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

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 Mains Cutoff for General Category

JEE Main 2026 Cutoff for General: The National Testing Agency (NTA) has released the JEE Mains 2026 session 1 result. 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. However, the April session of JEE Main 2026 is yet to be held from April 2 to 9. The second session will also influence the cutoff of JEE Main 2026 for JEE Advanced qualification. If the difficulty level and the number of candidates appearing for the exam in JEE Mains session 2 also remain in similar lines as session 1, then experts feel that the JEE Mains general category cutoff 2026 will remain in the range of 93.3 and 95.0 percentiles.

LIVE Now: JEE Mains Result 2026 Released @ jeemain.nta.nic.in

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 exact NTA JEE cutoff for the general, as well as other categories of candidates, will be available with the final session 2 results.

Also LIVE: JEE Main 2026 Toppers List Live

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:

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.

JEE general category cutoff trends from 2019 to 2025

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.

The JEE Mains minimum marks for JEE Advanced are different for all categories. The cutoff is released for the following categories:

• General
• General EWS
  SC
• ST
• OBC NCL
• UR - PWD

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.

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)

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