Frontiers in Plant Science: review time and acceptance speed

ISSN 1664-462X · Frontiers Media · Agricultural and Biological Sciences

Half of the articles Frontiers in Plant Science accepted in 2025 were accepted within 70 days of submission (n = 3,153); the middle half took 49–104 days.

Submission → acceptance (2025)
70 days median
middle half 49–104 · n = 3,153
Acceptance → online
24 days median
middle half 20–31 · n = 3,153
Change since 2023
No clear change since 2023 (median 67 → 70 days; 90% CI +2 to +4 days).
Open access · fees
Open access (DOAJ) · ≈$3,850

Accepted articles only · dates deposited by the publisher in PubMed · data as of Sep 15, 2026

Plan submissions to a deadline — free

How long does Frontiers in Plant Science take to accept a paper?

days045901351802020: middle half 70–134 days952020n=2,2192021: middle half 48–99 days682021n=3,3142022: middle half 35–76 days522022n=5,4412023: middle half 48–98 days672023n=3,5822024: middle half 55–113 days802024n=2,7282025: middle half 49–104 days702025n=3,153
Line = median; shaded box = middle half of articles (25th–75th percentile). Year of acceptance.
Days from submission to acceptance, by year of acceptance
YearArticles (n)25th pctMedian75th pct90th pctAccepted <14 daysHave a revised date
20253,15349701041480.1%19%
20242,72855801131530.1%0%
20233,5824867981350.2%0%
20225,4413552761121.0%0%
20213,3144868991400.2%0%
20202,21970951341890.0%0%

Research articles vs reviews (2025)

Typen25th pctMedian75th pct
Research articles2,8594970105
Reviews294476596

Distribution in 2025

0–29 days: 5% (160 articles)030–59 days: 34% (1,060 articles)3060–89 days: 28% (874 articles)6090–119 days: 16% (499 articles)90120–149 days: 8% (262 articles)120150–179 days: 4% (134 articles)150180–209 days: 2% (73 articles)180210–239 days: 1% (36 articles)210240–269 days: 1% (25 articles)240270–299 days: 0% (14 articles)270300–329 days: 0% (8 articles)300330–359 days: 0% (2 articles)330360+ days: 0% (6 articles)360+days from submission to acceptance (30-day bins)
Show as a table
DaysArticlesShare
0–291605.1%
30–591,06033.6%
60–8987427.7%
90–11949915.8%
120–1492628.3%
150–1791344.2%
180–209732.3%
210–239361.1%
240–269250.8%
270–299140.4%
300–32980.3%
330–35920.1%
360+60.2%

From acceptance to online publication

After acceptance, half of the 2025 articles appeared online within 24 days (middle half 20–31 days, n = 3,153).

From submission to online publication, the median was 97 days (middle half 73–134 days, n = 3,153).

Read these numbers carefully

  • 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 (listed in DOAJ). Listed APC: 3,150 CHF (about $3,850 at ECB rates of Sep 15, 2026; DOAJ).

Institutions reported paying a median of about $3,264 per article (2023–2025, 256 reported payments in OpenAPC; converted from euros at yearly ECB average rates).

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 DOAJYes (DOAJ record)
Articles indexed for MEDLINE in 2025None found (the journal may be in PubMed through PubMed Central instead)
Retractions10 retracted articles among 18,178 added to PubMed in 2021–2025 (0.55 per 1,000), per the Retraction Watch Database.
Accepted within 14 days of submission0.1% of 2025 articles
Publication volume3,089 articles added to PubMed in 2025 (+14% vs 2024).

Topics and scope

Agricultural and Biological Sciences journalsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology journalsPlant Science journals

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 Frontiers in Plant Science, 70 days.

Paid APC medianDOAJMEDLINE
Plant Direct158 (2025, n = 89)$3,120YesNo
Molecular Plant105 (2025, n = 223)≈$5,000NoYes
Journal of Integrative Plant Biology97 (2025, n = 264)≈$3,000NoYes
Journal of Experimental Botany134 (2025, n = 503)≈$4,341$3,660 (10 payments)NoYes
The Plant Journal139 (2025, n = 640)≈$5,450NoYes
Plant Communications153 (2025, n = 260)$3,500$2,619 (8 payments)YesYes
Plants37 (2025, n = 3,875)≈$3,300$2,405 (98 payments)YesNo
Plant Physiology and Biochemistry94 (2025, n = 1,367)≈$3,990NoYes
Trends in Plant Science82 (2025, n = 185)≈$7,030$6,434 (5 payments)NoYes
Plant Science105 (2025, n = 476)≈$3,760NoYes

Frequently asked questions

How long does Frontiers in Plant Science take to accept a paper?

Half of the articles Frontiers in Plant Science accepted in 2025 were accepted within 70 days of submission (n = 3,153); the middle half took 49–104 days. Based on dates in PubMed for accepted articles only.

How long after acceptance are Frontiers in Plant Science articles published online?

Half of the articles accepted in 2025 appeared online within 24 days of acceptance (n = 3,153).

Does Frontiers in Plant Science charge an article processing charge (APC)?

Listed APC: 3,150 CHF (about $3,850 at ECB rates of Sep 15, 2026; DOAJ).

Sources and method

Journal identity: ISSN-L 1664-462X; NLM ID 101568200; OpenAlex record. Speed figures use 3,153 articles accepted in 2025 with valid dates; excluded records for that year: none.

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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.