Journal profile · EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY
Evolution Letters
ISSN 2056-3744 · JOHN WILEY & SONS LTD · ENGLAND
Evolution Letters: CAS Zone 1 · Biology (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 4.28; fully open access; APC about USD 2,575; median 144 days to acceptance (95 articles, last 24 months); 55 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Evolution Letters is published by JOHN WILEY & SONS LTD 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 Plant and animal studies, Evolution and Genetic Dynamics and Animal Behavior and Reproduction, together about 40.9% of its articles. Its main subfields are Genetics. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Evolution Letters, an open access journal jointly owned by the European Society of Evolutionary Biology (ESEB) and the Society for the Study of Evolution (SSE), publishes cutting-edge new research in all areas of Evolutionary Biology. Papers should be of outstanding clarity and originality, and substantially advance the field, or be of broad interest. Papers that introduce new analytical or methodological frameworks that are likely to be highly influential are also welcome. The Journal publishes three article types: Letters, Reviews, and Comments & Opinions. Letters are original pieces of research that have the potential to substantially move the field forwards. We welcome theoretical and empirical studies, including meta-analyses, and we cover all areas of evolutionary biology including those that use genomics and related technologies to address evolutionary questions. Reviews highlight areas with important recent advances and emerging impact, and Comments & Opinions bring timely new research ideas, tools, or arguments to the attention of the evolutionary community. For more information on article types and manuscript preparation, see our Author Guidelines. See some of our recent articles here or learn more about our highly distinguished Editorial Board. Some of key areas of interest include: Adaptation Coevolution Comparative phylogenetic methods and analysis Epigenetics and evolution EvoDevo Evolution of ageing and life history Evolutionary genomics Evolutionary interactions Evolutionary rescue Evolutionary response to climate change Evolutionary theory Experimental evolution Intra-genomic conflicts Origin and maintenance of genetic diversity, including mutation, selection and genetic drift Phenotypic plasticity Population genetics and genomics Quantitative genetics Sexual conflict Sexual selection Speciation
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY
Editor-in-chief Judith MankPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 2, United Kingdom 2, France 2, Spain 1, Canada 1 (13 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Plant and animal studiesAgricultural and Biological Sciences14.5%
- Evolution and Genetic DynamicsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology13.3%
- Animal Behavior and ReproductionAgricultural and Biological Sciences13.2%
- Genetic diversity and population structureBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology12.2%
- Insect and Arachnid Ecology and BehaviorBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4.4%
- Evolutionary Game Theory and CooperationSocial Sciences4.4%
- Physiological and biochemical adaptationsEnvironmental Science3.6%
- Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics StudiesEnvironmental Science3.3%
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 | Evolutionary Biology | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Biology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Evolutionary Biology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Biology Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Evolutionary Biology | Zone 2 |
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
- 4.28LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 4.8Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 9Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 5.1LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 5.1Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.74LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.46LetPub ·
- h-index
- 59OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 313OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 4.79OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 2.3%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 53LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 578 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 37 | 37 | 17 |
| 2025 | 55 | 55 | 140 |
| 2024 | 77 | 77 | 653 |
| 2023 | 75 | 75 | 1,367 |
| 2022 | 45 | 45 | 652 |
| 2021 | 61 | 61 | 1,395 |
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
144 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 110 days – 214 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 30 days (95 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 185 days
- Sample
- 95 articles with submission and acceptance dates (127 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 10 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision 2025
- 23 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to final decision 2025
- 26.5 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 10 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 | USD 2,575 | Yes | CC BY, CC BY-NC, CC BY-NC-ND | |
| OpenAlex | USD 2,678 | — | — | |
| LetPub | USD 2,575 | Yes | — |
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
All articles published by Evolution Letters are fully open access: immediately freely available to read, download and share. Find out more about our publication fees, waivers and discounts in preparation for submission. Find out more
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
- JOHN WILEY & SONS LTD
- Country or region
- ENGLAND
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2056-3744
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 10, Issue 4 (August 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Evolution Letters
What CAS zone is Evolution Letters in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Evolution Letters is in Zone 1 of Biology, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Evolutionary Biology; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Biology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Evolution Letters?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 4.28; CiteScore 5.1, h-index 59.
How long does peer review take at Evolution Letters?
Based on the dates recorded on 95 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 144 days (interquartile range 110–214 days); authors report an average review time of about 10 weeks. 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 Evolution Letters based?
Of the 13 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (2), United Kingdom (2) and France (2). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Evolution Letters?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Evolution Letters is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ.
Is Evolution Letters open access, and what is the APC?
Evolution Letters is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 2,575.
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: .