Best Genetics Journals (2026)

Paste your title and abstract to get 5 realistic matches from verified biomedical journals — every publisher, no predatory journals, and your abstract is never stored.

Type your field and pick it to see the top-ranked journals — every journal listed is indexed in PubMed, DOAJ, or a curated core source list.

Top Genetics journals

#Journalh-indexCitations/paper (2 yr)TierAccessIndexed in
1Nature Reviews Disease Primers
Nature Portfolio
27635.91FlagshipSubscriptionPubMed · Core
2Molecular Psychiatry
Springer Nature
3208.48Leading field journalSubscriptionPubMed · Core
3Stem Cell Research & Therapy
BioMed Central
1797Leading field journalOpen access · APC $2,990PubMed · DOAJ · Core
4The American Journal of Human Genetics
Elsevier BV
3906.88Leading field journalSubscriptionPubMed · Core
5Annual Review of Genomics and Human Genetics
Annual Reviews
1576.74Leading field journalSubscriptionPubMed · Core
6Systematic Biology
Oxford University Press
2836.16Leading field journalSubscriptionPubMed · Core
7Genetics Selection Evolution
BioMed Central
1294.6Leading field journalOpen access · APC $2,190PubMed · DOAJ · Core
8European Journal of Human Genetics
Springer Nature
1804.43Leading field journalSubscriptionPubMed · Core
9Molecular Ecology Resources
Wiley
1864.25Leading field journalSubscriptionPubMed · Core
10Genetics in Medicine
Elsevier BV
2073.98Leading field journalSubscriptionPubMed · Core
11Evolutionary Applications
Wiley
1303.82Leading field journalOpen access · APC $3,740PubMed · DOAJ · Core
12Molecular Ecology
Wiley
3253.65Leading field journalSubscriptionPubMed · Core
13Human Genetics
Springer Science+Business Media
2093.61Solid specialistSubscriptionPubMed · Core
14Cytogenetic and Genome Research1153.6Solid specialistSubscriptionPubMed
15The Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Elsevier BV
1893.2Solid specialistSubscriptionPubMed · Core
16Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases
BioMed Central
1813.07Solid specialistOpen access · APC $2,790PubMed · DOAJ · Core
17BMC Medical Genomics
BioMed Central
1052.98Solid specialistOpen access · APC $2,990PubMed · DOAJ · Core
18Journal of Medical Genetics
BMJ
2482.96Solid specialistSubscriptionPubMed · Core
19Journal of Neuro-Oncology
Springer Science+Business Media
1652.88Solid specialistSubscriptionPubMed · Core
20Forensic Science International Genetics
Elsevier BV
1212.81Solid specialistSubscriptionPubMed · Core
21Heredity
Springer Nature
2122.75Solid specialistSubscriptionPubMed · Core
22The Journal of Gene Medicine
Wiley
1082.69Solid specialistSubscriptionPubMed · Core
23Inflammatory Bowel Diseases
Oxford University Press
2102.63Solid specialistSubscriptionPubMed · Core
24Forensic Science International
Elsevier BV
1762.59Solid specialistSubscriptionPubMed · Core
25Journal of Human Genetics
Springer Nature
1132.54Solid specialistSubscriptionPubMed · Core
26Tissue and Cell
Elsevier BV
1022.44Solid specialistSubscriptionPubMed · Core
27International Journal of Legal Medicine
Springer Science+Business Media
1192.4Solid specialistSubscriptionPubMed · Core
28Marine Biotechnology
Springer Science+Business Media
1072.23Solid specialistSubscriptionPubMed · Core
29Annals of Human Biology
Informa
1072.14Solid specialistOpen access · APC $2,390PubMed · DOAJ · Core
30Stem Cells International
Hindawi Publishing Corporation
1252.07Solid specialistOpen access · APC $2,375PubMed · DOAJ · Core

Frequently asked questions

How does the journal finder work?+

You paste your title and abstract; an AI model classifies the paper into biomedical subfields and honestly assesses its scope, then ranks a shortlist of verified journals from our dataset of 2,600+ biomedical journals. Every metric shown comes from the dataset — the AI can never invent a journal or a number.

Is it free?+

Yes — free, no signup, no hidden trial. There's a fair-use limit of 15 matches per day. Browsing ranked journals by field is unlimited.

How is this different from JANE or the Elsevier Journal Finder?+

Publisher tools like Elsevier's, Springer's, or Wiley's finders only recommend their own journals. JANE is cross-publisher but hasn't changed since 2007 and can surface journals of unverified quality from PubMed. This finder is cross-publisher, only shows journals verified in trusted indexes, and calibrates recommendations to your paper's realistic tier.

How do you keep predatory journals out?+

By construction: every journal in our dataset must be indexed in DOAJ, PubMed, or a curated core source list, with a real citation record. Journals with no verified quality signals simply never appear — we don't maintain accusatory blacklists.

Is my abstract stored or used to train AI?+

No. Your abstract is processed to generate recommendations and is not stored, logged, or used for model training. We know unpublished work is sensitive.

Which fields are covered?+

All of biomedicine and the life sciences: 38 subfields from molecular biology, immunology, and oncology to public health, pharmacology, neuroscience, plant science, and veterinary medicine.

Why don't you show impact factors?+

The Journal Impact Factor is proprietary to Clarivate and requires a paid license. We show open, verifiable alternatives instead: h-index and 2-year citations per paper from OpenAlex, plus each journal's percentile within its own field — which is more informative for comparing journals in the same specialty.

Where does the data come from?+

From open, verifiable sources: OpenAlex (CC0) for citation metrics, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's PubMed journal list, and the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). Publishing in the wrong venue has real consequences — in 2019 a U.S. federal court ordered the publisher OMICS Group to pay $50.1 million for deceptive peer-review claims. When in doubt about any journal, use the Think. Check. Submit. checklist at thinkchecksubmit.org.

How do I find top-quartile journals in my field?+

Use the browse section: pick your subfield and the table ranks journals by 2-year citations per paper. Tier 1–2 journals roughly correspond to the top quartile of a field. Each row shows open-access status, publication fees (APC), and which trusted indexes list the journal.

See the actual papers these journals publish

Waffoo Search runs AI-powered literature discovery across 30+ biomedical databases — free.

Try Waffoo Search

Data: OpenAlex (CC0) · U.S. National Library of Medicine · DOAJ. Quality signals are informational, refreshed periodically, and are not an endorsement or judgment about any journal; no endorsement by NLM/NIH is implied. Spotted an error? Contact us and we'll review it.