What is the Impact Factor of PLoS One?

According to the latest Clarivate Journal Citation Reports (JCR), the Journal Impact Factor of PLoS One is 2.80, ranking in quartile Q2 of Web of Science (SCIE).

Is PLoS One indexed in Web of Science or Scopus?

Yes, PLoS One is indexed in Web of Science (SCIE, Q2 quartile). Furthermore, in Scopus (SCImago), it holds an SJR rating of 0.726 (Q1) and an H-index of 500.

Who publishes PLoS One and what is the Article Processing Charge (APC)?

PLoS One is published by Public Library of Science. The estimated Article Processing Charge (APC) is approximately $3,210 USD, subject to institutional waivers and corresponding author affiliations.

What is the ISO-4 abbreviation and acronym of PLoS One?

The official ISO-4 abbreviation of PLoS One is "PLOS ONE" with common acronym "pone". This standardized title abbreviation is used in citation lists conforming to IEEE, APA, Harvard, or Vancouver styles.

WoS SCIE Q2Scopus Q1SCImago #7,879Hybrid

PLoS One

Acronym:pone

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Abbreviation (ISO):PLOS ONE

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Identifier (ISSN):1932-6203(Print)

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Publisher:Public Library of Science

Official Website Submission Portal Compare

Clarivate IF (2026)

2.8↑ +0.2

Journal Impact Factor

IF Trend↓

WoS Quartile

WoS SCIEJCR Quartile

Clarivate WoS JCR

WoS Categories↓

JCR Release Date: 2026-06-17

Impact Factor Trend (2018–2026)

Clarivate IF trend for PLoS One

WoS Q2

Annual Impact Factor Metric

Current (2026):2.8

Scopus SJR & RankScopus Q1

0.726

#7,879

SCImago Journal Rank citation prestige weighting

Scopus Year: 2025

H-Index (2025)

500

500 papers with at least that number of citations each

WoS: SCIE / JCRQ2

Self-Citation Rate3.4%

Safe Level (< 15%)Warning Level (> 20%)

Self-citation below 15% indicates strong scholarly independence.

Volume & Open AccessHybrid

15,430articles/year

99.93% Gold OA•95.76% Original Research

Aims & Scope

PLOS ONE is an international, peer-reviewed, open-access, online publication. PLOS ONE welcomes reports on primary research from any scientific discipline. It provides: * Open-access—freely accessible online, authors retain copyright * Fast publication times * Peer review by expert, practicing researchers * Post-publication tools to indicate quality and impact * Community-based dialogue on articles * Worldwide media coverage

Topics Covered (Recognized by AI)

BiologyMedicineChemistryGeneticsBiochemistryInternal MedicinePathologyPsychologyPhysicsMathematicsComputer ScienceImmunologyEndocrinologyGeologySociology

Primary Research Areas

Biology

Official Website NLM PubMed Catalog Submission Portal SCImago Profile

0 calls

Special Issues

Calls for Papers

No active Calls for Papers found for this journal.

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WoS Categories & Quartiles

Detailed JCR / JCI category rankings and quartile breakdown from Clarivate

Clarivate JCR & JCI

JCRSCIE2026

MULTIDISCIPLINARY SCIENCES

Rank48/140

IndexSCIE

JCISCIE2026

MULTIDISCIPLINARY SCIENCES

Rank36/140

IndexSCIE

Category	Index	Rank	Quartile
MULTIDISCIPLINARY SCIENCES	JCRSCIE	48/140	Q2
MULTIDISCIPLINARY SCIENCES	JCISCIE	36/140	Q2

Annual Historical Statistics & Publications

Track annual publication volume, total citations, and Impact Factor evolution

12 year

2026Latest

IF2.8

Articles / Year12,527

Total Citations4,075

2025

IF2.6

Articles / Year19,608

Total Citations52,547

2024

IF2.9

Articles / Year17,743

Total Citations108,744

2023

IF3.7

Articles / Year14,978

Total Citations156,986

2022

IF3.752

Articles / Year16,077

Total Citations241,056

Year	Impact Factor	Articles / Year	Total Citations
2026	2.8	12,527	4,075
2025	2.6	19,608	52,547
2024	2.9	17,743	108,744
2023	3.7	14,978	156,986
2022	3.752	16,077	241,056
2021	3.24	16,647	383,413
2020	2.74	16,714	485,480
2019	2.776	16,255	496,609
2018	2.766	18,866	644,417
2017	—	21,191	833,715
2016	—	23,103	935,405
2015	—	29,884	1,286,349

SCImago & Scopus Journal Intelligence

Global SCImago ranking, SJR prestige index, Scopus coverage, and societal policy impact

Rank #7,879Scopus Q1SCImago Profile

Scopus Coverage:2006-2026

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Scopus Broad Areas:Multidisciplinary

Scopus Citation Rank (SJR)Q1

0.726

Weighted prestige citation metric per document indexed in the Scopus database.

Quartile: Scopus Q1

Citations / Doc (2 years)

2.95

Average citations received per document published in the 2-year window.

2-Year Citation Window

Estimated Publication Fee (APC)

$3,210 USD

Estimated Article Processing Charge for Open Access publication.

Estimated cost / article

Scopus 3-Year Publication & Citation Window

3-Year Citations150,616

3-Year Documents46,931

Citable Documents46,915

Aggregated from Scopus database across the 3-year SJR evaluation window.

Societal Impact & Inclusivity (SCImago)

Policy Citations (Overton)127

Citations in government and international policy documents

Female Author Rate44.2%

Percentage of female authors published in the journal

Real-world societal policy reach and author gender diversity tracked by SCImago.

Scopus Subject Categories

MultidisciplinaryQ1

Academic Metric Intelligence

Journal Metrics & Citation Visualizations

Total Cites vs Self-Cites

Evaluation of scholarly independence and citation reach

Total citations steady growth

Self-citation: 3.4%

Citations per Document

Citation metric windows across 2, 3, and 4 years

Cites / Doc (4 years)Cites / Doc (3 years)Cites / Doc (2 years)

Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Classification

Major / minor zone classification and CAS Early Warning List history

Major Category (Broad Field):

3区 (Zone 3)Multidisciplinary Sciences

Minor Category (Specific Field):

3区MULTIDISCIPLINARY SCIENCES

CAS Early Warning List History:

Updated annually: 2020 – 2024

2020

Not warned

2021

Not warned

2022

Not warned

2023

Not warned

2024

Not warned

Academic Intelligence Overview & Context

ImpaQ Analysis

PLoS One (acronym: pone, abbr: PLOS ONE, ISSN: 1932-6203) is a peer-reviewed international scholarly journal in the field of Biology, published by Public Library of Science in United States since 2006. The periodical holds a Journal Impact Factor (JIF) of 2.80, ranking in quartile Q2 of Web of Science (SCIE), a Scopus SJR indicator of 0.726 (Q1), an H-index of 500.

The journal enforces rigorous peer evaluation with a publication frequency of Irregular, an annual output of approximately 15,430 scientific articles. In terms of accessibility and author fees, it operates under the Hybrid model with an estimated APC of $3,210 USD. It serves as a benchmark publication platform for academics, researchers, and doctoral candidates seeking global research visibility.