Last Updated on August 21, 2026 by Dr. Bhagat
Updated August 2026. Communications Biology has a 2025 Journal Impact Factor of 5.8, reported in the 2026 Journal Citation Reports cycle. It is a Q1 Biology journal indexed in the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE). This guide combines the current citation metrics with the journal’s scope, open-access model, publication speed and practical submission information.
Communications Biology metrics at a glance
| 2025 Journal Impact Factor | 5.8 |
| Five-year Journal Impact Factor | 6.3 |
| JCR category / quartile | Biology / Q1 |
| Web of Science edition | Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE) |
| Total citations in 2025 JCR data | 46,196 |
| Immediacy Index | 1.2 |
| Eigenfactor Score | 0.09471 |
| Article Influence Score | 1.995 |
| SNIP | 1.430 |
| SJR | 1.994 |
| Median first editorial decision | 6 days |
| Median submission to acceptance | 217 days |
| Publishing model | Fully open access |
| Current APC | £3,250 / US$4,390 / €3,650, before applicable taxes |
| Online ISSN | 2399-3642 |
Nature Portfolio reports the JIF, five-year JIF, citation indicators, usage and speed data on its official journal-metrics page. JIF, SNIP and SJR use different databases and methods and should not be treated as interchangeable scores.
What is the Communications Biology Impact Factor for 2025?
The Communications Biology Journal Impact Factor for the 2025 citation year is 5.8. It appears in the Journal Citation Reports release issued in 2026, which is why this page describes the value as both “2025 JIF” and “JCR 2026.” The five-year JIF is 6.3.
The JIF is a journal-level citation measure. It does not predict the citations of a particular article and should not be used as a direct quality score for an author, paper or institution.
Communications Biology Impact Factor history
| Impact Factor year | Journal Impact Factor |
|---|---|
| 2017 | Not applicable — journal not yet launched |
| 2018 | No JIF reported |
| 2019 | 4.165 |
| 2020 | 6.268 |
| 2021 | 6.548 |
| 2022 | 5.9 |
| 2023 | 5.2 |
| 2024 | 5.1 |
| 2025 | 5.8 |
Communications Biology began publishing in 2018, so a 2017 JIF would be impossible and no value should be invented for that year. The series rose during its early indexing years, moved down to 5.1 in 2024 and increased to 5.8 in 2025. Year-to-year movement can reflect citation-window composition and output as well as changes in the field.
About Communications Biology
Communications Biology is a fully open-access Nature Portfolio journal established in 2018. It publishes research, reviews and commentary across the biological sciences. Research papers should provide a meaningful advance and new biological insight for a specialist area, supported by technically sound evidence.
- Molecular, cellular and developmental biology
- Genetics, genomics and systems biology
- Neuroscience, physiology and behaviour
- Ecology, evolution and environmental biology
- Microbiology, immunology and host–pathogen research
- Structural, computational and quantitative biology
Because the scope is broad, authors should explain the biological insight, evidence and likely specialist readership rather than relying on the Impact Factor as the reason for choosing the journal.
Is Communications Biology Q1 and SCIE indexed?
Yes. The 2025 JCR data places Communications Biology in Q1 in the Biology category, and the journal is indexed in SCIE. It is also discoverable through major services including PubMed/MEDLINE and Scopus. Quartiles are category-specific and should not be used to compare unrelated disciplines.
Open access and article processing charge
All research content in Communications Biology is published open access. Nature Portfolio currently lists an APC of £3,250, US$4,390 or €3,650, before VAT or other local taxes. The final amount can depend on the acceptance date, billing currency, institutional agreement, funder arrangement or approved waiver.
Authors should verify the current fee and eligibility for support on the official open-access page before submission. Payment does not replace editorial assessment or peer review.
Editorial and publication timeline
The official metrics page reports a median of 6 days from submission to the first editorial decision and 217 days from submission to acceptance. The first figure includes both decisions to send a paper for peer review and editorial rejections; it is not the length of external peer review. The acceptance figure may include author revision time and multiple review rounds, so an individual manuscript can move faster or slower.
How to prepare a submission
- Compare the paper with the journal’s current aims and recently published work.
- State the principal biological insight clearly and show how the evidence supports it.
- Prepare complete methods, appropriate controls and transparent statistical reporting.
- Deposit relevant data, code and community resources in suitable repositories where possible.
- Disclose competing interests, related manuscripts, preprints and required ethics approvals.
- Check the current author guide, figure requirements, reporting checklists and open-access terms.
Acceptance rate
Nature Portfolio does not provide a dependable current acceptance percentage on the journal’s main public metrics page. This guide therefore does not present an unofficial third-party estimate as fact. Scope, evidence quality, novelty within the specialist field and editorial priorities are more useful submission-fit checks.
Frequently asked questions
What is the latest Communications Biology Impact Factor?
The 2025 Journal Impact Factor is 5.8 in the 2026 JCR release.
Is Communications Biology open access?
Yes. It is a fully open-access Nature Portfolio journal.
What is its online ISSN?
The online ISSN is 2399-3642.
Sources and data notes
- Official journal metrics
- Official aims and scope
- Official open-access fees and funding
- Official submission guidelines
- Clarivate Journal Citation Reports
Data checked: 22 August 2026. Fees, policies and processing times can change; always confirm them on the publisher’s website before submitting.
