The right preprint server depends entirely on discipline: bioRxiv and medRxiv serve biomedicine, arXiv still dominates physics, mathematics and computer science, TechRxiv and engrXiv cover engineering, PsyArXiv leads psychology, and Preprints.org is one of the few platforms that formally accepts review articles alongside original research. This preprint servers list compares scope, governance, screening rules and 2026 policy changes across each field, so researchers and research offices can match a manuscript to the right platform rather than defaulting to the best-known name.
A preprint server is an online repository where researchers deposit a complete but not-yet-peer-reviewed manuscript so it becomes citable and publicly readable before formal journal publication. Coverage, screening rigour and accepted article types vary sharply by field, which is why a single “best preprint server” answer is misleading.
- What is a preprint server, and why does discipline matter?
- Which preprint server should biomedical and clinical researchers use?
- Which preprint server leads for physics, mathematics and computer science?
- Which preprint servers cover engineering and psychology?
- Which preprint server accepts review articles — Preprints.org vs arXiv?
- Frequently asked questions
- Implications for research administrators and institutions
- Conclusion: choosing by discipline, not by brand
What is a preprint server, and why does discipline matter?
A preprint server is a repository that posts a complete scholarly manuscript before it has undergone formal peer review, giving it a timestamp, a DOI and open readability. Screening is typically limited to checking that a submission is genuinely scholarly, complete and does not pose a public-health or safety risk — it is not equivalent to peer review.
Disciplines differ in what they will screen for and what article types they will accept. A biology preprint about a novel protein structure and a psychology preprint reporting a null replication result face entirely different moderation standards, which is why choosing the correct preprint server list entry for your field matters more than choosing the largest or most famous platform.
Which preprint server should biomedical and clinical researchers use?
Biomedicine is served by two related but distinct platforms, both operated by openRxiv, the nonprofit spun out of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. bioRxiv covers basic life-sciences research, while medRxiv — described on its own site as “the preprint server for Health Sciences” — is reserved for clinical, epidemiological and public-health manuscripts and applies stricter screening because its content can influence clinical practice.
- A manuscript cannot be posted to both bioRxiv and medRxiv simultaneously.
- medRxiv states plainly in its FAQ that “there is no fee to submit manuscripts.”
- medRxiv screening includes clinicians who check for content that could mislead patients or clinical decision-making.
Which preprint server leads for physics, mathematics and computer science?
arXiv, founded in 1991 and hosting more than a million articles, remains the dominant server for physics, mathematics, computer science, quantitative biology, statistics and quantitative finance. Its moderation relies on volunteer subject-area moderators rather than paid editorial staff.
Two 2026 developments matter for anyone comparing arXiv to newer platforms. First, arXiv formally declared operational independence from Cornell University in March 2026, a governance shift reported by Science that separates its stewardship from a single host institution. Second, arXiv tightened its new-author policy: as of January 2026, first-time submitters in all categories need either an institutional email address plus a prior publication record on arXiv, or a personal endorsement from an established arXiv author — and in computer science categories specifically, review articles and position papers must already be accepted by a recognised journal or conference before they can be posted.
Which preprint servers cover engineering and psychology?
Engineering does not have a single dominant server in the way physics or biology do. TechRxiv, backed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and engrXiv, supported by the Center for Open Science, both accept a broad range of engineering and technology manuscripts, alongside arXiv’s own electrical-engineering and systems-science categories.
PsyArXiv, hosted on the Open Science Framework and managed by the Society for the Improvement of Psychological Science, is the closest thing psychology has to a discipline-wide default. It moderates submissions for scholarly relevance and, in 2026, moved to stricter verification of authors’ publication records for certain submission types, alongside its existing encouragement of preregistration and data-availability statements.
| Server | Primary discipline | Governing body | Accepts review articles | Notable 2026 development |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| bioRxiv | Biology / life sciences | openRxiv (nonprofit) | Not as a standalone article type | — |
| medRxiv | Medicine / health sciences | openRxiv (nonprofit) | No | No submission fee (confirmed in FAQ) |
| arXiv | Physics, maths, CS, stats | Independent nonprofit (formerly Cornell-hosted) | Restricted; CS reviews need prior journal/conference acceptance | Declared independence from Cornell, March 2026 |
| TechRxiv | Engineering & technology | IEEE | Yes | — |
| engrXiv | Engineering sciences | Center for Open Science | Yes | — |
| PsyArXiv | Psychology | Society for the Improvement of Psychological Science / OSF | Yes | Stricter author-verification moderation, 2026 |
| Preprints.org | Multidisciplinary | MDPI | Yes — explicit “Review” article type | Passed 124,000+ hosted preprints |
Which preprint server accepts review articles — Preprints.org vs arXiv?
This is where discipline-agnostic platforms diverge sharply from field-specific ones. Preprints.org, governed by MDPI and hosting over 124,000 preprints, explicitly lists “Review” as one of its recognised submission types alongside original articles, communications and data descriptors — making it one of the more accommodating multidisciplinary choices for authors of literature reviews and systematic reviews.
arXiv, by contrast, treats review and position papers as a special case rather than a default article type: in its computer science categories, such papers must already have been accepted by a recognised journal or conference before arXiv will host them. bioRxiv similarly does not treat “review article” as a standard submission category — its FAQ describes comment-based peer discussion, not narrative reviews, as the mechanism for post-publication critique.
For authors specifically searching for where to deposit a review manuscript, this is a genuine and under-reported distinction: Preprints.org and general-purpose repositories such as SSRN or Research Square are structurally more open to review articles than the flagship subject-specific servers.
Frequently asked questions
What is a preprint server?
A preprint server is an online repository where researchers deposit a complete, unpublished manuscript before peer review, so it receives a timestamp, a citable DOI and open access. It performs basic scholarly and safety screening but does not certify the findings the way peer review does.
Is medRxiv free to use?
Yes. medRxiv’s own FAQ states there is no fee to submit manuscripts. Authors do not pay to post, and readers access preprints without a paywall, consistent with its role as an open, nonprofit health-sciences repository operated by openRxiv.
Does bioRxiv accept review papers?
Not as a standard submission type. bioRxiv is built around original research reports, and its FAQ describes structured comments — not narrative or systematic review articles — as its mechanism for post-posting critique. Authors of review manuscripts typically use Preprints.org or a discipline-general server instead.
What are the disadvantages of preprints?
Preprints have not been peer-reviewed, so findings can be incomplete, later revised, or misreported by media before formal validation. Negative public comments on a preprint may also influence subsequent peer review, and some journals still restrict submissions that overlap heavily with an already-public preprint.
Implications for research administrators and institutions
Research offices advising authors on open-access compliance need a discipline-aware view, not a single institutional default. A biomedical clinical trial preprint belongs on medRxiv given its clinician screening; a systematic review destined for a multidisciplinary audience is far more likely to be accepted on Preprints.org than on arXiv or bioRxiv. Institutions building preprint guidance pages should map manuscript type and discipline to platform before recommending “post it on arXiv” as a blanket instruction.
Funders and publishers referencing preprint policy should also note governance changes such as arXiv’s 2026 separation from Cornell, since institutional affiliation and stewardship arrangements can affect long-term archiving guarantees that research administrators rely on when advising on data-management and preservation plans.
Conclusion: choosing by discipline, not by brand
There is no universal “best” preprint server. bioRxiv and medRxiv fit biomedicine, arXiv still defines physics, mathematics and computer science despite tightened 2026 submission rules, TechRxiv and engrXiv split the engineering space, PsyArXiv anchors psychology, and Preprints.org stands out as the multidisciplinary option most open to review articles. Authors and research offices get the best outcome by treating this preprint servers list as a field-by-field decision, not a single default choice.