Cureus: review time and acceptance speed
ISSN 2168-8184 · Cureus, Inc. · Medicine
Half of the articles Cureus accepted in 2025 were accepted within 49 days of submission (n = 1,657); the middle half took 31–83 days.
Accepted articles only · dates deposited by the publisher in PubMed · data as of Sep 15, 2026
How long does Cureus take to accept a paper?
| Year | Articles (n) | 25th pct | Median | 75th pct | 90th pct | Accepted <14 days | Have a revised date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,657 | 31 | 49 | 83 | 140 | 2.5% | 0% |
| 2024 | 4,567 | 23 | 37 | 64 | 112 | 7.5% | 0% |
| 2023 | 2,271 | 27 | 47 | 83 | 141 | 4.8% | 0% |
| 2022 | 1,415 | 26 | 42 | 69 | 103 | 4.0% | 0% |
| 2021 | 326 | 28 | 44 | 74 | 210 | 5.8% | 0% |
- 2026: not shown yet — a year is reported once late-indexed articles have arrived (at least 180 days after it ends).
Research articles vs reviews (2025)
| Type | n | 25th pct | Median | 75th pct |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Research articles | 536 | 31 | 50 | 82 |
| Reviews | 289 | 28 | 42 | 69 |
Distribution in 2025
Show as a table
| Days | Articles | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 0–29 | 382 | 23.1% |
| 30–59 | 610 | 36.8% |
| 60–89 | 296 | 17.9% |
| 90–119 | 145 | 8.8% |
| 120–149 | 71 | 4.3% |
| 150–179 | 44 | 2.7% |
| 180–209 | 36 | 2.2% |
| 210–239 | 20 | 1.2% |
| 240–269 | 12 | 0.7% |
| 270–299 | 8 | 0.5% |
| 300–329 | 6 | 0.4% |
| 330–359 | 3 | 0.2% |
| 360+ | 24 | 1.4% |
From acceptance to online publication
After acceptance, half of the 2025 articles appeared online within 0 days (middle half 0–1 days, n = 23,676).
From submission to online publication, the median was 50 days (middle half 31–85 days, n = 1,657).
Read these numbers carefully
- Only 7% of this journal's 2025 articles in PubMed carry both a submission and an acceptance date, so these figures may not represent all of its articles.
- These times describe articles the journal accepted. Rejected manuscripts never appear in public data, so they cannot tell you how long a rejection takes.
- Dates are the ones the publisher deposited with PubMed. Some publishers record the date a revised manuscript arrived as the submission date, which makes review look faster.
- Invited articles and special issues can move faster than regular submissions.
Open access status and publishing fees
Open access (not listed in DOAJ). No listed APC found in DOAJ or OpenAlex. That does not mean publishing is free — check the journal's author guidelines.
OpenAPC has fewer than 5 reported payments for this journal in 2023–2025, so no typical amount is shown.
Many journals waive or reduce fees for authors from eligible countries or institutions with publishing agreements — check with the journal and your library.
Integrity and indexing signals
Facts from public records, shown without judgement. See the methodology for why each can be worth a closer look.
| Listed in DOAJ | No |
|---|---|
| Articles indexed for MEDLINE in 2025 | None found (the journal may be in PubMed through PubMed Central instead) |
| Retractions | 191 retracted articles among 85,994 added to PubMed in 2021–2025 (2.22 per 1,000), per the Retraction Watch Database. |
| Accepted within 14 days of submission | 2.5% of 2025 articles |
| Publication volume | 23,093 articles added to PubMed in 2025 (-8% vs 2024). |
Topics and scope
- COVID-19 Clinical Research Studies (5% of indexed topics)
- Gastrointestinal disorders and treatments (5% of indexed topics)
- Spine and Intervertebral Disc Pathology (5% of indexed topics)
- Orthopedic Surgery and Rehabilitation (5% of indexed topics)
- Sarcoma Diagnosis and Treatment (4% of indexed topics)
- Anesthesia and Pain Management (4% of indexed topics)
Similar journals — faster or cheaper, side by side
Journals publishing on the most similar topics (OpenAlex), ordered by similarity. Only 2025 figures are compared with the 2025 median of Cureus, 49 days.
| Paid APC median | DOAJ | MEDLINE | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Journal of College of Physicians And Surgeons Pakistan | 156 (2025, n = 357) | — | — | No | Yes |
| Journal of Medical Cases | 55 (2025, n = 83) | — | — | No | No |
| Annals of Medicine and Surgery | 110 (2025, n = 1,229) | ≈$1,850 | — | No | No |
| Medicinski Glasnik | 1 (2025, n = 74) | ≈$288 | — | Yes | Yes |
| Clinical Case Reports | 148 (2025, n = 1,599) | $1,910 | $1,461 (7 payments) | Yes | No |
| Clinics and Practice | 49 (2025, n = 234) | ≈$1,956 | $1,947 (6 payments) | Yes | No |
| Journal of Community Hospital Internal Medicine Perspectives | 104 (2025, n = 106) | $500 | — | Yes | No |
| Orthopedic Reviews | 18 (2025, n = 122) | $1,200 | — | Yes | No |
No journals match these filters.
Frequently asked questions
How long does Cureus take to accept a paper?
Half of the articles Cureus accepted in 2025 were accepted within 49 days of submission (n = 1,657); the middle half took 31–83 days. Based on dates in PubMed for accepted articles only.
How long after acceptance are Cureus articles published online?
Half of the articles accepted in 2025 appeared online within 0 days of acceptance (n = 23,676).
Does Cureus charge an article processing charge (APC)?
No listed APC found in DOAJ or OpenAlex. That does not mean publishing is free — check the journal's author guidelines.
Sources and method
Journal identity: ISSN-L 2168-8184; NLM ID 101596737; OpenAlex record. Speed figures use 1,657 articles accepted in 2025 with valid dates; excluded records for that year: no received date 22,019.
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Data sources. Submission, acceptance and publication dates: Courtesy of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (PubMed, entries through Sep 15, 2026). NLM does not endorse Journal Clock, and these figures may not reflect the most current PubMed data. Journal fees and open-access listing: DOAJ (CC0, retrieved Sep 16, 2026). Fees paid by institutions: OpenAPC (Open Database License, retrieved Sep 16, 2026). Retractions: Retraction Watch Database via Crossref (retrieved Sep 16, 2026). Journal identifiers and topics: OpenAlex (CC0). Currency conversion: ECB reference rates (Sep 15, 2026). How these numbers are calculated · For organisations.