What to Expect in JEE Main 2026 Exam: Safe Score for Top NITs, Expected Cutoff, Marks vs Percentile
Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) Main 2026 ( JEE Main )
Exam On - 21 Jan '26 - 29 Jan '26
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.
Upcoming: NTA will release JEE Main city intimation slip 2026 soon.
- 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 |
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.
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 |
NIT Andhra Pradesh BTech admission is based on candidates' performance in the JEE Main entrance exam, followed by the JoSAA counselling process. The Round 1 of JEE Main cutoff 2025 has been released for different categories of students belonging to the AI and HS quotas. For students belonging to the OBC category, the JEE Main closing ranks ranged between 5741 and 14452. For branch-wise Round 1 cutoff details, check out the table below:
| Course | JEE Main Round 1 Cutoff 2025 (OBC AI Quota) |
|---|---|
| B.Tech. in Biotechnology | 14191 |
| B.Tech. in Chemical Engineering | 13555 |
| B.Tech. in Civil Engineering | 14452 |
| B.Tech. in Computer Science and Engineering | 5741 |
| B.Tech. in Electrical and Electronics Engineering | 10155 |
| B.Tech. in Electronics and Communication Engineering | 7400 |
| B.Tech. in Mechanical Engineering | 12259 |
| B.Tech. in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering | 14368 |
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.
Read More:
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.
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Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered Yesterday
The BAMU Aurangabad JEE Main Cutoff 2025 was released for all rounds and various categories under the All India quota. For the General AI category students, the BTech CSE last round cutoff ranged from 148310 to 399678, wherein G.S. Mandal's Marathwada Institute of Technology (MIT, Aurangabad) was th
N
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 days ago
Approximately 2.0 to 2.5 Lacs candidates have appeared on day 1 of the JEE main 2026 Jan session 1 exam.
M
Contributor-Level 6
Answered 3 days ago
OUAT Entrance Exam, JEE Main and NEET are undergraduate-level entrance exams. The syllabus is the same as the Class 12 Board exam for the Science stream. But, the difficulty of JEE Main and NEET are much higher than the OUAT Entrance Exam. As JEE Main and NEET are entrance exams for Engineering and
A
Beginner-Level 5
Answered 4 days ago
JEE Main 2026 shift 1 exam reporting time is 7 am. The exam centre gates will close at 8:30 am. No candidate will be allowed after this deadline.
M
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 4 days ago
JEE Main memory-based answer keys are unofficial answer sheets created by coaching institutes immediately after an exam, compiled from students' recollections of questions and correct answers, used by aspirants to estimate scores before the official NTA key release, and help in challenging official
A
Contributor-Level 6
Answered 4 days ago
DY Patil Pimpri JEE Main cutoff 2025 was released for admission to the BE/BTech courses for all categories and rounds under the All India quota. The cutoff was published in the form of opening and closing ranks.
For the General AI category, the overall cutoff ranged from 44299 to 167084, wherein B.E
N
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 5 days ago
JEE Main application process will start with online registration through IIT Kanpur official website. Its process includes filling application form, uploading documents, and paying application fee through online payment modes.
J
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
Yes, NTA has released the JEE Main 2026 admit card for the January 22 exam. Candidates can download the admit card from jeemain.nta.nic.in.
N
Contributor-Level 6
Answered a week ago
Yes, NTA has released the JEE Main session 1 admit card for this date. The admit card for the remaining exam dates - January 28 and 29 will be out in due course.
C
Contributor-Level 6
Answered a week ago
NTA has released JEE Main 2026 session 1 admit card for exams on January 21, 22, 23 and 24. For the January 28 and 29 exams, the admit card will be issued soon. Once released, candidates can check the admit card on jeemain.nta.nic.in.
V
Contributor-Level 6
The National Testing Agency (NTA) will declare the JEE Mains result 2026 in the form of percentile scores. Candidates can check here the previous year JEE Main marks vs percentile data to understand how much is 120 marks in JEE Main percentile.
As per the last year JEE Main marks vs percentile analysis, 120 marks would be around 95 to 97 percentile. However, the exact JEE Main 2025 percentile marks 120 would vary depending upon the highest number scored by the candidate in a particula shift and the total number candidates appeared in that particular shift.