What are the best journals for History?

From an 17,538-venue index, the highest-ranked History journals (by Scimago quartile then OpenAlex cites/paper) include The Journal of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, Past & Present, Medical History, Rethinking History, The Historical Journal. Predatory venues are excluded. The full ranked list with open-access and indexing details is on this page; for a shortlist matched to your specific paper, use the Journal Finder (15 credits; free account starts with 25).

How were these History journals ranked?

By Scimago quartile first (Q1 → Q4), then by OpenAlex cites/paper over a 2-year window. Cites/paper is a transparent citation rate, not a licensed Impact Factor. We exclude journals flagged as predatory.

Why don't all History journals show a quartile?

Scimago doesn't cover every journal — many strong regional and open-access venues are absent from it. We show "no Scimago quartile" for those rather than hide them; it's a coverage gap, not a quality judgement.

How do I find the best journal for my specific History paper?

Paste your title and abstract into the Journal Finder — it returns a shortlist matched to your paper's topic from the same index, with acceptance-fit signals, open-access status, and predatory flags. A free account starts with 25 welcome credits; each run costs 15.

History · 272 journals indexed

Best journals for History

The top History journals ranked by Scimago quartile, then cites/paper (OpenAlex, 2-year window), drawn from an17,538-venue index. Predatory venues are excluded. These are field-wide rankings — for a shortlist matched to your specific paper, paste your title and abstract into the free Journal Finder.

Match journals to your paper →

All Best open-access journals Highest-impact journals

1
The Journal of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
1.0 cites/paper · Q1 · SAGE Publishing
ScopusPubMed
2
Past & Present
0.8 cites/paper · Q1 · Oxford University Press
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
3
Medical History
0.5 cites/paper · Q1 · Cambridge University Press
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
4
Rethinking History
0.5 cites/paper · Q1 · Taylor & Francis
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
5
The Historical Journal
0.4 cites/paper · Q1 · Cambridge University Press
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
6
Medieval Archaeology
0.4 cites/paper · Q1 · Taylor & Francis
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
7
History and Theory
0.3 cites/paper · Q1 · Wiley
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
8
History Compass
0.2 cites/paper · Q1 · Wiley
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
9
Modern & Contemporary France
0.1 cites/paper · Q1 · Taylor & Francis
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
10
English Literary Renaissance
0.1 cites/paper · Q1 · University of Chicago Press
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
11
Social History of Medicine
0.1 cites/paper · Q1 · Oxford University Press
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
12
Journal of British Studies
0.1 cites/paper · Q1 · Cambridge University Press
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
13
Urban History
0.1 cites/paper · Q1 · Cambridge University Press
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
14
Anuario de estudios atlánticos
0.1 cites/paper · Q1
Open AccessScopusPubMed
15
Journal of Jesuit Studies
0.0 cites/paper · Q1 · Brill
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of Science
16
Renaissance Quarterly
0.0 cites/paper · Q1 · Cambridge University Press
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
17
Vernacular Architecture
0.5 cites/paper · Q2 · Taylor & Francis
ScopusWeb of Science
18
Folk Life
0.4 cites/paper · Q2 · Taylor & Francis
ScopusWeb of Science
19
Belleten
0.3 cites/paper · Q2
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMedTR-Dizin
20
Journal of Medical Biography
0.3 cites/paper · Q2 · SAGE Publishing
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
21
Contemporary French Civilization
0.3 cites/paper · Q2 · Liverpool University Press
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
22
Cultural and Social History
0.3 cites/paper · Q2 · Routledge
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
23
Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences
0.3 cites/paper · Q2 · Oxford University Press
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
24
French Cultural Studies
0.2 cites/paper · Q2 · SAGE Publishing
ScopusWeb of Science
25
Visual Anthropology Review
0.2 cites/paper · Q2 · Wiley
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
26
História Ciências Saúde-Manguinhos
0.2 cites/paper · Q2 · Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Casa de Oswaldo Cruz
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
27
Journal of Early Modern History
0.2 cites/paper · Q2 · Brill
ScopusWeb of Science
28
History
0.2 cites/paper · Q2 · Wiley
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
29
The Seventeenth Century
0.1 cites/paper · Q2 · Taylor & Francis
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
30
Historia Contemporánea
0.1 cites/paper · Q2 · University of the Basque Country
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
31
Journal of Family History
0.1 cites/paper · Q2 · SAGE Publishing
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
32
Historical Research
0.1 cites/paper · Q2 · Oxford University Press
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
33
Scandinavian Studies
0.1 cites/paper · Q2 · University of Illinois Press
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
34
Bulletin of the history of medicine
0.1 cites/paper · Q2 · Johns Hopkins University Press
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
35
The Art Bulletin
0.1 cites/paper · Q2 · College Art Association
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
36
Mélanges de la Casa de Velázquez
0.1 cites/paper · Q2 · Casa de Velázquez
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
37
The English Historical Review
0.1 cites/paper · Q2 · Oxford University Press
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
38
Anuario de Estudios Medievales
0.1 cites/paper · Q2 · Spanish National Research Council
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
39
Parliaments Estates and Representation
0.1 cites/paper · Q2 · Taylor & Francis
ScopusPubMed
40
Northern History
0.1 cites/paper · Q2 · Taylor & Francis
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed

“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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