Top IITs in India 2026: Ranking, Admission, Courses, Fees, Placements

The IITs are Institutes of National Importance. They are the cream of engineering education in the country that stand out in the global arena of science, tech, and innovation. That's why every year, aspirants set goals to get into the top IIT colleges to get into this legacy. But which campus is right for you?  

Getting admission into any top IIT in India is through JEE Main and JEE Advanced. But they have different rankings for many different reasons. The cutoffs are different and so are the specialisations. For instance, IIT Goa will have a much lower cutoff than IIT Madras, which consistently ranks no 1 on NIRF rankings. IIT Madras has a great research output, while IIT Bombay is known for its entrepreneurial spirit. Then IIT Delhi is known for its international industry connections. Similarly, each IIT is unique. And this guide will give you an overview of the rankings, admissions, specialisations, fees, and more about these institutes. 

NIRF 2025 Engineering Rankings Released:

• According to NIRF 2025, IIT Madras retained its 1st position, maintaining its rank from NIRF 2024.
•  IIT Hyderabad and IIT Guwahati retained 7th and 8th positions respectively, compared to their 8th and 7th ranks in NIRF 2024.

LATEST UPDATE:

• The JEE Main 2026 registrations for session 2 started for admission to the BTech courses. The last date to register for the same is February 25, 2026. Further, the session 2 exams will be conducted from April 2 to April 9, 2026. 

Key Highlights of the Top IIT Colleges in India 2026

Bachelor of Technology (BTech) degree is the most common undergraduate degree in all IIT colleges. But these offer several postgraduate courses, including MTech, MBA, and MSc.

Some IITs offer specialised graduate programmes such as (MDes), the Post Graduate Diploma in Information Technology (PGDIT), the Master in Medical Science and Technology (MMST), the Master of City Planning (MCP), MA, the Postgraduate Diploma in Intellectual Property Law (PGDIPL), and the Postgraduate Diploma in Maritime Operation & Management (PGDMOM).

Candidates can see he table below for the key highlights of the IIT top colleges in India including total no. of IITs in India, fee structure across top colleges, top specialisations offered in IITs in India with accepted entrance exams -

Parameters	Statistics
Total no. IITs in India	23 IITs in India
Fee structure across top IITs in India	INR > 5 lakh: 20+ colleges
Top IITs in India as per NIRF ranking 2025	IIT Madras IIT Delhi IIT Bombay IIT Kanpur IIT Kharagpur, etc.
Average Salary	INR 8 LPA ~ INR 40+ LPA
Top Engineering specialisations offered in IITs in India	Computer Science & Engineering Electrical Engineering Mechanical Engineering Civil Engineering Chemical Engineering
Accepted Entrance Exams in IIT colleges in India	JEE Main JEE Advanced

Source: Official site and may vary.

Predict your chances here: Engineering Cutoff Predictor

Top 10 IIT Colleges in India with NIRF Ranking 2025

Unlike many other industry-standard evaluations on top engineering colleges in India, NIRF has these five parameters for ranking the IIT colleges in India, which are mentioned below -

• Teaching, Learning and Resources
• Research and Professional Practices
• Graduation Outcomes
• Outreach and Inclusivity
• Perception

The table below shows the top 10 IIT colleges in India ranked along with their NIRF ranking over the past three years, i.e. from 2023 to 2025:

Top IITs in India	NIRF 2023	NIRF 2024	NIRF 2025
IIT Madras Ranking	1	1	1
IIT Delhi Ranking	2	2	2
IIT Bombay Ranking	3	3	3
IIT Kanpur Ranking	4	4	4
IIT Kharagpur Ranking	6	5	5
IIT Roorkee Ranking	5	6	6
IIT Hyderabad Ranking	8	8	7
IIT Guwahati Ranking	7	7	8
IIT (BHU) Varanasi Ranking	15	10	10
IIT Indore Ranking	14	16	12

Source: Official NIRF site and may vary.

READ MORE: Engineering Courses

Eligibility Criteria of Top IIT Colleges in India 2026

The selection and admission process varies for all the IITs and is the same for undergraduate and postgraduate engineering courses. Students, who want to pursue any programme for IITs can check the course-wise general eligibility criteria in the table below to get admission to top IIT institutes in India:

Courses from Top IIT Colleges in India	General Eligibility	Qualifying Exams
BTech, BS, BTech+MTech (dual degree)	Passed Class 12 with at least 75% aggregate from recognised board.	JEE Main, JEE Advanced
BDes	Passed Class 12 from a recognised board.	UCEED
MTech, MTech+PhD (dual degree), PhD	BE/ BTech/AMIE or equivalent in the relevant discipline from a recognised board.	GATE
MBA	Bachelor’s degree with 60% aggregate from a recognised university.	CAT
MDes	Degree/ diploma/ postgraduate degree holder with a minimum of three years after Class 12 from a recognised board.	CEED
MSc, MSc+PhD (dual degree)	MSc in Physics/ Chemistry/ Mathematics or its equivalent from a recognised board.	IIT JAM

Source: Official site and may vary.

Top IIT Colleges in India: Exam Schedule 2026

The most popular entrance exams accepted by the top IIT institutes in India are mentioned below:

• JEE Main: The Joint Entrance Examination (Main), popularly called JEE Main, is the exam conducted for admission to BTech, BArch and BPlan courses at NITs, IIITs, other Centrally Funded Technical Institutions (CFTIs), and Institutions/Universities funded/recognised by participating State Governments. The JEE Main exam is also an eligibility test for JEE Advanced, conducted for admission to IITs.
• JEE Advanced: JEE Advanced is the second-stage test (after JEE Main) for aspiring IIT students. Remember, only the top 2.5 lakh performers in JEE Main get to challenge JEE Advanced. It's your doorway to the prestigious IITs. The exam is conducted annually by one of the 7 IITs or IISc Bangalore in CBT mode, under the aegis of the Joint Admission Board (JAB).

The table below shows the entrance exams accepted in the best IIT colleges in India along with their dates and Schedules:

Exams	Schedule	Cutoff Predictor
JEE Main 2026 Exam	JEE Main Schedule	JEE Advanced Cutoff Predictor
JEE Advanced 2026 Exam	JEE Advanced Schedule	JEE Main Cutoff Predictor

Source: Official site and may vary.

Read more about JEE Main:

• Download JEE Main Mock Papers PDF
• JEE Main Preparation Tips
• JEE Main Questions & Answers

Top IIT Colleges Accepting JEE Main Score in India

There are about 20+ top IIT colleges in India that accept JEE Main score. Some of them are mentioned below along with their total tuition fees:

Top Colleges	Total Tuition Fee
IIT Madras	INR 8 lakhs
IIT Delhi	INR 8 lakhs
IIT Kanpur	INR 8 lakhs
IIT Kharagpur	INR 8 lakhs
IIT Roorkee	INR 8 lakhs

Source: Official site and may vary.

Top Government IIT Colleges in India

The table below shows the top government IIT colleges in India along with their total tuition fee/BTech and MTech seat intake and entrance exams/eligibility criteria:

Government IIT Colleges	Total Tuition Fee
IIT Madras Admission	INR 8 lakh  BTech Seats: 1,191 MTech Seats: 717
IIT Delhi Admission	INR 8 lakh BTech Seats: 1,209 MTech Seats: 1,568
IIT Bombay Admission	INR 8 lakh BTech Seats: 1,503 MTech Seats: 738
IIT Kanpur Admission	INR 8 lakh BTech Seats: 929
IIT Kharagpur Admission	INR 8 lakh BTech Seats: 2,556 MTech Seats: 2,992

Source: Official site and may vary.

READ MORE: BTech Admission

Courses Offered by Top IIT Colleges in India

The table below shows the top IIT colleges in India along with their various courses offered and its total tuition fees:

Top IITs in India	Courses Offered	Total Tuition Fee
IIT Madras	B.Tech. in Aerospace Engineering, BTech in CSE, BTech in Mechanical Engineering, etc.	INR 8 lakh
IIT Delhi	BTech in CSE, BTech in Mathematics and Computing Engineering, BTech in Mechanical Engineering, etc.	INR 8 lakh
IIT Bombay	BTech in CSE, BTech in Aerospace Engineering, BTech in Mechanical Engineering, etc.	INR 8 lakh
IIT Kanpur	BTech in Aerospace Engineering, BTech in Electrical Engineering, BTech in Mechanical Engineering, etc.	INR 8 lakh
IIT Roorkee	BTech in Data Science, BTech in CSE, BTech in Civil Engineering, etc.	INR 8 lakh

Source: Official site and may vary.

State-wise Top IIT Colleges in India

There are 23 best IIT colleges in India. There is at least one IIT in each of the major states in the nation. Candidates can look at the table below to see how colleges are distributed per state:

Source: Official site and may vary.

Read more about top IIT Colleges in other locations:

• Top IIT Colleges in Chennai
• Top IIT Colleges in Delhi/NCR
• Top IIT Colleges in Hyderabad
• Top IIT Colleges in Uttar Pradesh
• Top IIT Colleges in Maharashtra
• Top IIT Colleges in Assam

ROI of Top IIT Colleges in India

Top IITs offer excellent ROI due to high average salaries often INR 15-25 LPA+ as compared to relatively low fees, with IIT BHU Varanasi often cited for highest ROI, followed by IIT Delhi, Kanpur, Madras, and Bombay. Candidates can calculate the ROI of each IIT by comparing tuition fees with average salary. Listed below are the top IITs in India with tuition fees and average salary -

College Names	Total Course Fee	Average Annual Placement Package
IIT Madras Courses	INR 8 lakh	INR 37.5 LPA
IIT Delhi Courses	INR 8 lakh	INR 20 LPA
IIT Kharagpur Courses	INR 8 lakh	INR 19.7 LPA
IIT Bombay Courses	INR 8 lakh	INR 18 LPA
IIT Kanpur Courses	INR 8 lakh	INR 19.4 LPA
IIT Roorkee Courses	INR 8 lakh	INR 17 LPA

Source: Official site and may vary.

READ MORE: Engineering Career Scope

List of UG ad PG Programs offered at IITs in India

The IITs are best known for offering world-class UG and PG engineering programmes. IITs offer diverse UG and PG programs like Btech, Bachelor of Science, Integrated BTech or MTech and M.Tech, MMSc, MDes, MBS, M.Sc-PhD dual degrees, across various engineering, science, design, and management streams, with admissions primarily via JEE Advanced (UG), GATE (PG Engineering), JAM (PG Science), UCEED or CEED (Design), and CAT (MBA). 

UG Programmes	PG Programmes
Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech)	Master of Science (MSc)
Bachelor of Science (BS)	Dual Degree (MSc-PhD)
Dual Degree (B.Tech-M.Tech)	Master of Technology (M.Tech)
Dual Degree (BS & MS)	Master of Design (M.Des)
Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch)	Master of Business Administration (MBA)
Bachelor of Design (B.Des)	Master of Philosophy (M.Phil)
-	Joint MSc-PhD

Source: External site and may vary.

Highest Salary Offered by Top IIT Colleges in India

IITs have always been the most sought-after institution by both Indian and foreign recruiters. Every year, Engineering graduates from these institutions are hired by all the major corporations across the world, including Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Adobe, and many others. An IIT graduate can expect to earn an average income between INR 7 LPA - INR 30+ LPA. The best IIT in India and their recruiters and placement package are listed below:

College Names	Placement Package	Top Recruiters
IIT Madras Placements	INR 37.5 LPA	Microsoft, Texas Instruments, Bajaj Auto, ISRO, Alphonso, etc.
IIT Delhi Placements	INR 20 LPA	ICICI Bank, Anheuser Busch InBev, J P Morgan Chase & Co, etc.
IIT Bombay Placements	INR 18 LPA	TCS, Google, TechFest, Amazon, Goldman Sachs, etc.
IIT Indore Placements	INR 21 LPA	Samsung, Optum, Oracle, Goldman Sachs, etc.
IIT Gandhinagar Placements	INR 16 LPA	Oracle, Rakuten, Salesforce, Texas Instrument, etc.

Source: Official site and may vary.

Career Opportunities After Studying at IITs in India

There are many job options available in private and government sector after completing studying at IIT colleges in India. Some of them are mentioned below -

• Top MNCs
• Government and public sector units
• Higher education and research
• Entrepreneurship and startups
• Civil services and policy-making roles

To check the comparison between the best IIT colleges in India, click the link below:

• IIT Madras Comparison with other colleges
• IIT Roorkee Comparison with other colleges
• IIT Delhi Comparison with other colleges
• IIT Guwahati Comparison with other colleges