What are the best journals for Philosophy?

From an 17,538-venue index, the highest-ranked Philosophy journals (by Scimago quartile then OpenAlex cites/paper) include The Journal of Philosophy, Philosophy Compass, The Journal of Ethics, Topoi, Philosophical Studies. 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 Philosophy 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 Philosophy 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 Philosophy 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.

Philosophy · 239 journals indexed

Best journals for Philosophy

The top Philosophy 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 Philosophy
1.8 cites/paper · Q1 · Philosophy Documentation Center
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
2
Philosophy Compass
1.6 cites/paper · Q1 · Wiley
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
3
The Journal of Ethics
1.6 cites/paper · Q1 · Springer Science+Business Media
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
4
Topoi
1.5 cites/paper · Q1 · Springer Science+Business Media
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
5
Philosophical Studies
1.4 cites/paper · Q1 · Springer Science+Business Media
ScopusWeb of Science
6
Philosophy and Phenomenological Research
1.4 cites/paper · Q1 · Wiley
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
7
The Monist
1.3 cites/paper · Q1 · Oxford University Press
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
8
Australasian Journal of Philosophy
1.3 cites/paper · Q1 · Routledge
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
9
Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society
1.3 cites/paper · Q1 · Oxford University Press
Scopus
10
Synthese
1.3 cites/paper · Q1 · Springer Science+Business Media
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
11
Inquiry
1.3 cites/paper · Q1 · Taylor & Francis
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
12
The Philosophical Quarterly
1.3 cites/paper · Q1 · Oxford University Press
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
13
Noûs
1.3 cites/paper · Q1 · Wiley
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
14
Mind
1.1 cites/paper · Q1 · Oxford University Press
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
15
Quarterly Journal of Speech
1.0 cites/paper · Q1 · Routledge
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
16
Informal Logic
0.9 cites/paper · Q1 · University of Windsor
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of Science
17
History and Philosophy of Logic
0.9 cites/paper · Q1 · Taylor & Francis
ScopusWeb of Science
18
The Philosophical Review
0.9 cites/paper · Q1 · Duke University Press
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
19
British Journal for the History of Philosophy
0.9 cites/paper · Q1 · Taylor & Francis
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
20
Rhetoric Society Quarterly
0.8 cites/paper · Q1 · Taylor & Francis
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
21
Episteme
0.8 cites/paper · Q1 · Cambridge University Press
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
22
Analysis
0.7 cites/paper · Q1 · Oxford University Press
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
23
Phronesis
0.7 cites/paper · Q1 · Brill
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
24
Erkenntnis
0.7 cites/paper · Q1 · Springer Science+Business Media
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
25
Ethical Theory and Moral Practice
0.7 cites/paper · Q1 · Springer Science+Business Media
ScopusWeb of Science
26
Continental Philosophy Review
0.7 cites/paper · Q1 · Springer Science+Business Media
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
27
The Southern Journal of Philosophy
0.7 cites/paper · Q1 · Wiley
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
28
Metaphilosophy
0.6 cites/paper · Q1 · Wiley
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
29
Ratio
0.6 cites/paper · Q1 · Wiley
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
30
European Journal of Philosophy
0.6 cites/paper · Q1 · Wiley
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
31
Western Journal of Communication
0.6 cites/paper · Q1 · Taylor & Francis
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
32
Utilitas
0.5 cites/paper · Q1 · Cambridge University Press
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
33
Rhetoric Review
0.5 cites/paper · Q1 · Routledge
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
34
International Journal for Philosophy of Religion
0.5 cites/paper · Q1 · Springer Nature
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
35
Argumentation
0.5 cites/paper · Q1 · Springer Nature
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
36
Theology and Science
0.5 cites/paper · Q1 · Taylor & Francis
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
37
Theoria
0.5 cites/paper · Q1 · Wiley
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
38
Archiv für Geschichte der Philosophie
0.5 cites/paper · Q1 · De Gruyter
ScopusWeb of Science
39
Sophia
0.4 cites/paper · Q1 · Springer Science+Business Media
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
40
Philosophy, psychiatry & psychology
0.4 cites/paper · Q1 · Johns Hopkins University Press
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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