Journal profile · Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Molecular Cell
ISSN 1097-2765 · eISSN 1097-4164 · Cell Press · UNITED STATES · Semimonthly · Founded 1997
Molecular Cell: CAS Zone 1 · Biology (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 15.95; hybrid open access; APC about USD 10,400; median 296 days to acceptance (92 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: about 20%; 367 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Molecular 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 Research and Splicing, RNA modifications and cancer and RNA and protein synthesis mechanisms, together about 32.3% of its articles. Its main subfields are Molecular Biology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Molecular Cell aims to publish the best research in molecular biology. The journal covers core cellular processes, including:DNA replication, recombination, and repairChromatin biology and genome organizationTranscriptionRNA processing and decayNon-coding RNA functionTranslationProtein folding, modification, and quality controlSignal transduction pathwaysCell cycle and checkpointsCell deathAutophagyMetabolismWe welcome submissions that:-Provide interesting mechanistic insights into the pathways covered by the journal, and that connect these pathways to important biological and disease contexts-Use large-scale, systems-level, and high-throughput datasets to derive new biological insights not easily obtained by other approaches-Report new reagents, methods, and tools (or significant improvements to existing tools) that are of broad value and utility to scientists working in the fields covered by the journal.We are particularly interested in papers that answer longstanding questions, open new avenues of research, report unexpected findings, or change the way we think about biological processes.If you have any questions about our aims and scope, please feel free to contact us at molecule@cell.com.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- RNA Research and SplicingBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology11.6%
- RNA modifications and cancerBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology10.5%
- RNA and protein synthesis mechanismsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology10.2%
- Genomics and Chromatin DynamicsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology10.1%
- DNA Repair MechanismsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology8%
- Ubiquitin and proteasome pathwaysBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5.9%
- CRISPR and Genetic EngineeringBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5.1%
- Epigenetics and DNA MethylationBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4.6%
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
- 15.95LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 16Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 27LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 27Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 10.67LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 3.35LetPub ·
- h-index
- 356LetPub ·
- h-index
- 540OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 8,773OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 14.15OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 3.1%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 39.49%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 284LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 10,654 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 289 | 156 | 457 |
| 2025 | 367 | 237 | 4,133 |
| 2024 | 424 | 424 | 10,690 |
| 2023 | 406 | 406 | 18,852 |
| 2022 | 397 | 397 | 26,230 |
| 2021 | 443 | 441 | 34,277 |
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
296 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 223 days – 386 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 23 days (83 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 323 days
- Sample
- 92 articles with submission and acceptance dates (776 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 1 monthLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- 20%LetPub ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 170 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 10,400 / EUR 9,640 / GBP 8,330 / JPY 1,289,910 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 10,400 | — | — |
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 10,400 (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
- Semimonthly
- Founded
- 1997
- ISSN
- 1097-2765
- Electronic ISSN
- 1097-4164
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Molecular Cell
What CAS zone is Molecular Cell in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Molecular 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 Molecular Cell?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 15.95; CiteScore 27, h-index 540.
How long does peer review take at Molecular Cell?
Based on the dates recorded on 92 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 296 days (interquartile range 223–386 days); authors report an average review time of about 1 month; the community-reported acceptance is “about 20%”. 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 Molecular Cell?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Molecular Cell is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is Molecular Cell open access, and what is the APC?
Molecular Cell is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 10,400.
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: .