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
| # | Journal | h-index | Citations/paper (2 yr) | Tier | Access | Indexed in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nature Reviews Disease Primers Nature Portfolio | 276 | 35.91 | Flagship | Subscription | PubMed · Core |
| 2 | Molecular Psychiatry Springer Nature | 320 | 8.48 | Leading field journal | Subscription | PubMed · Core |
| 3 | Stem Cell Research & Therapy BioMed Central | 179 | 7 | Leading field journal | Open access · APC $2,990 | PubMed · DOAJ · Core |
| 4 | The American Journal of Human Genetics Elsevier BV | 390 | 6.88 | Leading field journal | Subscription | PubMed · Core |
| 5 | Annual Review of Genomics and Human Genetics Annual Reviews | 157 | 6.74 | Leading field journal | Subscription | PubMed · Core |
| 6 | Systematic Biology Oxford University Press | 283 | 6.16 | Leading field journal | Subscription | PubMed · Core |
| 7 | Genetics Selection Evolution BioMed Central | 129 | 4.6 | Leading field journal | Open access · APC $2,190 | PubMed · DOAJ · Core |
| 8 | European Journal of Human Genetics Springer Nature | 180 | 4.43 | Leading field journal | Subscription | PubMed · Core |
| 9 | Molecular Ecology Resources Wiley | 186 | 4.25 | Leading field journal | Subscription | PubMed · Core |
| 10 | Genetics in Medicine Elsevier BV | 207 | 3.98 | Leading field journal | Subscription | PubMed · Core |
| 11 | Evolutionary Applications Wiley | 130 | 3.82 | Leading field journal | Open access · APC $3,740 | PubMed · DOAJ · Core |
| 12 | Molecular Ecology Wiley | 325 | 3.65 | Leading field journal | Subscription | PubMed · Core |
| 13 | Human Genetics Springer Science+Business Media | 209 | 3.61 | Solid specialist | Subscription | PubMed · Core |
| 14 | Cytogenetic and Genome Research | 115 | 3.6 | Solid specialist | Subscription | PubMed |
| 15 | The Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Elsevier BV | 189 | 3.2 | Solid specialist | Subscription | PubMed · Core |
| 16 | Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases BioMed Central | 181 | 3.07 | Solid specialist | Open access · APC $2,790 | PubMed · DOAJ · Core |
| 17 | BMC Medical Genomics BioMed Central | 105 | 2.98 | Solid specialist | Open access · APC $2,990 | PubMed · DOAJ · Core |
| 18 | Journal of Medical Genetics BMJ | 248 | 2.96 | Solid specialist | Subscription | PubMed · Core |
| 19 | Journal of Neuro-Oncology Springer Science+Business Media | 165 | 2.88 | Solid specialist | Subscription | PubMed · Core |
| 20 | Forensic Science International Genetics Elsevier BV | 121 | 2.81 | Solid specialist | Subscription | PubMed · Core |
| 21 | Heredity Springer Nature | 212 | 2.75 | Solid specialist | Subscription | PubMed · Core |
| 22 | The Journal of Gene Medicine Wiley | 108 | 2.69 | Solid specialist | Subscription | PubMed · Core |
| 23 | Inflammatory Bowel Diseases Oxford University Press | 210 | 2.63 | Solid specialist | Subscription | PubMed · Core |
| 24 | Forensic Science International Elsevier BV | 176 | 2.59 | Solid specialist | Subscription | PubMed · Core |
| 25 | Journal of Human Genetics Springer Nature | 113 | 2.54 | Solid specialist | Subscription | PubMed · Core |
| 26 | Tissue and Cell Elsevier BV | 102 | 2.44 | Solid specialist | Subscription | PubMed · Core |
| 27 | International Journal of Legal Medicine Springer Science+Business Media | 119 | 2.4 | Solid specialist | Subscription | PubMed · Core |
| 28 | Marine Biotechnology Springer Science+Business Media | 107 | 2.23 | Solid specialist | Subscription | PubMed · Core |
| 29 | Annals of Human Biology Informa | 107 | 2.14 | Solid specialist | Open access · APC $2,390 | PubMed · DOAJ · Core |
| 30 | Stem Cells International Hindawi Publishing Corporation | 125 | 2.07 | Solid specialist | Open access · APC $2,375 | PubMed · 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 SearchData: 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.

