Is PLOS Biology a good journal?

PLOS Biology is a strong target if the finding must matter to biologists outside your subfield. It is a weaker fit if pLOS Biology evaluates whether a fundamental biological principle is advanced.

What is the PLOS Biol. JIF?

The JIF is 7.2 (2024 JCR). See the full year-by-year trend and category ranking in our PLOS Biology JIF analysis.

What is the acceptance rate of PLOS Biology?

Manusights currently treats ~15-20% as an estimate for PLOS Biology, not an official journal-published rate. One common reason papers fail is significance framed as application impact rather than biological mechanism.

How long does PLOS Biol. take to review?

PLOS Biology typically takes ~60-90 days median, but timing varies by editor, field, and reviewer availability. Expect an editorial screen first, then manuscript preparation, then peer review.

How much does it cost to publish in PLOS Biology?

PLOS Biology applies a publication fee, and the current page-level figure we track is ~$3,000. Reconfirm the official pricing page before budgeting because publisher fees can change.

Is PLOS Biology peer reviewed?

Yes, PLOS Biology is fully peer reviewed. All submissions undergo rigorous peer review by Reviewers from multiple biological disciplines assess significance, rigor, and open science compliance..

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Journal Guide

Publishing in PLOS Biology: Fit, Timeline & Submission Guide

Q: What should I know before submitting to PLOS Biol.?

Framing is as important as the science. The difference between a desk rejection and peer review often comes down to whether the introduction states the biological principle or the application. Editors are screening for cross-disciplinary significance in the first paragraph.

Fundamental biology with broad significance: open-access, peer-reviewed, field-spanning

Should you submit here?

Submit if the finding must matter to biologists outside your subfield. Be careful if pLOS Biology evaluates whether a fundamental biological principle is advanced.

IF 7.2 · ~15-20% accepted · ~60-90 days median

Best fit if

The finding must matter to biologists outside your subfield

Not ideal if

PLOS Biology evaluates whether a fundamental biological principle is advanced

Also compare

Natureand Nature Communications

7.2

Impact Factor (2024)

~15-20%

Acceptance Rate

~60-90 days median

Time to First Decision

Submission guide

PLOS Biology Submission Guide: What to Prepare Before You Submit

A practical PLOS Biology submission guide for authors deciding whether the manuscript is broad enough, important enough, and complete enough for the journal's editorial screen.

Desk rejection

How to Avoid Desk Rejection at PLOS Biology (2026)

Avoid desk rejection at PLOS Biology with broader significance, clearer advance framing, stronger evidence shape, and a cleaner package.

Review timeline

PLOS Biology Review Time: What Authors Can Actually Expect

PLOS Biology review time: PLOS Biology academic editors emphasize broad-biology significance with reproducibility-first review.

What PLOS Biol. Publishes

PLOS Biology is the open-access flagship of the PLOS journals, with a 2024 JIF of 7.2 and Q1 rank 6/107 in Biology. The journal publishes biology across all fields when the work advances understanding of a fundamental biological process in a way relevant beyond one subfield. The editorial standard is cross-disciplinary significance: cell biologists, evolutionary biologists, and ecologists reading the same issue should all find papers that matter to them. Critically: strong papers narrow in significance to one subfield belong in specialty journals; PLOS Biology needs the finding to travel beyond the submitting community.

Cell biology: fundamental mechanisms of cellular processes across organisms
Developmental biology: mechanisms of development with broader biological significance
Evolutionary biology: evolutionary mechanisms and principles with broad relevance
Genetics and genomics: genetic mechanisms with cross-disciplinary significance
Ecology: fundamental ecological processes and community dynamics
Microbiology and virology: with fundamental biology significance
Neuroscience: circuit and systems mechanisms with broad biological relevance

Editor Insight

“The single threshold at PLOS Biology: does this advance understanding of a fundamental biological process in a way important to biologists beyond this subfield? If the last sentence of your introduction is about an application, the framing is aimed at the wrong audience.”

What PLOS Biol. Editors Look For

Fundamental biological principle with cross-disciplinary significance

The finding must matter to biologists outside your subfield. A cell biologist and an evolutionary biologist should both find it important.

Introduction framing biological mechanism, not application

The last sentence of the introduction states the biological principle advanced, not the applied impact or agricultural benefit.

Open science compliance: data and code in public repositories

Data availability statement points to a repository, not 'available on request.' Code deposited, methods written for reproducibility.

Study design rigorous enough for broad claims

Statistical power, controls, and reproducibility to support the cross-disciplinary significance claimed.

Why Papers Get Rejected

These patterns appear repeatedly in manuscripts that don't make it past PLOS Biol.'s editorial review:

Significance framed as application impact rather than biological mechanism

PLOS Biology evaluates whether a fundamental biological principle is advanced. Application framing signals the significance does not travel beyond the subfield.

Strong paper important only within one specialty

PNAS or a specialty journal handles subfield-specific significance better. PLOS Biology's 20% acceptance rate enforces cross-disciplinary standard.

Open science requirements treated as optional or post-submission

Data sharing and code deposition are submission requirements. Papers returned for 'available on request' data availability statements.

Methods written for expert readers, not for replication

PLOS Biology expects methods detailed enough for a researcher in an adjacent field to replicate the work.

Does your manuscript avoid these patterns?

The Free Readiness Scan reads your full manuscript against PLOS Biol.'s criteria and flags the specific issues most likely to cause rejection.

Run Free Readiness Scan →

Insider Tips from PLOS Biol. Authors

Framing is as important as the science

The difference between a desk rejection and peer review often comes down to whether the introduction states the biological principle or the application. Editors are screening for cross-disciplinary significance in the first paragraph.

Preregistered studies and registered reports are welcomed

PLOS Biology's commitment to open science includes support for pre-registration and transparent reporting.

The PLOS Biol. Submission Process

Manuscript preparation

Prep

Full research article. Methods must be reproducible. Data must be in a public repository. Code deposited on GitHub or equivalent.

Submission via Editorial Manager

Day 0

Submit at https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/. Include significance statement explaining cross-disciplinary relevance.

Editorial assessment

1-2 weeks

Editor evaluates broad biological significance. Papers with subfield-only significance desk-rejected. ~50-60% desk rejection rate.

Peer review

60-90 days

Reviewers from multiple biological disciplines assess significance, rigor, and open science compliance.

Revision

Revision: 4-8 weeks

Revisions may request additional experiments, clearer mechanistic framing, or strengthened open science compliance.

PLOS Biol. by the Numbers

2024 Impact Factor(JCR 2024)	7.2
5-Year JIF	7.7
Quartile	Q1
Category Rank	6/107 (Biology)
Open Access APC	~$3,000
Publisher	PLOS

Before you submit

PLOS Biol. accepts a small fraction of submissions. Make your attempt count.

Start with the Free Readiness Scan. Unlock the Full AI Diagnostic from $29, with local pricing shown before checkout. If you need deeper submission planning, choose the Submission-Ready Dossier. The full report is calibrated to PLOS Biol..

Run Free Readiness Scan See a sample report

Article Types

Research Article

Full-length biology study with broad cross-disciplinary significance

Short Report

Shorter study of broad significance with complete experimental support

Landmark PLOS Biol. Papers

Papers that defined fields and changed science:

Cross-disciplinary biology studies with fundamental mechanism findings (various)
Evolutionary mechanism papers with broad relevance (various)
Cell biology studies with implications across biological systems (various)

Preparing a PLOS Biol. Submission?

Get pre-submission feedback from reviewers who've published in PLOS Biol. and know exactly what editors look for.

Run Free Readiness Scan

Need expert depth? See Expert Review Options

NDA-protected

Confidential

Primary Fields

Cell BiologyEvolutionary BiologyGeneticsDevelopmental BiologyEcologyNeuroscience

Ready to submit to PLOS Biol.?

A desk rejection costs months. Get expert feedback before you submit, from scientists who know exactly what PLOS Biol. editors look for.

Need field-expert depth? See Expert Review Options