Manna Manuscript vs. OJS
Detailed Feature-by-Feature Comparison
Explore how Manna Manuscript compares with Open Journal Systems (OJS 3.5) across platform licensing, submission screening, automated typesetting, JATS XML production, peer review, and publishing workflows.
Where Each Platform Leads
A high-level summary of competitive advantages based on our comprehensive evaluation.
M
Where Manna Manuscript Leads
Built-in automation, research integrity, and full-spectrum publishing
Checks Built into Submission
Comprehensive automated integrity screening on file ingest.
- •Plagiarism screening automatically integrated via MannaPlag (no separate iThenticate contract required).
- •AI-generated content probability score and comprehensive report per paper.
- •Citation style verification against journal standards with automated author reports.
- •Automated reference lookup, DOI verification, and in-text citation cross-matching.
- •Automatic removal of author names, affiliations, and metadata from DOCX/PDF for blind review.
In-House Automated Production
Eliminates third-party typesetting and XML tagging costs completely.
- •Native automated page setting and LaTeX layout generation directly from manuscripts.
- •Automated continuous page numbering stamped on published PDFs.
- •Direct conversion of published articles into validated JATS 1.3 XML.
- •Press-ready print masters with imposed layout sheets and vectorized text curves.
- •Integrated proofreading and final editorial verification checkpoints.
Configurable Workflow Architecture
Complete governance over editorial stage sequence and policies.
- •Fully configurable stage order with required and optional milestones per publisher.
- •Enforced required reviewer quotas per manuscript before decision routing.
- •Dedicated 'Accept with modification' loop returning papers to authors prior to production.
- •Cross-journal Cascade Paper Transfer preserving reviews, decision letters, and history.
Unified Modules OJS Does Not Have
All-in-one scholarly ecosystem beyond just journal articles.
- •Manna Books: Book monograph submission, copyediting, final editing, and rights agreements.
- •Manna Conferences: Call for papers, delegate registration, ticketing, and proceedings.
- •Integrated support ticket desk for authors, reviewers, and staff.
- •Direct FTP delivery pipeline to EBSCO with transmission verification.
- •UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) tagging and live OpenAlex citation tracking.
- •Role-specific dashboards tailored for Admins, EICs, Editors, Authors, and Reviewers.
O
Where OJS Leads
Open source heritage & community scale
Licence and Global Community
- Open-source software licensed under GNU GPL with no vendor lock-in.
- Massive global footprint with approximately 58,000 journals publishing on it in 2025.
- Extensive community-contributed plugin ecosystem for third-party integrations.
- Over 50 community-translated interface languages.
- Native COUNTER statistics compliance and flexible custom website theme plugins.
Important Consideration
While OJS software is free to download under GNU GPL, publishers must budget for Linux sysadmins, security patching, MySQL backups, external iThenticate contracts, and third-party XML typesetting.
Biggest Advantage: Cost & Overhead Elimination
Conversion to JATS XML and automatic LaTeX page setting removes external typesetting fees. Cloud hosting removes server sysadmin bills entirely.
Complete Feature Matrix (94 Capabilities)
A comprehensive, side-by-side capability evaluation across all 10 publishing domains.
1. Platform and Licensing
7 itemsMulti-tenant architecture, product scope (journals, books, conferences), and underlying licensing model.
| Feature / Capability | OJS 3.5 | Manna Manuscript | Notes & Architectural Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| Licence | Yes - open source (GNU GPL) | No - proprietary SaaS | OJS is free to install; hosting, sysadmin, security patching, and support are separate costs. Manna includes all infrastructure and updates. |
| Several journals in one installation | Yes | Yes | Manna cleanly isolates data, domains, and branding by publisher (company). |
| Several publishers on one platform | Partial | Yes | OJS hosts many journals per site; Manna is purpose-built per publisher company with dedicated users, settings, and storage. |
| Interface languages | Yes - 50+ languages | Yes - 60 languages | Manna supports 60 interface languages out of the box. |
| Custom themes for the journal website | Yes | Not available | OJS has theme plugins; Manna features a unified, accessible, high-performance online-library design. |
| Books in the same product | Not available - separate product (OMP) | Yes | Manna Books handles submission, copy editing, final editing, rights and licensing in the unified suite. |
| Conferences in the same product | Not available | Yes | Manna Conferences handles registration, invitations, proceedings papers, ticketing, and attendee dashboards natively. |
3. Checks at Submission
8 itemsAutomated integrity pre-screening: plagiarism, AI detection, citation verification, and anonymization.
| Feature / Capability | OJS 3.5 | Manna Manuscript | Notes & Architectural Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plagiarism check | Not available natively | Yes - Built-in | OJS requires publisher's own external iThenticate/Crossref account; Manna automatically checks papers via MannaPlag and accepts external reports. |
| AI-generated content screening | Not available | Yes - Built-in | Calculates AI probability score & detailed report per paper, with customizable publisher tolerance thresholds. |
| Grammar and spelling check | Not available | Yes | Automated linguistic and proofing scan on initial file ingest. |
| Citation style check | Not available | Yes | Detects active citation style (APA, IEEE, Vancouver, Harvard), compares against journal rules, and emails author discrepancy reports. |
| Reference verification | Partial | Yes | OJS Crossref Reference Linking finds DOIs only after deposit; Manna validates reference formats, verifies DOIs on ingest, and emails a detailed report. |
| In-text citations matched to reference list | Not available | Yes | Flags uncited references and missing citations automatically. |
| Removing author names from files for blind review | Not available | Yes | Manna strips author names, institutional metadata, and properties from PDF and DOCX files automatically. |
| Submission checklist and author guidelines | Yes | Yes | - |
4. Peer Review
11 itemsReferee assignment, one-click evaluation portals, rubrics, and automated reminder cadences.
| Feature / Capability | OJS 3.5 | Manna Manuscript | Notes & Architectural Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reviewer login and dashboard | Yes | Yes | - |
| Reviewer invitation by email (accept or decline) | Yes | Yes | - |
| One-click reviewer access without logging in | Yes | Yes | Secure tokenized magic links allow referees to review without password fatigue. |
| Review method: open, anonymous, double-anonymous | Yes - set per reviewer by editor | Partial | Manna enforces double-anonymous through automated file anonymizing; granular toggle per individual reviewer is not available. |
| Custom review forms (questionnaires / rubrics) | Yes | Yes | - |
| Response and review due dates | Yes | Yes | - |
| Review reminder engine | Yes - scheduled days after/before due date | Yes - One-click batch cadence | Manna displays live overdue reviews, plagiarism holds, and resubmissions, sending batch reminders in one click; hands-free background cron sending not available. |
| Required number of reviews per paper | Not available | Yes | Configured strictly per publisher or journal policy. |
| Multiple review rounds (R1, R2, R3) | Yes | Yes | - |
| Reviewer performance and completion tracking | Not available | Yes | Dedicated reviewer status, completion turnaround speeds, and scoring screens. |
| Reviewer and editor records imported in bulk | Yes - Users XML plugin | Yes - Excel / CSV | Manna supports direct Excel/CSV imports for reviewers, editors-in-chief, and authors. |
5. Editorial Workflow and Control
12 itemsRole hierarchies, custom stage sequences, paper transfer mechanisms, and editor portals.
| Feature / Capability | OJS 3.5 | Manna Manuscript | Notes & Architectural Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| Role-based access (editor, section editor, reviewer, author) | Yes | Yes | Manna roles are centrally managed and tailored per publisher. |
| Configurable stage sequence per publisher | Not available | Yes | Customizable milestone ordering matching specific society or press policies. |
| Required and optional stages | Not available | Yes | - |
| Editor-in-chief invitation and management | Partial | Yes | OJS invites users to roles (3.5); Manna provides a dedicated EIC portal with pipeline metrics. |
| Final editor “Accept with modification” loop | Not available | Yes | Returns manuscript directly to the author for minor corrections prior to final production cutover. |
| Accept, reject and revision decisions | Yes | Yes | - |
| Discussions inside a submission | Yes | Not available | Manna handles internal communications via integrated support tickets and structured email notifications. |
| Moving a paper to another journal (Cascade Transfer) | Not available | Yes | Manna Paper Transfer transfers manuscript files, review history, and author correspondence across portfolio journals. |
| Editable email templates | Yes | Yes | - |
| Editorial board history with start and end dates | Yes (3.5) | Yes | - |
| News and announcements | Yes | Yes | - |
| Redesigned role-specific dashboards with filters | Yes (3.5) | Yes | Custom views for admin, author, reviewer, EIC, and conference manager. |
6. Production
9 itemsIn-house automated page setting, LaTeX typesetting, continuous pagination, and JATS 1.3 XML.
| Feature / Capability | OJS 3.5 | Manna Manuscript | Notes & Architectural Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| Copyediting stage | Yes | Yes | Manna has copyediting for books; journals leverage integrated Final Check and Proofreading stages. |
| Page setting / typesetting automation | Not available | Yes - Automated | OJS requires external layout files prepared outside the system; Manna automatically builds the journal layout from manuscript files via LaTeX templates. |
| Continuous page numbers per issue or volume | Partial | Yes | OJS requires page numbers to be manually typed during scheduling; Manna automatically stamps continuous folios on published PDFs. |
| Proofreading stage | Not available | Yes | Assigned proofreading screens with author/editor correction sign-offs. |
| Final check before publishing | Not available | Yes | - |
| Conversion to JATS XML | Not available | Yes - Automated | OJS 3.5 can store and preview JATS but cannot generate it; Manna converts accepted papers into validated JATS 1.3 XML automatically. |
| Print master for the press (imposed sheets, text as curves) | Not available | Yes | Generates press-ready print masters with imposed imposition sheets and converted text curves. |
| ISBN management | Not available | Yes | Dedicated ISBN registry and assignment for books and monographs. |
| Galleys in several formats (PDF, HTML, XML) | Yes | Yes | Manna simultaneously publishes responsive HTML, publication-ready PDF, and JATS XML. |
7. Publishing, DOIs and Indexing
15 itemsCrossref deposit, DataCite, DOAJ, PubMed XML, EBSCO syndication, and OpenAlex citation counts.
| Feature / Capability | OJS 3.5 | Manna Manuscript | Notes & Architectural Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| Online journal website (issues, articles, editorial board) | Yes | Yes | Manna Online Library includes dedicated indexing, metrics, and archive portals per journal. |
| Issue management and scheduling papers into issues | Yes | Yes | - |
| Crossref DOI registration | Yes (with plugin) | Yes - Built-in API | OJS requires Crossref membership and plugin maintenance; Manna deposits DOIs and automatically verifies acceptance. |
| DataCite DOI registration | Plugin | Yes | - |
| References sent to Crossref with DOI deposit | Plugin | Yes | - |
| DOAJ metadata export | Plugin | Yes | - |
| PubMed / NLM XML export | Plugin | Yes | - |
| Google Scholar indexing tags | Plugin | Yes | - |
| OAI-PMH metadata harvesting feeds | Yes | Yes | - |
| RSS / Atom feeds | Yes | Yes | - |
| LOCKSS / CLOCKSS preservation | Yes | Yes | - |
| Delivery to EBSCO via automated FTP | Not available | Yes | Manna pushes files directly via FTP and monitors each delivery batch. |
| UN SDG goals displayed on papers | Not available | Yes | Visual badges tag research aligned with the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. |
| Citation counts per paper and journal | Not available | Yes | Manna pulls live citation counts directly from OpenAlex. |
| AI topic suggestions for journals | Not available | Yes | Runs on a localized AI model (Ollama) to extract disciplinary trends. |
8. Reader Access and Payments
7 itemsOpen Access models, subscription paywalls, reader entitlements, and payment gateways.
| Feature / Capability | OJS 3.5 | Manna Manuscript | Notes & Architectural Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open access publishing | Yes | Yes | - |
| Subscriptions and paywall control | Yes - subscription policies | Yes | Manna supports open, embargoed, partial, or paid access configured by journal and publication year. |
| Readers purchase an issue or article | Yes | Yes | Manna website purchases instantly grant verified reader entitlements. |
| Library / subscriber institutional logins | Yes | Yes | - |
| Payment gateway integration | Yes - PayPal or manual | Yes - Stripe & Razorpay | Manna provides out-of-the-box Stripe and Razorpay integrations. |
| Author fees (APCs) | Not available | Not available | Neither core platform supports automated native APC collection out of the box. |
| Book rights and payment terms in agreements | Not available | Yes | Handled through Manna Books licensing modules. |
9. Analytics and Reports
7 itemsOperational dashboards, editor turnaround times, submission flow, and export formats.
| Feature / Capability | OJS 3.5 | Manna Manuscript | Notes & Architectural Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| Article views and downloads | Yes | Yes | - |
| Submission, plagiarism and relevancy reports | Not available | Yes | - |
| Dashboards by role (admin, journal, reviewer, author, EIC, books, tickets) | Not available | Yes | - |
| Journal paper flow by month | Not available | Yes | - |
| Editor performance & turnaround metrics | Not available | Yes | - |
| Author and journal analytics | Not available | Yes | - |
| Export grids to Excel and PDF | Not available | Yes | - |
10. Administration and Security
6 itemsAuthentication, two-factor verification, staff support tickets, and migration capabilities.
| Feature / Capability | OJS 3.5 | Manna Manuscript | Notes & Architectural Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plugin system for add-ons | Yes - Large ecosystem | Not available | OJS relies on community plugins; Manna includes all core publishing and XML tools natively in the platform. |
| Invite users instead of registering them | Yes (3.5) | Yes | Manna seamlessly invites reviewers, editors-in-chief, and conference delegates. |
| Mail server settings per publisher | Not available | Yes | Allows separate SMTP credentials, custom sender domains, and DKIM/SPF alignment per imprint. |
| Migrating an existing journal’s data | Partial - users import confirmed | Yes - Complete Pipeline | Manna ingests complete historical volumes, issues, reviewer histories, and active submissions with zero downtime. |
| Two-factor sign-in (2FA) | Not available | Yes | Enterprise authentication safeguards editorial communications. |
| Support ticket system for staff | Not available | Yes | Integrated help desk with categorized queues, staff assignment, and private notes. |
Ready to Upgrade from Open Journal Systems?
Schedule a personalized migration walkthrough. We will review your current OJS database dump, demonstrate our automated JATS XML and submission screening engine, and build your custom cutover timeline.