What are the best open-access journals for Physics?

Physical Review X, The Astrophysical Journal Letters, Optica, SciPost Physics, The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series are among the top results, ranked by Scimago quartile then OpenAlex cites/paper from a 17,786-venue index, predatory venues excluded. The full list is on this page; for a match to your specific paper use the Journal Finder (15 credits; free account starts with 25).

Do these rankings use Journal Impact Factor (JIF)?

No. We don't compute or license Clarivate's Journal Impact Factor. These rankings use the Scimago SJR quartile (Q1–Q4) and OpenAlex cites/paper over a 2-year window — both transparent, openly-sourced signals. For Physics, the highest-ranked venues by this method include Physical Review X, The Astrophysical Journal Letters, Optica.

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

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

Physics · 127 journals indexed

Best open-access journals for Physics

The top Physics journals open-access only, ranked by Scimago quartile then cites/paper, drawn from a 17,786-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 Journal Finder (a free account starts with 25 welcome credits).

Match journals to your paper →

All Best open-access journals

1
Physical Review X
9.4 cites/paper · Q1 · American Physical Society
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
2
The Astrophysical Journal Letters
8.2 cites/paper · Q1 · IOP Publishing
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
3
Optica
7.4 cites/paper · Q1 · Optica Publishing Group
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
4
SciPost Physics
5.9 cites/paper · Q1 · SciPost.org
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
5
The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series
5.4 cites/paper · Q1 · Institute of Physics
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of Science
6
Communications Physics
5.2 cites/paper · Q1 · Nature Portfolio
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
7
The Astrophysical Journal
5.1 cites/paper · Q1 · IOP Publishing
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
8
Astronomy and Astrophysics
4.7 cites/paper · Q1 · EDP Sciences
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
9
The European Physical Journal C
4.7 cites/paper · Q1 · Springer Science+Business Media
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
10
The Astronomical Journal
4.7 cites/paper · Q1 · Institute of Physics
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
11
Physics Letters B
4.1 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
12
Nuclear Fusion
3.8 cites/paper · Q1 · IOP Publishing
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of Science
13
Physical Review Research
3.7 cites/paper · Q1 · American Physical Society
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
14
The Planetary Science Journal
3.6 cites/paper · Q1 · Institute of Physics
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
15
Space Weather
3.5 cites/paper · Q1 · American Geophysical Union
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
16
New Journal of Physics
2.9 cites/paper · Q1 · IOP Publishing
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
17
Galaxies
2.4 cites/paper · Q1 · Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of Science
18
Journal of Synchrotron Radiation
2.4 cites/paper · Q1 · Wiley
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
19
Progress of Theoretical and Experimental Physics
1.8 cites/paper · Q1 · University of Oxford
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of Science
20
Discrete and Continuous Dynamical Systems
0.9 cites/paper · Q1 · American Institute of Mathematical Sciences
Open AccessScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
21
Journal of Media Literacy Education
0.6 cites/paper · Q1 · National Association for Media Literacy Education
Open AccessDOAJScopusPubMed
22
Journal of High Energy Physics
5.2 cites/paper · Q2 · Springer Nature
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
23
Nuclear Physics B
3.1 cites/paper · Q2 · Elsevier BV
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
24
Frontiers in Physics
2.6 cites/paper · Q2 · Frontiers Media
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
25
Universe
2.3 cites/paper · Q2 · Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of Science
26
Symmetry
2.1 cites/paper · Q2 · Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
Open AccessScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
27
Entropy
2.1 cites/paper · Q2 · Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
28
Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences
2.1 cites/paper · Q2 · Frontiers Media
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
29
Comptes Rendus Physique
1.8 cites/paper · Q2 · Elsevier BV
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
30
Annales Geophysicae
1.5 cites/paper · Q2 · Copernicus Publications
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
31
Journal of Physics Communications
1.3 cites/paper · Q2 · IOP Publishing
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
32
Complexity
1.1 cites/paper · Q2 · Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
33
Journal of Applied Analysis & Computation
0.7 cites/paper · Q2
Open AccessScopusWeb of Science
34
Symmetry Integrability and Geometry Methods and Applications
0.5 cites/paper · Q2 · National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
35
Memorias
0.0 cites/paper · Q2 · Universidad del Norte, Colombia
Open AccessScopus
36
Open Physics
3.1 cites/paper · Q3 · De Gruyter Open
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of Science
37
Advances in Mathematical Physics
1.5 cites/paper · Q3 · Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of Science
38
Atoms
1.1 cites/paper · Q3 · Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
39
Advances in High Energy Physics
1.0 cites/paper · Q3 · Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of Science
40
Acta Physica Polonica B
0.8 cites/paper · Q3 · Jagiellonian University
Open AccessScopusWeb 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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