Tier-wise Opening & Closing Ranks for all 23 IITs — CSE, Electrical, MnC, and AI branches. Covers General, OBC-NCL, SC, ST & EWS categories with JEE Advanced marks-to-rank mapping.
23
Total IITs
~17,000
Total JEE Advanced Seats
6
JoSAA Rounds
~20%
Female Supernumerary
Top 100 AIR is the benchmark for CSE at IIT Bombay or Delhi. These are the most competitive undergraduate seats in India.
AI & Data Science and MnC (Maths & Computing) cutoffs now rival or exceed ECE/Electrical at most IITs.
A JEE Advanced rank of ~16,000 is the closing line for General category to enter any IIT in any branch.
IIT cutoff refers to the minimum JEE Advanced All India Rank (AIR) required to secure admission into a specific branch at an Indian Institute of Technology through JoSAA counseling. Unlike NITs (which use JEE Main rank), IIT admission is based exclusively on your JEE Advanced AIR.
Cutoffs are published for each combination of IIT × Branch × Category × Gender pool. The Common Rank List (CRL) cutoffs shown on this page are for the General (Open) category. OBC-NCL, EWS, SC, and ST categories have significantly more relaxed cutoffs, and female supernumerary seats give female candidates an additional pathway at slightly lower ranks.
JEE Advanced is typically out of 360 marks across two papers. The marks-to-rank relationship fluctuates based on paper difficulty each year, but the table below gives a reliable estimate based on recent trends for General category students:
| JEE Advanced Marks (out of 360) | Approx AIR | IIT Admission Chances |
|---|---|---|
| 280+ | < 100 | IIT Bombay / Delhi CSE |
| 250 – 280 | 100 – 300 | Top IIT CSE / IIT Bombay Electrical |
| 220 – 250 | 300 – 800 | Old IIT ECE / Tier 2 IIT CSE (Hyderabad, Indore) |
| 190 – 220 | 800 – 2,000 | Old IIT Core Branches / Tier 2 IIT ECE |
| 160 – 190 | 2,000 – 5,000 | Tier 2 IIT Core / Tier 3 IIT CSE |
| 130 – 160 | 5,000 – 10,000 | Tier 3 IIT ECE / Core branches |
| 100 – 130 | 10,000 – 16,000 | Any remaining Tier 3 IIT branch |
| Below 100 | > 16,000 | Very difficult — consider NITs / IIITs |
Want a precise prediction? Try our IIT College Predictor Tool →
To be considered for IIT admission, you must first clear the JEE Advanced qualifying cutoff — a minimum aggregate percentage and a minimum subject-wise percentage, both required simultaneously. These are the rank-inclusion cutoffs, not the seat-allotment cutoffs. Based on recent JEE Advanced papers (out of 360 marks):
| Category | Minimum Aggregate % | Minimum per Subject % | Approx Marks (out of 360) |
|---|---|---|---|
| General (CRL) | ~35% | ~10% | ~126 marks |
| OBC-NCL / EWS | ~31.5% | ~9% | ~113 marks |
| SC / ST / PwD | ~17.5% | ~5% | ~63 marks |
Clearing these qualifying marks only earns you a rank in JEE Advanced — it does not guarantee an IIT seat. Seat allotment is based on your rank relative to the closing ranks shown in the tier tables above.
A "safe rank" gives you a comfortable buffer below the historical closing rank, accounting for year-to-year fluctuations (typically ±200–800 ranks for IITs). Based on JoSAA 2024 Round 6 data:
These thresholds are for General (CRL) category. OBC-NCL, SC, ST, and EWS categories have significantly relaxed cutoffs — covered in the category-wise section below.
IIT admission is a two-step process — you must first qualify JEE Main with a high enough percentile to sit for JEE Advanced, and then clear JEE Advanced itself. Based on recent NTA cutoff trends, here's the JEE Main percentile required just to qualify for JEE Advanced:
Qualifying JEE Advanced does not guarantee an IIT seat — final admission depends entirely on your JEE Advanced rank, not your JEE Main percentile.
Use our JEE Main Percentile Predictor to check whether your score is likely to qualify you for JEE Advanced.
Disclaimer: Cutoff ranks below are based on JoSAA 2024 Round 6 closing ranks and are projected estimates for 2026. Actual cutoffs depend on JEE Advanced difficulty, total qualified candidates, and seat matrix changes. Always verify on the official JoSAA website.
The 7 old IITs form the gold standard of engineering education in India. Cutoffs here are highly competitive — CSE seats at IIT Bombay and Delhi are among the hardest undergraduate admissions in the world.
| Institute | CSE / MnC Rank | Electrical / AI Rank | Core Branch Safe Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| IIT Bombay | 60 – 70 | 400 – 500 | ~5,500 |
| IIT Delhi | 110 – 120 | 550 – 650 | ~6,000 |
| IIT Madras | 140 – 150 | 900 – 1,000 | ~7,000 |
| IIT Kanpur | 210 – 230 | 1,200 – 1,350 | ~9,500 |
| IIT Kharagpur | 260 – 280 | 1,600 – 1,800 | ~10,000 |
| IIT Roorkee | 390 – 420 | 1,900 – 2,100 | ~11,000 |
| IIT Guwahati | 600 – 650 | 2,000 – 2,200 | ~9,000 |
Established between 2008–2012, Tier 2 IITs have rapidly built strong placement records and research output. CSE here is an excellent choice for students with AIR in the 600–3,500 range.
| Institute | CSE / AI Rank | Elec / MnC Rank | Core Branch Safe Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| IIT Hyderabad | 600 – 680 | 1,800 – 2,000 | ~9,500 |
| IIT (BHU) Varanasi | 1,000 – 1,100 | 3,200 – 3,500 | ~13,000 |
| IIT Indore | 1,300 – 1,450 | 3,600 – 3,900 | ~12,000 |
| IIT Gandhinagar | 1,500 – 1,700 | 3,800 – 4,200 | ~11,500 |
| IIT Ropar | 1,800 – 2,000 | 5,000 – 5,500 | ~14,000 |
| IIT Jodhpur | 2,300 – 2,600 | 6,000 – 6,500 | ~15,000 |
| IIT Patna | 2,600 – 2,900 | 6,800 – 7,200 | ~14,500 |
| IIT Mandi | 2,800 – 3,100 | 6,500 – 7,000 | ~15,500 |
| IIT Dhanbad (ISM) | 3,000 – 3,300 | 7,500 – 8,000 | ~16,000 |
Newer IITs established post-2015, with ranks in the 3,000–16,500 range for CSE. These still carry the prestigious IIT brand and are a strong fallback for students with ranks above 3,000.
| Institute | CSE Rank | Safe Rank (Any Branch) |
|---|---|---|
| IIT Bhubaneswar | 2,900 – 3,300 | ~15,500 |
| IIT Tirupati | 3,800 – 4,200 | ~16,000 |
| IIT Goa | 4,000 – 4,400 | ~15,500 |
| IIT Dharwad | 4,800 – 5,200 | ~16,200 |
| IIT Palakkad | 5,000 – 5,500 | ~16,000 |
| IIT Jammu | 5,200 – 5,600 | ~16,500 |
| IIT Bhilai | 5,500 – 5,900 | ~16,500 |
IIT cutoffs vary dramatically by reservation category. The table below shows approximate CSE closing ranks for top Tier 1 IITs across all categories in the Open pool (gender-neutral seats).
| IIT | General (CRL) | EWS | OBC-NCL | SC | ST |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IIT Bombay | ~65 | ~220 | ~250 | ~550 | ~350 |
| IIT Delhi | ~115 | ~300 | ~400 | ~900 | ~550 |
| IIT Madras | ~145 | ~450 | ~500 | ~1,100 | ~700 |
| IIT Kanpur | ~225 | ~600 | ~700 | ~1,500 | ~950 |
| IIT Roorkee | ~405 | ~900 | ~1,100 | ~2,500 | ~1,400 |
| IIT Hyderabad | ~650 | ~1,500 | ~1,800 | ~3,500 | ~2,000 |
OBC-NCL closing ranks are typically 3–5x higher (better) than CRL. SC ranks are 8–15x. ST ranks can be 5–10x. Female supernumerary pool has separate (generally relaxed) cutoffs.
Since 2018, IITs have reserved approximately 20% supernumerary seats exclusively for female candidates. These are additional seats — not carved from the existing pool — meaning female students compete in a separate pool with their own (usually relaxed) closing ranks.
| IIT | Gender Neutral (Open) | Female Supernumerary | Relaxation |
|---|---|---|---|
| IIT Bombay CSE | ~65 | ~140 | ~75 ranks easier |
| IIT Delhi CSE | ~115 | ~250 | ~135 ranks easier |
| IIT Madras CSE | ~145 | ~320 | ~175 ranks easier |
| IIT Kanpur CSE | ~225 | ~500 | ~275 ranks easier |
| IIT Hyderabad CSE | ~650 | ~1,200 | ~550 ranks easier |
This is the most debated question in IIT counseling every year. Here's a structured breakdown to help you decide based on your specific goals:
✓ Brand recognition is unmatched globally (for research, UPSC, international MS/PhD)
✓ Even Mechanical or Chemical from IIT Bombay has elite non-core placements (consulting, finance)
✓ Better alumni network — IIT Bombay/Delhi alumni are in every top company's leadership
✓ Research infrastructure and faculty quality is unbeatable
✗ Core branch placements for Mechanical/Civil can be limited compared to CSE
✗ If you want to be a software engineer, branch matters more than brand at mid-career
✓ CSE placements are often significantly better than old IIT core branches
✓ Direct pathway to top tech companies — Google, Microsoft, Uber recruit here
✓ Smaller batch size = more individual attention and better professor-student ratio
✓ Rising placement averages — IIT Hyderabad CSE median CTC now rivals old IIT core
✗ Brand gap exists in non-tech sectors (consulting, investment banking, civil services)
✗ Research output and infrastructure still catching up to old IITs
→ Want to be a software engineer / startup founder? Choose CSE at the best IIT your rank allows, even if it's a newer one.
→ Want research / IIT faculty / international PhD? Old IIT brand matters enormously — take the lower branch.
→ Want consulting / finance / civil services? Old IIT brand still gives a significant edge — branch matters less.
→ Unsure / want flexibility? MnC (Maths & Computing) at any old IIT offers the best of both worlds — strong math foundation + software placements.
Use our IIT College Predictor to compare your specific options side by side based on your JEE Advanced rank, category, and preferred branches.
✓ Fill your preference list with at least 15–20 choices — more options = better upgrade chances.
✓ Add "stretch" choices (1–2 ranks above your current best) and "safe" fallbacks (well below).
✓ Understand the difference between slide (same institute, better branch) and float (better institute entirely).
✓ Use freeze only once you're fully satisfied — it locks your seat for that institute.
✓ Research dual-degree programs (B.Tech + M.Tech in 5 years) at old IITs — they often have more relaxed cutoffs and excellent research outcomes.
✗ Don't confuse JEE Main rank with JEE Advanced rank — they are entirely separate.
✗ Don't compare opening rank to your rank — always compare to the closing rank.
✗ Don't ignore IIT Dhanbad (ISM) — it is a full IIT with excellent Mining, ECE, and CSE placements.
✗ Don't skip document verification — it leads to automatic cancellation of your allotment.
✗ Don't assume round 1 cutoffs are final — cutoffs relax in later rounds as candidates withdraw.
For popular IIT branches (CSE at old IITs), cutoffs barely move between rounds — often only 5–20 rank positions. Demand is so high that seats fill almost immediately in Round 1. However, for less popular branches (Mining at ISM, Chemical at newer IITs, or core branches at Tier 3 IITs), cutoffs can relax by 500–2,000 ranks in later rounds. If you're on the borderline for a specific seat, always participate in all 6 rounds.
IIT cutoffs are driven by three primary variables: the number of JEE Advanced qualifiers, the total seat matrix, and student preference patterns. Unlike JEE Main, JEE Advanced qualifiers are capped — approximately 2.5 lakh students attempt JEE Main to earn the top ~2.5 lakh cutoff rank, but only the top ~1.5–1.8 lakh are eligible to sit for JEE Advanced. Of these, roughly 17,000 seats across all IITs are available.
The difficulty of JEE Advanced reshapes the marks-to-rank relationship each year, but the rank-based cutoffs for IIT seats remain relatively stable year on year — typically within ±5–10% of the previous year's figures. Sudden large swings in cutoffs are rare except for newly introduced branches like AI or Data Science, where initial demand spikes significantly.
IIT tuition fees are government-regulated at approximately Rs. 2 lakh per year for General category students, making the 4-year B.Tech cost around Rs. 8–10 lakh including hostel and mess. SC/ST students pay no tuition fees at IITs. EWS students with family income below Rs. 5 lakh per year are eligible for full fee waivers. Additionally, the Institute Merit-cum-Means (MCM) scholarship provides stipends to students based on academic performance and financial need. Given average starting salaries of Rs. 15–40 LPA for IIT graduates, the return on investment is extraordinary.
IIT placements remain among the strongest in India. Here's a rough overview of median CTC by tier for CSE branches in the most recent placement season:
| IIT Tier | CSE Median CTC | Highest CTC (International) |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 (Bombay, Delhi, Madras) | Rs. 25 – 40 LPA | Rs. 1–3 Crore |
| Tier 1 (Kanpur, Kharagpur, Roorkee) | Rs. 20 – 30 LPA | Rs. 80L – 2 Crore |
| Tier 2 (Hyderabad, Indore, BHU) | Rs. 15 – 25 LPA | Rs. 60L – 1.5 Crore |
| Tier 3 (Newer IITs) | Rs. 10 – 18 LPA | Rs. 30 – 80 LPA |
If your JEE Advanced rank falls short of IIT cutoffs, explore admission chances in NITs using your JEE Main rank through JoSAA counseling — a strong fallback with excellent placements and significantly more accessible cutoffs.
