Short answer: Nature Communications carries a 2-year Journal Impact Factor of 15.7 (5-year: 17.2) as most recently confirmed on the journal’s own official metrics page, and sits in Q1, Multidisciplinary Sciences in Clarivate’s Journal Citation Reports. It’s a fully open-access (Gold OA) journal, indexed in Web of Science (SCIE), Scopus, PubMed, and DOAJ.
What is the current Journal Impact Factor of Nature Communications, and how strong is it as a publication venue? Nature Communications is one of the highest-impact fully open-access journals globally, ranking in Q1 (Multidisciplinary Sciences) in Clarivate’s Journal Citation Reports and indexed across major databases including Web of Science (SCIE), Scopus, PubMed, and DOAJ.
Metrics at a Glance
| Journal Impact Factor (2-year, 2024 data) | 15.7 — Nature.com official |
|---|---|
| 5-Year Impact Factor (2024 data) | 17.2 — Nature.com official |
| JCR Category & Quartile | Q1 — Multidisciplinary Sciences |
| CiteScore | Not independently verified for this draft — pull current value from Scopus directly |
| SJR (SCImago Journal Rank) | Not independently verified for this draft — pull current value from SCImago directly |
| Indexing Status | SCIE (Web of Science), Scopus, PubMed/PMC, DOAJ |
| Open Access Model | Fully OA (Gold), Springer Nature |
| ISSN / eISSN | 2041-1723 |
Nature vs. Nature Communications: What’s the Difference?
A common question from Master’s and PhD students is how Nature Communications differs from the flagship journal Nature. Both are part of Springer Nature, but they serve different roles.
Nature
Hybrid/subscription-based model, with some OA options available. Extremely selective, focusing on a small volume of groundbreaking, general-interest research with broad cross-disciplinary appeal.
Nature Communications
Fully open access (Gold OA) — all articles are immediately free to read under Creative Commons licenses, funded by author-paid APCs. Still highly selective, but publishes a much larger volume of specialized research across the natural sciences.
Within Springer Nature’s open-access lineup, Nature Communications sits as the flagship OA journal in the Nature family, while Scientific Reports is a broader, more inclusive OA megajournal with a lower JIF and different selectivity profile. For early-career researchers, Nature Communications is often seen as a prestigious Q1 OA target when your work is strong but may not fit Nature’s ultra-brief, general-interest format.
Indexing & Editorial Information
Nature Communications maintains full indexing in major academic databases, which is important for both visibility and institutional evaluation.
- Web of Science: Indexed in the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE), making it eligible for an official Clarivate Journal Impact Factor.
- Scopus: Fully tracked under multidisciplinary categories, with CiteScore, SJR, and SNIP metrics.
- PubMed / PubMed Central: All biomedical and life sciences papers are deposited directly in PMC upon publication.
- DOAJ: Listed in the Directory of Open Access Journals, confirming its OA status and basic quality criteria.
This multi-database indexing means the journal is recognized by most universities, funding bodies, and bibliometric tools. If you want to verify any journal’s indexing and metrics yourself rather than relying on a summary page, see our step-by-step guide to finding a journal’s impact factor.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the acceptance rate of Nature Communications?
Springer Nature does not publish an official, fixed acceptance rate. External editorial data and author reports typically estimate the acceptance rate at around 7–10%, reflecting rigorous peer review and editorial selection.
How long does the review process take?
Nature Communications reports a median of about 8 days to a first editorial decision. Total time to publication is often reported by authors as 5–7 months, depending on the number of revision rounds and final production time.
Is Nature Communications a Q1 journal?
Yes. Nature Communications is ranked in Quartile 1 (Q1) in the Multidisciplinary Sciences category in both Clarivate Journal Citation Reports and Scopus/SJR rankings. For researchers in institutions that use quartiles for evaluation, this is a strong signal of journal quality — see our field-by-field guide to what counts as a good impact factor for how to weigh quartile against raw JIF.
Is Nature Communications a good journal for early-career researchers?
It can be an excellent target if your work is methodologically solid and makes a clear advance in your sub-field, you have support from senior co-authors for framing and positioning, and you’re comfortable with a competitive submission process and possible long review cycles.
Related Journal Profiles & Resources
Explore Springer Nature sister journal Scientific Reports (broad OA megajournal)
Learn how to verify metrics yourself: How to Find a Journal’s Impact Factor
Understand what “good” means in context: What Is a Good Impact Factor? A Field-by-Field Guide
Sources & Further Reading
CASRAI — Journal Impact Factor and Quartile Rankings Guide
UTSA Libraries — Journal Impact Factor Research Guide