How to Find the Acceptance Rate of Any Journal (Step-by-Step Guide)
Learn how to find any journal’s acceptance rate using practical tools, databases, and step-by-step methods. A complete guide for authors and researchers.
Knowing a journal’s acceptance rate before submitting your manuscript can save you time, reduce the risk of rejection, and help you strategically choose a suitable outlet for your research. Yet many authors struggle to locate this information because most journals do not openly publish their acceptance rates.
This guide provides a practical, step-by-step method to find the acceptance rate of any journal—whether indexed in Scopus, Web of Science, Elsevier, Springer, Taylor & Francis, IEEE, or others. We will use freely available tools, indirect estimation methods, and publisher-provided databases that most authors don’t know exist.
If your queries include:
“journal acceptance rate finder”
“journal acceptance rate database”
“how to find acceptance rate”
“acceptance rate of journals”
…this guide will give you clear, actionable answers.
What Is a Journal Acceptance Rate and Why It Matters
The acceptance rate is the percentage of submitted manuscripts that a journal accepts for publication during a specific period—usually one year.
For example:
High acceptance rate (>40%) → easy to publish, often emerging or specialized journals
Medium acceptance rate (15–40%) → standard academic journals
Low acceptance rate (<10%) → highly prestigious, competitive journals (Nature, Science, The Lancet)
Why acceptance rate matters for authors:
Helps you choose realistic journals
Reduces the chance of immediate desk rejection
Saves months of wasted time waiting for feedback
Helps early-career researchers plan publication strategies
Yet very few journals publicly share this number—so you must know where to look.
Group 1: Official Publisher & Indexing Sources
Elsevier Journal Insights
Elsevier journals often provide editorial statistics on their official “Journal Insights” page. You can find:
Average review time
Time to first decision
Publication speed
Sometimes, acceptance rate (for select journals)
CiteScore and citation metrics
How to access:
Google:
"Journal Name + Journal Insights Elsevier"Open the official Elsevier journal page.
Navigate to the “Journal Insights” or “About the Journal” section.
Link: Elsevier Journal Insights
Springer Nature Journal Metrics & Journal Suggester
Springer journals rarely publish acceptance rates, but many provide other editorial metrics:
Review duration
Decision timelines
Impact factor and ranking
The Springer Journal Suggester can help identify journals relevant to your manuscript and sometimes provides links to journal pages with editorial metrics.
How to access:
Search:
"Journal Name + editorial statistics + Springer"Check the “About this Journal” page
Link: Springer Journal Suggester
Wiley Author Services
Some Wiley journals provide:
Submission-to-publication timelines
Desk rejection rates
Acceptance percentages (for select journals)
How to access: Search "Journal Name + Wiley acceptance rate" or visit the journal’s “Author Guidelines” / “Metrics” page.
Link: Wiley Author Services
Taylor & Francis, SAGE, MDPI, IEEE
Taylor & Francis and SAGE sometimes share limited editorial statistics, such as review time or decision timelines.
MDPI journals are mostly open-access and publish time-to-decision statistics.
IEEE journals occasionally disclose review and publication timelines.
How to access: Check each journal’s homepage or search "Journal Name + editorial statistics".
Indexing & Citation Databases
Even if the acceptance rate isn’t explicitly published, journal quartiles and citation metrics provide a rough estimate of selectivity:
Scopus / ScimagoJR: Provides quartile (Q1–Q4), CiteScore, and SJR rankings. Q1 journals are typically more selective.
Link: Scimago Journal & Country RankWeb of Science / Journal Citation Reports: Provides impact factor, review duration, and journal scope information.
Link: Web of Science
Group 2: Community & Estimation Methods
Annual Editorial Reports
Some journals, especially in medicine, engineering, or psychology, publish annual reports or statistics including:
Total submissions
Accepted manuscripts
Median review time
How to find:
Google:
"Journal Name + annual report"or"Journal Name + editorial report"
Estimate Using Published Data
If official acceptance rates are not available, you can estimate:
Formula:
How to find data:
Count the number of articles published per year (from journal archive)
Estimate total submissions using typical field rejection rates
Combine with quartile-based competitiveness
This gives a reasonable approximation when no official data exists.
Contact the Editorial Office
If you need accurate data, a professional email can yield results:
Sample email:
Dear Editorial Office,
I am preparing my manuscript for submission to [Journal Name]. Could you please provide approximate acceptance rate or recent editorial statistics? This will help me assess suitability for my research.
Thank you.
Most journals respond because this is a common author inquiry.
Community-Sourced Insights
Platforms where researchers share submission experiences:
ResearchGate – questions about acceptance, review speed, and journal difficulty
Reddit r/academia – discussion threads on journal selection
Publons – peer reviewer statistics
Xiaomuchong / Academic forums (China, STEM)
This method is useful for real-world insights but should be combined with official sources.
Red Flags That Indicate a Low or High Acceptance Rate
Signs of LOW acceptance rate (<10%)
Q1 journal
IF > 5 or CiteScore > 10
“Extremely high volume of submissions” statement
Long review times
Frequent desk rejections
Signs of HIGH acceptance rate (>40%)
New journal (<5 years old)
Q3–Q4
High volume of special issues
Fast acceptance (2–8 weeks)
Very broad scope
Publisher with open-access megajournals
Final Tips for Choosing the Right Journal
Don’t aim for acceptance rate alone—align with scope and audience.
Always read Aims & Scope carefully.
Look at recently published papers to see if your topic fits.
Avoid journals that seem “too easy”—they may be predatory.
Use acceptance rate plus impact metrics to balance ambition and feasibility.
Conclusion
Although most journals do not publish acceptance rates directly, there are many ways to discover or estimate them reliably. By using this step-by-step guide—publisher platforms, metrics databases, editorial reports, and estimation methods—you can evaluate any journal before submission.
Understanding acceptance rates helps you avoid unnecessary rejections, choose realistic publication targets, and build a strong publication strategy for your academic career.
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