What is the expected JEE Main cutoff 2026? Or are you wondering what the exam difficulty level will be? In this article, we have provided an analysis of the competition that you might be facing this year in JEE Mains exam, including expected JEE Mains 2026 marks vs percentile, safe score NIT admission, difficulty level and more. Read below.
What to Expect in JEE Main 2026 Exam?
The National Testing Agency will hold JEE Main 2026 in January and April. Candidates preparing for the exam are recommended to know what competition they will be facing this year. Preparing for the JEE Main exam is one part of the journey, however, the candidates who do crack the exam also keep track of the competition and have a reality check on what is coming next. Therefore, to give you an overview of what is coming your way, here is the detailed breakdown of what to expect in the JEE Mains 2026 exam.
LIVE Now: JEE Mains Result
- 14.5 Lakh Registrations for JEE Main 2026 Session 1
- 2.5 Lakh Candidates to be Eligible for JEE Advanced 2026
- Expected JEE Main Difficulty Level 2026
- Probable JEE Main 2026 Marks vs Percentile
- Expected JEE Main 2026 Safe Score for Top NITs
- Key Takeaways
14.5 Lakh Registrations for JEE Main 2026 Session 1
Around 14.5 lakh candidates have registered for JEE Main 2026 session 1 exam, as per unofficial reports. If this report is confirmed to be true, then this is the highest number of registrations that NTA has received for JEE Main in the history of the exam.
Check the number of registered candidates and appeared candidates in JEE Main over the years below:
| Year |
No. of Registered Candidates |
No. of Candidates Appeared |
|---|---|---|
| 2025
|
January - 13,11,544 |
January - 12,58,136 |
| April - 10,61,840 |
April - 9,92,350 |
|
| 2024
|
January - 1231874 |
January - 1170036 |
| April - 1179569 |
April - 1067959 |
|
| 2023 |
January - 860064 |
January - 823967 |
| April - 931334 |
April - 883367 |
|
| 2022 |
June - 872970 |
June - 769604 |
| July - 622034 |
July - 540242 |
|
| 2021 |
February - 652628 |
February - 621033 |
| March - 619641 |
March - 556248 |
|
| July - 709611 |
July - 543553 |
|
| August - 767700 |
August - 481419 |
|
| 2020 |
8,58,000 |
8,00,532 |
Commonly asked questions
Candidates need not have 75 percent marks in class 12 for appearing in JEE Main. As per the official brochure released by the NTA, there is no minimum percentage required for appearing in the JEE Main. The requirement of 75 percent marks need not be associated with appearing in the JEE Main exam.
It is to be understood that 75 percent marks is required for admission to institutes which include NITs, IIITs, GFTIs and IITs. Many institutes offer admission at 60% and even less, along with JEE Main. Candidates must clearly understand that the requirement of 75 percent marks in class 12 is only for taking admission in the institutes.
As per the JEE Main 2023 cutoff data released by the NTA, PwD category has the lowest cutoff of 0.0013527. The highest cutoff is for general category which is 90.7788642. The PwD candidates scoring above 0.0013527 NTA score are eligible to appear in JEE Advanced for admission to IITs. The PwD cutoff has been lowered in 2023 to 0.0013527 which was 0.0031029 in the year 2022.
2.5 Lakh Candidates to be Eligible for JEE Advanced 2026
Out of all the candidates who will have JEE Main 2026 ranks, the top 2.5 lakh candidates will be allowed to register for JEE Advanced 2026 for IIT admissions.
IIT Roorkee is conducting JEE Advanced 2026, and it has released the category wise number of top JEE Main 2026 candidates who will be allowed to appear in the exam this year. Check below:
| Category |
Number of "Top" JEE Main 2026 candidates |
|
|---|---|---|
| OPEN |
96187 |
101250 |
| OPEN-PwD |
5063 |
|
| GEN-EWS |
23750 |
25000 |
| GEN-EWS-PwD |
1250 |
|
| OBC-NCL |
64125 |
67500 |
| OBC-NCL-PwD |
3375 |
|
| SC |
35625 |
37500 |
| SC-PwD |
1875 |
|
| ST |
17812 |
18750 |
Note: The total number of candidates may be slightly greater than 2,50,000 in the presence of “tied” ranks / scores in any category.
Expected JEE Main Difficulty Level 2026
Experts believe that JEE Main 2026 difficulty level will stay in line with the previous year's difficulty levels, that is, moderate to difficult.
- Maths: Maths will be the most challenging subject and the toughest. It is expected to have time consuming calculations and tricky questions.
- Physics: The numerical in physics can be on the tougher side. Candidates should have a crystal clear understanding of concepts in physics to ace this section. The overall subjects are expected to be balanced and moderate in difficulty.
- Chemistry: Chemistry will be easy for candidates who complete NCERT books. This section is balanced, and questions carry equal weightage from inorganic, physical, and organic chemistry.
Commonly asked questions
Yes, candidates are required to submit proof of domicile in case availing the home-state quota in NITs. It is only NIT where admission is offered against the Home State quota.
Candidates home state is determined based on the state from which you appear for your 12th board exam and on the basis of the state to which you belong.
Candidates who do not score above JEE Main cutoff marks are eligible to take admissions in NITs, IIITs and GFTIs but not IITs. To appear in the admission process for IITs, candidates need to get marks above than the JEE Main cutoff and appear in JEE Advanced exam.
The cutoff for NITs vary for various branches and also category of students. Specialised branches like computer Science and electronics engineering has higher cutoff in comparison to other branches. Similarly, JEE Main cutoff for general category candidates is higher in comparison to OBC-NCL and SC, ST candidates. Candidates can check the previous year JEE Main cutoff below for some top NITs and branches. For detailed cutoff report, candidates can check Shiksha page.
- MNNIT Allahabad CSE Closing Rank Open Category: 5627 (Home State)
- MNNIT Allahabad CSE Closing Rank Open Category: 4254 (Open)
- MNIT Jaipur CSE Closing Rank Open Category: 5610 (Home State)
- MNIT Jaipur CSE Closing Rank Open Category: 4631 (Open)
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Probable JEE Main 2026 Marks vs Percentile
As per the previous few years trends, following is the JEE Main marks vs percentile for 2026.
| Marks out of 300 |
Expected Percentile |
|---|---|
| 230 to 160 |
99 percentile |
| 170 to 100 |
95 percentile |
| 150 to 90 |
93 percentile |
Expected JEE Main 2026 Safe Score for Top NITs
As per previous year trends, a raw score of 250+ out of 300 that would translate to 98 to 99 percentile will be considered safe for JEE Main 2026 for admission in top NITs.
Check below top NITs and courses with high JEE Main cutoffs:
| NIT |
Academic Program Name (4 Years, Bachelor of Technology) |
|---|---|
| Malaviya National Institute of Technology Jaipur |
Computer Science and Engineering |
| Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology Allahabad |
Computer Science and Engineering |
| National Institute of Technology Calicut |
Computer Science and Engineering |
| National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal |
Artificial Intelligence |
| National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal |
Artificial Intelligence |
| National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal |
Computational and Data Science |
| National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal |
Computational and Data Science |
| National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal |
Computer Science and Engineering |
| National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal |
Computer Science and Engineering |
| National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal |
Electronics and Communication Engineering |
| National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal |
Information Technology |
| National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal |
Information Technology |
| National Institute of Technology, Rourkela |
Artificial Intelligence |
| National Institute of Technology, Rourkela |
Computer Science and Engineering |
| National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli |
Computer Science and Engineering |
| National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli |
Computer Science and Engineering |
| National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli |
Electronics and Communication Engineering |
| National Institute of Technology, Warangal |
Computer Science and Engineering (Artificial Intelligence & Data Science) |
| National Institute of Technology, Warangal |
Computer Science and Engineering (Artificial Intelligence & Data Science) |
| National Institute of Technology, Warangal |
Computer Science and Engineering |
| National Institute of Technology, Warangal |
Computer Science and Engineering |
| National Institute of Technology, Warangal |
Electronics and Communication Engineering |
| National Institute of Technology, Warangal |
Electronics and Communication Engineering (VLSI Design and Technology) |
| National Institute of Technology, Warangal |
Mathematics and Computing |
| National Institute of Technology, Warangal |
Mathematics and Computing |
Commonly asked questions
No. There is no qualifying percentile in JEE Main. However, the candidates who want to appear in JEE Advanced will have to get a minimum qualifying percentile in JEE Mains. This minimum qualifying percentile is announced with the JEE Main session 2 reult.
NTA does not release marks vs rank data officially. The data available on the internet is provided by various experts and is subject to changes due to various variables.
Various experts provide the JEE Mains percentile vs rank estimation. Candidates can search "JEE Mains marks vs percentile by Shiksha" on Google to get their estimation.
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Key Takeaways
The above analysis is based on previous year trends, hence, candidates should consider them to understand the competition they will be facing in JEE Mains 2026.
Do not consider them the final analysis of the JEE Main exam. The JEE Main cutoff and percentile are dependent on various factors, which are subject to change.
Conclusion: NTA JEE Main 2026 exam is held twice every year. The registered candidates are issued the JEE Main admit card 2026 to appear for the exam. All candidates who appear for the exam get their NTA percentile scores and ranks with the final JEE Main result 2026 announced after the session 2 exam in April. To ace the exam, candidates have to compete among more than 10 lakh candidates. Out of the candidates who appear in the exam, only 18% qualify on average for the JEE Advanced exam for IIT admission. For top NITs, IIITs and GFTIs, candidates need 95 percentile or more to get a seat of their choice.
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Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered 3 hours ago
Yes, admissions are possible to the BTech course at DY Patil University, Navi Mumbai without the JEE Main rank through MHT CET. Securing good scores in the MHT CET is very important. Hence, the students must work hard and secure good marks for successful admission to the BTech course.
R
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 3 hours ago
Yes, JEE Main is compulsory to take admission in BTech at IIIT Lucknow. Candidates must fulfil the eligibility and apply for JEE Main on the official website of NTA. Applicants must clear the JEE Main cutoff for IIIT Lucknow. They have to particpate in JoSAA/CSAB cousnelling for seat allocation.
R
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 6 hours ago
With 77 percentile, getting a seat is possible, but it will depend on the branch and the admission cycle. For highly demanded branches like CSE, the chances are usually quite low at that percentile. But for some core or less competitive branches, there may still be opportunities.
One of my juniors go
A
Beginner-Level 3
Answered 2 days ago
No, candidates cannot take admission in BTech at NIT Uttarakhand without JEE Main. It is the mandatory national-level entrance test for admission through JoSAA/CSAB counselling. Admission is based entirely on your JEE Main Rank and counseling round.
R
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 days ago
Yes, JEE Main is enough for Krupanidhi Institute of Technology admission. But it is not the only exam accepted for B.E. The institute also accepts CET and COMEDK score. Hence, even if JEE score is not available, students can still apply for admissions at the institute.
A
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 5 days ago
The JEE Mains 2026 is not out till now. The data for 2025 is available for BIT Mesra.
As per the recent BIT Mesra JEE Main cutoff 2025, the round 6 results have been released. Based on the final cutoff for the General AI category, BTech in Computer Science and Engineering closed off at the rank of 18
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 6 days ago
If you are OBC candidate then you can
1) Fill JoSSA — try for NIT Manipur/Nagaland/Mizoram in Civil or Mechanical
2) Participate in CSAB — extra chance
3) Don't skip state counselling — OBC quota there can be very beneficial
4) Apply to NSUT/YMCA — placements rival many NITs
A lower branch NIT vs NSUT/YM
S
Beginner-Level 1
Answered 6 days ago
No, interview round for BSc admission at BIT Mesra is part of BITCHEM which is not required for candidates who are open to pusuing BSc at Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra. Candidates who apply through JEE Main will not be required to appear in BITCHEM.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 6 days ago
Candidates wishing to take admission in BTech at IIIT Bhagalpur have to appear in JEE Main. Along with that, candidates also have to participate in JOSAA/ CSAB counselling process. Seat allocation is done when candidates clear cutoff ranks released on the official JoSAA website.
R
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
If candidates have identical Common Rank List (CRL) in JEE (Main) - 2026 Paper-I even after applying NTA's tie-breaking measures, the following order of additional tie-breaking criteria shall be adopted for seat allocation in JAC Delhi:
1. Date of Birth (preference to the elder candidate).
2. Random d
R
Contributor-Level 10
Currently - Assistant Manager, Content
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