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Chemistry · 88 journals ranked · top 40 listed

Best open-access journals for Chemistry

The top 40 of 88 Chemistry journals, open-access only, ranked by Scimago quartile, then OpenAlex cites/paper (2-year window), leaving out journals Scimago files only under other fields, drawn from a 17,782-venue index. Predatory venues are excluded; the FAQ below gives the exact ranking rule. These are field-wide rankings — for a shortlist matched to your specific paper, paste your title and abstract into the Journal Finder (a free account starts with 25 welcome credits).

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AllBest open-access journals
  1. 1
    Aggregate
    9.3 cites/paper · Q1 · Wiley
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  2. 2
    ACS Central Science
    7.9 cites/paper · Q1 · American Chemical Society
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  3. 3
    Chemical Science
    7.7 cites/paper · Q1 · Royal Society of Chemistry
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  4. 4
    Chemical Physics Impact
    7.4 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of Science
  5. 5
    JACS Au
    6.9 cites/paper · Q1 · American Chemical Society
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  6. 6
    CCS Chemistry
    6.5 cites/paper · Q1 · Chinese Chemical Society
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of Science
  7. 7
    Journal of Pharmaceutical Analysis
    5.8 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  8. 8
    Molecules
    5.4 cites/paper · Q1 · Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  9. 9
    Communications Chemistry
    5.4 cites/paper · Q1 · Nature Portfolio
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  10. 10
    Molecular & Cellular Proteomics
    4.2 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  11. 11
    IUCrJ
    3.5 cites/paper · Q1 · International Union of Crystallography
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  12. 12
    Adsorption Science & Technology
    1.8 cites/paper · Q1 · SAGE Publishing
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  13. 13
    Catalysis Communications
    12.1 cites/paper · Q2 · Elsevier BV
    Open AccessDOAJScopusPubMed
  14. 14
    Designed Monomers & Polymers
    5.9 cites/paper · Q2 · Taylor & Francis
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  15. 15
    Frontiers in Chemistry
    5.9 cites/paper · Q2 · Frontiers Media
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  16. 16
    Journal of Saudi Chemical Society
    5.5 cites/paper · Q2 · Elsevier BV
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of Science
  17. 17
    BMC Chemistry
    5.3 cites/paper · Q2 · BioMed Central
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  18. 18
    Chemosensors
    4.8 cites/paper · Q2 · Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  19. 19
    Results in Chemistry
    4.7 cites/paper · Q2 · Elsevier BV
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  20. 20
    Separations
    3.8 cites/paper · Q2 · Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  21. 21
    Inorganics
    3.7 cites/paper · Q2 · Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  22. 22
    Beilstein Journal of Organic Chemistry
    3.3 cites/paper · Q2 · Beilstein Institute for the Advancement of Chemical Sciences
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  23. 23
    Crystals
    3.1 cites/paper · Q2 · Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  24. 24
    Journal of Chemistry
    2.9 cites/paper · Q2 · Hindawi Publishing Corporation
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  25. 25
    Open Chemistry
    2.9 cites/paper · Q2 · De Gruyter Open
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  26. 26
    ChemistryOpen
    2.5 cites/paper · Q2 · WileyOpen
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  27. 27
    Journal of Oleo Science
    1.8 cites/paper · Q2 · Japan Oil Chemists' Society
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  28. 28
    Journal of Analytical Methods in Chemistry
    1.5 cites/paper · Q2 · Hindawi Publishing Corporation
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  29. 29
    Baghdad Science Journal
    1.0 cites/paper · Q2 · College of Science for Women, University of Baghdad
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of Science
  30. 30
    TURKISH JOURNAL OF CHEMISTRY
    5.5 cites/paper · Q3 · Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK)
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMedTR-Dizin
  31. 31
    Heterocyclic Communications
    3.4 cites/paper · Q3 · De Gruyter
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  32. 32
    Polish Journal of Chemical Technology
    2.1 cites/paper · Q3 · De Gruyter Open
    Open AccessScopus
  33. 33
    Journal of Chemical Research
    1.8 cites/paper · Q3 · SAGE Publishing
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  34. 34
    Comptes Rendus Chimie
    1.7 cites/paper · Q3 · Elsevier BV
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  35. 35
    Main Group Metal Chemistry
    1.5 cites/paper · Q3 · De Gruyter
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of Science
  36. 36
    Chemical and Pharmaceutical Bulletin
    1.4 cites/paper · Q3 · Pharmaceutical Society of Japan
    Open AccessScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  37. 37
    Journal of Spectroscopy
    1.3 cites/paper · Q3 · Hindawi Publishing Corporation
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  38. 38
    Bulletin of the Chemical Society of Ethiopia
    1.2 cites/paper · Q3 · Chemical Society of Ethiopia
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  39. 39
    Grasas y Aceites
    1.1 cites/paper · Q3 · Spanish National Research Council
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of Science
  40. 40
    Indonesian Journal of Chemistry
    1.0 cites/paper · Q3 · Gadjah Mada University
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of Science

“Cites/paper” is the OpenAlex 2-year citation rate — a transparent signal, not a licensed Impact Factor. Many regional and open-access journals are strong but aren’t covered by Scimago, so they show “no Scimago quartile”; that’s a coverage gap, not a quality judgement.

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Frequently asked

Aggregate, ACS Central Science, Chemical Science, Chemical Physics Impact, JACS Au lead this list, drawn from a 17,782-venue index. The top 40 of 88 ranked venues are listed on this page; 12 are Scimago Q1, 17 Q2 and 11 Q3. Journals are listed when both OpenAlex and Scimago file them under Chemistry, plus any documented corrections; a journal Scimago does not cover is listed on OpenAlex's word alone. 15 journals OpenAlex files under Chemistry are left out because Scimago files them only under other fields. They are ranked by Scimago quartile first (Q1 → Q4, then journals without one); within a quartile, journals Scimago places in Chemistry come before those it does not cover, and then OpenAlex cites/paper over a 2-year window decides. Only open-access venues are included. Cites/paper is a transparent citation rate, not a licensed Impact Factor, and journals flagged as predatory are excluded. For a match to your specific paper use the Journal Finder (15 credits; free account starts with 25).

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