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PLOS Digital Health is an open access journal from the nonprofit publisher PLOS, with first articles published in January 2022. It covers original academic and clinical research on digital tools, technologies and data science applied to health and health care. This page is for researchers deciding whether to submit to it or how to describe it when citing. Facts below come from the journal’s own pages and PLOS’s fee page, read on 2026-11-07.
What PLOS Digital Health is
PLOS describes the journal as interdisciplinary and open access, publishing “boundary-breaking original academic and clinical research” on the use of digital tools, technologies and data science in health and health care, with a focus on public health, equity and precision medicine. Articles are published under a CC BY license. The Editor-in-Chief listed on the journal information page is Leo Anthony Celi.
Who runs it and what it covers
The publisher is PLOS, a nonprofit. For background on the publisher and its portfolio, see our guide to the Public Library of Science (PLOS). Systematic reviews are submitted as the Research Article type, and methods, software, database or tool papers are considered when they meet the journal’s utility, validation and availability criteria.
Indexing the journal lists (checked 2026-11-07)
The journal information page lists these indexing and abstracting services: CABI Global Health, CAPES, CNKI, Dimensions, DOAJ, EconBiz, Google Scholar, J-Global, PubMed, PubMed Central, Scopus and Web of Science. It also states the journal is being evaluated for MEDLINE. The Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) is one of the listed services.
Metrics
PLOS offers Article-Level Metrics, SJR, CiteScore and h-index for the journal. It states that the Impact Factor is not a reliable measure of an individual article and provides it on request; no Impact Factor value is listed on the pages read, so none is given here.
How to submit: the journal’s requirements
- Submit through Editorial Manager (the journal’s submission site is editorialmanager.com/pdig).
- Choose the article type; systematic reviews go in as a Research Article.
- Prepare an abstract of no more than 300 words and an author summary of 150 to 200 words.
- Provide a cover letter as a separate file.
- Give an ORCID iD for the corresponding author (see ORCID).
- Include a Data Availability Statement at submission. Data must be fully available, and “data not shown” is not accepted.
- Suggest at least four reviewers. Supporting information is peer reviewed along with the article.
Preprints are encouraged and do not affect consideration. Authors in the health sciences can opt to have their manuscript forwarded to medRxiv; for another preprint server profile see OSF Preprints.
Fees and fee assistance
PLOS lists a publication fee of $3,165 per Research Article, subject to change; the rate in effect on the submission date applies (PLOS publication fees page, read 2026-11-07).
| Route | What PLOS states |
|---|---|
| Standard fee | $3,165 per Research Article |
| Research4Life Group A countries | Authors with no external funding can publish free; state this at submission |
| Publication Fee Assistance | For financial need; apply at submission (not during review or after acceptance); decisions usually take about 10 business days |
If your institution pays publication charges, see open access publishing funds.
Strengths and limits
- Stated strengths: CC BY open access, indexing in PubMed, PubMed Central, Scopus, Web of Science and DOAJ, required data availability, and a preprint-friendly policy.
- Limits to weigh: the publication fee is substantial unless a waiver route applies; MEDLINE indexing is stated as under evaluation on the date checked; and no Impact Factor value is published on the journal pages, so metric-based assessments rely on SJR, CiteScore or an Impact Factor requested from PLOS.
Alternatives within the PLOS family
Authors comparing PLOS journals can read our profile of PLOS Computational Biology alongside the PLOS portfolio overview. Compare scope, fee and indexing statements on each journal’s own pages rather than assuming they match.
FAQ
Is PLOS Digital Health open access?
Yes. PLOS describes it as an Open Access journal, and articles carry a CC BY license.
How much does it cost to publish in PLOS Digital Health?
PLOS lists $3,165 per Research Article, subject to change, with the rate on the submission date applying. Fee waiver and assistance routes are in the table above.
Is PLOS Digital Health indexed in PubMed and Scopus?
The journal lists both, plus PubMed Central, Web of Science, DOAJ and others; MEDLINE evaluation is stated as in progress (checked 2026-11-07).
Does PLOS Digital Health have an Impact Factor?
No value is listed on the journal’s pages. PLOS says it provides the Impact Factor on request and offers SJR, CiteScore and h-index.
Can I post a preprint first?
Yes. PLOS encourages preprints and says they do not affect consideration.
Sources
- PLOS Digital Health, Journal Information: journals.plos.org/digitalhealth/s/journal-information (read 2026-11-07)
- PLOS Digital Health, Submission Guidelines: journals.plos.org/digitalhealth/s/submission-guidelines (read 2026-11-07)
- PLOS, Publication Fees: plos.org/publication-fees (read 2026-11-07)
