2025 METRICSeLife Impact Factor & Performance Data

The 2025 JCR edition assigns eLife an impact factor of 5.7, securing Q1 status in the Biology category. This figure represents a stabilization point following the journal’s bold 2023 decision to cease charging APCs and to publish all peer review reports transparently. The SJR of 3.8 indicates strong prestige-weighted influence, reflecting eLife’s editorial selectivity and the caliber of its editorial board, which includes Nobel laureates and leaders across the life sciences.

TRENDeLife Impact Factor History (2017–2025)

eLife’s impact factor history reflects the journal’s transition from a selective upstart to an established reformer of academic publishing. The initial climb from 2013 through 2020 established credibility; the subsequent stabilization around the 5–8 range coincided with the journal’s pivot toward publishing reform, including the 2023 no-APC and transparent review initiatives. Some observers speculated that these reforms might depress the impact factor, but the 2025 value of 5.7 demonstrates that rigorous science and publishing innovation can coexist.

ABOUTWhat Is eLife?

eLife is a nonprofit open-access journal launched in 2012 with founding support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Max Planck Society, and the Wellcome Trust. Under the leadership of Editor-in-Chief Michael Eisen, the journal has become a leading voice for publishing reform. eLife publishes research across the life sciences, biomedicine, and related computational and theoretical fields. Its defining editorial philosophy combines rigorous peer review with a commitment to editorial independence: editorial decisions are made by working scientists, not professional editors. In 2023, eLife made the landmark decision to eliminate APCs entirely, becoming one of the few major journals to operate on pure institutional subsidy. All peer review reports are published alongside articles, promoting accountability and transparency in scientific assessment.

COMPARISONeLife vs. Comparable Life Science Journals

SCOPEWhat Does eLife Publish?

eLife publishes original research articles, short reports, tools and resources, research advances, and review articles spanning the full range of life sciences. Coverage includes biochemistry and biophysics, cancer biology, cell biology, computational biology and bioinformatics, developmental biology, ecology, evolutionary biology, genetics and genomics, immunology, medicine, microbiology and infectious disease, molecular biology, neuroscience, plant biology, and structural biology and molecular biophysics. The journal is particularly known for publishing methodologically rigorous studies that advance their fields, regardless of whether the results are “positive” or confirmatory.