EMS Press

What EMS Press does

EMS Press is the publishing house of the European Mathematical Society, operating as a not-for-profit private limited company (European Mathematical Society - EMS - Publishing House GmbH) headquartered at Technische Universität Berlin. The company publishes more than 20 peer-reviewed mathematics journals, including flagship titles such as the Journal of the European Mathematical Society and EMS Surveys in Mathematical Sciences, alongside a growing catalogue of over 250 books across series such as Heritage of European Mathematics and Memoirs of the European Mathematical Society. Its editorial mission centres on technology-driven academic publishing and the delivery of fair, sustainable open access.

The business operates a custom-built digital platform that supports IP-authenticated access, COUNTER-compliant usage reporting via LibLynx, MARC/KBART metadata distribution, OA Switchboard integration, and long-term preservation through the CLOCKSS archive. Content is delivered under two open access architectures: Subscribe to Open (S2O), which converts journals to OA when subscription thresholds are met, and the newer Launch to Open (L2O) model announced in March 2026, which discloses full publication costs, subscription revenue, and OA targets per title. Accessibility compliance is documented via a WCAG 2.2 AA conformance report and a European Accessibility Act commitment.

EMS Press monetises through institutional journal subscriptions (e.g., EMS Essentials Package from €2,115/year, EMS Journals Package from €7,630/year), ebook packages (over 250 titles, 85,000+ pages, 40%+ discounts) bundled with perpetual access, individual book sales at fixed prices (e.g., $109), and a joint package with Mathematical Science Publishers from €11,500/year. Distribution combines direct sales via ems.press with an exclusive regional agent network spanning China, India, North America, and South Korea, plus national consortia in Brazil and France, and fulfilment partnerships with the AMS Bookstore and LKG GmbH. The customer base is academic libraries and mathematics researchers globally, with author-side economics built on diamond open access (no article processing charges).

Name

EMS Press

Legal name

European Mathematical Society - EMS - Publishing House GmbH

Website

https://ems.press

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

EMS Press is the not-for-profit publishing house of the European Mathematical Society, publishing 20+ peer-reviewed mathematics journals and 250+ books for academic libraries and researchers globally via subscriptions and open access models.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Academic Publishing

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (513120), Book Publishers (513130)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industries

Research Monographs & University Press Publishing (MPAJABAJ), Open Access Scholarly Journals & Monographs (EDAGAFAJ)

Keywords

• Academic journal publishing
• Mathematics research publishing
• Open access publishing
• Scholarly book publishing
• Society publisher

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Journal Subscriptions: Annual digital and print subscriptions to individual journals and bundled packages including the EMS Essentials Package, EMS Journals Package, and EMS & MSP Joint Package. Subscriptions auto-renew unless cancelled and provide IP-based access.
2. Book Sales: One-time purchase of individual print books and ebooks at fixed prices. Example: $109.00 for 'From Differential Geometry to Relativity'. DRM-free ebooks available as downloads.
3. eBook Packages: Annual institution-wide multi-user access licenses for the complete ebook portfolio of over 250 titles with significant discounts (40%+). Includes DRM-free access, perpetual access, and no annual maintenance fees.
4. Agent/Broker Fees: Revenue from exclusive regional representation arrangements with booksellers and subscription agents in various territories.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels8 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

EMS Press publishes peer-reviewed mathematics journals and scholarly books as the publishing house of the European Mathematical Society. The portfolio includes flagship journals such as the Journal of the European Mathematical Society, EMS Surveys in Mathematical Sciences, and Memoirs of the European Mathematical Society, plus over 250 books in mathematics. Customers access content through subscription packages (EMS Essentials, EMS Journals, EMS eBooks, EMS & MSP Joint Package), individual journal subscriptions, or one-time book purchases, with digital access via IP authentication and innovative open access models (Subscribe to Open and Launch to Open).

Product overview

EMS Press is the publishing house of the European Mathematical Society, operating as a not-for-profit organization that offers a digital and print portfolio of more than 20 peer-reviewed journals and a growing catalogue of over 250 books. The portfolio includes flagship journals such as the Journal of the European Mathematical Society (JEMS) and EMS Surveys in Mathematical Sciences, book series including the Heritage of European Mathematics and Memoirs of the European Mathematical Society, and subscription packages (EMS Essentials, EMS Journals, EMS eBooks, and EMS & MSP Joint Package) that bundle multiple titles at discounted rates. The platform provides open access through two models: Subscribe to Open (S2O), which makes content open access based on subscription thresholds, and Launch to Open (L2O), a transparent community-based model with disclosed costs and targets. Digital access is provided via IP authentication with CLOCKSS archiving for long-term preservation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• EMS Press: The publishing house of the European Mathematical Society, publishing peer-reviewed journals and books in mathematics.

Products and services

• Journal of the European Mathematical Society (JEMS)

Quantifiable outcome

• 40%+ discount on total list price for ebook packages
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered major and core.

• Mathematical Science Publishers (MSP)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEMS Press has teamed up with MSP to bring a combined package offering the EMS Journals Package plus titles from the MSP Portfolio at a heavily discounted price. This joint package starts from €11,500 / $12,655 and operates on a two-tier system based on institutional ranking. The partnership provides libraries with comprehensive access to mathematics publications from both publishers.
• CLOCKSS ArchivecoreTechnology or IntegrationEMS Press has entrusted the long-term preservation of their published content to the CLOCKSS archive. In the event that the publisher ceases to exist, CLOCKSS will preserve and publish all content freely online. This ensures permanent access to mathematical research.
• LibLynxcoreTechnology or IntegrationLibLynx provides usage and access management services including COUNTER-compliant reporting, IP Registry, and OA Switchboard for library-facing workflows.
• Society for the Foundations of Computational MathematicsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Society owns Foundations of Computational Mathematics (FoCM) journal which joins EMS Press from January 2027 under the Launch to Open model. The society receives editorial and owner compensation as part of the publishing agreement.
• Herausgeberausschuss Archiv der Mathematik e.V.majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe association owns Archiv der Mathematik (AdM) journal which joins EMS Press from January 2027 under the Launch to Open model. The owner receives editorial and owner compensation as part of the publishing agreement.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Cambridge University Press: University press with a significant mathematics and STM journals/books programme. Comparable as an academic publisher competing for the same library subscription dollars and mathematics monograph acquisitions.
• World Scientific Publishing: Academic publisher with significant mathematics and theoretical physics journals and books. Comparable as a society-aligned publisher targeting the same research libraries and consortia.
• De Gruyter: Independent academic publisher with strong STM and mathematics journal/book programmes. Comparable as a mid-sized scholarly publisher competing for society journals and library package deals.
• Springer Nature: Major commercial publisher of mathematics and broader STM journals and books. Directly comparable because EMS Press recently acquired FoCM and AdM from Springer Nature, and competes head-to-head for society-owned mathematics journals and library subscription packages.
• American Mathematical Society (AMS): US-based mathematics society and publisher of leading mathematics journals and books. Highly comparable because AMS serves the same mathematics research community, publishes overlapping journals, and even serves as a distribution partner for EMS Press book orders in the Americas.
• Oxford University Press: University press publishing mathematics, physics, and broader academic journals and monographs. Comparable as a society-affiliated academic publisher selling subscription packages and individual titles to the same institutional library customers.
• Mathematical Science Publishers (MSP): Independent mathematics publisher focused on peer-reviewed journals. Comparable as a direct mathematics-focused society-aligned publisher; EMS Press has an active joint package partnership with MSP, indicating overlapping customer base and complementary portfolios.

Broad incumbents

• Elsevier: Largest commercial STM publisher with broad journal and book portfolio including mathematics titles. Comparable as the dominant incumbent that EMS Press positions against via its transparent, not-for-profit L2O/S2O models.
• Taylor & Francis: Major academic publisher with extensive journals programme including mathematics-adjacent titles. Comparable as a broad incumbent offering big-deal packages to the same library customers.
• Wiley: Large academic publisher with mathematics and STM journals and books. Comparable as a broad incumbent competing for institutional library packages and transformative agreements.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ems_press
• Facebookfacebook.com/EMS.Press.Publishing

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 EMS Press