The Plant Cell: review time and acceptance speed
ISSN 1040-4651 · ISSN 1532-298X · Oxford University Press · Agricultural and Biological Sciences
Half of the articles The Plant Cell accepted in 2025 were accepted within 37 days of submission (n = 285); the middle half took 9–99 days.
Accepted articles only · dates deposited by the publisher in PubMed · data as of Sep 15, 2026
How long does The Plant Cell take to accept a paper?
| Year | Articles (n) | 25th pct | Median | 75th pct | 90th pct | Accepted <14 days | Have a revised date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 285 | 9 | 37 | 99 | 165 | 34.4% | 0% |
| 2024 | 283 | 37 | 93 | 162 | 231 | 21.2% | 4% |
| 2023 | 252 | 49 | 104 | 160 | 207 | 13.9% | 0% |
| 2022 | 254 | 75 | 123 | 182 | 231 | 6.3% | 0% |
| 2021 | 221 | 64 | 109 | 165 | 219 | 12.2% | 0% |
| 2020 | 229 | 82 | 133 | 169 | 223 | 3.1% | 72% |
- 2026: not shown yet — a year is reported once late-indexed articles have arrived (at least 180 days after it ends).
Distribution in 2025
Show as a table
| Days | Articles | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 0–29 | 127 | 44.6% |
| 30–59 | 48 | 16.8% |
| 60–89 | 30 | 10.5% |
| 90–119 | 28 | 9.8% |
| 120–149 | 16 | 5.6% |
| 150–179 | 13 | 4.6% |
| 180–209 | 8 | 2.8% |
| 210–239 | 6 | 2.1% |
| 240–269 | 2 | 0.7% |
| 270–299 | 3 | 1.1% |
| 300–329 | 1 | 0.4% |
| 330–359 | 1 | 0.4% |
| 360+ | 2 | 0.7% |
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
Hybrid (subscription journal with an open-access option). Listed APC: about $4,934 (as reported by OpenAlex).
Institutions reported paying a median of about $4,195 per article (2023–2025, 9 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 DOAJ | No |
|---|---|
| Articles indexed for MEDLINE in 2025 | Yes |
| Retractions | 0 retracted articles among 1,343 added to PubMed in 2021–2025 (0.00 per 1,000), per the Retraction Watch Database. |
| Accepted within 14 days of submission | 34.4% of 2025 articles |
| Publication volume | 279 articles added to PubMed in 2025 (-6% vs 2024). |
Topics and scope
- Plant Molecular Biology Research (20% of indexed topics)
- Photosynthetic Processes and Mechanisms (12% of indexed topics)
- Plant Reproductive Biology (11% of indexed topics)
- Plant nutrient uptake and metabolism (8% of indexed topics)
- Plant Stress Responses and Tolerance (5% of indexed topics)
- Plant-Microbe Interactions and Immunity (5% of indexed topics)
Agricultural and Biological Sciences journalsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology journalsPlant Science 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 The Plant Cell, 37 days.
| Paid APC median | DOAJ | MEDLINE | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Plant Journal | 139 (2025, n = 640) | ≈$5,450 | — | No | Yes |
| Molecular Plant | 105 (2025, n = 223) | ≈$5,000 | — | No | Yes |
| Current Opinion in Plant Biology | 84 (2025, n = 105) | ≈$4,810 | $2,726 (5 payments) | No | Yes |
| Nature Plants | 246 (2025, n = 176) | ≈$12,690 | — | No | Yes |
| Plant Direct | 158 (2025, n = 89) | $3,120 | — | Yes | No |
| Plant Molecular Biology | 158 (2025, n = 119) | ≈$4,590 | — | No | Yes |
| Trends in Plant Science | 82 (2025, n = 185) | ≈$7,030 | $6,434 (5 payments) | No | Yes |
| Journal of Integrative Plant Biology | 97 (2025, n = 264) | ≈$3,000 | — | No | Yes |
| Plant Communications | 153 (2025, n = 260) | $3,500 | $2,619 (8 payments) | Yes | Yes |
| Planta | 102 (2025, n = 302) | ≈$4,590 | — | No | Yes |
No journals match these filters.
Frequently asked questions
How long does The Plant Cell take to accept a paper?
Half of the articles The Plant Cell accepted in 2025 were accepted within 37 days of submission (n = 285); the middle half took 9–99 days. Based on dates in PubMed for accepted articles only.
Does The Plant Cell charge an article processing charge (APC)?
Listed APC: about $4,934 (as reported by OpenAlex).
Sources and method
Journal identity: ISSN-L 1040-4651; NLM ID 9208688; OpenAlex record. Speed figures use 285 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.