What does Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4 mean for academic journals?

Quartiles divide journals in a subject category into four equal groups based on their impact factor or SJR score. Q1 contains the top 25% (highest impact), Q2 the next 25%, Q3 the third quartile, and Q4 the bottom 25%.

Is a Q1 journal always better than a Q2 journal?

Q1 journals have higher impact factors within their subject category, but 'better' depends on your research scope, audience, and field norms. Some specialized Q2 journals are more appropriate venues than broad Q1 journals.

How are these rankings calculated?

Rankings are derived from the latest impact factor data for each journal in our database. When official quartile data is available we use it directly; otherwise quartiles are computed by ranking journals within the selected subject category.

Journal Rankings 2026 — Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4

Browse 400 ranked journals grouped into quartiles by impact factor. Use the subject filter below to narrow down by research field.

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Q1 — Top 25%

100 journals

Journal	IF
The Lancet Elsevier	202.70
New England Journal of Medicine New England Journal of Medicine	176.00
BMJ	105.70
BMJ	105.70
BMJ	105.70
BMJ BMJ	105.70
Nature Medicine Springer Nature	82.90
Journal of the Chemical Society Perkin Transactions 2 The Royal Society of Chemistry	82.00
Nature Springer Nature	69.50
Cell Elsevier	66.80
Journal of the Chemical Society Faraday Transactions 1 Phys… The Royal Society of Chemistry	66.00
Faraday Discussions of the Chemical Society The Royal Society of Chemistry	65.00
Nature New Biology Springer Nature	64.80
Nature Astronomy Springer Nature	64.80
Nature Ecology & Evolution Springer Nature	64.80
Nature Reviews Genetics Springer Nature	64.80
Nature Electronics Springer Nature	64.80
Nature Reviews Materials Springer Nature	64.80
Nature Reviews Cardiology Springer Nature	64.80
Nature Microbiology	64.80
Nature Neuroscience Springer Nature	64.80
Nature Photonics Springer Nature	64.80
Human Nature Springer Nature	64.80
Nature Structural Biology	64.80
Nature Catalysis Springer Nature	64.80

Showing top 25 of 100

Q2 — 50th-75th Percentile

100 journals

Journal	IF
Trends in Cell Biology Elsevier	64.50
Stem Cell Reports Elsevier	64.50
Cell Communication and Signaling Springer Nature	64.50
Cancer Cell Elsevier	64.50
Aging Cell Wiley	64.50
Tissue and Cell Elsevier	64.50
Cell Systems Elsevier	64.50
Annual Review of Cell and Developmental Biology Annual Reviews	64.50
American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology American Thoracic Society	64.50
Science American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)	63.70
Nature Geoscience Springer Nature	61.56
Nature Climate Change Springer Nature	61.56
Nature Reviews Chemistry Springer Nature	61.56
International Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Resear… International Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research	56.90
Journal of Animal Science Oxford University Press	56.90
Nordidactica: Journal of Humanities and Social Science Educ… Karlstads Universitet	56.90
Crop Science Wiley	56.90
Earth Science, Systems and Society Geological Society of London	56.90
Journal of Applied Pharmaceutical Sciences Associação dos Farmacêuticos do Vale do Aço	56.90
ISRN Atmospheric Sciences Hindawi Limited	56.90
Journal of Medical Science And clinical Research Valley International	56.90
Soil Science Society of America Journal Wiley	56.90
Al-Qadisiyah Journal for Engineering Science University of Al-Qadisiyah	56.90
Journal of Polymer Science Part A Polymer Chemistry Wiley	56.90
The Indian Journal of Animal Sciences	56.90

Showing top 25 of 100

Q3 — 25th-50th Percentile

100 journals

Journal	IF
Social Science & Medicine Elsevier	56.90
Journal of Membrane Science Elsevier	56.90
Chemical Engineering Science Elsevier	56.90
International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied S… Excellent Publishers	56.90
Journal of Evolution of Medical and Dental Sciences Akshantala Enterprises Private Limited	56.90
SN Computer Science Springer Nature	56.90
National Science Open Science Press	56.90
The Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences	56.90
Meat Science Elsevier	56.90
Water Science & Technology IWA Publishing	56.90
Majmaah Journal of Health Sciences Majmaah University	56.90
Applied Surface Science Elsevier	56.90
Polymer Engineering and Science Wiley	56.90
Environmental Earth Sciences Springer Nature	56.90
Psychological Science SAGE	56.90
Frontiers in Plant Science Frontiers Media SA	56.90
Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews Cognitive Science Wiley	56.90
Springer Science Reviews Springer Nature	56.90
Advanced Science Wiley	56.90
The Open Atmospheric Science Journal Bentham Science	56.90
International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences Medip Academy	56.90
Global Physical Education & Sports Sciences Review Humanity Only - HO	56.90
Beni-Suef University International Journal of Humanities an… Beni-Suef University	56.90
Poultry Science Elsevier	56.90
ACS Central Science American Chemical Society	56.90

Showing top 25 of 100

Q4 — Bottom 25%

100 journals

Journal	IF
IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers	10.00
IEEE Transactions on Computers Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers	10.00
IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers	10.00
IEEE Transactions on Information Theory Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers	10.00
IEEE Transactions on Cybernetics Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers	10.00
IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers	10.00
IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers	10.00
IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers	10.00
IEEE Transactions on Image Processing Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers	10.00
IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers	10.00
IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers	10.00
IEEE Transactions on Evolutionary Computation Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers	10.00
IEEE Transactions on Communications Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers	10.00
Composites Part B Engineering Elsevier	9.82
Redox Biology Elsevier	9.81
Journal of the Chemical Society (Resumed) The Royal Society of Chemistry	9.50
PRX Quantum American Physical Society	9.32
Physical Review Letters American Physical Society	9.10
Annual Review of Physical Chemistry Annual Reviews	9.09
Soil Biology and Biochemistry Elsevier	8.99
The Lancet. Gastroenterology & hepatology Elsevier	8.93
eLife eLife Sciences Publications	8.70
Chemical Engineering Journal Elsevier	8.69
Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association Oxford University Press	8.62
ACM Transactions on Information Systems	8.60

Showing top 25 of 100

Understanding Journal Quartile Rankings

Quartile rankings (Q1-Q4) are a standard way to categorize academic journals within a subject. They're calculated by ordering all journals in a category by their impact factor (or SJR score) and dividing them into four equal groups.

Q1 — Top 25%, highest impact in the field
Q2 — 50th to 75th percentile
Q3 — 25th to 50th percentile
Q4 — Bottom 25%

Note: When official Scopus/JCR quartile data is available we use it. Otherwise quartiles are approximated by ranking journals within the selected subject by their latest impact factor.

Journal Rankings 2026 — Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4

Filter by Subject

Q1 — Top 25%

Q2 — 50th-75th Percentile

Q3 — 25th-50th Percentile

Q4 — Bottom 25%

Understanding Journal Quartile Rankings

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