Reference Data
Peer Review Timelines by Journal
Version 2026.2 · archived at Zenodo · DOI 10.5281/zenodo.23131431
What published-paper histories tell us about journal timelines
Across 104 selected journals, the median of journal receipt-to-acceptance medians is 153 days, based on 27,286 dated sampled records in PubMed's 2024–2025 publication-date query. This includes author revisions; it does not isolate reviewer-report time or total time to publication.
The middle half of journal medians spans 99-220.9 days. The median within-journal IQR width is 92.3 days. Differences between journals are useful for planning, but a journal median cannot predict an individual paper's wait.
These are selected journals and accepted, published survivors. Rejected, withdrawn and still-open submissions are absent. Manusights provides commercial manuscript review services and assembled the original panel from its journal guides and targeting research; this is not a probability sample of world publishing.
A new sample, with complete query frames
The fixed original panel has 108 current and 65 historical journal windows. We enumerated each complete PubMed query through disjoint PMID ranges, checked returned IDs, uniqueness and reconciled counts, then drew up to 300 records uniformly without replacement (seed 20261001). Exact query definitions, frames, retrieval dates and original source hashes are frozen. The downloadable bundle uses explicitly labeled analytical source subsets and omits abstracts, author lists and publisher-site comparison content. This is a fresh draw, not a recalculation of the archived sample.
The rule includes PubMed Journal Article and removes letters, comments, editorials, reviews, case reports, retractions and other specified types. It is operational filtering, not publisher-verified original research.
Front matter typed as research is removed. Some publishers deposit previews, commentaries, clinical-image quizzes, replies and short letters as plain Journal Article, often with received and accepted dates days apart. We drop a type-eligible record when PubMed has no abstract for it, or when its printed page range covers fewer than four pages; article-number records are judged on the abstract alone. This removed 2,390 current and 551 historical records and raised the main median from 147 to 153 days. We added this rule after the prespecified plan, when an audit of the archived sample found the problem; the bundle's amendment note reports every result before and after it. The rule can drop a short research report without an abstract and cannot catch long front matter that has one.
PubMed's publication-date query can match print, electronic and year-only dates; it is not a precise online-publication cohort. Count stability does not make the mutable index an atomic snapshot.
We keep received-to-accepted intervals of 1-1,825 days. Main rows need n≥30, at least 60% of type-eligible fetched records carrying both dates before interval exclusions, and no more than 5% journal mismatches. The main current panel additionally uses an original-snapshot unadjusted PubMed/Crossref ratio≥0.80. This all-type count ratio is contextual; it does not establish matched-DOI or research coverage.
The main summary includes 104 journals. Including eligible supplement-adjusted rows gives 107 journals, 28,116 intervals and 153 days. Rows outside the main panel remain in the downloads: Cancer Research (original coverage required supplement adjustment); Clinical Cancer Research (original coverage required supplement adjustment); The Journal of Immunology (original coverage required supplement adjustment); Trends in Molecular Medicine (n_below_30).
Date completeness is not date validity. We exclude conflicting received/accepted values without choosing an alternative endpoint. Same-day or invalid intervals are counted separately in every row. No current journal has 10% or more unusable dated records once front matter is removed; the per-journal counts stay in the table and downloads.
Showing 108 of 108 journals
| Middle half (p25-p75) | Main summary | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACS Omega | 87 | 67-119 | 299 | 99.7 | 0.0 | Included |
| Acta Biomaterialia | 121.5 | 99-155 | 300 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| Allergy | 144 | 99-196 | 261 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| The American Journal of Human Genetics | 153 | 112-200 | 293 | 100.0 | 1.0 | Included |
| Bioinformatics | 159 | 110.2-217.5 | 250 | 84.7 | 1.6 | Included |
| Biomaterials | 119.5 | 94-149.2 | 300 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy | 77 | 64-100.2 | 300 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| Bioresource Technology | 75 | 53.5-104.5 | 299 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| BMC Medicine | 168 | 132-217.2 | 300 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| Brain | 145 | 115-190 | 267 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| Cancer Cell | 262 | 199-339 | 233 | 100.0 | 0.4 | Included |
| Cancer Letters | 104 | 75-142 | 285 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| Cancer Research | 213 | 176-273.5 | 268 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Supplement: adjusted coverage |
| Carbohydrate Polymers | 90 | 66-124 | 300 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| Cell | 275 | 201-391.5 | 275 | 100.0 | 0.4 | Included |
| Cell Death and Differentiation | 215 | 161-273 | 295 | 99.7 | 0.0 | Included |
| Cell Death and Disease | 173 | 140-220.5 | 299 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| Cell Discovery | 175.5 | 128.5-217 | 146 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| Cell Metabolism | 259 | 202.8-350 | 254 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| Cell Reports | 201.5 | 154.2-277.8 | 300 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| Cell Stem Cell | 281 | 199.5-365.5 | 203 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| Cell Systems | 320 | 247-407.5 | 183 | 100.0 | 1.1 | Included |
| Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences | 132.5 | 97-194 | 300 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| Chemosphere | 94 | 66-146.5 | 299 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| Clinical Cancer Research | 140.5 | 105.8-191.2 | 276 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Supplement: adjusted coverage |
| Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology | 127.5 | 84.2-169.8 | 182 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| Communications Biology | 207.5 | 156-269.2 | 300 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| Conservation Biology | 229.5 | 172.5-305 | 280 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| Critical Care | 68 | 52-86.8 | 298 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| Current Biology | 148 | 101.5-228 | 211 | 91.3 | 0.0 | Included |
| Developmental Cell | 301 | 238.5-411.5 | 255 | 100.0 | 0.8 | Included |
| Diabetes Care | 99 | 78-119.8 | 282 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| Diabetologia | 99 | 76-135 | 297 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| The EMBO Journal | 199.5 | 148-254 | 278 | 100.0 | 0.4 | Included |
| Environment International | 109.5 | 86-147.2 | 300 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| Environmental Pollution | 91 | 70-129.2 | 300 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| Environmental Research | 79.5 | 57.2-110 | 298 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| European Respiratory Journal | 171 | 124-248 | 197 | 100.0 | 1.0 | Included |
| Experimental & Molecular Medicine | 173.5 | 128-222.2 | 284 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| Food Chemistry | 117 | 89-144 | 300 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| Frontiers in Immunology | 82.5 | 56.8-117 | 300 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| Frontiers in Microbiology | 70 | 49-99.5 | 295 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| Frontiers in Plant Science | 76 | 50-104 | 297 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| Genes & Development | 117 | 94-150 | 97 | 98.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| Genome Biology | 278 | 210.8-381 | 300 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| Genome Research | 218 | 171-293 | 299 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| Global Change Biology | 120.5 | 88.8-175 | 280 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| Gut | 140 | 100.2-191 | 206 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| Heliyon | 173 | 119-252.5 | 299 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| Hepatology | 117 | 76.5-155.5 | 171 | 100.0 | 0.6 | Included |
| Immunity | 286 | 212.5-372 | 267 | 99.3 | 0.7 | Included |
| International Journal of Biological Macromolecules | 97 | 72-141 | 300 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| International Journal of Molecular Sciences | 36 | 27-46.2 | 300 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| International Journal of Oral Science | 153 | 113-203 | 89 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| The ISME Journal | 120.5 | 81-160.8 | 290 | 99.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| JCI Insight | 204 | 144.5-330.5 | 279 | 93.9 | 0.0 | Included |
| Journal of Cell Biology | 216 | 168-291 | 265 | 88.3 | 0.0 | Included |
| The Journal of Chemical Physics | 74 | 56-94 | 297 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| Journal of Clinical Investigation | 257 | 176.5-397.5 | 235 | 86.1 | 0.0 | Included |
| Journal of Colloid and Interface Science | 70.5 | 53.8-92 | 300 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| Journal of Controlled Release | 106 | 81-146.5 | 300 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| Journal of Environmental Management | 110 | 82-160.8 | 298 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research | 100 | 73-128 | 299 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| Journal of Experimental Medicine | 203 | 151-292 | 249 | 84.1 | 0.0 | Included |
| Journal of Hazardous Materials | 90 | 68.5-111 | 299 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| The Journal of Immunology | 153.5 | 101.2-233.2 | 286 | 99.3 | 0.0 | Supplement: adjusted coverage |
| Journal of Medical Internet Research | 174 | 111.5-259 | 290 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| Journal of Neuroscience | 177 | 130-252 | 289 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| Kidney International | 211 | 126-292 | 199 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| Materials | 35 | 27.8-45 | 300 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| Microbiome | 186 | 125.8-259.2 | 300 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| Molecular Cell | 246.5 | 186.2-326 | 246 | 100.0 | 1.2 | Included |
| Molecular Psychiatry | 248.5 | 185-328 | 294 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| Molecular Systems Biology | 174 | 125-241.5 | 143 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| Molecular Therapy | 172 | 137-216 | 225 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| Molecules | 35 | 26-47 | 300 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| Nature | 318.5 | 218-455 | 298 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| Nature Cell Biology | 322.5 | 254-407.2 | 192 | 98.5 | 0.0 | Included |
| Nature Chemical Biology | 290 | 228.8-387 | 188 | 99.5 | 0.0 | Included |
| Nature Chemistry | 283 | 218-357 | 209 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| Nature Communications | 242 | 179-320 | 300 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| Nature Genetics | 371 | 294-491 | 193 | 98.5 | 0.0 | Included |
| Nature Human Behaviour | 329 | 246.5-464 | 187 | 99.5 | 0.0 | Included |
| Nature Metabolism | 317 | 232-405.5 | 187 | 99.5 | 0.5 | Included |
| Nature Methods | 306 | 251.5-403 | 184 | 98.9 | 0.0 | Included |
| Nature Microbiology | 271.5 | 215.2-352.2 | 240 | 99.6 | 0.0 | Included |
| Nature Nanotechnology | 263 | 199-370.5 | 215 | 99.5 | 0.0 | Included |
| Nature Neuroscience | 423.5 | 330.2-552 | 218 | 99.5 | 0.0 | Included |
| Nature Protocols | 245 | 193-307 | 39 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| Neuron | 258.5 | 194.8-354 | 242 | 99.6 | 0.4 | Included |
| New Phytologist | 103 | 65-147 | 267 | 99.6 | 0.0 | Included |
| Nucleic Acids Research | 142 | 71-238.8 | 298 | 100.0 | 0.3 | Included |
| Nutrients | 30 | 23-40 | 300 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| Physical Review Letters | 175 | 131.8-241.2 | 300 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| Phytomedicine | 128 | 94-166.2 | 300 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| PLoS Biology | 202 | 136-264.2 | 264 | 88.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| PLoS Medicine | 183 | 145.8-239 | 256 | 90.5 | 0.0 | Included |
| PLOS One | 154 | 111.8-222.2 | 300 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| PNAS Nexus | 147 | 110-196 | 299 | 99.7 | 0.0 | Included |
| Polymers | 32.5 | 25-44 | 300 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| RNA | 92 | 47.5-139 | 211 | 95.5 | 0.0 | Included |
| RSC Advances | 57 | 40-81 | 300 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| The Science of The Total Environment | 93 | 67-129.2 | 300 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| Scientific Reports | 139.5 | 97-203.2 | 300 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| Sensors | 40 | 29-50.2 | 300 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| Trends in Molecular Medicine | 44 | 36-72 | 17 | 100.0 | 0.0 | n_below_30 |
| Waste Management | 120.5 | 91-166.2 | 300 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
| Water Research | 90 | 69-124.5 | 299 | 100.0 | 0.0 | Included |
Historical changes depend on the panel
Across 65 paired journals, the median journal's own change is +32.5%. The median of the journal medians moved from 111 to 127.5 days (+14.9%). Without the 10 Cell Press journals the median change is +13.8%. All 10 Cell Press journals got slower and all 5 MDPI journals got faster, so the overall figure depends heavily on which publishers are in the panel.
We compare received-to-accepted medians for records in the 2014-2015 and 2024-2025 query cohorts. Every sensitivity starts with all fresh eligible pairs. The original five flagged comparisons remain visible; a discontinuity can reflect metadata conventions or a real editorial change and does not prove publisher error. Their removal is a named sensitivity, not a newly chosen exclusion.
| Panel | Journals | Median change | 95% journal-bootstrap interval | Slower / faster / unchanged |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All fresh eligible pairs | 65 | +32.5% | +9.4% to +41.5% | 45 / 19 / 1 |
| Both periods ≥90% date deposit | 61 | +31.4% | +8.6% to +41.5% | 42 / 18 / 1 |
| Exclude Cell Press | 55 | +13.8% | +2.9% to +35.6% | 35 / 19 / 1 |
| Exclude MDPI | 60 | +35.2% | +13.8% to +45.6% | 45 / 14 / 1 |
| Both periods n≥200 | 56 | +26.3% | +8.1% to +41.0% | 38 / 17 / 1 |
| Remove original five held pairs | 60 | +23.5% | +8.1% to +38.1% | 40 / 19 / 1 |
These are medians of within-journal percentage changes, not a percentage change in the pooled article median. The 10,000-resample journal interval uses unrounded changes and seed 20261001. It is conditional on the purposive panel and omits within-journal sampling uncertainty, publisher dependence, metadata error and selection uncertainty. It does not establish a global slowdown or a causal publisher effect. All pair n/IQRs, absolute-day changes, original flags and subgroup results are downloadable.
Three different questions require different clocks
Submission to publication: these data do not provide it. The original codebook disclosed that the legacy acceptance-to-publication field used PubMed entry as a proxy. Indexing can lag online publication, so version 2026.2 omits that field as a publication measure. Separate medians must not be added to estimate a median total.
Reviewer report duration: received-to-accepted includes editorial work and author revision. A separate historical Publons/Clarivate ScholarOne report (Figure 28) measured agreement-to-review through report completion during 2013-2017: median 16.4 days. That component excludes recruitment and author revision and is not a current global review-cycle estimate.
Currently in review: a stock requires timestamped open submission/status records and a defined queue scope. Published survivors and annual throughput cannot identify it. We have no global inventory estimate.
Citation and correction history
Manusights (2026). Journal acceptance times from PubMed history dates, 2026 edition (Version 2026.2) [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23131431. Commercial affiliation: Manusights provides manuscript review services. The original 2026.1 release remains archived at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23001076.
The original 2026.1 release remains unchanged. Its audit identified monthly/annual query truncation and gaps, imperfect article typing, indexing-endpoint labels, and three raw coverage fields containing adjusted values. Version 2026.2 uses full-window enumeration, honest filter labels, distinct original raw/adjusted columns and a fresh draw. The before/after tables separate sampling and metadata changes; they do not attribute all differences to a bug fix. Version 2026.2 is archived at Zenodo as a new version of the same record (DOI 10.5281/zenodo.23131431); the 2026.1 DOI identifies the original sample only.
Original archived release 2026.1 and its known limitations
These are original v2 figures, preserved for comparison with the DOI release. Version 2026.2 above has a different sample and its own DOI. Original downloads remain byte-identical; their three adjusted-only raw-coverage fields and publication-proxy labels require the correction notes above.
Across 108 journals, the typical journal took a median of 147 days from submission to acceptance for research articles published in 2024-2025; half of the journals had medians between 98 and 215 days.
Updated September 25, 20262026 editionSource: PubMed history dates108 journalsCC BY 4.0DOI 10.5281/zenodo.23001076Download CSVCite
Archived v2 tables and audit context
Submission to acceptance, by journal
Archived received-to-accepted intervals among operationally filtered PubMed records; includes author revisions, not pure reviewer time. Bars share one scale from 0 to 600 days; the tick marks the median.
Showing 108 of 108 journals
| Middle half (p25-p75) | Evidence | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACS Omega | 90 | 65-121 | 300 | 32 | Measured |
| Acta Biomaterialia | 119 | 96-149 | 300 | 6 | Measured |
| Allergy | 136 | 87-195 | 299 | 34 | Measured |
| The American Journal of Human Genetics | 150.5 | 112-197 | 294 | 28 | Measured |
| Bioinformatics | 156.5 | 115-208 | 248 | 3 | Measured |
| Biomaterials | 120 | 91-153 | 300 | 9 | Measured |
| Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy | 79 | 63-104 | 300 | 7.5 | Measured |
| Bioresource Technology | 74 | 55-99 | 299 | 4 | Measured |
| BMC Medicine | 162.5 | 133-216 | 300 | 16.5 | Measured |
| Brain | 147 | 111-199 | 291 | 27 | Measured |
| Cancer Cell | 227 | 48-312 | 290 | 26 | Measured |
| Cancer Letters | 103.5 | 71-145 | 300 | 7 | Measured |
| Cancer Research | 214 | 161-265 | 295 | 6 | Measured |
| Carbohydrate Polymers | 83 | 66-112 | 300 | 35 | Measured |
| Cell | 257.5 | 188-365 | 296 | 30 | Measured |
| Cell Death and Differentiation | 212 | 160-271 | 299 | 13 | Measured |
| Cell Death and Disease | 179.5 | 139-235 | 300 | 16 | Measured |
| Cell Discovery | 175.5 | 129-217 | 146 | 51 | Measured |
| Cell Metabolism | 238 | 178-337 | 295 | 30 | Measured |
| Cell Reports | 209 | 162-275 | 300 | 22 | Measured |
| Cell Stem Cell | 266 | 172-353 | 225 | 28 | Measured |
| Cell Systems | 316.5 | 243-407 | 186 | 28 | Measured |
| Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences | 122 | 90-178 | 300 | 31 | Measured |
| Chemosphere | 92 | 72-134 | 300 | 5 | Measured |
| Clinical Cancer Research | 127.5 | 94-174 | 300 | 5 | Measured |
| Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology | 103 | 62-149 | 294 | 24.5 | Measured |
| Communications Biology | 211 | 162-282 | 299 | 15 | Measured |
| Conservation Biology | 227.5 | 165-311 | 298 | 80.5 | Measured |
| Critical Care | 69 | 51-92 | 299 | 17 | Measured |
| Current Biology | 147 | 102-217 | 221 | 30 | Measured |
| Developmental Cell | 284 | 205-388 | 298 | 27 | Measured |
| Diabetes Care | 96 | 75-120 | 295 | 29 | Measured |
| Diabetologia | 98 | 75-136 | 299 | 63 | Measured |
| The EMBO Journal | 196 | 133-250 | 299 | 28 | Measured |
| Environment International | 107 | 84-142 | 300 | 9 | Measured |
| Environmental Pollution | 92 | 69-129 | 300 | 4 | Measured |
| Environmental Research | 78 | 61-104 | 300 | 5 | Measured |
| European Respiratory Journal | 170.5 | 123-248 | 198 | 30 | Measured |
| Experimental & Molecular Medicine | 173.5 | 128-222 | 284 | 84 | Measured |
| Food Chemistry | 118 | 84-155 | 300 | 10 | Measured |
| Frontiers in Immunology | 77 | 52-123 | 300 | 36 | Measured |
| Frontiers in Microbiology | 70 | 50-102 | 300 | 36 | Measured |
| Frontiers in Plant Science | 72.5 | 51-103 | 300 | 39 | Measured |
| Genes & Development | 117 | 94-150 | 97 | 27 | Measured |
| Genome Biology | 271 | 213-364 | 300 | 16 | Measured |
| Genome Research | 218 | 169-290 | 300 | 22 | Measured |
| Global Change Biology | 121.5 | 89-173 | 300 | 29 | Measured |
| Gut | 108 | 30-161 | 298 | 19 | Measured |
| Heliyon | 166.5 | 113-243 | 300 | 25 | Measured |
| Hepatology | 104 | 53-147 | 217 | 28 | Measured |
| Immunity | 283 | 194-362 | 289 | 28 | Measured |
| International Journal of Biological Macromolecules | 108.5 | 77-146 | 300 | 5 | Measured |
| International Journal of Molecular Sciences | 35 | 27-48 | 300 | 18 | Measured |
| International Journal of Oral Science | 153 | 113-203 | 89 | 46 | Measured |
| The ISME Journal | 117 | 81-162 | 295 | 4 | Measured |
| JCI Insight | 201 | 140-308 | 279 | 9 | Measured |
| Journal of Cell Biology | 207 | 153-283 | 260 | 32 | Measured |
| The Journal of Chemical Physics | 74 | 57-96 | 300 | 22 | Measured |
| Journal of Clinical Investigation | 243 | 162-364 | 226 | 11 | Measured |
| Journal of Colloid and Interface Science | 72.5 | 54-92 | 300 | 9 | Measured |
| Journal of Controlled Release | 106 | 82-135 | 300 | 5 | Measured |
| Journal of Environmental Management | 112 | 77-148 | 299 | 9 | Measured |
| Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research | 98 | 73-128 | 300 | 16 | Measured |
| Journal of Experimental Medicine | 196 | 147-281 | 247 | 33 | Measured |
| Journal of Hazardous Materials | 87 | 69-111 | 300 | 7 | Measured |
| The Journal of Immunology | 160 | 109-248 | 296 | 34 | Measured |
| Journal of Medical Internet Research | 177.5 | 112-281 | 298 | 50 | Measured |
| Journal of Neuroscience | 176.5 | 117-239 | 300 | 19 | Measured |
| Kidney International | 135.5 | 47-247 | 298 | 38 | Measured |
| Materials | 34 | 27-45 | 300 | 20 | Measured |
| Microbiome | 191 | 126-263 | 300 | 49 | Measured |
| Molecular Cell | 252 | 190-326 | 261 | 27 | Measured |
| Molecular Psychiatry | 261 | 194-342 | 300 | 15 | Measured |
| Molecular Systems Biology | 166 | 101-225 | 155 | 23 | Measured |
| Molecular Therapy | 160 | 103-196 | 289 | 6 | Measured |
| Molecules | 33 | 25-43 | 300 | 18 | Measured |
| Nature | 300.5 | 201-446 | 296 | 41 | Measured |
| Nature Cell Biology | 335.5 | 267-439 | 200 | 44 | Measured |
| Nature Chemical Biology | 286 | 228-382 | 183 | 37 | Measured |
| Nature Chemistry | 303 | 221-383 | 203 | 41 | Measured |
| Nature Communications | 250.5 | 176-320 | 300 | 19 | Measured |
| Nature Genetics | 371.5 | 297-478 | 194 | 42 | Measured |
| Nature Human Behaviour | 323 | 249-459 | 197 | 49 | Measured |
| Nature Metabolism | 301 | 211-403 | 189 | 42 | Measured |
| Nature Methods | 311 | 246-406 | 189 | 43 | Measured |
| Nature Microbiology | 263 | 190-353 | 233 | 45 | Measured |
| Nature Nanotechnology | 263 | 192-343 | 219 | 44 | Measured |
| Nature Neuroscience | 428 | 330-552 | 220 | 50 | Measured |
| Nature Protocols | 245 | 193-307 | 39 | 80 | Measured |
| Neuron | 230.5 | 149-311 | 278 | 30 | Measured |
| New Phytologist | 101 | 66-149 | 280 | 25 | Measured |
| Nucleic Acids Research | 146.5 | 81-240 | 298 | 19 | Measured |
| Nutrients | 29 | 22-39 | 300 | 17 | Measured |
| Physical Review Letters | 183 | 124-253 | 298 | 55 | Measured |
| Phytomedicine | 124.5 | 92-161 | 300 | 14 | Measured |
| PLoS Biology | 211 | 148-291 | 261 | 34 | Measured |
| PLoS Medicine | 183 | 146-239 | 256 | 37 | Measured |
| PLOS One | 140.5 | 103-214 | 300 | 37 | Measured |
| PNAS Nexus | 145 | 103-196 | 300 | 38 | Measured |
| Polymers | 33 | 25-42 | 300 | 19 | Measured |
| RNA | 92 | 48-139 | 211 | 20 | Measured |
| RSC Advances | 60 | 43-80 | 300 | 14 | Measured |
| The Science of The Total Environment | 87 | 67-118 | 300 | 6.5 | Measured |
| Scientific Reports | 139 | 97-199 | 300 | 14 | Measured |
| Sensors | 37 | 30-49 | 300 | 18 | Measured |
| Trends in Molecular Medicine | 36 | 23-58 | 67 | 22 | Measured |
| Waste Management | 125 | 92-173 | 300 | 8 | Measured |
| Water Research | 91 | 71-119 | 300 | 9 | Measured |
Publisher-reported submission-to-acceptance times for journals in this table. They are means, not medians, and cover a different period, so compare them with care:
- Journal of Clinical Investigation: 279.3 days (mean) Publisher-reported June 1, 2025 to May 31, 2026. A mean, not a median. Accepted manuscripts, first submission to notification of acceptance. Source: The Journal of Clinical Investigation: journal metrics
- JCI Insight: 246.3 days (mean) Publisher-reported June 1, 2025 to May 31, 2026. A mean, not a median. Accepted manuscripts, first submission to notification of acceptance. Source: JCI Insight: journal metrics
Archived 2026.1 analysis: ten years on, 2014-2015 against 2024-2025
Superseded by version 2026.2, which uses a fresh sample: see historical changes above. Kept unchanged as the record of the original release.
Across 60 journals measurable in both periods, the median journal took 17% longer to accept a research paper in 2024-2025 than in 2014-2015, though the 95% interval (0% to 34%) reaches no change, so the overall shift is modest. 37 got slower and 20 got faster. The split by publisher is sharper: all 10 Cell Press journals got slower (median +48%), while all 5 MDPI journals got faster (median -37%).
| Group | Median change | Slower / faster | Journals | 2014-2015 | 2024-2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cell Press | +48% | 10 / 0 | 10 | 164 days | 245 days |
| Nature-branded | +78% | 3 / 0 | 3 | 171 days | 263 days |
| MDPI | -37% | 0 / 5 | 5 | 56 days | 34 days |
| Other publishers | +8% | 24 / 15 | 42 | 112 days | 118 days |
Median days from submission to acceptance for research articles published in 2014-2015 and in 2024-2025, same journals and same method; includes author revision time; not time to first decision. Group columns are the median of the journals' medians; median change is the median of each journal's own change. Groups of fewer than ten journals describe those journals and are too small to test on their own.
Both periods use the method described below, with the same gates. 65 of the 108 journals in this edition pass them in 2014-2015 as well; the rest are out because their publishers deposited fewer dates then, or the journal did not exist yet. Nature itself is not in the comparison: PubMed held too small a share of its 2014-2015 output to pass the coverage gate. Our 2014-2015 medians were checked against Daniel Himmelstein's open PubMed delays data, and every journal in the comparison was within 25% of it. Twenty randomly chosen journals were also recomputed from raw PubMed records with independent code, and all twenty matched.
Held for a check: Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy (31 to 79 days; moved more than 2.5 times; one-year jump in 2016), Bioresource Technology (54 to 74 days; one-year jump in the yearly series in 2024), Microbiome (96 to 191 days; one-year jump in the yearly series in 2020), Nature Genetics (150 to 372 days; one-year jump in the yearly series in 2018) and Nature Neuroscience (72 to 428 days; moved more than 2.5 times; one-year jump in 2017). A discontinuity may reflect metadata conventions or a real editorial change. The original annual curves include truncated queries in four journals; a jump of more than 1.6 times in a single year that then holds, or a change of more than 2.5 times overall, triggered the original heuristic hold. It does not establish a changed received-date convention. The original holds remain in this archived analysis; version 2026.2 reports the inclusive panel and a fixed-hold sensitivity. With them included, the median change is +24%.
Showing 60 of 60 journals
| Acta Biomaterialia | 123 | 119 | -4 | -3% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The American Journal of Human Genetics | 76 | 150.5 | +74.5 | +98% |
| Biomaterials | 55 | 120 | +65 | +118% |
| BMC Medicine | 88.5 | 162.5 | +74 | +84% |
| Cancer Cell | 218 | 227 | +9 | +4% |
| Cancer Letters | 77 | 103.5 | +26.5 | +34% |
| Carbohydrate Polymers | 85 | 83 | -2 | -2% |
| Cell | 150 | 257.5 | +107.5 | +72% |
| Cell Death and Differentiation | 164.5 | 212 | +47.5 | +29% |
| Cell Death and Disease | 101 | 179.5 | +78.5 | +78% |
| Cell Metabolism | 168 | 238 | +70 | +42% |
| Cell Reports | 160 | 209 | +49 | +31% |
| Cell Stem Cell | 199 | 266 | +67 | +34% |
| Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences | 119 | 122 | +3 | +3% |
| Chemosphere | 120 | 92 | -28 | -23% |
| Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology | 97 | 103 | +6 | +6% |
| Conservation Biology | 162 | 227.5 | +65.5 | +40% |
| Current Biology | 92 | 147 | +55 | +60% |
| Developmental Cell | 194.5 | 284 | +89.5 | +46% |
| Diabetologia | 84 | 98 | +14 | +17% |
| Environment International | 120.5 | 107 | -13.5 | -11% |
| Environmental Pollution | 94 | 92 | -2 | -2% |
| Environmental Research | 100.5 | 78 | -22.5 | -22% |
| Experimental & Molecular Medicine | 86 | 173.5 | +87.5 | +102% |
| Food Chemistry | 145.5 | 118 | -27.5 | -19% |
| Frontiers in Microbiology | 70 | 70 | 0 | 0% |
| Frontiers in Plant Science | 75 | 72.5 | -2.5 | -3% |
| Genome Biology | 111.5 | 271 | +159.5 | +143% |
| Global Change Biology | 104 | 121.5 | +17.5 | +17% |
| Hepatology | 128 | 104 | -24 | -19% |
| Immunity | 189 | 283 | +94 | +50% |
| International Journal of Biological Macromolecules | 77.5 | 108.5 | +31 | +40% |
| International Journal of Molecular Sciences | 50 | 35 | -15 | -30% |
| The ISME Journal | 125.5 | 117 | -8.5 | -7% |
| Journal of Clinical Investigation | 163.5 | 243 | +79.5 | +49% |
| Journal of Colloid and Interface Science | 62 | 72.5 | +10.5 | +17% |
| Journal of Controlled Release | 99 | 106 | +7 | +7% |
| Journal of Environmental Management | 154 | 112 | -42 | -27% |
| Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research | 75.5 | 98 | +22.5 | +30% |
| Journal of Hazardous Materials | 95.5 | 87 | -8.5 | -9% |
| Journal of Medical Internet Research | 125.5 | 177.5 | +52 | +41% |
| Kidney International | 162 | 135.5 | -26.5 | -16% |
| Materials | 55.5 | 34 | -21.5 | -39% |
| Molecular Cell | 144 | 252 | +108 | +75% |
| Molecular Psychiatry | 127 | 261 | +134 | +106% |
| Molecules | 44 | 33 | -11 | -25% |
| Nature Cell Biology | 170.5 | 335.5 | +165 | +97% |
| Nature Communications | 141 | 250.5 | +109.5 | +78% |
| Nature Nanotechnology | 172 | 263 | +91 | +53% |
| New Phytologist | 70 | 101 | +31 | +44% |
| Nutrients | 63 | 29 | -34 | -54% |
| Phytomedicine | 113.5 | 124.5 | +11 | +10% |
| PLoS Biology | 149 | 211 | +62 | +42% |
| PLoS Medicine | 188 | 183 | -5 | -3% |
| PLOS One | 122.5 | 140.5 | +18 | +15% |
| The Science of The Total Environment | 87 | 87 | 0 | 0% |
| Scientific Reports | 112 | 139 | +27 | +24% |
| Sensors | 59 | 37 | -22 | -37% |
| Waste Management | 125 | 125 | 0 | 0% |
| Water Research | 116.5 | 91 | -25.5 | -22% |
How these times were measured
- Original sample. Up to 300 operationally filtered PubMed records per journal, drawn from intended monthly strata. Query limits and overlapping/year-only dates created frame gaps and ambiguous month assignments; the archived sample is not a verified uniform full-frame sample. It contains 30,853 records across 108 journals).
- Operational publication-type rule. PubMed Journal Article, with letters, comments, editorials, reviews, case reports, errata and similar types excluded. This does not certify publisher-verified original research.
- Interval. Days from the received date to the accepted date that publishers deposit in PubMed, summarized as a median with 25th and 75th percentiles (29,151 articles measured).
- Original inclusion gates. The PubMed all-type count divided by the Crossref journal-article count needed to reach 0.80, sometimes after supplement adjustment; this is not matched-record coverage. At least 60% of type-eligible fetched records needed both dates and n≥30. Three archived fields named raw contain adjusted values; version 2026.2 exports them separately.
- Divergence check. A journal that differs by more than 25% from a publisher-reported median for the same interval is held for review. 7 published journals were compared this way.
- Independent validation. 20 randomly chosen journals were recomputed from the raw PubMed records with separately written code; all 20 matched exactly.
The download opens with a field-by-field codebook. The full method and changelog are on the journal data home.
Cite this dataset
Manusights (2026). Journal acceptance times from PubMed history dates, 2026 edition (Version 2026.1) [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23001076
Not in this edition
We checked 284 journals. 176 are not in this edition, and a missing journal is a data gap, not a slow or fast journal.
- Held for review (8). In 6 journals, a fifth or more of the intervals were under 14 days, with a second cluster at the usual review time, which suggests the deposited received date is often the date of the revised submission: The Lancet, The Lancet Infectious Diseases, The Lancet Neurology, The Lancet Oncology, Gastroenterology and Cell Host & Microbe. Nature Medicine and Nature Structural & Molecular Biology differed by more than 25% from the submission-to-acceptance median Nature Portfolio publishes for 2025.
- No submission dates in PubMed (46). PubMed indexes these journals, but fewer than 60% of their operationally filtered records carry both a received and an accepted date, and 37 carry none. They include New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, BMJ, Science, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Circulation and Journal of Clinical Oncology.
- Low PubMed coverage (80). PubMed indexes fewer than 80% of the articles Crossref lists for the journal in 2024-2025, so a PubMed sample would not represent it. Examples: Blood, Annals of Oncology, Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Journal of Biological Chemistry and eLife, and many engineering, physics and economics titles.
- Not in PubMed (40). 36 journals had no records passing the operational type filter in PubMed for 2024-2025, and 4 are not in the NLM Catalog.
- Too few dated articles (2). Ageing Research Reviews and Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews had fewer than 30 measurable articles.
Time to first decision (publisher-reported and estimates)
Time to first decision ends at the journal's first response: a desk rejection, a revise decision, or an invitation deeper into review. These figures come from our journal guides, or, where a row links a source, from the publisher's own metrics page with its period and caveats. Each figure is tagged: publisher-reported figures are published by the journal or its publisher, reported figures are exact numbers from a public source that this table has not re-checked, and estimates are approximate. 127 of 172 journals have a figure; they are listed first.
A fast first decision is not automatically better. Some journals are fast because they desk reject aggressively. Others are slow because they send more papers into full review. For the desk-versus-after-review split where a publisher reports it, see the publisher-reported metrics; acceptance rates and impact factors for the same journals are on journal acceptance rates.
Showing 172 of 172 journals
| Appl. Energy | 1 day to first decision Publisher-reportedSource checked 2026-10-21. Submission to the first editorial decision, including initial editorial decisions; not completed external peer review. The catalog does not specify the reporting period, submission count or article-type coverage. The observation date is not a metric year. Source: Elsevier journal catalog |
|---|---|
| JCI Insight | 2 days without review; 35.9 days with review (means) Publisher-reportedJune 1, 2025 to May 31, 2026. Means, not medians. Source observations checked 2026-09-24. Source: JCI Insight: journal metrics |
| Microchem. J. | 3 days to first decision; 29 days after review Publisher-reportedSource: Microchemical Journal Insights |
| MSB | 3 days median to first decision Publisher-reportedSource: Molecular Systems Biology journal page |
| Physical Review D | 3 days median to first decision; 41 days after review (2025) Publisher-reportedSource: APS journal metrics |
| Carbohydr. Res. | 4 days to first decision Publisher-reportedSource: Carbohydrate Research ScienceDirect journal page |
| Nature Medicine | 4 days median to first decision (2025) Publisher-reportedSource: Nature Medicine journal metrics |
| Neuron | 4 days to first decision Publisher-reportedSource: Neuron journal insights |
| Chemical Physics | 5 days submission to first decision (publisher display) Publisher-reportedSource: Chemical Physics journal page |
| ESWA | 5 days to first decision Publisher-reportedSource checked 2026-10-21. Submission to the first editorial decision, including initial editorial decisions; not completed external peer review. The catalog does not specify the reporting period, submission count or article-type coverage. The observation date is not a metric year. Source: Elsevier journal catalog |
| Science Immunology | 5 days median to first decision; 64 days after review (2025) Publisher-reportedSource: Science journal metrics overview |
| J. Clin. Investigation | 5.4 days without review; 35 days with review (means) Publisher-reportedJune 1, 2025 to May 31, 2026. Means, not medians. Source observations checked 2026-09-24. Source: The Journal of Clinical Investigation: journal metrics |
| Brain | 6 days median to first decision (2025) Publisher-reportedSource: Brain About page (OUP) |
| Clin. Infect. Dis. | 6 days to first decision; 39 days excluding desk rejections Publisher-reportedSource: Why Publish with Clinical Infectious Diseases (OUP) |
| Nat. Rev. Cancer | 6 days median to first editorial decision Publisher-reportedSource: Nature Reviews Cancer journal metrics |
| Physical Review B | 6 days median to first decision; 47 days after review (2025) Publisher-reportedSource: APS journal metrics |
| Colloids and Surfaces A | 7 days to first decision Publisher-reportedSource: ScienceDirect journal insights |
| Physical Review Letters | 7 days median to first decision; 54 days after review (2025) Publisher-reportedSource: APS journal metrics |
| Science Translational Medicine | 7 days median to first decision; 82 days after review (2025) Publisher-reportedSource: Science journal metrics overview |
| Water Res. | 7 days to first decision Publisher-reportedSource checked 2026-10-21. Submission to the first editorial decision, including initial editorial decisions; not completed external peer review. The catalog does not specify the reporting period, submission count or article-type coverage. The observation date is not a metric year. Source: Elsevier journal catalog |
| eLife | 8 days without review (median) Publisher-reported2025 calendar year. Submissions not selected for peer review. Source observations checked 2026-09-24. Source: eLife: The eLife Model, three-year update |
| Energy | 8 days to first decision Publisher-reportedSource checked 2026-10-21. Submission to the first editorial decision, including initial editorial decisions; not completed external peer review. The catalog does not specify the reporting period, submission count or article-type coverage. The observation date is not a metric year. Source: Elsevier journal catalog |
| Nature | 8 days median to first editorial decision Publisher-reportedSource: Nature journal metrics |
| Nature Cancer | 8 days median to first editorial decision Publisher-reportedSource: Nature Cancer journal metrics |
| Nature Struct. & Mol. Biol. | 8 days median to first decision (2025) Publisher-reportedSource: Nature Structural & Molecular Biology journal metrics |
| Science | 8 days to first decision Publisher-reportedSource checked 2026-10-21. submission to first editorial decision; research articles, reports and research resources in full-year 2025. Reviews and analytical reviews are excluded. Initial editorial send-to-review or rejection decisions. Research-content cohort only. The published acceptance and external-review percentages must not be converted into a desk-rejection or conditional acceptance probability. Timing intervals have different outcomes and start points; they are not manuscript deadlines. Source: Science journal metrics |
| Science Advances | 8 days median to first decision; 58 days after review (2025) Publisher-reportedSource: Science journal metrics overview |
| Adv. Funct. Materials | 9 days median to first decision (2025) Publisher-reportedSource: Advanced Functional Materials journal metrics |
| Angewandte Chemie | 9 days median to first decision (2025) Publisher-reportedSource: Angewandte Chemie International Edition journal metrics (Wiley) |
| Applied Surface Science | 9 days to first decision Publisher-reportedSource checked 2026-10-21. Submission to the first editorial decision, including initial editorial decisions; not completed external peer review. The catalog does not specify the reporting period, submission count or article-type coverage. The observation date is not a metric year. Source: Elsevier journal catalog |
| Nature Communications | 9 days to first editorial decision Publisher-reportedSource: Nature Communications journal metrics |
| Nature Neuroscience | 9 days median to first decision (2025) Publisher-reportedSource: Nature Neuroscience journal metrics |
| Adv. Energy Mater. | 10 days median to first decision (2025) Publisher-reportedSource: Advanced Energy Materials journal metrics |
| Cell | 10 days median to first decision Publisher-reportedSource: Cell Press performance metrics |
| Nature Methods | 10 days median to first decision (2025) Publisher-reportedSource: Nature Methods journal metrics |
| PNAS | 10 days to first decision; 45 days after review (2025) Publisher-reportedSource: PNAS journal metrics |
| Chem. Soc. Rev. | 11 days median to first decision; 27 days after review Publisher-reportedSource: Chemical Society Reviews journal page |
| Nature Genetics | 11 days median to first decision (2025) Publisher-reportedSource: Nature Genetics journal metrics |
| Journal of Materials Chemistry A | 12 days median to first decision; 32 days after review Publisher-reportedSource: Journal of Materials Chemistry A journal page |
| Scientific Reports | 12 days median to first decision (2025) Publisher-reportedSource: Nature Portfolio journal metrics |
| Genome Biology | 13 days median to first decision Publisher-reportedSource: Genome Biology journal page |
| Advanced Materials | 14 days median submission to first decision Publisher-reportedSource: Wiley Online Library Advanced Materials journal metrics |
| Tourism Management | 14 days to first decision Publisher-reportedSource checked 2026-10-21. Submission to the first editorial decision, including initial editorial decisions; not completed external peer review. The catalog does not specify the reporting period, submission count or article-type coverage. The observation date is not a metric year. Source: Elsevier journal catalog |
| Materials | 14.4 days median to first decision (first half of 2026) Publisher-reportedSource: Materials journal page (MDPI) |
| Appl. Sci. | 15 days median to first decision (MDPI, first half of 2026) Publisher-reportedSource: MDPI journal home page |
| Blood | 15 days average to first decision (unsolicited submissions) Publisher-reportedSource: Why Submit to Blood (ASH) |
| Molecules | 15.6 days median to first decision (first half of 2026) Publisher-reportedSource: Molecules journal page (MDPI) |
| Nutrients | 15.8 days median to first decision (MDPI, first half of 2026) Publisher-reportedSource: Nutrients journal page (MDPI) |
| Chem. Commun. | 16 days median to first decision; 22 days after review Publisher-reportedSource: ChemComm journal page |
| Sustainability | 16.9 days median to first decision (first half of 2026) Publisher-reportedSource: MDPI journal home page |
| RSC Adv. | 17 days median to first decision; 27 days after review Publisher-reportedSource: RSC Advances journal page |
| IJMS | 17.5 days median to first decision (first half of 2026) Publisher-reportedSource: MDPI journal home page |
| Sensors | 17.8 days median to first decision (MDPI, first half of 2026) Publisher-reportedSource: MDPI journal home page |
| Diabetes Care | 18 days average to first decision Publisher-reportedSource: Diabetes Care About the Journal |
| Nucleic Acids Research | 18 days median to first decision (2025) Publisher-reportedSource: Nucleic Acids Research About page (OUP) |
| Molecular Psychiatry | 19 days median to first decision (2025) Publisher-reportedSource: Molecular Psychiatry journal metrics |
| Small | 19 days median to first decision (2025) Publisher-reportedSource: Small journal metrics |
| Circulation Research | <21 days (typical) Publisher-reportedSource: Circulation Research author instructions |
| PLOS Pathogens | 22 days (median) Publisher-reported2025 calendar year. PLOS first-decision dataset; review-path inclusion not specified. Source observations checked 2026-09-24. Source: PLOS: publication metrics (2025) |
| Remote Sens. | 22 days median to first decision (MDPI, first half of 2026) Publisher-reportedSource: MDPI journal home page |
| Gut | 23 days with review; 3 days without review (medians, 2025) Publisher-reportedSource: Gut About page |
| Appl. Phys. Lett. | 24 days average to first decision (2025) Publisher-reportedSource: About Applied Physics Letters (AIP Publishing) |
| JAMA | 24 days with review; 2 days without review (medians) Publisher-reportedSource: JAMA For Authors page |
| J. Appl. Phys. | 26 days average to first decision (2025) Publisher-reportedSource: AIP Publishing applied physics journals |
| J. Chem. Phys. | 28 days average to first decision (2025) Publisher-reportedSource: About The Journal of Chemical Physics (AIP Publishing) |
| J. Clin. Oncology | about 4 weeks to first decision Publisher-reportedSource: ASCO peer review process |
| ACS Catal. | 28.6 days with review; 5.4 days without review (medians) Publisher-reportedSource: ACS Journal Metrics |
| JACS | 29.1 days with review; 7 days without review (medians) Publisher-reportedSource: ACS Journal Metrics |
| Nano Lett. | 30.2 days with review; 7.4 days without review (medians) Publisher-reportedSource: ACS Journal Metrics |
| JAMA Oncology | 32 days with review; 3 days without review (medians) Publisher-reportedSource: JAMA Oncology For Authors page |
| PLOS ONE | 32 days median to first decision (2025) Publisher-reportedSource: PLOS metrics |
| Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. | 33 days median to first decision (2024) Publisher-reportedSource: RAS publication statistics |
| ACS Nano | 34 days with review; 5.4 days without review (medians) Publisher-reportedSource: ACS Journal Metrics |
| ACS Appl. Materials | 34.4 days with review; 5.2 days without review (medians) Publisher-reportedSource: ACS Journal Metrics |
| J. Phys. Chem. C | 34.9 days with review; 6 days without review (medians) Publisher-reportedSource: ACS Journal Metrics |
| Clin. Cancer Res. | 35 days with review; 3.8 days without review (medians) Publisher-reportedSource: AACR Manuscript Turnaround Guarantee |
| J. Immunol. | 35 days (mean) Publisher-reported2025 calendar year. A mean, not a median. Submissions to The Journal of Immunology; review-path inclusion not specified. Source observations checked 2026-09-24. Source: AAI News: Inside the Publishing Process at the AAI Journals |
| Anal. Chem. | 36.8 days with review; 4.3 days without review (medians) Publisher-reportedSource: ACS Journal Metrics |
| J. Agric. Food Chem. | 41.9 days with review; 0.9 days without review (medians) Publisher-reportedSource: ACS Journal Metrics |
| IEEE Access | 4 to 6 weeks average from submission to publication (IEEE Access) Publisher-reportedSource: IEEE Access rapid peer review |
| JAMA Network Open | 46 days with review; 2 days without review (medians) Publisher-reportedSource: JAMA Network Open For Authors page |
| PLOS Biol. | 48 days (median) Publisher-reported2025 calendar year. PLOS first-decision dataset; review-path inclusion not specified. Source observations checked 2026-09-24. Source: PLOS: publication metrics (2025) |
| Environ. Sci. Technology | 48.2 days with review; 8.5 days without review (medians) Publisher-reportedSource: ACS Journal Metrics |
| Chemical Reviews | 58 days with review; 12.7 days without review (medians) Publisher-reportedSource: ACS Journal Metrics |
| PLOS Medicine | 67 days median to first decision (2025) Publisher-reportedSource: PLOS metrics |
| BMJ Open | 134 days median with review Publisher-reportedBMJ Open reports 134 days median to first decision with review. Source: BMJ Open about page |
| Ceram. Int. | 1 day to first decision (Elsevier Journal Finder, all first decisions incl. desk rejections) Reported |
| Environmental Research | 2 days submission to first decision on ScienceDirect Reported |
| Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. | 2 days to first decision (Elsevier Journal Finder, all first decisions incl. desk rejections) Reported |
| AJHG | 3 days median to first editorial decision (Cell Press) Reported |
| Ann. Oncol. | 3 days to first decision (Elsevier Journal Finder, all first decisions incl. desk rejections) Reported |
| BMC Medicine | 3 days median to first editorial decision Reported |
| Constr. Build. Materials | 3 days to first decision (Elsevier Journal Finder, all first decisions incl. desk rejections) Reported |
| J. Colloid Interface Sci. | 3 days to first decision (Elsevier Journal Finder, all first decisions incl. desk rejections) Reported |
| Nature Biotechnology | 4 days median to first editorial decision Reported |
| The EMBO Journal | 4-day median first decision Reported |
| Appl. Catal. B | 5 days to first decision Reported |
| Cell Reports | 5 days median to first editorial decision Reported |
| Int. J. Biol. Macromol. | 5 days to first decision (Elsevier Journal Finder, all first decisions incl. desk rejections) Reported |
| JAMA Cardiology | 5 days without external review; 37 days with review (medians) Reported |
| Nature Immunology | 5 days median to first editorial decision Reported |
| PRX Quantum | 5 days before review; 58 days after review (2025 APS aggregates) Reported |
| Cell Metabolism | 7 days median to first editorial decision (Cell Press) Reported |
| Immunity | 7 days median to first editorial decision (Cell Press) Reported |
| J. Alloys Compd. | 8 days to first decision (Elsevier Journal Finder, all first decisions incl. desk rejections) Reported |
| Fuel | 9 days to first decision (Elsevier Journal Finder, all first decisions incl. desk rejections) Reported |
| Chemical Engineering Journal | 10 days to first decision Reported |
| J. Power Sources | 10 days to first decision (Elsevier Journal Finder, all first decisions incl. desk rejections) Reported |
| Nature Chemical Biology | 11 days median to first editorial decision Reported |
| Circulation | 17 days median to first decision Reported |
| Molecular Cell | 19 days median to first editorial decision (Cell Press) ReportedThe official insights page publishes submission-to-acceptance timing, but not a first-decision metric. Source: Molecular Cell journal insights |
| Food Chem. | 31 days to first decision (Elsevier Journal Finder, all first decisions incl. desk rejections) Reported |
| Cancer Cell | ~5 days to desk decision; ~8 weeks to first decision after review Estimate |
| Lancet Infectious Diseases | 2-4 weeks to first decision Estimate |
| Lancet Neurology | 2-4 weeks initial decision Estimate |
| Bioinformatics | ~23 days median first decision Estimate |
| Gastroenterology | ~25 days Estimate |
| Phytomedicine | ~4-8 weeks Estimate |
| Cell Host & Microbe | 30-45 days to first decision Estimate |
| Cell Stem Cell | 30-45 days Estimate |
| Current Biology | 30-45 days for initial decision Estimate |
| Developmental Cell | 30-45 days initial decision Estimate |
| J. Cleaner Production | ~45 days median to first decision Estimate |
| J. Biol. Chemistry | ~8-12 weeks Estimate |
| Sci. Total Environment | ~60 days to first decision Estimate |
| Acta Materialia | ~3-5 months to first decision EstimateEstimated from the Acta Materialia submission workflow and public author guidance, not an official median. Source: Acta Materialia Guide for Authors |
| Struct. Biol. | ~90-120 days median Estimate |
| AMP | Not published by the journalChecked against the publisher's own pages in the 2026-10 journal-fact audit: the publisher does not publish this figure. |
| Ann Surg Oncol | Not publicly verified |
| ApJ | Not published by the journalChecked against the publisher's own pages in the 2026-10 journal-fact audit: the publisher does not publish this figure. |
| Appl. Catal. A | Check current publisher guidance |
| Astron. Astrophys. | Not published by the journalChecked against the publisher's own pages in the 2026-10 journal-fact audit: the publisher does not publish this figure. |
| Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy | Editorial screening first; peer review after editor fit |
| Bioresour. Technol. | Not publicly verified |
| BMJ | Not published by the journalThe BMJ's only published figure is a 2019 median (58 days with review); too old to show as a current figure. Checked 2026-10-10. |
| Building and Environment | Editorial screening first; peer review after editor fit |
| Cancer Res. | Varies by manuscript |
| Carbohydr. Polym. | Not publicly verified |
| Cell Death & Disease | Editorial screening first; peer review after editor fit |
| Cell Death and Differentiation | Editorial screening first; peer review after editor fit |
| Cells & Development | Not publicly verified |
| Current Research in Translational Medicine | Not disclosedSource: Elsevier Guide for Authors |
| Diabetologia | Not published by the journalChecked against the publisher's own pages in the 2026-10 journal-fact audit: the publisher does not publish this figure. |
| Drugs | Presubmission inquiry before invited Review development |
| EnergyChem | Not publicly verified |
| European Heart Journal | No verified current duration |
| Front. Microbiol. | Not publicly verified |
| Front. Pharmacol. | Varies by specialty section and review pathFrontiers describes the submission and peer-review process, but timing varies by article type, section, and reviewer availability. |
| Front. Plant Sci. | Not publicly verified |
| Frontiers in Immunology | Not published by the journalChecked against the publisher's own pages in the 2026-10 journal-fact audit: the publisher does not publish this figure. |
| Genome Res. | Not published by the journalChecked against the publisher's own pages in the 2026-10 journal-fact audit: the publisher does not publish this figure. |
| Hepatology | Not published by the journalChecked against the publisher's own pages in the 2026-10 journal-fact audit: the publisher does not publish this figure. |
| IEEE TPAMI | Editorial screening first |
| Int. J. Hydrog. Energy | Not published by Elsevier (Journal Finder shows no figure) |
| J. Hazard. Mater. | Not publicly verified |
| JACC | Not published by the journalChecked against the publisher's own pages in the 2026-10 journal-fact audit: the publisher does not publish this figure. |
| JCAP | Editorial screening first |
| JCB | Presubmission replies often within about two days; peer-review timing depends on editor fit |
| JCR | Editorial screening first; peer review after delivery-mechanism fit |
| JEM | Not published by the journalChecked against the publisher's own pages in the 2026-10 journal-fact audit: the publisher does not publish this figure. |
| Journal of CO2 Utilization | Editorial screening first; peer review after editor fit |
| Journal of Energy Storage | Elsevier insights report first decision and review timelines at journal level |
| Journal of Hydrology | Editorial screening first |
| Journal of Neuroscience | Not published by the journalChecked against the publisher's own pages in the 2026-10 journal-fact audit: the publisher does not publish this figure. |
| Lancet | Not published by the journalChecked against the publisher's own pages in the 2026-10 journal-fact audit: the publisher does not publish this figure. |
| Lancet Oncology | Not published by the journalChecked against the publisher's own pages in the 2026-10 journal-fact audit: the publisher does not publish this figure. |
| Nat. Rev. Mol. Cell Biol. | Not published by the journalChecked against the publisher's own pages in the 2026-10 journal-fact audit: the publisher does not publish this figure. |
| NEJM | Not published by the journalChecked against the publisher's own pages in the 2026-10 journal-fact audit: the publisher does not publish this figure. |
| RMP | Proposal and editorial encouragement first |
| RNA | Not published by the journalChecked against the publisher's own pages in the 2026-10 journal-fact audit: the publisher does not publish this figure. |
| The Plant Cell | The journal reports fast first-decision timing for reviewed manuscripts |
| Trends Mol. Med. | Not publicly verified |
What these timelines actually measure
The two tables answer different questions. Submission to acceptance runs from the day a manuscript arrives to the day it is accepted, so it includes every round of review and the time authors spend revising, and it covers accepted papers only. Time to first decision stops at the journal's first response.
First-decision figures can cover different populations: all submitted manuscripts, papers sent to external review, or accepted papers. Compare the source definitions and reporting periods before comparing numbers.
The data on this page do not establish whether editorial staffing, reviewer recruitment or author revision caused differences between journals.
What remains unmeasured
Received-to-accepted histories cannot isolate recruitment, reviewer reports or author revisions. The archived codebook disclosed PubMed entry as a publication proxy; entry can lag publication, so version 2026.2 does not treat it as a publication date. Separate medians cannot be added to estimate a median submission-to-publication time.
Use the target journal's current instructions for revision deadlines and its explicitly defined operational metrics for planning. We have no global count of manuscripts presently under review.
When the timeline matters most
Speed matters when you're in a competitive field and someone else is working on the same question. It matters when you have a job application deadline or a grant report due. It matters less when you have the luxury of time and care more about getting the best possible feedback.
If speed is critical, check whether the journal offers expedited review (some do for time-sensitive findings). Also consider preprints: posting on bioRxiv or medRxiv establishes your priority date while you wait for the journal process to play out.
For more on choosing the right journal for your situation, see our guide on how to choose the right journal.
Before you wait six months to find out
Know if your manuscript is ready before you submit
Review timelines are long because most manuscripts need revision. The faster move is to screen the draft for submission-readiness issues before you enter the queue.
Run the submission-readiness checkUse this data
The measured acceptance times for all 108 journals are free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with attribution. Every row carries its percentiles, article count, deposit rate and PubMed coverage, and the file opens with a field-by-field codebook. The first-decision figures above are not part of the download.
Related resources
- Journal Acceptance Rates - how selective each journal is
- How to Respond to Reviewer Comments - make the revision process as smooth as possible
- Major vs Minor Revision - what each decision actually means for your paper
- All Journal Publishing Guides - detailed submission advice for each journal