Nature vs Scientific Reports: Which Should You Submit To?

Nature's impact factor is 48.5; Scientific Reports is 3.9 (2024 JCR data). This isn't a minor difference—it reflects the journals' distinct missions. Nature sits in the very top tier of all journals across all disciplines. Scientific Reports, while respectable and open-access, ranks well below that.

For career purposes: Nature is a career-defining publication. Scientific Reports is a solid addition to your CV that shows peer-reviewed, published work. The prestige gap matters in competitive hiring and grant contexts, but a Scientific Reports publication is valuable and legitimate.

Nature explicitly accepts only papers that represent major advances in science. The work must be novel at a conceptual level—not just methodologically novel or incremental. Editors ask: "Will this reshape how the field thinks about this topic?" If the answer isn't clearly yes, the paper faces desk rejection before peer review.

Scientific Reports takes a broader view. The acceptance criteria are: scientific rigor, novelty, and significance within the research community. You don't need a breakthrough. A new method, a solid mechanistic study, an incremental advance in an important area—these all qualify if they're well-executed and peer-reviewed favorably.

In practice: a new measurement technique in your subfield might be too incremental for Nature (desk rejection in 1-2 weeks) but publishable in Scientific Reports (after standard peer review). A study of a single protein mechanism might get rejected at Nature for "limited broader significance" but land in Scientific Reports.

Both journals accept research across all scientific disciplines: biology, medicine, chemistry, physics, geology, engineering, and beyond. Neither restricts by field. The difference is impact threshold, not scope. A paper either meets each journal's bar for significance or it doesn't.

Scientific Reports is slightly more welcoming to narrow, specialized studies. If your work is important to your specific subfield but doesn't appeal across disciplines, Nature will desk-reject it; Scientific Reports will consider it seriously.

Nature: Approximately 6% of submissions accepted. This means 94% rejection.

Scientific Reports: ~57% acceptance in Manusights' current internal estimate, with the journal operating at a much lower significance bar than Nature.

The higher Scientific Reports rate reflects lower barriers to entry. It's still selective (most submissions don't get published), but you have far better odds than Nature. If your paper is solid and novel, Scientific Reports is more likely to publish it.

Nature: 7 days median to first decision in the current Nature journal information page.

Scientific Reports: 21 days median to first editorial decision.

Nature: Subscription journal. No APC for authors. Published articles are behind a paywall, though authors can self-archive preprints on personal websites.

Scientific Reports: Full open access. The current listed APC is £2,190 / $2,850 / €2,490. If accepted, your article is free to read worldwide.

If your institution covers open-access fees, or you have grant funding for APCs, Scientific Reports is very attractive. If APC is a barrier, Nature's no-cost model is appealing—though acceptance is harder.

Nature editors make tough calls at the desk stage. They're looking for papers that feel like obvious breakthroughs once published. If they're unsure, they lean toward rejection to protect the journal's selectivity. Most desk rejections at Nature happen within 2 weeks.

Scientific Reports editors use peer review more liberally. Even papers that seem marginal or narrow get sent to review if the science is sound. You're more likely to get reviewer feedback—which, while potentially critical, gives you a chance to improve or revise.

Ask yourself: Is my paper a breakthrough, or a solid contribution?

Some researchers submit to Nature and simultaneously prepare for Scientific Reports as a backup. This isn't forbidden (as long as you're not submitting to both simultaneously—that violates policies). Get a Nature decision first, then if rejected, reformat minimally and send to Scientific Reports. The feedback from Nature reviewers (if you got to that stage) can even help you strengthen your Scientific Reports submission.

Nature is exclusive by design. It publishes maybe 50 research papers per issue from hundreds of thousands of submissions. Scientific Reports publishes thousands of papers per year because it uses a broader acceptance threshold. Both are peer-reviewed, rigorous, and legitimate. The choice reflects how your paper stacks up against each journal's specific mission.

Publishing in Scientific Reports is a real achievement. Many excellent researchers publish regularly there. It's a strong, accessible outlet for solid science that doesn't quite reach the "paradigm-shifting" threshold.