GigaScience: review time and acceptance speed

ISSN 2047-217X · University of Oxford · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Half of the articles GigaScience accepted in 2025 were accepted within 177 days of submission (n = 152); the middle half took 131–221 days.

Submission → acceptance (2025)
177 days median
middle half 131–221 · n = 152
Change since 2023
No clear change since 2023 (median 180 → 177 days; 90% CI -23 to +18 days).
Open access · fees
Open access (DOAJ) · $2,638

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 GigaScience take to accept a paper?

days0751502253002020: middle half 110–207 days1582020n=1462021: middle half 116–207 days1582021n=902022: middle half 111–196 days1542022n=1172023: middle half 134–237 days1802023n=1142024: middle half 138–242 days1792024n=1192025: middle half 131–221 days1772025n=152
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
20251521311772211.3%99%
20241191381792420.8%97%
20231141341802370.0%100%
20221171111541964.3%92%
2021901161582072.2%96%
20201461101582070.0%100%

Distribution in 2025

0–29 days: 1% (2 articles)030–59 days: 4% (6 articles)3060–89 days: 7% (11 articles)6090–119 days: 8% (12 articles)90120–149 days: 14% (22 articles)120150–179 days: 18% (28 articles)150180–209 days: 17% (26 articles)180210–239 days: 12% (19 articles)210240–269 days: 6% (9 articles)240270–299 days: 4% (6 articles)270300–329 days: 3% (5 articles)300330–359 days: 2% (3 articles)330360+ days: 2% (3 articles)360+days from submission to acceptance (30-day bins)
Show as a table
DaysArticlesShare
0–2921.3%
30–5963.9%
60–89117.2%
90–119127.9%
120–1492214.5%
150–1792818.4%
180–2092617.1%
210–2391912.5%
240–26995.9%
270–29963.9%
300–32953.3%
330–35932.0%
360+32.0%

From acceptance to online publication

Not enough articles with both an acceptance date and an online publication date to measure the time to online publication.

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: $2,638 (DOAJ).

Institutions reported paying a median of about $2,894 per article (2023–2025, 21 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 2025Yes
Retractions0 retracted articles among 622 added to PubMed in 2021–2025 (0.00 per 1,000), per the Retraction Watch Database.
Accepted within 14 days of submission1.3% of 2025 articles
Publication volume170 articles added to PubMed in 2025 (+48% vs 2024).

Topics and scope

Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology journalsMolecular Biology 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 GigaScience, 177 days.

Paid APC medianDOAJMEDLINE
BMC Genomic Data117 (2025, n = 104)$2,290$1,312 (5 payments)YesYes
Scientific Data147 (2025, n = 864)$2,690$2,246 (136 payments)YesYes
Molecular Biology and Evolution152 (2025, n = 329)$3,255$3,282 (53 payments)YesYes
Bioinformatics Advances126 (2025, n = 325)$2,620$2,564 (42 payments)YesNo
NAR Genomics and Bioinformatics156 (2025, n = 217)$2,633$2,670 (32 payments)YesYes
Bioinformatics168 (2025, n = 619)$3,798$3,855 (117 payments)YesYes
Journal of Molecular Evolution148 (2025, n = 58)≈$4,090NoYes
Genomics Proteomics & Bioinformatics350 (2025, n = 142)$3,650YesYes
BMC Genomics134 (2025, n = 1,282)$3,190$2,803 (54 payments)YesYes
Systematic and Applied Microbiology111 (2025, n = 57)≈$4,010NoYes

Frequently asked questions

How long does GigaScience take to accept a paper?

Half of the articles GigaScience accepted in 2025 were accepted within 177 days of submission (n = 152); the middle half took 131–221 days. Based on dates in PubMed for accepted articles only.

Does GigaScience charge an article processing charge (APC)?

Listed APC: $2,638 (DOAJ).

Sources and method

Journal identity: ISSN-L 2047-217X; NLM ID 101596872; OpenAlex record. Speed figures use 152 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.