journal in one language or dozens — OJS supports fully multilingual content, metadata, and interface.
Assign DOIs to every article and integrate with ORCID, ROR, and other scholarly identity systems.
Protect your journal's legacy with automatic archiving in trusted services like PKP PN and CLOCKSS/LOCKSS.
If you fit one of these, Open Journal Systems is probably built for you.
Practical scenarios where Open Journal Systems makes a real difference.
Start publishing peer-reviewed research from scratch with a complete editorial workflow and professional website.
Take your existing print publication digital with full submission management, peer review, and online publishing tools.
Manage multiple journals from one platform, each with its own branding, editors, and publishing schedule.
Ensure your articles are discoverable in Google Scholar, DOAJ, Crossref, and other databases your institution requires.
Open Journal Systems (OJS) is the complete toolkit for publishing scholarly journals online, developed by the Public Knowledge Project at Simon Fraser University. It manages the entire researcher-to-reader journey — from the moment an author submits a manuscript, through peer review and copyediting, all the way to publication on a professional, mobile-friendly website. Used by over 44,000 journals across 148 countries, OJS is trusted by universities, research institutions, and scholarly societies to turn academic research into publicly accessible knowledge. The platform supports every major academic discipline and works in more than 50 languages, making it a truly global tool for open access publishing.
Open Journal Systems is the gold standard for academic journal publishing, trusted by more than 44,000 journals worldwide for over two decades. It gives editorial teams everything they need — submission management, peer review, copyediting, production, and publication — all in one seamless platform. Universities, scholarly societies, and independent publishers choose OJS because it meets rigorous international publishing standards, makes research globally discoverable, and is backed by an active community of developers and publishing professionals.
No per-seat pricing
Add your whole team for one flat fee.
Your data stays yours
Nothing passes through a third-party cloud.
Use your own domain
Run it on yourdomain.com with free SSL.
No terminal. No config. No docs.
Workflow automation
n8n.aurora.openzapps.com
Monitors, fixes & deploys 24/7
One platform. Every app. No surprises.
Your own private server — no shared hosting, no slowdowns.
Deploy Open Journal Systems and as many other apps as you want — no per-app charges, ever.
Full ownership. No third-party access. Export anytime.
Unlimited apps, unlimited users, unlimited traffic. One bill.
SSL, backups, and updates run automatically behind the scenes.
Cancel anytime. Take your data with you. No questions asked.
What others charge for just the empty server.
Server costs only. Prices checked June 2026.
4 vCPU cores, 8 GB RAM, 150 GB storage
A solid place to start
| Provider | Their price | You save |
|---|---|---|
| DigitalOcean | $48/mo | $29 (60%) |
| Vultr | $40/mo | $21 (53%) |
| Linode | $48/mo | $29 (60%) |
| AWS Lightsail | $84/mo | $65 (77%) |
| Google Cloud E2 | $103.45/mo | $84.45 (82%) |
8 vCPU cores, 24 GB RAM, 400 GB storage
The sweet spot for most people
| Provider | Their price | You save |
|---|---|---|
| DigitalOcean | $144/mo | $95 (66%) |
| Vultr | $144/mo | $95 (66%) |
| Linode | $192/mo | $143 (74%) |
| AWS Lightsail | $164/mo | $115 (70%) |
| Google Cloud E2 | $231.17/mo | $182.17 (79%) |
16 vCPU cores, 64 GB RAM, 600 GB storage
For power users
| Provider | Their price | You save |
|---|---|---|
| DigitalOcean | $384/mo | $285 (74%) |
| Vultr | $320/mo | $221 (69%) |
| Linode | $384/mo | $285 (74%) |
| AWS Lightsail | $384/mo | $285 (74%) |
| Google Cloud E2 | $474.53/mo | $375.53 (79%) |
Prices checked June 2026. Excludes taxes, credits, backups, bandwidth.
Everything you need to know about launching Open Journal Systems on OpenZapps.
It's a platform for managing and publishing academic journals online — it handles everything from manuscript submissions and peer review to editing and final publication on your journal's website.
Not at all. OpenZapps gets it running for you, so you can jump straight into setting up your journal, configuring policies, and managing submissions.
You pay OpenZapps a flat monthly fee to keep your journal running. There are no extra charges per article, per submission, or per issue.
Yes. All your journal content, manuscript submissions, and reviewer communications are stored securely on your private cloud space.
Absolutely. Through OpenZapps you can connect your custom domain so your journal lives at your own web address.
Try something new — same platform, same flat price.
Start free, launch Open Journal Systems in seconds, and cancel whenever you want — zero risk.
Plans start at $29/month. Cancel anytime.
