PLoS ONE

Public Library of Science · United States · Est. 1806

ISSN1932-6203eISSN1932-6203

SJR Q1✓ WOS SCIE✓ Scopus / SJR✓ DOAJ✓ Open Access

Impact Factor & Quartile · Web of Science (JCR)

✓ Indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection (SCIE) — Clarivate publishes an official Journal Impact Factor and JCR quartile for this journal.

See the official Impact Factor & quartile on the journal’s page ↗

The Impact Factor & JCR quartile are licensed by Clarivate — we link you to the official source instead of reprinting a number that can go out of date. Open metrics below: SCImago Q1. Source: Clarivate Journal Citation Reports.

📊 Standing in its field

Where this journal ranks among others in the same subject area.

SJR · Scopus

Top 25% in field

Clarivate’s JCR quartile is a separate ranking and may differ

SJR Scorei

0.726

H-Indexi

591

SNIPi

1.065

Total Worksi

337,343

Total Citationsi

12,219,111

2yr Mean Citednessi

2.47

Open Impact Factor alternative

Retractions

1490

Source: Retraction Watch

Aims & Scope

PLOS ONE is a multidisciplinary open-access scientific journal published by the Public Library of Science (PLOS), a non-profit publisher. PLOS ONE covers primary research in all areas of science and medicine. The journal publishes all rigorously scientifically validated research, regardless of novelty. The journal is known for its broad scope and rapid publication process.

General Information

Country / RegionUnited States

Primary LanguageEnglish

1st Year Published1806

FrequencyMonthly

StatusActive (last: 2026)

Total Publications337,343

Publisher OrgPublic Library of Science

OA Since2005

Visit Journal Website

Submission Info

Peer ReviewSingle-blind

OA LicenseCC BY

OA Rate—

Ethics & Quality

COPE Member✗ No

OASPA Member✗ No

Not on Predatory Lists✓ Yes

Plagiarism Detection✓ Yes

Think.Check.Submit Compliance

thinkchecksubmit.org

9/11 · 82%

✅

Do you know the journal / publisher?

Public Library of Science

✅

Does the journal have a website?

✓ Linked

✅

Is the ISSN verified?

1932-6203 / 1932-6203

✅

Indexed in a trusted database?

WoS, Scopus, DOAJ, PubMed

✅

Peer review process documented?

Single-blind

❌

Follows ethical publishing standards (COPE)?

N/A

✅

Not on predatory/blacklists?

✓ Clean

❌

Long-term digital preservation?

N/A

✅

Plagiarism detection in place?

Yes

✅

Listed in DOAJ (verified OA)?

DOAJ verified

✅

Primary language documented?

English

A twelfth criterion — whether APC fees are clearly disclosed — is not scored here; it is left out of the total rather than counted as a failure. Publication charges appear in the metrics card above.

Based on the Think.Check.Submit framework by DOAJ, COPE & OASPA. All data from verified open sources.

Publication & Citation Trend

Articles published

Citations received

16k

492k

2019

17k

481k

2020

17k

378k

2021

16k

236k

2022

15k

153k

2023

18k

104k

2024

20k

48k

2025

11k

2026

Source: OpenAlex · Each year’s green bar = citations earned by that year’s papers, counted to date — so recent years look lower simply because their papers haven’t had time to be cited yet.

SJR Quartile by Discipline

Scimago ranks this journal separately in each subject category — its quartile can differ by discipline.

MultidisciplinaryQ1

Subject Classification

Web of Science Categories

Multidisciplinary Sciences

Scopus Categories

Multidisciplinary

Research Topics (OpenAlex)

HIV/AIDS Research and InterventionsPlant and animal studiesHIV Research and TreatmentGlobal Maternal and Child HealthGenomics and Phylogenetic StudiesMicroRNA in disease regulationTuberculosis Research and EpidemiologyImmune Cell Function and InteractionWildlife Ecology and ConservationEpigenetics and DNA Methylation

Frequently asked questions about PLoS ONE

Is PLoS ONE a predatory journal?

PubScope has no integrity flags on record for PLoS ONE: it is indexed in Web of Science, Scopus, DOAJ, and is not on DOAJ's withdrawn list. Indexing is a transparency signal, not a guarantee — always confirm fit and policies before submitting.

What is the impact factor of PLoS ONE?

PLoS ONE is indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection, so Clarivate publishes an official Journal Impact Factor for it (since the 2023 Journal Citation Reports, every Core Collection journal — including Arts & Humanities and Emerging Sources titles — receives one). PubScope links to Clarivate's official source rather than reprinting the number, which can be out of date. Its open 2-year mean citedness is 2.47.

Is PLoS ONE indexed in Scopus and Web of Science?

PLoS ONE is indexed in Web of Science, Scopus, DOAJ.