Frontiers

Name

Frontiers

Legal name

Frontiers Media SA

Website

https://frontiersin.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Scholarly Publishing

NAICS

Other Publishers (51319)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Academic & Scholarly Journals Publishing (Peer-Reviewed) (MPAJABAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Interdisciplinary & Multidisciplinary Scholarly Publishing (EDAGAFAI), Open Access Scholarly Journals & Monographs (EDAGAFAJ), Conference Proceedings & Research Reports Publishing (EDAGAFAL)

Keywords

• Open access publishing
• Scientific journals
• Peer review services
• Research data management
• Scholarly publishing

Headquarters

HQ city

Lausanne

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Article Processing Charges (APCs): Gold open access publishing fees charged to authors upon article acceptance. APCs range from CHF 1,495 to CHF 3,150 for standard article types, with an average APC of US$2,511. APCs are structured in four categories based on journal maturity and field funding levels. Fee support program provides discounts or waivers for authors unable to pay, with over USD 9 million in fee support provided in 2025 enabling 11,300 articles to be published.
2. Institutional Memberships and Partnerships: Annual membership fees from research institutions, universities, and library consortia that cover APCs for their affiliated researchers at discounted rates. Includes national consortium agreements with countries such as Germany, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Qatar, and Slovenia. Flat fee agreements offer unlimited publishing from member communities for one annual fee.
3. FAIR² Data Management Service: AI-powered data publishing service with introductory pricing of CHF 5,500 (up to 50 GB), paid only after acceptance for publication. Includes AI-assisted curation, peer-reviewed data article publication, custom interactive portal design and hosting, and lifetime data hosting.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Frontiers publishes 222 community-led open access scientific journals covering approximately 1,700 academic disciplines, funded primarily through Article Processing Charges (APCs) upon manuscript acceptance. The company's platform provides AI-assisted peer review (AIRA), collaborative peer review forums, article-level metrics, and the FAIR² Data Management service that transforms raw research data into citable, AI-ready data publications.

Product overview

Frontiers operates as a comprehensive open science publishing platform comprising 222 community-led journals covering approximately 1,700 academic disciplines. The platform is built around AIRA (AI Review Assistant), which performs over 40 automated quality checks on manuscripts, and the collaborative peer review system featuring real-time interactions between authors, reviewers, and editors. Key offerings include Frontiers in Science (flagship multidisciplinary journal), FAIR² Data Management (AI-powered data publishing service), Research Topics (collaborative article collections), Frontiers for Young Minds (science journal for youth), Frontiers Planet Prize ($3M annual prize for planetary health research), and Frontiers Forum (annual scientific conference). All articles are published gold open access under CC-BY license with article processing charges.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Frontiers Journals Portfolio of 222 community-led open access journals covering approximately 1,700 academic disciplines, led by expert researchers as editors and reviewers. All articles published gold open access under CC-BY license.
• FAIR² Data Management World's first complete AI-powered data management service that transforms raw research data into citable data articles, interactive data portals, and certified data packages for long-term hosting. Includes AI data steward Clara that automates curation, visualization, and metadata generation.
• Frontiers in Science Flagship multidisciplinary journal focused on transformational science to accelerate solutions for healthy lives on a healthy planet.
• Research Topics Open, collaborative article collections focused on emerging research themes, led by expert researchers who bring communities together to write, review, and publish new research. Published as magazine-style websites and free ebooks.
• Frontiers Planet Prize Annual global prize awarding three prizes of 1 million USD each to breakthrough research that advances planetary boundary science.
• Frontiers for Young Minds Free open access science journal for young people where leading scientists review cutting-edge research to make it accessible for their peers. Includes the Nobel Collection with 33 Nobel Laureates.
• Frontiers Forum Annual event bringing together leading scientists to present science-led solutions for healthy lives on a healthy planet. First hybrid Forum held in 2023.
• Collaborative Peer Review Unique online forum with real-time interactions ensuring rigorous, constructive and transparent peer review, with reviewer names featured on published articles. Supported by AIRA AI checks.

Quantifiable outcome

• Articles viewed and downloaded 5.3 billion times and cited 16 million times
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

AI capability9 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

22 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• World Economic Forum (WEF)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 June 2023Frontiers co-publishes the annual Top 10 Emerging Technologies report with the World Economic Forum. This high-profile thought leadership collaboration identifies scientific advances approaching deployment readiness. Reports have been published for 2023, 2024, 2025, and 2026 editions, reaching global policy and business audiences and positioning Frontiers as a leader in science-policy intersection.
• Plan AcoreOthersPlan A is Frontiers' partner for collecting, measuring, and consolidating carbon footprint data. Plan A is certified by TÜV Rheinland and is Green House Gas Protocol compliant. They support Frontiers' sustainability commitment by providing comprehensive emissions measurement including Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions.
• AltmetriccoreTechnology or IntegrationAltmetric integration provides alternative and objective ways to evaluate research alongside Frontiers' own article impact metrics suite. The Altmetric badge is embedded on all article pages, providing researchers with comprehensive impact tracking including mentions in news, social media, policy documents, and patents.
• ORCIDcoreTechnology or IntegrationORCID integration enables researchers to connect their Frontiers profiles and publications to their persistent ORCID identifiers, maximizing author impact and ensuring proper attribution. Loop research network is integrated with ORCID.
• CrossRefcoreTechnology or IntegrationCrossRef integration provides persistent identifier assignment, CrossMark article status tracking, and FundRef funder recognition for Frontiers articles. All published articles are enriched with CrossMark records showing current article status.
• iThenticate (Turnitin)coreTechnology or IntegrationAll submitted articles are checked for plagiarism using iThenticate to ensure adherence to quality standards and research integrity before entering the peer review process.
• BioRxiv and MedRxivcoreTechnology or IntegrationPre-print manuscripts can be submitted to Frontiers directly through BioRxiv and MedRxiv integrations, avoiding duplication of manuscript information and streamlining the submission process for authors who have posted preprints.
• FigsharecoreTechnology or IntegrationFigshare widget embedded on all Frontiers article pages, enabling readers to view supplemental research data alongside articles. Helps authors meet data deposition requirements and showcase data outputs.
• Germany National Library Consortium (GBV/VG Wort)flagshipChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWorld's largest fully open access agreement, covering all German researchers. The transformed agreement with the German library consortium enables all German researchers to publish open access in Frontiers journals, significantly advancing Germany's open access goals.
• Norway (SIKT)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNational open access agreement with Norway renewed for 2025, reinforcing shared commitment to advancing open science. Covers all Norwegian researchers for open access publishing in Frontiers journals.
• Sweden (Bibsam Consortium)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNational transformed agreement with the Swedish Bibsam Consortium covering Swedish researchers for open access publishing. Part of Sweden's transition to open access.
• SwitzerlandcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNational open access agreement with Switzerland covering Swiss researchers. Switzerland was one of Frontiers' earliest national deal partners.
• Qatar National LibrarycoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOpen access publishing agreement with Qatar National Library covering Qatari researchers.
• Slovenia (CTK Consortium)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNational deal with the Slovenian CTK Consortium for open access publishing by Slovenian researchers.
• Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCSIC became a publishing partner of Frontiers, leveraging Frontiers' platform to support the council's open access transition.
• Max Planck Digital Library (MPDL)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPublishing agreement with the Max Planck Society enabling Max Planck researchers to publish open access in Frontiers journals. One of Frontiers' early institutional partnerships from 2014.
• Helmholtz Association of German Research CentrescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorExpanded open access publishing agreement with the Helmholtz Association, one of Germany's largest research organizations.
• Italian National Research Council (CNR)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOpen access publishing deal with CNR covering Italian researchers for publishing in Frontiers journals.
• Italian Biomedical Research Institutions (BiblioSan)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorItaly's first national open access deal specifically for biomedical institutions, enabling BiblioSan member researchers to publish open access in Frontiers.
• SensciencecoreTechnology or IntegrationSenscience powers the FAIR² Data Management platform, providing AI-driven data stewardship and visualization technology that transforms raw research data into FAIR² Data Articles and interactive data portals.
• CLOCKSScoreTechnology or IntegrationCLOCKSS (Controlled LOCKSS) ensures long-term digital preservation of Frontiers articles, providing permanent archiving and emergency access to published content.
• University of MiamicoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFlat fee agreement announced in July 2025, giving University of Miami-affiliated researchers the chance to publish in Frontiers journals without incurring publishing fees, fully covered by the university.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Springer Nature: Springer Nature is the world's largest academic publisher and a leading OA publisher through BMC and the Springer Open portfolio; it competes across the same disciplines as Frontiers and holds a board seat from its Holtzbrinck investment.
• Elsevier: Elsevier operates a broad subscription and OA journal portfolio (including Cell Press and The Lancet) and is actively expanding OA offerings; it competes with Frontiers for top-tier author submissions and large institutional agreements.
• Wiley: Wiley is a major incumbent publisher with a growing OA portfolio (including the acquired Hindawi titles) and competes with Frontiers for institutional read-and-publish agreements and journal submissions across disciplines.
• Cell Press / Lancet: Cell Press (Elsevier) and The Lancet publish high-impact life-sciences and medical journals; they represent the prestige tier where Frontiers aspires to compete and serve as a benchmark for author recruitment in elite research communities.

Direct peers

• PLOS: PLOS pioneered peer-reviewed open access journals and runs a comparable gold-OA, APC-funded journal portfolio (PLOS ONE, PLOS Biology, etc.) competing head-to-head with Frontiers for OA submissions.
• MDPI: MDPI is the largest fully open access publisher globally, operating a similar gold-OA, APC-funded, large-journal-portfolio model that directly competes with Frontiers for author submissions and institutional agreements.
• Hindawi (Wiley): Hindawi operated a large-scale gold-OA, APC-funded journal portfolio with very similar operating dynamics to Frontiers until its acquisition by Wiley; it is a directly comparable model and a benchmark for OA publishing economics.
• BioMed Central (BMC): BMC is a pioneer OA publisher within Springer Nature, running a large portfolio of gold-OA journals using the APC model that directly overlaps with Frontiers' journal portfolio in life sciences and medicine.

Emerging players

• PeerJ: PeerJ publishes peer-reviewed OA journals in the biological and medical sciences using an APC-funded model; it competes with Frontiers for OA submissions in adjacent disciplines but at smaller scale.
• eLife: eLife is a nonprofit OA journal focused on life sciences and medicine using a unique consultative peer-review model; it overlaps with Frontiers in author base and OA ethos but operates at smaller scale and without APCs in its current model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/frontiers
• Xx.com/FrontiersIn
• Facebookfacebook.com/Frontiersin

Compliance7 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Frontiers