Journal profile · Biochemical Research Methods
BMC Bioinformatics
ISSN 1471-2105 · BioMed Central · ENGLAND · Monthly · Founded 2000
BMC Bioinformatics: CAS Zone 4 · Biology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 4.38; fully open access; APC about USD 3,090; median 133 days to acceptance (125 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: about 50%; 336 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
BMC Bioinformatics is published by BioMed Central and is in Zone 4 of Biology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Bioinformatics and Genomic Networks, Gene expression and cancer classification and Genomics and Phylogenetic Studies, together about 35.3% of its articles. Its main subfields are Molecular Biology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
BMC Bioinformatics is an open access, peer-reviewed journal that considers articles describing novel computational algorithms and software, models and tools, including statistical methods, machine learning and artificial intelligence, for the modelling and analysis of all kinds of biological data, as well as systems biology. BMC Bioinformatics welcomes manuscripts in the following broad areas of research: Analysis and modelling of complex systems Comparative genomics Data visualization Imaging, and image analysis Knowledge-based analysis Machine learning and artificial intelligence in bioinformatics Network analysis Proteomics Sequence analysis Structural analysis Transcriptome analysis As a BMC Series journal, BMC Bioinformatics does not make editorial decisions based on the perceived interest or potential impact of a study. Manuscripts are considered for publication if they are scientifically valid. For research articles, this includes having a clearly defined and sound research question, appropriate methodology and analysis, and adherence to community-agreed standards relevant to the field.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Biochemical Research Methods
Editorial board by country: 71 in mainland China (about 18%); most named United States 106, Mainland China 71, Italy 33, India 32, Germany 20 (404 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Bioinformatics and Genomic NetworksBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology14.2%
- Gene expression and cancer classificationBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology11.1%
- Genomics and Phylogenetic StudiesBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology10%
- Machine Learning in BioinformaticsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology8.4%
- Biomedical Text Mining and OntologiesBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5.7%
- Protein Structure and DynamicsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5%
- Genetic Associations and EpidemiologyBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology3.9%
- Computational Drug Discovery MethodsComputer Science3.8%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Biology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Biochemical Research Methods | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Mathematical & Computational Biology | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Biology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Biochemical Research Methods | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Mathematical & Computational Biology | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Biology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Biochemical Research Methods | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Mathematical & Computational Biology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 4.38LetPub ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 8.3LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.11LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.26LetPub ·
- h-index
- 183LetPub ·
- h-index
- 316OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 9,104OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 4.72OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 2.3%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 332LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 13,289 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 310 | 310 | 109 |
| 2025 | 336 | 336 | 1,122 |
| 2024 | 396 | 396 | 3,690 |
| 2023 | 502 | 502 | 10,321 |
| 2022 | 586 | 586 | 10,351 |
| 2021 | 618 | 618 | 16,088 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
133 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 91 days – 208 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 19 days (125 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 149 days
- Sample
- 125 articles with submission and acceptance dates (714 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 2.8 monthsLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- 50%LetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 19 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Single anonymous peer reviewDOAJ
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Fully open accessDOAJ
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | EUR 2,590 / USD 3,090 / GBP 2,290 | Yes | CC BY, CC BY-NC-ND | |
| OpenAlex | USD 2,990 / EUR 2,490 / GBP 2,190 | — | — | |
| LetPub | GBP 2,090 / USD 2,890 / EUR 2,390 | Yes | — | |
| Publisher website | GBP 2,290 / USD 3,090 / EUR 2,590 | — | — |
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Article types accepted6
- commentResearch article Database article Software article Review Matters Arising CommentLength not stated
- database articleResearch article Database article Software article Review Matters Arising CommentLength not stated
- matters arisingResearch article Database article Software article Review Matters Arising CommentLength not stated
- research articleResearch article Database article Software article Review Matters Arising CommentLength not stated
- reviewResearch article Database article Software article Review Matters Arising CommentLength not stated
- software articleResearch article Database article Software article Review Matters Arising CommentLength not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteData availability, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review
- Data availability Formatting the 'Availability of data and materials' section of your manuscript
Data sharing strongly encouraged or required. Model summary
The following format for the 'Availability of data and materials section of your manuscript should be used:
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Licensing and copyright
Open access under CC BY-NC-ND or CC BY licence. Model summary
Creative Commons licences Open access articles in Springer Nature journals are published under Creative Commons licences. These provide an industry-standard framework to support easy re-use of open access material. Under Creative Commons licences, authors retain copyright of their articles. BMC Bioinformatics articles are published open access under a CC BY-NC-ND (Creative Commons Attribution Non-…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Benefits of open access
Publishing open access (OA) offers a number of benefits, including greater reach and readership for your work: Cited more 1.6x more citations of OA articles than non-OA articles across all subjects Downloaded more 4x more downloads of OA articles than non-OA articles Greater impact 2.5x more Altmetric attention. OA articles attracted 1.9x more news mentions and 1.2x more policy mentions Open acces…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review policy
Peer review is the process used to evaluate the quality of a manuscript before publication. Independent researchers in the relevant field assess submitted manuscripts to check their validity and robustness. Their feedback guides editors in making publication decisions. Typically, two or more experts evaluate each manuscript based on three main criteria: scientific robustness: is the research metho…
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- BioMed Central
- Country or region
- ENGLAND
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Monthly
- Founded
- 2000
- ISSN
- 1471-2105
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗DOAJ
- Aims & Scope ↗DOAJ
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗DOAJ
- Editorial board ↗DOAJ
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about BMC Bioinformatics
What CAS zone is BMC Bioinformatics in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, BMC Bioinformatics is in Zone 4 of Biology, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology / Biochemical Research Methods / Mathematical & Computational Biology. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Biology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of BMC Bioinformatics?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 4.38; CiteScore 8.3, h-index 316.
How long does peer review take at BMC Bioinformatics?
Based on the dates recorded on 125 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 133 days (interquartile range 91–208 days); authors report an average review time of about 2.8 months; the community-reported acceptance is “about 50%”. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
Where are the editorial board members of BMC Bioinformatics based?
Of the 404 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 71 (about 18%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (106), Mainland China (71) and Italy (33). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index BMC Bioinformatics?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, BMC Bioinformatics is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ.
Is BMC Bioinformatics open access, and what is the APC?
BMC Bioinformatics is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 3,090.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, DOAJ, Publisher website; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .