Difference Between CAT and NMAT: Check Difficulty Level, Syllabus, Pattern & Marking Scheme
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The major difference between NMAT and CAT is that the former allows a candidate three attempts while in latter, they can appear only once in a year.
CAT vs NMAT: Know the Differences and Similarities
CAT vs NMAT: Master of Business Administration, or MBA, has a high demand among graduates across different streams. Obtaining an MBA degree boosts an individual’s career prospects and gives them an edge over others. With a plethora of specialisations to choose from, today numerous aspirants are opting for MBA from renowned institutes/colleges in India. And, to secure a seat in a top B-School, candidates need to crack MBA entrance exams. Apart from CAT, there are many popular entrance exams for MBA admission. One of them being NMAT by GMAC. Conducted by the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), NMAT is a very popular entrance exam in India. Especially, because it is flexible and modelled on GMAT.
NMAT by GMAC varies from CAT 2026 on different aspects. NMAT is considered easier than that CAT exam due to its aspirant first approach. Let us have a look at how NMAT is different from CAT:
- NMAT vs CAT: Exam Pattern
- NMAT VS CAT: Exam Syllabus
- NMAT vs CAT: Marking Scheme & Type of Questions
- Number of Attempts in CAT and NMAT
- NMAT vs CAT: Difficulty Level
NMAT vs CAT: Exam Pattern
NMAT paper consists of three sections. NMAT exam has 108 questions divided equally among three sections. Total duration of the exam remains the same as 120 minutes.
| Section |
No. of Questions |
Time |
|---|---|---|
| Language Skills |
36 |
28 minutes |
| Quantitative Aptitude and Data Interpretation |
36 |
52 minutes |
| Logical Reasoning |
36 |
40 minutes |
| Total |
108 |
120 minutes |
Also Read: NMAT Exam Pattern
CAT
CAT exam consists of three sections and a total of 68 questions. Candidates need to solve the question paper in a duration of 180 minutes.
| Section |
No. of Questions |
Time |
|---|---|---|
| Quantitative Aptitude (QA) |
22 |
40 minutes |
| Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) |
22 |
40 minutes |
| Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) |
24 |
40 minutes |
| Total |
68 | 120 minutes |
Also Read: CAT Exam Pattern
Commonly asked questions
GMAC designs NMAT question papers with three sections, namely Language Skills, Quantitative Skills, and Logical Reasoning. NMAT sylabus has sections similar to other MBA exams.
CAT is a speed-based test of analytical aptitude, logical reasoning skills, data interpretation and English comprehension. Now, it may sound tough, but these are the skills which we are taught in school so there is nothing new to learn. What is required is to learn these subjects at advanced level. If you are an average student but have studied Science or Commerce in Class-12 and graduation, you will find a lot of familiar topics in Data Interpretation, Quantitative Aptitude and Logical Reasoning. All you will need is brush up the basics and practice the concepts on advanced-level problems.
However, since the competition is so high in CAT and less than 95 percentile can break your dream of joining a top college like IIM, the preparation for CAT requires a lot of focus, dedication, discipline and diligence. If you can do that, despite being an average student, you can crack the CAT exam.
Hope it was helpful!!!
Yes CAT syllabus is difficult to crack if you do not have enough time. There are three subjects in CAT- VARC, DILR and Quantitative Aptitude. Most of candidates find RC passages tough to crack. In Quants, Arithmetic, Algebra and Geometry pose significant challenge during preparation. In DILR, Reasoning questions often turnout to be tricky and confusion.
While it is not mandatory to attempt all sections in CAT, the IIMs and all top B School consider sectional percentiles too for selecting candidates for admission. Thus, you cannot afford to skip a CAT section all together. You can skip some questions though.
NMAT VS CAT: Exam Syllabus
Major MBA entrance exams in India have a similar exam pattern and syllabus. Candidates can prepare for NMAT and CAT simultaneously as both the exam share major aspects of the syllabus. Space below mentions the difference between NMAT and CAT syllabus.
NMAT Syllabus
The sections on which NMAT test-takers are assessed are Language Skills, Quantitative Skills, and Logical Reasoning. Few core topics covered under these sections are:
Language Skills
| English Grammar and Usage |
Fill the Blanks |
Para-Jumbles |
| Cloze Test |
Reading Comprehension |
Vocabulary Questions (Synonyms and Antonyms) |
| Analogies |
Verbal Reasoning, |
Sentence Correction |
Logical Reasoning
| Tables |
Pie Charts |
Bar Graphs |
| Line Charts |
Clocks’ Questions |
Caselets |
| Blood Relations |
Syllogisms |
Seating Arrangements |
| Numbers and Letter Series |
||
Quantitative Aptitude & Data Interpretation
| Time and Work |
Ratios and Proportions |
Number Systems |
| Simple and Compound Interest |
Surds and Indices |
Percentages |
| Number Series |
Permutations and Combinations |
Mixtures and Alligations |
| Mensuration |
LCM and HCF |
|
Also Read: NMAT Syllabus
CAT Syllabus
The sections on which CAT test-takers are assessed are Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC), Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR), and Quantitative Aptitude (QA). Few core topics covered under these sections are:
Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC)
| Fill the Blanks |
Cloze Test |
English Grammar and Usage |
| Verbal Reasoning |
Reading Comprehension |
Vocabulary Questions (Synonyms and Antonyms) |
| Sentence Correction |
Analogies |
Para-Jumbles |
Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR)
| Blood Relations |
Seating Arrangements |
Syllogisms |
| Numbers and Letter Series |
Tables |
Pie Charts |
| Caselets |
Clocks’ Questions |
Line Charts |
| Bar Graphs |
||
Quantitative Aptitude (QA)
| Time and Work |
Number Systems |
Mixtures and Alligations |
| Simple and Compound Interest |
Ratios and Proportions |
Percentages |
| Permutations and Combinations |
LCM and HCF |
Mensuration |
| Surds and Indices |
Number Series |
|
Also Read: CAT Syllabus
NMAT vs CAT: Marking Scheme & Type of Questions
The primary difference between NMAT and CAT comes to light while considering NMAT and CAT marking scheme. In addition to the marking scheme, the type of questions in both CAT and NMAT vary.
Also Read: How to Prepare for NMAT and CAT Simultaneously?
NMAT
NMAT question paper contains only MCQs. Every correct answer in NMAT attracts one mark and there is no negative marking for incorrect answers. The score card is created based on Scaled Score which is a range between 12 to 120 (sectional) and 36 to 360 (overall).
CAT
CAT question paper contains both MCQ as well as non-MCQ questions. Candidates attempting CAT will be awarded three marks each for every correct. There is negative marking in CAT. In case a candidate chooses not to attempt a given question, there will be no deduction of marks. The final score card created based on Scaled Score and Percentile.
Commonly asked questions
In CAT Quantitative Aptitude, Arithmetic has the highest weightage with 7-8 questions in every shift. In VARC, Reading Comprehension has the maximum weightage with about 16 questions. In DILR, the number of questions are equally distributed.
A total of 2-3 months of consistent and focused preparation is considered sufficient for NMAT. Many candidates may require more than three months if they are find the topics in NMAT syllabus on a tougher side.
The NMAT exam is considered to have a moderate to tough difficulty level. However, compared to exams like CAT and XAT, NMAT is on the easier side. Its difficulty standard is generally considered similar to the SNAP exam
Yes, cracking the NMAT exam through self-study is highly achievable. Candidates must have a structured plan, the right set of study materials, and consistently practice mock tests and question papers to clear the exam independently
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Number of Attempts in CAT and NMAT
A candidate can attempt NMAT thrice within the test window of 45-days (November to December) in a particular year. On the other hand, CAT is an annual exam. It is held only once in a year in November. For admissions based on NMAT, most of the participating colleges accept best of three scores for MBA admissions. Both of the exams, CAT and NMAT are similar in terms of score validity.
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NMAT vs CAT: Difficulty Level
The difficulty level of the CAT is higher than that of the NMAT, as the CAT is widely regarded as the most challenging MBA entrance exam in India. The NMAT, on the other hand, is an adaptive exam, meaning that the difficulty of questions in subsequent attempts is based on your performance in the initial attempt. For example, if you correctly answer difficult questions during your first attempt, you will encounter more challenging questions in the following attempts. Conversely, if you struggle with difficult questions in your first attempt at the NMAT, you will receive more moderate questions next time. This adaptive nature makes the NMAT a more student-friendly entrance test compared to the CAT.
Furthermore, the CAT is conducted only once a year, attracting lakhs of MBA hopefuls. Additionally, some candidates may be taking the CAT for the second or third time, and even those who scored 100 percentiles in the previous year might reappear. All these factors contribute to the heightened difficulty level of the exam.
To conclude, though CAT and NMAT are tough in their own respect, CAT exam is tougher as compared to NMAT. However, since the syllabus of both the exams is more or less the same, if a candidate prepares for CAT, s/he will be able to ace NMAT, too.
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Abhishek Dhawan is a content writer and editor with 7+ years of experience in education journalism. He holds a BA degree from the University of Delhi. At Shiksha, Abhishek primarily covers MBA and BBA entrance
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