Science AI Journal
Physics · 127 journals ranked · top 40 listed

Best open-access journals for Physics

The top 40 of 127 Physics journals, open-access only, ranked with primary-Physics journals first, then by Scimago quartile and OpenAlex cites/paper (2-year window), 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).

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

Tools for your next paper

Gaps & Literature SearchFind open questions in any field — 120,000+ open gaps mined from our own library.Pre-CheckIs your paper ready? Acceptance odds for top, mid and open/emerging journals, in seconds.Journal FinderA ranked shortlist of target journals from a 17,500-venue index.Duplicate Publication CheckerCheck for prior publication across 7 sources and our local library.Citation GeneratorFreeA DOI or title → APA, MLA, Vancouver, Chicago, BibTeX, RIS. No signup.Graphical Abstract MakerFreeTurn your findings into a colorblind-safe graphical abstract.

How Pre-Check worksHow AI Review works

Compare the category — Honest roundups of the AI research tools, ours listed alongside the alternatives.

Best journals in other disciplines

Social ScienceMedicineBiologyEngineeringEconomicsComputer ScienceEarth SciencePsychologyChemistry

Frequently asked

Physical Review X, The Astrophysical Journal Letters, Optica, SciPost Physics, The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series lead this list, drawn from a 17,782-venue index. The top 40 of 127 ranked venues are listed on this page; 21 are Scimago Q1, 14 Q2 and 5 Q3. Journals whose primary OpenAlex field is Physics are ranked first, by Scimago quartile (Q1 → Q4, then journals without one) and then by OpenAlex cites/paper over a 2-year window; journals that list Physics only as a secondary field come after them. 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).

Command palette

Jump anywhere, run any action.