Journal profile
Frontiers in Complex Systems
ISSN 2813-6187 · Frontiers Media S.A. · Switzerland
Frontiers in Complex Systems: fully open access; APC charged, amount not published; review about 12 weeks (community reports); 19 articles in 2025.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Frontiers in Complex Systems is published by Frontiers Media S.A.. By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Complex Systems and Dynamics, Complex Network Analysis Techniques and Complex Systems and Time Series Analysis, together about 34.4% of its articles. Its main subfields are Statistical and Nonlinear Physics. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Frontiers in Complex Systems publishes rigorously peer-reviewed quantitative research on Complex Systems, either theoretical, experimental, mathematical, computational or data description. Field Chief Editor Maxi San Miguel at the Institute for Cross-Disciplinary Physics and Complex Systems (IFISC) in Spain is supported by an outstanding Editorial Board of international experts. This open-access journal is to become the reference and natural publication outlet for the Complex Systems community at large, and to be at the forefront of disseminating and communicating scientific knowledge and technological innovation in the field to researchers, academics, entrepreneurs, companies, policy makers and the public worldwide. Frontiers in Complex Systems covers fundamental questions, theories and general methodologies on complex systems as well as the cross-disciplinary application of these concepts and methods, often giving rise to new disciplines. It provides a forum for cross-disciplinary communication and welcomes quantitative research from different fields including Physics, Mathematics, Computer Sciences, Artificial Intelligence, Engineering, Climate change, Economics and Finance, Social Sciences, Linguistics, Ecology, Neuroscience, Health Sciences, Epidemics, Mobility and Transport, City Science, etc. Submissions to Frontiers in Complex Systems are made to appropriate specialty sections, each of which devoted to a specific sub-field and having their own expert editorial board. Aligned with the cross-disciplinary scope of the journal, some of these sections are shared with other Frontiers journals, providing an enhanced visibility of the research in different scientific communities.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named Spain 5, Italy 3, South Korea 2, Greece 2, United States 1 (17 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Complex Systems and DynamicsPhysics and Astronomy16%
- Complex Network Analysis TechniquesPhysics and Astronomy9.6%
- Complex Systems and Time Series AnalysisEconomics, Econometrics and Finance8.8%
- Chaos, Complexity, and EducationComputer Science5.6%
- Philosophy and History of ScienceArts and Humanities4.8%
- Language and cultural evolutionSocial Sciences4.8%
- Opinion Dynamics and Social InfluencePhysics and Astronomy4.8%
- Complex Systems and Decision MakingDecision Sciences4%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
DOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
ProQuest, Dimensions, CNKI, CLOCKSS, CrossrefPublisher website
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
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
- h-index
- 8OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 7OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.81OpenAlex ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 0%LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 72 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 22 | 22 | 82 |
| 2025 | 19 | 19 | 76 |
| 2024 | 17 | 17 | 42 |
| 2023 | 14 | 14 | 8 |
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
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 12 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 12 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 | CHF 1,950 | Yes | CC BY | |
| OpenAlex | CHF 1,950 | — | — | |
| LetPub | USD 2,125 | 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)
What to prepare3 items from the author guidelines
- Keywords
- 5–8
- Reference style
- Harvard
- Templates
- LaTeX and Word
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Conflicts of interest, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review
- AI use Use of AI to create written or visual content
Authors should not list a generative AI technology as a co-author or author of any submitted manuscript. Generative AI technologies cannot be held accountable for all aspects of a manuscript and consequently do not meet the criteria required for authorship. If the author of a submitted manuscript has used written or visual content produced by or edited using a generative AI technology, this use mu…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Safeguards against financial conflicts of interest
Only leading researchers acting as Associate Editors, who are not part of Frontiers' staff, can make acceptance decisions based on reviews performed by external experts acting as Community Reviewers or Reviewers. None have a financial incentive to accept articles, i.e. they are not paid for their role as Associate Editor or community Reviewer, and any award scheme is not linked to acceptances of m…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Open access and copyright
All Frontiers' articles from July 2012 onwards are published with open access under the Creative Commons CC-BY license (the current version is CC-BY, version 4.0). This means that the author(s) retains copyright, but the content is free to download, distribute, and adapt for commercial or non-commercial purposes, given appropriate attribution to the original article. Upon submission, the author(s)…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access and copyright
All Frontiers' articles from July 2012 onwards are published with open access under the Creative Commons CC-BY license (the current version is CC-BY, version 4.0). This means that the author(s) retains copyright, but the content is free to download, distribute, and adapt for commercial or non-commercial purposes, given appropriate attribution to the original article. Upon submission, the author(s)…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review
Our rigorous, transparent peer review process combines expert review and constructive dialogue to strengthen your manuscript.
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
- Frontiers Media S.A.
- Country or region
- Switzerland
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2813-6187
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- 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 Frontiers in Complex Systems
How long does peer review take at Frontiers in Complex Systems?
Authors report an average review time of about 12 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.
What are the manuscript requirements of Frontiers in Complex Systems?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Keywords: 5–8; Reference style: Harvard; Templates: LaTeX and Word. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Frontiers in Complex Systems based?
Of the 17 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Spain (5), Italy (3) and South Korea (2). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Frontiers in Complex Systems?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Frontiers in Complex Systems is indexed in DOAJ.
Is Frontiers in Complex Systems open access, and what is the APC?
Frontiers in Complex Systems is a fully open-access journal. APC charged, amount not published.
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: .