2025 METRICSPLOS ONE Impact Factor & Journal Metrics

The 2025 Journal Citation Reports from Clarivate assign PLOS ONE an impact factor of 2.9, placing it in Q2 of the Multidisciplinary Sciences category. While the impact factor may seem modest compared to selective journals, it must be evaluated in context: PLOS ONE publishes tens of thousands of articles annually across every scientific discipline, and its editorial model explicitly does not assess perceived impact or novelty. The h-index of 385 is extraordinary, reflecting the sheer volume of published research and the journal’s role as a foundational publication venue for scientists worldwide.

ABOUTWhat Is PLOS ONE?

PLOS ONE is the flagship journal of the Public Library of Science (PLOS), a nonprofit open-access publisher founded in 2001. Launched in 2006, PLOS ONE introduced the “mega-journal” concept to academic publishing: a peer-reviewed journal that evaluates submissions solely on methodological soundness and ethical compliance, without assessing perceived importance, novelty, or scope fit. This editorial philosophy democratizes scientific publishing by giving a platform to rigorous research that might otherwise struggle to find a home in more selective venues. PLOS ONE publishes across all scientific disciplines, including natural sciences, medical research, engineering, social sciences, and the humanities, making it truly multidisciplinary. The journal’s mission aligns with PLOS’s broader commitment to making scientific literature freely accessible to all.

TRENDPLOS ONE Impact Factor History (2017–2025)

PLOS ONE’s impact factor history illustrates the trade-offs inherent to the mega-journal model. After reaching peaks above 4.0 in the early 2010s, the metric gradually declined as the journal scaled to publish more articles annually. The 2025 value of 2.9 represents stabilization at a level consistent with high-volume, inclusive publishing. It is worth noting that the h-index of 385, which measures cumulative citation impact, tells a different story, one of immense aggregate influence across the scientific literature.

CATEGORYMultidisciplinary Sciences Standing

Within the Multidisciplinary Sciences category, PLOS ONE occupies a distinct niche. It trails selective Q1 titles like Nature Communications (IF 18.1), Science Advances (IF 12.1), and PNAS (IF 9.5), but competes in the same Q2 band as Scientific Reports (IF 3.7) and iScience (IF 4.1). PLOS ONE’s unique value proposition lies in its inclusivity and nonprofit mission rather than in impact factor competition.

COMPARISONPLOS ONE vs. Comparable Mega-Journals

SCOPEWhat Does PLOS ONE Publish?

PLOS ONE publishes original research across all scientific disciplines and interdisciplinary fields. Coverage spans the biological sciences (biochemistry, genetics, ecology, evolutionary biology, neuroscience, microbiology), medical sciences (clinical medicine, public health, epidemiology, biomedical engineering), physical sciences (physics, chemistry, materials science, earth science), computational sciences (bioinformatics, machine learning, data science), engineering, social sciences, and the humanities where they intersect with quantitative research. The sole editorial criterion is methodological and ethical rigor: if the research is conducted soundly and reported transparently, PLOS ONE will publish it regardless of the perceived novelty or importance of the findings.