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Cabells Review

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Should I use Cabells?

Scholarly analytics: vetted journal directory (Journalytics) and predatory journal blacklist (Predatory Reports) - www2.cabells.com

· 10 hours ago

Buy it through an institution: university libraries and research offices get real value vetting journals against 20,000+ known predatory outlets. Individual researchers should skip it — no public pricing and free checklists cover the basics.

Confidence

Medium. Based on ~40 public sources; most snippets truncated and no public pricing details found.

Ratings

  • Value for moneyNo public pricing evidence to judge
  • Ease of useReview snippets too thin to score
  • Feature depth
  • Support qualityNo support evidence in sources
  • Security posture

Pricing

Not disclosed

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierNo

Best for

  • University libraries
  • Research integrity offices
  • Academics choosing where to publish
  • Publishers screening references

Not for

  • Individual researchers paying out of pocket — no individual pricing
  • Anyone wanting free journal vetting — checklists cover the basics
  • Those needing an uncontested blacklist — methodology is academically critiqued
  • Small departments without library-scale budgets

Gotchas - check before you buy

high

Expect quote-based pricing; no published rates anywhere

medium

Access usually runs through library subscriptions, not individual accounts

medium

Academics contest blacklist criteria; verify flagged journals independently

low

Nothing found at the /security page; no public security documentation

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Flags 20,000+ predatory journals as of February 2026
  • University libraries worldwide subscribe and renew contracts
  • Örebro library calls it valuable for avoiding predatory journals
  • Publishes journal selection policy and criteria

Cons

  • Blacklist reliability questioned in peer-reviewed studies
  • Researchers propose criteria revisions; methodology contested
  • No public pricing; sales-driven institutional model
  • No public security page found

Sources & method

- 11 sources - No known vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.

official x1review x6security x1news x3

Key stats

  • Feature depth: 4/5

    Rating

  • Not disclosed

    Starting price

  • 11

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money. No public pricing evidence to judge
  • Ease of use. Review snippets too thin to score
  • Feature depth: 4/5. 20k+ entries plus structured vetting criteria
  • Support quality. No support evidence in sources
  • Security posture: 2/5. No public security page found
  • 20,000+ Predatory journals flagged milestone reached Feb 2026
  • +5,000 List growth 15,000 in Sep 2021 to 20,000 by 2026
  • None Public pricing paid institutional subscriptions, quote-based

Pricing

Free tier: No

Security

No known vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.

What users say

Librarians praise its predatory-journal coverage while academic studies question the reliability of its blacklist criteria.

“Cabells Predatory Reports is a valuable resource that helps you avoid predatory journals when publishing”
Örebro University Library
“20000 reasons to love predatory reports”
Hardy Schwamm, LinkedIn

Alternatives

Compare Cabells with each alternative.

Companies that use it

  • Waseda University⁹
  • University of Basel
  • Örebro University⁸
  • Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf
  • George Washington University
Full analysis

Based on ~40 public sources; most snippets truncated and no public pricing details found.

Institutional journal-vetting database tracking 20k+ predatory journals. Great via libraries; individuals should use free checklists.

Methodology

Based on ~40 public sources; most snippets truncated and no public pricing details found.

Read how a report is made.

Sources

  1. Press Release: Cabells' Predatory Reports Database Hits 20,000 Deceptive Journalsstephenslighthouse.com
    news
  2. Cabells' Predatory Reports Passes 15,000 Predatory Journals Listedstm-publishing.com
    news
  3. How reliable and useful is Cabell's Blacklist? (Liber Quarterly)liberquarterly.eu
    review
  4. Cabells' Predatory Reports criteria: Assessment and proposed revisionsresearchgate.net
    review
  5. Cabells' Predatory Reports — Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
    review
  6. Journal Selection Policycabells.com
    official
  7. Security page (not found)www2.cabells.com
    security
  8. Örebro University Library recommendationoru.se
    review
  9. Waseda University usage contract extensionwaseda.jp
    news
  10. Katina review: Cabells Journalytics and Predatory Reportskatinamagazine.org
    review
  11. How to avoid predatory journals: Think, check, submitjrmo.org.uk
    review

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