conductscience.org

What It Is

ConductScience Publishing positions itself as a “publishing platform rather than a publisher.” It provides open-access journal and conference publishing infrastructure for researchers, journal editorial teams, academic institutions, and conference organizers. The platform emphasizes that users retain their journal brand, editorial independence, and revenue model, and can run their own journals with a custom domain, editorial board, and complete visual identity.

Core Capabilities

The platform covers author submissions, AI manuscript formatting, peer review, editorial dashboards, DOI registration, digital archiving, and analytics. Its AI formatting can restructure manuscripts submitted in different formats into a journal’s required style. The review workflow supports reviewer invitations, review-round management, decision tracking, automated reminders, and deadline management. On the publishing side, it integrates with Crossref to automatically generate DOIs, and uses Portico and the Library of Congress for long-term preservation. For identity and discoverability, it supports one-click ORCID login, as well as indexing via Google Scholar, Crossref, and institutional repositories. For conferences, it also includes abstract submission, review assignment, registration and ticketing, Smart Slides, multi-track scheduling, and financial reporting.

Pricing and Business Model

Pricing transparency is relatively good. Conference management is offered as a one-time fee: Free at $0, Abstract Management at $590, Standard Conference at $1,780, and Professional Conference at $2,770. Institutional publishing is billed annually: Starter at $4,990/year, Professional at $14,900/year, and Enterprise at $29,990/year. The Enterprise plan includes unlimited journals, an SLA, a dedicated account manager, data export, and API access. There is also a “Launch Your Journal” model with a low monthly subscription plus revenue sharing, but the page does not disclose specific pricing.

Pros and Cons

Its main strength is a fairly complete academic publishing workflow, with integrations such as DOI, ORCID, Portico, and Stripe addressing core needs for journal operations. White labeling, custom domains, and real-time analytics make it suitable for institutional use. The main weakness is limited disclosure around security and compliance: beyond references to COPE ethical standards and general infrastructure security, there is no clear information on SOC 2, ISO, GDPR, or similar standards. The API is only mentioned for the Enterprise plan, and developer support details are limited. No self-hosted option is apparent.

Best Fit and Access from China

ConductScience Publishing is a good fit for teams looking to quickly launch an open-access journal, a department-level publishing initiative, or an international academic conference—especially research institutions without their own publishing technology stack. The available text does not disclose details about access from mainland China, payment support, or localization. Stripe-based payments may be less convenient for mainland Chinese entities than Alipay or WeChat Pay. Alternatives to compare include OJS, Scholastica, Editorial Manager, EasyChair, and Ex Ordo; in China, organizations may also evaluate CNKI/Wanfang-related services or build their own journal system.