JEE Main Cutoff 2026: Qualifying & College-Wise Guide

Introduction

You’ve given two years of your life to Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics. You’ve sat through mock tests, lost sleep, and solved problems that would make most adults break into a cold sweat. And now, as the JEE Main 2026 Session 2 result approaches — expected on April 20, 2026 — one number stands between you and your next chapter: the cutoff.

But here’s the thing most students get wrong. There isn’t just one JEE Main cutoff. There are two completely different kinds and mixing them up can cost you real opportunities during JoSAA counselling. Every year, thousands of students celebrate clearing the NTA qualifying cutoff, then discover too late that the admission cutoff for their target college is a completely different and far higher number.

Think of it like a relay race. The qualifying cutoff is just the handoff baton — it gets you into the next leg of the race. The admission cutoff is the finish line of that next leg. Winning the first handoff doesn’t mean you win the race.

This guide breaks down everything you need to know about JEE Main cutoff 2026: what the official qualifying percentiles are expected to be, how they’ve changed over the last five years, what NIT and IIIT college-wise cutoffs look like, and most importantly what score you actually need for your specific goal.

Whether you’re targeting IIT through JEE Advanced, a Tier-1 NIT for CSE, or a solid branch at a Tier-2 NIT, this is your complete reference. We’ve compiled all available data from official NTA releases, expert projections, and five years of JoSAA counselling patterns to give you the most accurate picture possible — right when you need it most.

What Is JEE Main Cutoff?

The term “JEE Main cutoff” gets used loosely, but it actually refers to two very different things. Understanding the distinction is the first step to making smart decisions after your result.

Qualifying Cutoff vs College-Wise Cutoff

The qualifying cutoff (also called the NTA cutoff) is the minimum percentile you need to score to be eligible for JEE Advanced. It is released by the National Testing Agency (NTA) along with the Session 2 result. If you meet this threshold, you can register for JEE Advanced but it tells you nothing about which college or branch you’ll get.

The admission cutoff (also called the JoSAA closing rank) is an entirely separate set of numbers. Released by the Joint Seat Allocation Authority (JoSAA) after counselling rounds, it shows the rank of the last candidate who received a seat in a specific college and branch in a given category. This is the number that actually determines whether you get CSE at NIT Trichy or Mechanical at NIT Raipur.

Qualifying the NTA cutoff is just entry to the game. The JoSAA closing rank is the game itself.

Percentile-Based Cutoff System

JEE Main cutoffs are always expressed in NTA percentile scores, not raw marks. This is a critical distinction. A percentile score tells you what percentage of candidates scored equal to or below you in your session. So a 93 percentile means you scored better than 93% of all test-takers in that session, it does not mean you scored 93 out of 100.

NTA uses percentile instead of marks because the exam is conducted in multiple shifts with varying difficulty levels. Normalisation ensures that a student who happened to get a harder shift isn’t penalised. Marks from different sessions are not directly comparable — percentile scores are. 

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JEE Main 2026 Expected Qualifying Cutoffs

The official JEE Main 2026 cutoff will be released by NTA along with the Session 2 result on April 20, 2026. Until then, the following expected figures are based on expert analysis, Session 1 difficulty assessment, and historical trends. These are the minimum percentiles required to qualify for JEE Advanced 2026.

Note: These are expected/indicative figures. Always verify on the official NTA website jeemain.nta.nic.in once results are declared.

General / UR: 93.5–95.0 Percentile

The General category (unreserved) consistently faces the highest qualifying bar. Based on the modest upward trajectory of recent years and the moderate-to-difficult difficulty level reported for Session 2 (April 2–8, 2026), experts peg the 2026 General cutoff in the range of 93.5 to 95.0 percentile.

EWS: 80.5–82.0 Percentile

The Economically Weaker Section (EWS) cutoff has been rising sharply since 2022. It is expected to settle around 80.5 to 82.0 percentile in 2026, closely tracking the OBC-NCL cutoff.

OBC-NCL: 79.5–81.5 Percentile

OBC-NCL competition has intensified significantly over the past four years. The 2026 expected qualifying percentile is 79.5 to 81.5, representing a meaningful jump from the 67 percentile range seen as recently as 2022.

SC: 61.5–64.0 Percentile

SC candidates have also seen their qualifying bar nearly double from 2021 to 2025. For 2026, the expected range is 61.5 to 64.0 percentile.

ST: 48.0–50.5 Percentile

The ST qualifying cutoff remains the lowest among main categories. For 2026, it is expected to fall between 48.0 and 50.5 percentile.

JEE Main 2025 Actual Cutoffs (Baseline)

These are the official figures released by NTA on April 18–19, 2025, and serve as the most reliable baseline for 2026 projections.

These are the minimum qualifying percentiles — candidates who met or exceeded these in their category became eligible for JEE Advanced 2025 and JoSAA counselling.

JEE Main Cutoff Trends: 2021–2026

5-Year Comparison Table

Rising Trend Analysis

The numbers tell a clear story. The General category cutoff climbed from 87.90 in 2021 to 93.10 in 2025 — a jump of over 5 percentile points in just four years. OBC-NCL competition has been even more dramatic, with cutoffs rising from around 67 in 2022 to nearly 79.5 today.

What’s driving this? Three interconnected factors:

More candidates each year. Over 13.4 lakh candidates appeared for JEE Main 2025 Session 1 alone. Higher participation mathematically compresses the percentile distribution at the top.

Better-prepared aspirants. The explosion of affordable online coaching platforms has dramatically raised the floor of student preparation quality across India.

More students attempting both sessions. Since both sessions count and only the best score is used, students effectively get two chances to optimise their percentile — which tends to push scores up across the board.

The practical takeaway: the days of scraping through at 88–89 percentile for General category are over. If you are in the General category, 93+ is the new floor, and you should target 95+ to feel safe.

Percentile vs Rank: Understanding the Conversion

How Percentile Is Calculated

NTA calculates your JEE Main percentile using this formula:

Percentile = (Number of candidates in the session with a raw score ≤ your score ÷ Total candidates in that session) × 100

Each subject (Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics) gets its own percentile too, and so does your total score. Your total NTA percentile is what matters for qualifying cutoffs and rank determination.

Because the formula compares you only against others in your session and shift, two students with the same raw marks can have different percentiles if they appeared in different shifts. This is entirely normal and is why NTA normalises across sessions.

Rank Calculation from Percentile

Once NTA has percentile scores from both sessions, it takes the best percentile from either session for each candidate. Then it creates a merged All India Rank (AIR) list. The candidate with the highest percentile gets Rank 1.

Roughly speaking, with over 14–15 lakh unique candidates expected in 2026:

These are approximate. The exact rank depends on the total number of candidates who appear in 2026.

Worked Example with Actual Numbers

Imagine 15,00,000 candidates appear for JEE Main 2026.

You score in Session 1. NTA finds that 14,24,500 candidates scored equal to or below your total raw score in your shift.

Your percentile = (14,24,500 ÷ 15,00,000) × 100 = 94.97 percentile

This would put your All India Rank at approximately 75,000–80,000, making you eligible for JEE Advanced (above the General cutoff) and competitive for several NIT branches — though not enough for Tier-1 NIT CSE.

JEE Main Cutoff for Top NITs

The JoSAA admission cutoffs for NITs are far higher than the NTA qualifying cutoffs. Just because you cross 93 percentile doesn’t mean you get an NIT seat — it means you can try. Here’s what the actual admission competition looks like.

Tier-1 NITs: CSE Cutoff (99.5–99.9 Percentile)

The premier NITs — NIT Trichy, NIT Warangal, NIT Surathkal — command closing ranks between 500 and 3,000 for CSE (General category). In percentile terms, this translates to 99.5 to 99.9 percentile. In raw rank terms, you generally need to be within the top 1,500–2,500 AIR nationally for the best CSE seats at these institutions.

Approximate closing ranks (General, CSE, Home State/All India):

Tier-2 NITs: CSE Cutoff (99.2–99.5 Percentile)

The second tier of NITs — including NIT Rourkela, NIT Durgapur, MNIT Jaipur, and NIT Kurukshetra — have CSE closing ranks roughly in the 3,000–7,000 AIR range for General category. This corresponds to approximately 99.2–99.5 percentile.

Tier-3 NITs: CSE Cutoff (98.5–99.0 Percentile)

Newer or smaller NITs — such as NIT Silchar, NIT Agartala, NIT Manipur — have CSE closing ranks between 7,000–15,000 AIR, which corresponds to roughly 98.5–99.0 percentile. For non-CSE branches (ECE, Mechanical, Civil), cutoffs are considerably lower across all tiers.

Branch-Wise Cutoff Trends

Across all NITs, the branch-wise cutoff hierarchy is consistent:

1. CSE / CSE with AI — Highest cutoff
2. Electronics & Communication (ECE) — Second highest
3. Electrical Engineering — Third tier
4. Mechanical / Civil / Chemical — Lower cutoffs

For reserved categories (OBC, SC, ST), the closing ranks are proportionally higher numerically (meaning more students qualify), but the relative competition within each category remains intense.

JEE Main Cutoff for Top IIITs

IIIT Hyderabad, Bangalore, Delhi Cutoffs

The Indian Institutes of Information Technology are particularly sought after for CS and IT programmes. IIIT Hyderabad, in particular, commands some of the highest closing ranks in its category.

IIIT Hyderabad (CSE/CLD/ECE): Closing ranks typically fall in the 300–1,500 AIR range, making it comparable to IIT cutoffs for some branches. Its B.Tech + MS dual degree programmes are especially competitive.

IIIT Bangalore (CSE/ECE): Closing ranks generally in the 2,000–5,000 AIR range for the most competitive programmes.

IIIT Delhi (CSE/IT): Closing ranks in the 2,500–6,000 AIR range depending on programme and quota.

CSE at Top IIITs: 99.3–99.9+ Percentile

For CSE at the top-ranked IIITs (particularly IIIT Hyderabad), you effectively need to be in the top 1,500 All India Ranks — translating to 99.7–99.9+ percentile for the General category. These seats are among the most contested in the entire JEE Main system, outside of IITs.

For other IIITs with CSE programmes, the cutoff eases slightly to the 99.3–99.6 percentile range, still extremely competitive.

JEE Main vs JEE Advanced Cutoff

Qualifying JEE Main ≠ Qualifying for JEE Advanced

This is one of the most common points of confusion among JEE aspirants. Let’s settle it clearly.

Qualifying the JEE Main NTA cutoff (e.g., 93.10 for General in 2025) means you have met the minimum eligibility to apply for JEE Advanced. That’s it. It does not mean you will automatically qualify for or perform well in JEE Advanced.

JEE Advanced is a completely separate and significantly more difficult examination, designed specifically to test deep conceptual understanding rather than the broader curriculum coverage tested by JEE Main. A student who barely clears the JEE Main cutoff has a very slim chance of performing meaningfully in JEE Advanced without targeted preparation.

Top 2.5 Lakh Rule for JEE Advanced

Approximately 2,50,000 unique candidates from the JEE Main Common Rank List (CRL) are selected for JEE Advanced each year. This selection is category-wise, ensuring reserved category candidates are also proportionally represented.

For 2026, you need to be in the top 2.5 lakh unique rank holders from JEE Main Paper 1 to register for JEE Advanced. The qualifying cutoff percentile is essentially the percentile of the 2,50,000th-ranked candidate — which, for the General category, has consistently landed between 87 and 95 percentile depending on the year.

For General category aspirants seriously targeting IITs, aim for 97+ percentile in JEE Main to have a comfortable cushion in the top 2.5 lakh, and then prepare separately for JEE Advanced, which has its own set of cutoffs and challenges.

Factors Affecting JEE Main Cutoff 2026

Exam Difficulty

This is the single biggest variable in any given year. When both sessions of JEE Main are moderately difficult (as was largely reported for April 2026), overall candidate performance stays in a predictable range, leading to a cutoff close to the previous year. If a session is unusually easy, more candidates cluster in high score ranges, pushing the cutoff up. A tough session does the opposite.

Number of Candidates (12+ Lakh)

Over 12–14 lakh candidates appear for JEE Main annually. With that many students, every incremental increase in participation directly tightens the competition at every percentile level. The top 2.5 lakh cutoff represents roughly 17–20% of appearing candidates — a fixed proportion that means rising participation directly raises the absolute score needed to qualify.

Previous Year Trends

NTA itself uses previous year cutoffs as a baseline when calibrating the qualifying threshold. This creates a degree of continuity — cutoffs rarely swing dramatically in a single year unless there’s a highly unusual paper or a major change in candidate numbers.

Session 1 vs Session 2: Is There a Cutoff Difference?

Same Qualifying Cutoff — Best Score Considered

A common question: “Should I focus more on Session 1 or Session 2?”

The answer is that NTA uses a single merged qualifying cutoff released after Session 2 results. Your best percentile from either session is used to determine your final All India Rank. There is no separate qualifying cutoff for Session 1 or Session 2.

Practically, this means:

• A strong Session 1 performance can give you confidence and a benchmark
• A weak Session 1 is not the end — Session 2 can fully replace it
• Both sessions’ raw scores are normalised before comparison, so difficulty difference between sessions is accounted for
• If you appear in both sessions, only your higher NTA score counts

For 2026, with Session 2 exams concluded (April 2–8) and results expected April 20, students who appeared in both sessions will see their best score reflected in the final merit list.

Safe Score for Different Goals

One of the most practical questions aspirants ask is: “What percentile do I actually need?” Here’s a clear framework based on 2025 data and 2026 projections.

For JEE Advanced Qualification: 97+ Percentile (General)

While the official qualifying cutoff for JEE Advanced is ~93.5 percentile, simply clearing it puts you around rank 1 lakh. The top 2.5 lakh cutoff typically requires a higher bar for General category students when reservation proportions are applied. To be genuinely comfortable and avoid being cut off due to category proportions, aim for 97+ percentile if you’re in the General category. This translates to an All India Rank of approximately 30,000–40,000.

For Top NITs (CSE): 99.5+ Percentile (General)

For CSE at NIT Trichy, NIT Warangal, or NIT Surathkal, you need to be in the top 2,500–3,000 AIR nationally, which means 99.5 percentile or higher. This is the admission cutoff — a completely different number from the qualifying cutoff.

For Good NITs / IIITs: 98+ Percentile (General)

To get CSE or ECE at a mid-tier NIT, or a seat at a quality IIIT, a safe target is 98+ percentile, which translates to roughly AIR 20,000–30,000. For non-CS branches at good NITs, 96–97 percentile may suffice.

JEE Main Cutoff 2026: Category-Wise Complete Table

Qualifying Cutoff for JEE Advanced (Expected)

Safe Score Targets for Admission Goals (General Category)

How Career Plan B Helps

Scoring above the JEE Main cutoff is only the beginning. Knowing which college and branch to choose, understanding your academic strengths, and building a backup plan if your rank falls short — these decisions matter enormously for your long-term career. 

Career Plan B offers 

• Personalised career counselling to help you decode what your rank actually means for your future, along with Psycheintel and Career Assessment Tests to discover which engineering discipline genuinely suits your personality and aptitude. 
• Their JoSAA admission guidance and Career Roadmapping service walk you through the counselling process step by step, so you’re not guessing when it matters most. 
• Whether your percentile puts you at the door of an IIT, a solid NIT, or an alternative path entirely.

Career Plan B helps you make the decision with clarity and confidence. 

For Latest Information

FAQs: JEE Main Cutoff 2026

Q1. What is the JEE Main 2026 qualifying cutoff for the General category? 

The official cutoff has not yet been released as of April 16, 2026 (results expected April 20). Based on previous year trends and expert analysis, the expected qualifying percentile for General category is 93.5 to 95.0 percentile. The 2025 official cutoff was 93.10 percentile.

Q2. Is the JEE Main qualifying cutoff the same as the NIT admission cutoff? 

No — they are completely different. The qualifying cutoff (released by NTA) is the minimum percentile to appear for JEE Advanced. The admission cutoff (released by JoSAA) is the closing rank required to get a seat in a specific college and branch. NIT CSE admission cutoffs are far higher than the qualifying cutoff.

Q3. What happens if my percentile exactly equals the qualifying cutoff? 

You are considered qualified and eligible for JEE Advanced and JoSAA counselling. However, a percentile that barely meets the cutoff typically places you in a very high rank number (e.g., AIR 1,00,000+), significantly limiting your college and branch options. Always aim well above the cutoff.

Q4. Does the JEE Main cutoff change between Session 1 and Session 2? 

No. NTA releases a single qualifying cutoff based on the merged performance across both sessions. Your best percentile from either session is what counts. There is no separate cutoff for each session.

Q5. Can reserved category candidates with a lower percentile still get good colleges? 

Yes — category-wise ranks are calculated separately. An OBC-NCL candidate with 80 percentile may have a strong category rank and be eligible for good NIT branches. The JoSAA counselling process applies category-specific cutoffs, so always check both the CRL rank and your category rank.

Conclusion

The JEE Main cutoff 2026 is more than just a qualifying bar; it’s a compass for the decisions that follow. Here’s what to keep in mind as you wait for the April 20 result:

• The qualifying cutoff and the admission cutoff are not the same thing. Clearing 93.5+ percentile qualifies you for JEE Advanced — it doesn’t guarantee an NIT seat. 
• The trend is upward and likely to continue. From 88 percentile in 2022 to 93+ in 2024–25, General category qualifying percentiles have risen steadily. With candidate numbers growing and online coaching making preparation more accessible, this trend shows no sign of reversing. If you’re preparing for JEE Main 2027 or beyond, treat 95+ percentile as your new floor.
• Your category matters for both qualification and admission. Use your category rank smartly during JoSAA counselling — it can unlock significantly better options than your CRL rank alone. An OBC-NCL or SC candidate with a strong category rank can often access branches and institutes that their All India Rank alone wouldn’t suggest.
• Have a plan for every scenario. Know in advance which colleges and branches are realistic at your rank, what your preferred branches are, and what you’ll do if your rank falls below expectations. The students who navigate JoSAA counselling best are the ones who enter it with three lists: their dream choices, their realistic choices, and their safety choices — all carefully researched.

If you’re waiting for your result, use the next few days wisely: explore rank predictors, research college options, understand JoSAA round strategies, and if you’re targeting JEE Advanced, begin that preparation immediately — the exam is on May 17, 2026. Registration for JEE Advanced 2026 begins April 23 on jeeadv.ac.in. 

Your JEE Main story doesn’t end with a cutoff number. It begins there.