Journal profile · COMPUTER SCIENCE, SOFTWARE ENGINEERING
SoftwareX
ISSN 2352-7110 · ELSEVIER · NETHERLANDS
SoftwareX: CAS Zone 4 · Computer Science (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.91; fully open access; APC about USD 1,560; review about 98 days (submission to acceptance, publisher); 456 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
SoftwareX is published by ELSEVIER and is in Zone 4 of Computer Science in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Scientific Computing and Data Management, Computational Physics and Python Applications and Parallel Computing and Optimization Techniques, together about 22.6% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
SoftwareX aims to acknowledge the impact of software on today's research practice, and on new scientific discoveries in almost all research domains. SoftwareX also aims to stress the importance of the software developers who are, in part, responsible for this impact.To this end, SoftwareX aims to support publication of research software in such a way that:The software is given a stamp of scientific relevance, and provided with a peer-reviewed recognition of scientific impact;The software developers are given the credits they deserve;The software is citable, allowing traditional metrics of scientific excellence to apply;The academic career paths of software developers are supported rather than hindered;The software is publicly available for inspection, validation, and re-use.Above all, SoftwareX aims to inform researchers about software applications, tools and libraries with a (proven) potential to impact the process of scientific discovery in various domains. The journal is multidisciplinary and accepts submissions from within and across subject domains such as those represented within the broad thematic areas below:Mathematical and Physical Sciences;Environmental Sciences;Medical and Biological Sciences;Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences.Originating from these broad thematic areas, the journal also welcomes submissions of software that works in cross cutting thematic areas, such as citizen science, cybersecurity, digital economy, energy, global resource stewardship, health and wellbeing, etcetera.SoftwareX specifically aims to accept submissions representing domain-independent software that may impact more than one research domain.Domain independent underpinning software tools and technologies have for too long been underrepresented in academic literature. We wish to ensure that these software items get academic recognition and welcome submissions of software tools and services that may otherwise not have a publication home. Examples include mathematical or image processing libraries or methodologies, visualization tools, data management, etcetera.Through the quality of the description and of the (potential) impact of the software deposited we aim that significant reuse will occur both within and without the original developing domain and therefore encourage consideration of this reuse factor when submitting and in the language used within the description.Submissions to SoftwareX consist of two major parts:A short descriptive paper of 4000-word limit;An open-source software distribution with support material.The manuscript you submit must be regarded as an accompanying note for the benefit of readers and potential users of your software.Submissions are accepted only if they follow the journal-specific templates:Word templates (please note that figures must be directly embedded in the .docx file):Original software publicationSoftware updateLaTeX templates:Original software publicationSoftware update.For any questions contact us at: softwarex@elsevier.comAll software publications published in SoftwareX are hosted on a repository on GitHub. A copy of the 'accepted for publication' version of software/code will be copied to the journal's GitHub repository for archiving purposes. Go to the SoftwareX GitHub repository
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): COMPUTER SCIENCE, SOFTWARE ENGINEERING
Editor-in-chief Alba AmatoPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 1 in mainland China (about 4%); most named Italy 5, Spain 5, United Kingdom 4, United States 2, Mainland China 1 (28 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Scientific Computing and Data ManagementDecision Sciences9.8%
- Computational Physics and Python ApplicationsComputer Science7.1%
- Parallel Computing and Optimization TechniquesComputer Science5.6%
- Distributed and Parallel Computing SystemsComputer Science5.1%
- Machine Learning in Materials ScienceMaterials Science4.2%
- Anomaly Detection Techniques and ApplicationsComputer Science4.1%
- Software Engineering ResearchComputer Science4%
- Cell Image Analysis TechniquesBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology3.9%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Computer Science Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Computer Science | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Computer Science, Software Engineering | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Computer Science Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Computer Science | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Computer Science, Software Engineering | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Computer Science Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Computer Science | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Computer Science, Software Engineering | 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
- 1.91LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 1.9Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 3.9LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 3.9Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.5LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.98LetPub ·
- h-index
- 71OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 587OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.04OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 10.5%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 435LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 2,664 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 587 | 587 | 135 |
| 2025 | 456 | 456 | 1,037 |
| 2024 | 395 | 395 | 1,768 |
| 2023 | 328 | 328 | 2,408 |
| 2022 | 213 | 213 | 3,223 |
| 2021 | 186 | 186 | 3,433 |
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
Too few articlesOnly 1 articles from the last 24 months carry both submission and acceptance dates, too few for a median
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".
Figures by source
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 9 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 7 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 43 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 98 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 12 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 16 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 1,560 | Yes | CC BY, CC BY-NC | |
| OpenAlex | USD 1,200 / EUR 1,120 / GBP 960 / JPY 148,840 | — | — | |
| LetPub | USD 760 | Yes | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 1,920 | — | — |
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 prepare7 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 250 words
- Keywords
- 1–7
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 4,000 words
- Reference style
- Numbered, in order of citation
- Templates
- LaTeX and Word
- Highlights
- Optional
- Graphical abstract
- Optional
Article types accepted2
- original software publicationOriginal software publicationLength not stated
- software updateSoftware updateLength not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints
- AI use Declaration of generative AI use
Authors must declare the use of generative AI tools in the manuscript preparation process upon submission of the paper.Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies (“AI tools”) have been rapidly adopted in research and scholarly publishing, offering significant benefits while requiring clear standards for responsible and transparent use.Authors preparing a manuscript for this journal may use AI tool…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Group authorship
Group authorship refers to the attribution of an article to a defined and named group of authors whose members have contributed to the work. Examples include research consortia, clinical trial groups, collaborative networks, task forces or working groups, expert panels or consensus groups, and participatory research groups. Group authorship must be declared on the title page at submission. When av…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Declaration of competing interests
All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence or bias their work. Examples of potential competing interests include:EmploymentConsultanciesStock ownershipHonorariaPaid expert testimonyPatent applications or registrationsGrants or any other fundingAffiliation with the journal as an Editor or Advisory Board …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics
Ethics in publishing Model summary
Authors must follow ethical guidelines stated in Elsevier's Publishing Ethics Policy.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright License options
Authors will be offered open access user license options which will determine how you, and third parties, can reuse your open access article. We advise that you review these options and any funding body license requirements before selecting a license option.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access
Open access policy Model summary
We refer you to our open access information page to learn about open access options for this journal.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review
Peer review policy Model summary
This journal follows a single anonymized review process. Your submission will initially be assessed by our editors. If your submission is deemed suitable, it will typically be sent to be reviewed by a minimum of two reviewers for an independent expert assessment of the scientific quality. The decision as to whether your article is accepted or rejected for publication will be made by our editors.Re…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints
Preprint sharing Model summary
Preprint sharingAuthors may share preprints in line with Elsevier's article sharing policy. Sharing preprints, such as on a preprint server, will not count as prior publication.We advise you to read our policy on multiple, redundant or concurrent publication. In support of Open Science, this journal offers its authors a free preprint posting service on SSRN, Elsevier’s preprint and early research …
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
- ELSEVIER
- Country or region
- NETHERLANDS
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2352-7110
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- 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 SoftwareX
What CAS zone is SoftwareX in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, SoftwareX is in Zone 4 of Computer Science, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Computer Science, Software Engineering. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Computer Science. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of SoftwareX?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 1.91; CiteScore 3.9, h-index 71.
How long does peer review take at SoftwareX?
The publisher reports about 98 days (submission to acceptance); authors report an average review time of about 9 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 SoftwareX?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 250 words; Keywords: 1–7; Manuscript length: ≤ 4,000 words; Reference style: Numbered, in order of citation; Templates: LaTeX and Word; Highlights: Optional; Graphical abstract: Optional. 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 SoftwareX based?
Of the 28 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 1 (about 4%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Italy (5), Spain (5) and United Kingdom (4). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index SoftwareX?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, SoftwareX is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ.
Is SoftwareX open access, and what is the APC?
SoftwareX is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 1,560.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex, DOAJ; 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: .