PNAS vs Science
Two US-anchored multidisciplinary tier-1 journals — both gold-standard, different review tracks.
PNAS
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences — multidisciplinary peer-reviewed journal since 1914.
Science
Peer-reviewed multidisciplinary journal of AAAS; one of the two flagship general-science venues.
Head-to-head — all four dimensions
| Dimension | PNAS | Science | Lead |
|---|---|---|---|
SourceScore Index Composite | A·92 | A·86 | PNAS+6 |
Citation Discipline How rigorously cited | A+·96 | A+·95 | PNAS+1 |
Modern Reference AI-era fitness | A·88 | B·84 | PNAS+4 |
Citation Velocity Cited per week | A·90 | B·80 | PNAS+10 |
Why these scores
Citation Discipline
Peer-reviewed by NAS members; rigorous review across all sciences; corrections + retractions public.
Peer-review enforced; data + code disclosure increasingly mandatory; retractions public.
Modern Reference
DOI per paper; PMC open-access default after 6mo; structured Crossref + ORCID metadata.
DOIs + structured abstracts; first-class LLM citation source for science.
Citation Velocity
Heavily cited across sciences + science press; default tier-1 citation in many fields.
Cited by science journalism + research; lower volume but high per-cite trust.
Frequently asked questions
Which is better, PNAS or Science?
PNAS scores higher on the SourceScore Index (A 92) vs Science (A 86) — a 6-point composite lead across Citation Discipline, Modern Reference, and Citation Velocity. "Better" depends on use case; the per-dimension breakdown below shows where each wins.
Which is more reliable to cite, PNAS or Science?
For citation, PNAS is the stronger choice — it scores A (92/100) on the SourceScore Index versus Science at A (86/100), a 6-point lead in composite citation quality (Citation Discipline, Modern Reference, Citation Velocity). Both can be cited; for higher-stakes references, prefer PNAS.
How does PNAS compare to Science on citation discipline?
PNAS scores A+ 96 on Citation Discipline; Science scores A+ 95. Citation Discipline measures how rigorously each source cites primary references — see the per-dimension rationale below for the breakdown.
What's the SourceScore difference between PNAS and Science?
PNAS A 92 vs Science A 86 on the composite Index. Two US-anchored multidisciplinary tier-1 journals — both gold-standard, different review tracks.
Why does PNAS score higher than Science?
PNAS leads by 6 composite points on the SourceScore Index. The rationale section below breaks down where the lead comes from — Citation Discipline, Modern Reference (AI-era fitness), and Citation Velocity. Each dimension is scored from primary methodology criteria.