23 free-to-publish Scopus journals in Paleontology
23 peer-reviewed journals in the SCImago category Paleontology charge no APC and no other author fees, according to the DOAJ. The quartile shown is the journal’s quartile in this category (not its best one elsewhere): 6 are Q1 and 3 Q2 here. Data snapshot: October 2026.
Of the Scopus-ranked journals here, 43% are Q1 or Q2 (site-wide: 40%). Their median self-reported time from submission to publication is 20 weeks. Most are published in France (4), Argentina (3) and Italy (3). 100% accept manuscripts in English and 48% accept at least one other language.
All 23 free-to-publish journals in Paleontology
Sorted by best SCImago quartile, then SJR. Click a column header to sort by it; click a second column to add a tiebreak. The search box narrows the list. Time to publish is the journal’s own DOAJ figure (average weeks from submission to publication).
| # | Journal | Quartile | SJR | H-index | Publisher | Country | Time to publish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China Geology 2096-5192 · 2589-9430 | Q1 | 0.902 | 35 | KeAi Communications Co., Ltd. | China | 16 wk |
| 2 | Lethaia 1502-3931 | Q1 | 0.683 | 71 | Scandinavian University Press | Norway | 29 wk |
| 3 | Palaeontologia Electronica 1935-3952 · 1094-8074 | Q1 | 0.646 | 51 | Coquina Press | United States | 20 wk |
| 4 | Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia 0035-6883 · 2039-4942 | Q1 | 0.635 | 46 | Milano University Press | Italy | 16 wk |
| 5 | Geodiversitas 1638-9395 | Q1 | 0.631 | 48 | Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle | France | 52 wk |
| 6 | European Journal of Taxonomy 2118-9773 | Q1 | 0.629 | 29 | Consortium of European Natural History Museums | France | 29 wk |
| 7 | Comptes Rendus. Palevol 1631-0683 · 1777-571X | Q2 | 0.556 | 60 | Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle | France | 48 wk |
| 8 | Alpine and Mediterranean Quaternary 2279-7327 · 2279-7335 | Q2 | 0.406 | 35 | AIQUA-Italian Association for Quaternary Research | Italy | 20 wk |
| 9 | Spanish Journal of Palaeontology 2255-0550 · 2660-9568 | Q2 | 0.405 | 16 | Palaeontological Spanish Society | Spain | 12 wk |
| 10 | Lucentum 0213-2338 · 1989-9904 | Q3 | 0.337 | 8 | Universidad de Alicante | Spain | 27 wk |
| 11 | Carnets de Géologie 1634-0744 | Q3 | 0.314 | 23 | Association Carnets de Geologie | France | 10 wk |
| 12 | Geologija 0016-7789 · 1854-620X | Q3 | 0.305 | 12 | Geological Survey of Slovenia | Slovenia | 10 wk |
| 13 | Geološki Anali Balkanskoga Poluostrva 0350-0608 · 2406-0747 | Q3 | 0.302 | 8 | Faculty of Mining and Geology, Belgrade | Serbia | 24 wk |
| 14 | Publicación Electrónica de la Asociación Paleontológica Argentina 2469-0228 | Q3 | 0.299 | 12 | Asociación Paleontológica Argentina | Argentina | 20 wk |
| 15 | Andean Geology 0718-7092 · 0718-7106 | Q3 | 0.279 | 49 | Servicio Nacional de Geología y Minería (SERNAGEOMIN) | Chile | 45 wk |
| 16 | The Sedimentary Record 1543-8740 | Q3 | 0.278 | 3 | Society for Sedimentary Geology (SEPM) | United States | 9 wk |
| 17 | Revista del Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales 1514-5158 · 1853-0400 | Q3 | 0.272 | 21 | Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales Bernardino Rivadavia; Instituto Nacional de Investigación de las Ciencias Naturales | Argentina | 12 wk |
| 18 | Latin American Journal of Sedimentology and Basin Analysis 1669-7316 · 1851-4979 | Q3 | 0.26 | 25 | Asociación Argentina de Sedimentología | Argentina | 24 wk |
| 19 | Geoconservation Research 2645-4661 · 2588-7343 | Q4 | 0.249 | 9 | OICC Press | United Kingdom | 16 wk |
| 20 | Norwegian Journal of Geology 2387-5844 · 2387-5852 | Q4 | 0.218 | 54 | Geological Society of Norway | Norway | 30 wk |
| 21 | Natural History Sciences 2385-0442 · 2385-0922 | Q4 | 0.199 | 12 | PAGEPress Publications | Italy | 8 wk |
| 22 | Journal of the Geological Survey of Brazil 2595-1939 | Q4 | 0.191 | 5 | Serviço Geológico do Brasil (CPRM) | Brazil | 17 wk |
| 23 | Revista de Geomorfologie 1453-5068 · 2285-6773 | Q4 | 0.105 | 3 | Romanian Association of Geomorphologists | Romania | 10 wk |
Where these journals come from
Top publishers
- Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle 2
- AIQUA-Italian Association for Quaternary Research 1
- Asociación Argentina de Sedimentología 1
- Asociación Paleontológica Argentina 1
- Association Carnets de Geologie 1
- Consortium of European Natural History Museums 1
Manuscript languages accepted
- English 23
- Spanish 6
- French 5
- Portuguese 2
- Catalan 1
- Slovenian 1
About this list
Diamond open access (also called Platinum) means the journal is free to read and free to publish in: the DOAJ records it with “APC: no” and “other fees: no”. Quartiles come from the latest SCImago edition: Q1 is the top 25% of journals in a subject category, Q4 the bottom 25%; the lists show a journal’s best quartile. Read more in our open access guide.
Before submitting, always confirm the journal on its own website and in the DOAJ, verify Scopus indexing by ISSN with the Scopus check rather than trusting claims on the journal’s site, and watch out for look-alike titles (see the predatory journal checklist).