Direct comparison
PlumX vs. Altmetric Attention Score
PlumX Metrics (Elsevier) vs. Altmetric Attention Score (Digital Science): what each measures, how they're built, and which to use.
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Side-by-side comparison
| Dimension | PlumX Metrics | Altmetric Attention Score |
|---|---|---|
| Owner / company | Elsevier (RELX) -- acquired Plum Analytics, February 2017 | Altmetric, part of Digital Science (Holtzbrinck Publishing Group) |
| Score format | Five separate, non-aggregated categories: Citations, Usage, Captures, Mentions, Social Media -- no single composite number | One proprietary weighted composite number (the Attention Score), based on volume, source, and author of mentions |
| What it measures | Breadth of engagement across five distinct categories, from formal citations to social shares | Volume and reach of attention an output received -- explicitly not a quality or scholarly-impact measure |
| Visual display | Multi-category widget/plum-shaped graphic on the host record page | Colored ring (donut), each color a source category, with the score in the center |
| Where it typically appears | Native on Scopus and ScienceDirect record pages; licensed into Elsevier-integrated repository/CRIS platforms | Licensed independently across a broad range of publisher and repository platforms, not tied to one publisher |
| Free public view | Yes -- widget is free to view where embedded | Yes -- donut badge and bookmarklet free to view for a single output |
| Paid institutional product | Institutional-scale reporting available, typically bundled within Elsevier's broader research-intelligence offerings | Altmetric Explorer for Institutions -- standalone subscription dashboard for author/department/institution-level benchmarking and reporting |
| Data sources tracked | Citations (multiple sources), usage (views/downloads), captures (e.g. Mendeley readers), mentions (news, blogs, Wikipedia, reviews), social media | News outlets, blogs, X/social platforms, Wikipedia, policy documents and more, tiered by source reach and mention author |
| Best fit for | An author-facing snapshot of engagement composition on an individual output's record page | Institutional benchmarking, portfolio-level reporting, and impact-evidence gathering via Explorer |
Common questions
FAQ
Is a higher Altmetric Attention Score or PlumX count better?+
Not in any absolute sense. Both are attention/engagement measures, not quality measures, and both vendors say so directly. A meaningful comparison requires context -- comparable outputs, comparable time windows, and ideally comparable subject areas -- rather than treating either number as a ranking in isolation.
Do PlumX and Altmetric track the same underlying mentions?+
They track overlapping but not identical source types, and each applies its own collection and weighting methodology, so the same output can show a different profile on each. Neither publishes a complete mapping between the two, so treat them as independent measurements.
Why does one journal show PlumX and another show an Altmetric donut?+
It generally comes down to which vendor relationship or platform integration the publisher or repository has in place -- PlumX is native to Elsevier's Scopus/ScienceDirect ecosystem, while Altmetric is licensed independently by a much broader range of publishers. It is not a signal about the article itself.
Does either score factor in traditional citation counts?+
PlumX includes Citations as one of its five separate categories, shown alongside Usage, Captures, Mentions, and Social Media. The Altmetric Attention Score is explicitly an attention/mention-based score and is not itself a citation count.
Going deeper
