Journal profile · Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Cell
ISSN 0092-8674 · eISSN 1097-4172 · Cell Press · UNITED STATES · Biweekly · Founded 1974
Cell: CAS Zone 1 · Biology (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 44.85; hybrid open access; APC about USD 11,400; median 303 days to acceptance (130 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: about 5%; 512 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Cell is published by Cell Press and is in Zone 1 of Biology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are RNA and protein synthesis mechanisms, RNA Research and Splicing and Genomics and Chromatin Dynamics, together about 27% of its articles. Its main subfields are Molecular Biology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Cell publishes findings of unusual significance in any area of experimental biology, including but not limited to cell biology, molecular biology, neuroscience, immunology, virology and microbiology, cancer, human genetics, systems biology, signaling, and disease mechanisms and therapeutics. The basic criterion for considering papers is whether the results provide significant conceptual advances into, or raise provocative questions and hypotheses regarding, an interesting and important biological question. In addition to primary research articles in four formats, Cell features review and opinion articles on recent research advances and issues of interest to its broad readership in the leading edge section.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- RNA and protein synthesis mechanismsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology10%
- RNA Research and SplicingBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology9.2%
- Genomics and Chromatin DynamicsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology7.8%
- RNA modifications and cancerBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology6%
- DNA Repair MechanismsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5.1%
- CRISPR and Genetic EngineeringBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4.8%
- Microtubule and mitosis dynamicsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4.3%
- Bacterial Genetics and BiotechnologyBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Biology Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Biochemistry & Molecular Biology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Cell Biology | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Biology Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Biochemistry & Molecular Biology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Cell Biology | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Biology Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Biochemistry & Molecular Biology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Cell Biology | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
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
- 44.85LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 45.1Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 67.8LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 67.8Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 24.59LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 8.5LetPub ·
- h-index
- 705LetPub ·
- h-index
- 1,242OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 22,093OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 41.36OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 1.1%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 44.27%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 438LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 26,958 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 424 | 270 | 2,567 |
| 2025 | 512 | 403 | 15,883 |
| 2024 | 581 | 579 | 44,287 |
| 2023 | 457 | 457 | 58,810 |
| 2022 | 424 | 423 | 73,133 |
| 2021 | 522 | 520 | 130,300 |
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 PubMed · to
303 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 233 days – 428 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 25 days (103 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 356 days
- Sample
- 130 articles with submission and acceptance dates (1,109 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 monthsLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- 5%LetPub ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 280 daysPublisher website ·
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
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 11,400 / EUR 10,560 / GBP 9,130 / JPY 1,413,940 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 11,400 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
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)
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access
- Open access Open Access
Article Publishing Charge (APC): USD 11,400 (excluding taxes). The amount you pay may be reduced during submission if applicable.
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
- Cell Press
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Biweekly
- Founded
- 1974
- ISSN
- 0092-8674
- Electronic ISSN
- 1097-4172
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Cell
What CAS zone is Cell in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Cell is in Zone 1 of Biology, and in Zone 1 of the minor category Biochemistry & Molecular Biology / Cell Biology; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 1 of Biology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Cell?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 44.85; CiteScore 67.8, h-index 1242.
How long does peer review take at Cell?
Based on the dates recorded on 130 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 303 days (interquartile range 233–428 days); authors report an average review time of about 2 months; the community-reported acceptance is “about 5%”. 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.
Which databases index Cell?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Cell is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is Cell open access, and what is the APC?
Cell is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 11,400.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; 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 2026-08-25). Last updated: .