PLoS Genetics

ISSN 1553-7390 · Public Library of Science · United States · active 2005–2026

Metrics

Scimago quartile (2025)
Q1
Cites per paper (2y)
4.4
SJR
1.857
h-index
350

“Cites per paper” is a two-year cited-by rate computed from OpenAlex. It is not a Clarivate Journal Impact Factor — we neither compute nor license that metric (how the two differ). Citation rates differ enormously between fields, so compare within a discipline. What the other figures mean: journal quartile, SJR, h-index and article processing charge.

Data as of 25 October 2026 (venue index build).

Scimago Journal Rank 2025

In the Scimago Journal Rank 2025 edition, PLoS Genetics is Q1 in all 5 of its subject categories.

Scimago 2025 quartile and rank of PLoS Genetics in each subject category
Subject categoryQuartileRank in category
Genetics (clinical)Q1#11 of 103
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and SystematicsQ1#30 of 752
GeneticsQ1#44 of 370
Cancer ResearchQ1#54 of 235
Molecular BiologyQ1#72 of 425
Cites per document (2 years, Scopus)
3.59
Documents indexed in 2025 (Scopus)
403

The quartile is the one Scimago prints for each category. Rank is the journal's position by SJR among the journals Scimago lists in that category (#1 is the highest); “—” means we hold no rank consistent with that quartile. The document count is what Scopus indexed that year, which can be lower than a journal's full output. Source: SCImago Journal Rank 2025 edition, from Scopus data (scimagojr.com, CC BY-NC).

PLoS Genetics is Q1 in all 5 of its Scimago subject categories (2025 edition; best category Genetics (clinical): Q1, #11 of 103), with SJR 1.857 (Scimago) and an h-index of 350 (OpenAlex). Listed in DOAJ, Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed.

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Responding time

Submission to acceptance
160 days (median)
Estimated from our library (141 papers)
Acceptance to publication
15 days (median)
Estimated from our library (140 papers)
Submission to publication
177 days (median)
Estimated from our library (140 papers)

Turnaround figures are indicative, not a guarantee: DOAJ values are self-reported by the journal (average weeks, submission to publication); library estimates are medians of the received/accepted dates printed in papers we hold. Editorial times vary by article type and season — confirm on the journal’s own site.

Indexing & access

Indexed in
DOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
Access status:
gold. Where this comes from publisher-level signals rather than works-level data it is a heuristic — confirm on the journal’s own site, especially regarding any article processing charge.
Article processing charge
Article processing charge (APC): $3,165 per accepted article (DOAJ). Fee waivers are available.

Official journal site →

Scope

genomicschromatindynamicsmolecularbiologydnarepairmechanismsrnasplicinggeneticsaging

Frequently asked

Is PLoS Genetics a predatory journal?

Our screening does not flag PLoS Genetics. That is not a guarantee of quality — it means the venue is not on Beall's archive (frozen since 2017) and does not match our name-pattern heuristic. It is listed in DOAJ, Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, which is a positive signal.

Is PLoS Genetics indexed in Scopus or Web of Science?

Per our venue index, PLoS Genetics appears in: DOAJ, Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed. Index membership changes over time — confirm on the index's own site before relying on it.

What is the impact factor of PLoS Genetics?

Papers in PLoS Genetics are cited about 4.4 times each within two years of publication, and Scimago places it in Q1, with an h-index of 350. Those are the open equivalents: the Clarivate Journal Impact Factor is a proprietary metric we neither compute nor license, so we show the two-year citation rate and Scimago quartile instead — they answer the same question of how heavily the journal is cited. A citation rate is a property of a field as much as of a journal.

What Scimago quartile is PLoS Genetics (Q1, Q2, Q3, or Q4)?

In the Scimago Journal Rank 2025 edition, PLoS Genetics is Q1 in all 5 of its subject categories. By category: Genetics (clinical): Q1, #11 of 103; Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics: Q1, #30 of 752; Genetics: Q1, #44 of 370; Cancer Research: Q1, #54 of 235; Molecular Biology: Q1, #72 of 425. Quartiles split the journals in a subject category into four equal groups by SJR, so Q1 is the most-cited quarter and Q4 the least; PLoS Genetics is cited about 4.4 times per paper over two years, with an h-index of 350.

What is the Web of Science (JCR) quartile of PLoS Genetics?

The Web of Science quartile comes from Clarivate's Journal Citation Reports (JCR), a proprietary product we neither license nor compute — so we cannot state a JCR quartile for PLoS Genetics. The open equivalent is its Scimago quartile, Q1, derived from Scopus citation data. Because JCR ranks against Web of Science and Scimago against Scopus, the two can differ, so check Clarivate's site directly if you need the JCR quartile specifically.

Is PLoS Genetics open access?

Our index records its access status as "gold". Where this is derived from publisher-level signals rather than works-level data it is a heuristic, so confirm on the journal's own site — particularly if an article processing charge matters to you.

What is the article processing charge (APC) to publish in PLoS Genetics?

Article processing charge (APC): $3,165 per accepted article (DOAJ). Fee waivers are available. The exact charge can vary by article type and any fee waiver, so confirm the current amount on the journal's own site.

How long does PLoS Genetics take to publish a paper?

Submission to acceptance for PLoS Genetics takes about 160 days (median) — Estimated from our library (n=141 papers). Treat it as indicative rather than a guarantee: editorial times vary by article type, reviewer availability and season, and a self-reported figure is the journal's own. We do not hold a peer-review acceptance rate for PLoS Genetics.

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