JEE Main Cutoff 2026 for General Category: Minimum Qualifying Marks for JEE Advanced & Past Trend Analysis

Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) Main 2026 ( JEE Main )

Mamona
Mamona Majumder
Deputy Manager
Updated on Apr 19, 2026 14:33 IST
Based on the competition, the number of candidates registered & appeared, and the difficulty level of the shifts, experts predict that the General category cutoff in JEE Main 2026 will be around 93.3045326. NTA will release JEE Main Cutoff 2026 along with session 2 results.

The general category in JEE Main witnesses the highest cutoff marks every year. In the last three years, the JEE Main general category cutoff has been above 90 percentile. The cutoff has stayed stable at 93 percentile in the past two years. Check a detailed analysis of JEE Main cutoff for the general category and what to expect in 2026, on this page below. 

JEE Main Cutoff for General Category

JEE Mains Cutoff for General Category

JEE Main 2026 Cutoff for General: JEE exam experts at Shikha have anticipated that general category cutoff for JEE Main 2026 will remain in the range of 93.3 and 95.0 percentile. The actual JEE Main 2026 cutoff for General category will be released by NTA along with JEE Mains 2026 session 2 result. The General category cutoff in JEE Main 2026 will be calculated based on the number of candidates appeared, and the difficulty level of the shifts. However, as the April session of JEE Main 2026 is yet to be held from April 2 to 8, the second session will also influence the cutoff of JEE Main 2026 for the JEE Advanced qualification.

NTA JEE UPDATES: JEE Main result

Want to know what your JEE Main 2026 Percentile will be based on your marks?

Check out the JEE Main Percentile Predictor 2026 by Shiksha.com, which predicts your percentile after analysing several years’ marks vs percentile data. 

JEE Main Percentile Predictor 2026
Table of contents
  • General Cutoff of JEE Main 2026
  • Analysis of Expected JEE Main Cutoff 2026 for General - UR
  • What Does JEE Main Cutoff Mean?
  • Category-Wise JEE Mains 2026 Cutoff Trends (2019 to 2026)
  • Key Trends in JEE Main Cutoff Percentile 2026
  • How Many Candidates Appeared for JEE Main 2026 Session 1 in General Category
  • How Many Candidates Are Selected for JEE Advanced from the General Category?
  • JEE Main General Category Cutoff 2026 - Admission Cutoff for NITs/IIITs/GFTIs
View More

General Cutoff of JEE Main 2026

The National Testing Agency will release the JEE Main cutoff for JEE Advanced qualification along with the JEE Mains 2026 result for the session 2 exam. The session 2 result will be released by April 20. The expected NTA JEE cutoff for the general is around 93.3045326.

JEE Mains General Category Cutoff 2026 and Past Year Trend Analysis

Last year, the general category cutoff was 93.1023262. Year 2024 witnessed the highest cutoff in the last five years. Check JEE Mains general category cutoff  for 2026 and past years below:

Year General (UR) Percentile Trend Analysis
2025 93.1023262
Stabilising High: Remained above 93 despite a slight dip from the previous year.
2024 93.2362181
Record High: Significant surge due to record candidate participation
2023 90.7788642
Upward Shift: First time crossing the 90 percentile mark post-pandemic.
2022 88.4121383
Slight Recovery: Marginal increase as exam cycles returned to normalcy.
2021 87.8992241
Historical Low: Lowest qualifying score in the percentile era (likely due to COVID-19).
2020 90.3765335
Consistent: Maintained a similar level to the previous year.
2019 89.7548849
Start of NTA: First year of the NTA percentile-based normalisation system.

Analysis of Expected JEE Main Cutoff 2026 for General - UR

Based on the trend of high and stabilising cutoffs, candidates should prepare for a very competitive environment in 2026.

  • Expected Range: The cutoff for the General (UR) category in 2026 is expected to be in the range of 93.0 to 93.5 percentiles.
  • Target the Peak: Given that the cutoff has been at or above 93.10 for the last two years (2024 and 2025), aiming for a percentile score above 93.5 is highly recommended to secure a qualifying position comfortably.
  • Why the Projection is High: Competition levels typically do not fall sharply. Therefore, the cutoff is likely to remain close to the recent all-time high of 93.24 (2024), or possibly increase slightly due to factors like a higher number of aspirants and a similar difficulty level of the exam.

Below is the graphical representation of the JEE general category cutoff trends from 2019 to 2025.

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What Does JEE Main Cutoff Mean?

In the simplest of terms, the JEE Main cutoff means the minimum score (in percentile) candidates need to qualify for the JEE Advanced exam. To take admission to any of the IITs, candidates have to appear in JEE Mains and qualify the cutoff of their respective category to be eligible for JEE Advanced.

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Category-Wise JEE Mains 2026 Cutoff Trends (2019 to 2026)

Although the cutoff for JEE Mains 2026 for General, General EWS, SC, ST, OBC NCL, and UR - PWD will be out of session 2 results. The expected cutoff range for all these category based on session 1 results are 93 - 95+ percentile for general (unreserved category) candidates. Reserved categories are expected to be around 80 - 82 (EWS), 79 - 82 (OBC-NCL), 60 - 64 (SC), and 47 - 51 (ST).

Check the JEE Mains cutoff trends from 2019 to 2025 for all categories and the expected cutoff for 2026:

Category 2019 2021 2023 2024 2025 2026 (Expected)
General (UR) 89.75 87.9 90.78 93.24 93.1 93.5 - 95.0
Gen-EWS 78.22 66.22 75.62 81.33 80.38 80.5 - 82.5
OBC-NCL 74.32 68.02 73.61 79.68 79.43 79.5 - 81.5
SC 54.01 46.88 51.98 60.09 61.15 61.5 - 64.0
ST 44.33 34.67 37.23 46.7 47.9 48.0 - 50.5
PwD 0.11 0.01 0.001 0.002 0.008 0.001 - 1.0

Key Trends in JEE Main Cutoff Percentile 2026

Check what the key trends are in the overall JEE Mains cutoff for all categories:

  • Overall Trend is Upward (Rising Competition): The cutoff for the General (UR) category has generally risen over the years, starting at 89.75 in 2019 and peaking at 93.24 in 2024. This shows that the competition level for a qualified spot has been increasing.
  • Recent Stability at a High Level: The most recent cutoff in 2025 was 93.10, which is only a very minor drop from the highest-ever cutoff of 93.24 in 2024. This suggests the cutoff has stabilised at a high percentile.
  • Big Jumps in Specific Years: The biggest single-year increase was observed between 2023 (90.78) and 2024 (93.24), indicating a significant surge in competition during that period.
  • Other Categories Also See Increases: Cutoffs for other categories like Gen-EWS, OBC-NCL, SC, and ST have also seen increases, especially between 2023 and 2025. This reinforces the picture of higher overall competition for admission.

Also Check:

JEE Main Cutoff 2026 for EWS JEE Main Cutoff 2026 for OBC
JEE Main Cutoff 2026 for SC JEE Main Cutoff 2026 for ST

How Many Candidates Appeared for JEE Main 2026 Session 1 in General Category

The number of candidates appearing for the JEE Mains exam 2026, in a particular category, also influences the cutoff of the JEE Mains exam. Check below the number of candidates who appeared for JEE Mains 2026 in the general category:

Category General
Female Appeared - 1,57,747
Registered - 1,65,622
Male Appeared - 2,95,078
Registered - 3,08,011
Total Appeared - 4,52,825
Registered - 4,73,633

How Many Candidates Are Selected for JEE Advanced from the General Category?

There is a set number of candidates who will pass the JEE Mains general cutoff and will be eligible for JEE Advanced 2026. The number of candidates that will be selected from the general category is:

  • Open (General category): 96,187
  • OPEN-PwD: 5,063
  • Total candidates from JEE Mains general candidates to be selected for JEE Advanced: 1,01,250

JEE Main General Category Cutoff 2026 - Admission Cutoff for NITs/IIITs/GFTIs

The JEE Mains admission cutoff refers to the rank needed to secure a seat in NITs, IIITs, or GFTIs. Check what the expected percentile and ranks are for admission to NITs, IIITs, and GFTIs below:

Institute Type Popular Branch (CSE/IT) Core Branch (Mech/Civil/EE)
Top 5 NITs 99.5 – 99.9+ (AIR < 2,000) 98.5 – 99.2 (AIR < 12,000)
Mid-Tier NITs 98.5 – 99.4 (AIR 5k – 15k) 96.5 – 98.0 (AIR 25k – 45k)
Top IIITs 99.4 – 99.9+ (AIR < 5,000) N/A (Most IIITs specialise in Tech)
Newer IIITs 96.0 – 98.0 (AIR 30k – 60k) 94.0 – 96.0 (AIR 60k – 90k)
Top GFTIs 97.0 – 98.5 (AIR 20k – 40k) 93.5 – 95.5 (AIR 60k – 90k)

Also Check:

260 Marks in JEE Main Percentile 2026 270 Marks in JEE Main 2026 Percentile
280 Marks in JEE Main Percentile 2026 290 Marks in JEE Main 2026 Percentile
210 Marks in JEE Main Percentile 2026 220 Marks in JEE Main Percentile 2026
230 Marks in JEE Main 2026 Percentile 240 Marks in JEE Main Percentile 2026
100 Marks in JEE Main 2026 Percentile 200 Marks in JEE Main 2026 Percentile

150 Marks in JEE Main 2026 Percentile

180 Marks in JEE Main Percentile 2026
110 Marks in JEE Main Percentile 2026 250 Marks in JEE Main Percentile 2026
120 Marks in JEE Main Percentile 2026 90 Marks in JEE Main Percentile 2026
50 Marks in JEE Main Percentile 2026 40 Marks in JEE Main Percentile 2026
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About the Author
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Mamona Majumder
Deputy Manager

Currently - Deputy Manager, Content

Role - News and Feature Writer, Content Editor

Expertise - Engineering Education and Counselling

Mamona Majumder specialises in news and feature writing and content editing. With

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