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.
The cutoff for IIITs 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.
As per the JEE Main cutoff data released by the NTA, PwD category has the lowest cutoff.
| Year | General (UR) Percentile |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 93.4123549 |
| 2025 | 93.1023262 |
| 2024 | 93.2362181 |
| 2023 | 90.7788642 |
| 2022 | 88.4121383 |
| 2021 | 87.8992241 |
| 2020 | 90.3765335 |
| 2019 | 89.7548849 |
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 JEE Main cutoff for GFTIs is released by the JoSAA after the counselling is over. Candidates can check previous year JEE Main cutoff for GFTIs from the Shiksha page. The cutoff for GFTIs vary for various branches and also category of students.
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 2 days ago
Yes, eligible candidates can get admission in SGT University without appearing for JEE (Mains). The university gives admission based on marks or CUET-UG. The university also conducts SGTUEE for admission.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 days ago
Apex University fills its seats via CUET or AUCET scores. AUCET is an in-house entrance test conducted for admission in UG and PG courses. Hence, aspirants do not require JEE Main scores to get admission.
N
Guide-Level 15
Answered 3 days ago
Overall, MET is easier than JEE Main since most questions are not as conceptually challenging as JEE Main. However, students face time management issues during MET.
N
Contributor-Level 7
Answered 3 days ago
For getting into top NITs like NIT Trichy or NIT Warangal in popular branches like CSE, students generally need a percentile of 98.5 or above. For other branches and lower-ranked NITs, a percentile of 90 to 95 may be sufficient. The specific cutoff changes from year to year depending on the number o
T
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 3 days ago
There is no separate JEE Main cutoff for the OBC category at Manipal Institute of Technology.
For regular B.Tech admissions, MIT primarily admits students based on the Manipal Entrance Test (MET) merit list, rather than category-wise JEE Main ranks. The institute does not publicly release separate OB
Beginner-Level 5
Answered 3 days ago
With 57.8 percentile in JEE Main and 73% in Class 12, your chances depend on your category, home state, and JEE rank.
- Eligibility: Your 73% in Class 12 satisfies the basic B.Tech eligibility requirement (minimum 45% aggregate in PCM for General category in AKTU-affiliated colleges).
- CSE through UPTAC
K
Beginner-Level 5
Answered 4 days ago
DCRUST closed its JEE (Main) last round cutoff 2026 (General- All India) at 115363 for its BTech (Computer Science and Engineering). While the JEE (Main) last round cutoff 2026 (General- Home state) at DCRUST closed at 70662. JEE (Main) is required to qualify the eligibility criteria at the univer
a
Beginner-Level 5
Answered 4 days ago
Yes, JEE Main compulsory to get admission in BTech at Doon University. The university requires valid score in JEE Main to get admission in the four-year BTech in Computer Science & Engineering (Hons/Hons with Research).
R
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 5 days ago
Shiv Nadar University BTech admissions board sets aside specific scholarship categories for top JEE Main rankers. Students with exceptionally high percentiles can qualify for direct tuition fee waivers. The exact slab criteria are updated on the website during the application cycle.
R
Contributor-Level 9
Answered 5 days ago
Yes, Dayananda Sagar University accept JEE Main for admission. Dayananda Sagar University admission is entrance-based. Students can appear for national level entrance exams or DSAT. Students can appear for JEE Main/ COMED K/ DSAT for admisison in BTech at Dayananda Sagar University. The univeristy a
G
Contributor-Level 10
Currently - Deputy Manager, Content
Role - News and Feature Writer, Content Editor
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