NIFT Acceptance Rate 2026 - Year-wise Trends and Seat-Acceptance Rates
National Institute of Fashion Technology Entrance Exam 2026 ( NIFT Entrance Exam )
Registration - 8 Dec '25 - 13 Jan '26
If you are seeking admission to one of the top NIFTs, the acceptance rate should be at the back of your mind. So, here we bring you year-wise acceptance rates along with trends and key insights. Keep reading.
NIFT Acceptance Rate
NIFT Acceptance Rate 2026 - The National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) is expected to release the acceptance rates for NIFT 2026 once the admission process concludes. The NIFT admission cycle starts around November-December and ends with NIFT counselling and seat allotment around June-July.
The NIFT seat acceptance rate of the NIFTs will include details like the number of registered, applied, and accepted candidates. The acceptance rate is the ratio of candidates accepted against the number of applicants. The higher the NIFT acceptance rate, the greater the chance of admission. In contrast, if the acceptance rate is low, it means the competition is higher and so there is a low chance of admission. The NIFT 2026 competition ratio is roughly 1 seat for every 4-5 candidates who qualify.
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Read here all you need to know about NIFT acceptance rates.
The candidate can find the exam analysis for NIFT over the last few years on this page. The NIFT exam analysis is available for both the CAT and GAT papers. The exam analysis for a specific year will cover the sectional and overall difficulty level of the paper, types of questions asked, and marking scheme. It will also cover the expected cut-off that candidates need to secure in their category to get shortlisted. The candidate by consulting the cut-off for previous years will learn about the emerging trends of the NIFT exam, like whether the difficulty level has increased or decreased, types of questions asked, etc.
Candidates seeking admission to the B. Des and M.Des course also need to take the Creative Ability Test CAT written exam, in addition to the GAT. The CAT exam will be conducted in an offline, pen-pencil mode. CAT will be a drawing-based exam of 3 hours duration. The CAT will evaluate various skills of the candidate including Intuition skill, power of observation, innovation in the development of a concept as well as design ability. Further, it will examine the creative as well as innovative use of color and illustration skills of aspirants. It is mandatory for B. Des and M.Des candidates to appear in the CAT paper, or else they will not be invited for the Situation Test.
- NIFT Acceptance Rate 2026
- NIFT Acceptance 2026 Rate Trends
- Year-wise NIFT Seat Acceptance Rate
- NIFTEE 2025 Stage 1 Statistics for GAT and CAT
- NIFT Admission Process 2026
- NIFT Seat Matrix 2026
- NIFT Fee Structure 2026
NIFT Acceptance Rate 2026
Check the table below for year-wise NIFT acceptance rate. Candidates are selected through NIFT entrance exam.
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| Academic Session |
Registration |
Seats |
Acceptance Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-2027 |
To be Announced |
To be Announced |
To be Announced |
| 2025-2026 |
33,877 |
5,289 |
13-15% |
| 2021-22 |
20242 |
3777 |
18.7% |
| 2020-21 |
26604 |
3810 |
14.3% |
| 2019-20 |
29195 |
3692 |
12.6% |
| 2018-19 |
31862 |
3305 |
10.4% |
| 2017-18 |
29000 |
3319 |
11.4% |
| 2016-17 |
26160 |
3279 |
12.5% |
| 2015-16 |
27537 |
3006 |
10.9% |
| 2014-15 |
26391 |
2742 |
10.4% |
| 2013-14 |
19436 |
2680 |
13.8% |
Also Read:
| NIFT Statistics 2025: How Many Students Appeared for the Exam; Attendance and Participation |
NIFT Acceptance 2026 Rate Trends
Here are a few takeaways from the NIFT 2026 acceptance rate that can be derived from the existing data.
- The acceptance rate was highest in the 2020-21 academic session. This can be mainly attributed to the smaller number of applicants.
- In the academic year 2020-21, only 20242 applied for admission against 3777 seats filled.
- The acceptance rates in 2018-19 and 2014-15 were the closest. Both sessions recorded an acceptance rate of 10.4%
- Looking at the trends, there is no clear indication that the acceptance rate is going up or down.
- The acceptance rate curve has alternated between an increase and a decrease in the acceptance rate.
- The acceptance rate depends on various factors, like available seat intake and the total applicants. If any of these factors change, the acceptance rate will also change.
Year-wise NIFT Seat Acceptance Rate
The acceptance rate is a parameter that shows how competitive an exam is. Now, the acceptance rate of the NIFTs is on average, around 15%. This means one seat is allocated per seven applicants.
NIFTEE 2025 Stage 1 Statistics for GAT and CAT
The NIFT GAT and CAT statistics are
| Shift |
Exam |
Registered |
Appeared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shift 1 |
General Ability Test (GAT) |
17,974 |
16,475 |
| Shift 2 |
Creative Ability Test (CAT) |
15,903 |
14,586 |
| Total |
|
33,877 |
31,061 |
NIFT Acceptance Rate 2021
The participating institutes of NIFTs offer a 4-year B.FTech programme. Admission to the programme is based on GAT scores.
- The NIFT GAT question paper for the programme will be approximately 180 minutes and will be bilingual.
- Candidates will have the option to take the exam either in English or Hindi.
- The question type will be multiple-choice.
- The question paper will have a total of 150 questions.
- Questions will be asked from the following FIVE sections - Communication Ability and Comprehension, Case Study, Quantitative Ability, Analytical & Logical Ability, and GK and Current Affairs. The mode of NIFT exam for the GAT paper will be a computer-based test (or CBT).
NIFT 2026 exam analysis will be available soon after the written exams are over.
The analysis will cover the elements like
- Section-wise difficulty level of the exam
- Overall difficulty level
- Types of questions
- Specific questions asked in the exam
- Weightage of questions asked
- Expected cut-off
- About any technical glitches during the exam.
Yes, exam analysis for NIFT M.Des programme will be released. The exam analysis will include elements like sectional and overall difficulty, types of questions asked, specific questions asked and expected cut-off. Candidates can go through exam analysis and access their performance before the actual results are declared.
The NIFT acceptance rate for the academic session 2021 was 18%. It represented the highest acceptance rates by the NIFTs. A total of 20,242 candidates registered for admission in the session, out of which 3777 candidates got admission. Admission categories included regular, State Domicile, and NRI candidates.
NIFT 2021 Acceptance Rate
| Category |
Seats |
Total seats filled |
|---|---|---|
| Regular |
3901 |
3427 |
| State Domicile Seats |
334 |
161 |
| NRI seats |
458 |
189 |
| Total |
4693 |
3777 |
NIFT Admission Process 2026
- The NIFTs currently offer B.Des, B.F.Tech, M.Des, M.F.M, and M.F.Tech courses.
- Admission to these courses will be through the NIFT 2025 entrance exam.
- The NIFT Stage 1 exam includes the written exams - CAT and GAT.
- NIFT 2025 exam pattern: The GAT will be conducted online, whereas CAT will be an offline exam.
- Candidates who get shortlisted must appear in a NIFT Situation Test / Personal Interview.
- The NTA FINAL merit list of NIFT 2025 will be prepared by giving weightage to the written exams and NIFT Situation Test and NIFT Personal Interview.
- All candidates who meet NIFT 2025 cut-off will get admission.
NIFT Seat Matrix 2026
The participating colleges of NIFT 2026 have a combined intake of around 5,289 seats. The program- and category-wise seat intake is given in the tables below. Currently, there are 19 NIFT 2025 participating colleges.
The Seat intake of NIFT 2025 is given for reference.
| Bachelor Programs - Bachelor of Design (B.Des) |
TOTAL |
TOTAL |
TOTAL |
G. TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open, SC, ST, OBC(NCL), GEN-EWS, PwD (Open, SC, ST, OBC (NCL) |
State Domicile |
NRI/Foreign National |
G. Total |
|
| Fashion Design (FD) |
610 |
68 |
64 |
742 |
| Leather Design (LD) |
152 |
0 |
20 |
172 |
| Accessory Design (AD) |
542 |
54 |
58 |
654 |
| Textile Design (TD) |
606 |
75 |
62 |
743 |
| Knitwear Design (KD) |
296 |
14 |
36 |
346 |
| Fashion Communication (FC) |
610 |
68 |
64 |
742 |
| Total |
2816 |
279 |
304 |
3,399 |
The NIFT 2025 Seat Matrix of B.F.Tech is
| Bachelor Program - Bachelor of Fashion Technology (B.F.Tech.) |
TOTAL |
TOTAL |
TOTAL |
G. TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open, SC, ST, OBC(NCL), GEN-EWS, PwD (Open, SC, ST, OBC (NCL) |
State Domicile |
NRI/Foreign National |
G. Total |
|
| Apparel Production (AP) |
542 |
49 |
61 |
652 |
The NIFT 2025 Seat Matrix of B.F.Tech is
| Master Programs |
TOTAL |
TOTAL |
TOTAL |
G. TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open, SC, ST, OBC(NCL), GEN-EWS, PwD (Open, SC, ST, OBC (NCL) |
State Domicile |
NRI/Foreign National |
G. Total |
|
| Master of Design (M.Des.) |
254 |
21 |
29 |
304 |
| Master of Fashion Management (M.F.M) |
644 |
75 |
67 |
786 |
| Master of Fashion Technology (M.F.Tech.) |
136 |
0 |
12 |
148 |
| Total |
1034 |
96 |
108 |
1238 |
NIFT Fee Structure 2026
If you plan to get admission to one of the NIFTs, it is logical that you have a fair idea about the NIFT 2026 fee structure for various design courses.
NIFT Fee Structure B.Des and B.F.Tech courses for 2025 is given for reference.
| Academic Fee Semester Wise For Non-NRI Category (In INR) (For UG Courses) |
||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year |
2023-24 |
2024-25 |
2025-26 |
2026-27 |
||||
| Semeste |
Semester 1 |
Semester 2 |
Semester 3 |
Semester 4 |
Semester 5 |
Semester 6 |
Semester 7 |
Semester 8 |
| Tuition Fee (Non-Refundable) |
143000 |
143000 |
150000 |
150000 |
158000 |
158000 |
166000 |
166000 |
| Library Fee (Non-Refundable Per Year Payment) |
9500 |
0 |
10000 |
0 |
10500 |
0 |
11000 |
0 |
| Mediclaim & Student Development Fee (Non-Refundable Per Year Payment) |
4700 |
0 |
4900 |
0 |
5100 |
0 |
5400 |
0 |
| Exam Fee (Per Year) |
4700 |
0 |
4900 |
0 |
5100 |
0 |
5400 |
0 |
| Total |
161900 |
143000 |
169800 |
150000 |
178700 |
158000 |
187800 |
166000 |
| One Time Payments |
||||||||
| Security Deposit (Refundable) |
12000 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Alumni Association Membership Fee (Non-Refundable) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
5900 |
0 |
| Registration Fee (One Time) |
9300 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Total |
21300 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
5600 |
0 |
| Total |
183200 |
143000 |
169800 |
150000 |
178700 |
158000 |
193700 |
166000 |
Sayeba Naushad is a commerce postgraduate from Banaras Hindu University. She has over five years of experience in content writing and editing. She has a nose for current events in design field. At Shiksha.com, she s
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Anything you would want to ask experts?
The exam analysis for NIFT 2026 written exam will be available soon after completion of CAT and GAT written exams. It will consist difficulty level, types of questions asked, marking scheme, and expected cut off. Also, the analysis will highlight any technical issues during NIFT. With analysis, candidates will be able to assess their performance and check what went right and what went wrong. Future aspirants also can go through the NIFT exam analysis to learn about the exam.