Which is better MAT or CMAT?

MAT and CMAT have similar syllabus but the difficulty level is different. Both exams have Quantitative Aptitude Logical Reasoning, Data Interpretation, English and General Knowledge. CMAT has an additional section - Innovation and Entrepreneurship which was introduced in 2021. While MAT is an easy exam, CMAT is moderately tough but to say which is better totally depends upon the college a candidate is targeting for MBA Admission. The participating colleges for both exams are different. If a candidate's dream college accepts MAT score, then they appear for MAT but if their dream college accepts CMAT then they should appear for CMAT. The CMAT exam is conducted by the NTA only once in a year but MAT is conducted multiple times in a year. AIMA conducts MAT in February, May, September and December. So, unlike CMAT MAT gives a candidate the choice to appear for the exam when they are well prepared and improve test score in the same academic session. The benefit of CMAT or MAT is that former is accepted by all government and state universities/institutes whereas latter is accepted by mostly private institutes.

What is the difference between CBT and PBT modes of MAT exam?

The CBT or computer based mode MAT exam is conducted online in which, candidates have to punch in their answers on the computer screen with the help of the mouse-pad. In PBT mode exam, candidates have to fill an OMR sheet with a blue/black ball point pen with the suitable option as the answer. These days most of the candidates opt for CBT which is way it is conducted twice in a particular exam phase. PBT is conducted only once in MAT exam phase. There is no difference in the exam pattern or syllabus of the MAT CBT and MAT PBT. Candidates can choose the mode of exam at the time of registration as per their convenience. If a candidate is comfortable in pen and paper mode, then they can opt for MAT PBT and if the candidate is comfortable in taking tests on computer, they can opt for MAT CBT. However, the CBT and PBT exams are held in different cities so candidates must check the list of test cities before choosing their exam mode.

Is the question paper of MAT IBT different from MAT CBT or PBT?

No, the question paper of MAT IBT is not different from MAT CBT or PBT. The test pattern, time duration, question type and marking scheme are the same for all three modes. Candidates can choose to appear for any exam mode with the worry of doing exam specific preparation. The only difference between MAT IBT and MAT CBT or PBT is that MAT IBT is a remote proctored exam and can be taken from any location unlike MAT CBT or PBT which are held at designated exam centres. The MAT question paper of every session however is different. All the 200 questions of each question paper is unique. The difficulty level is the same- easy to moderate but since the questions are different from each other candidates can feel slight difference in the difficulty level. The questions for every session are chosen randomly so in one session the paper can be overall easy while in another session the exam can be slightly difficult.

MAT 2025 Exam Analysis: Get MAT CBT/PBT Paper Analysis and Review

8.2K Students Q&A

Registration - 23 Oct '25 - 7 Dec '25

Updated on Jun 17, 2025 17:30 IST

By Vipra Shrivastava, Senior Manager - Content

MAT exam analysis provides in-depth review of the question paper which includes section-wise difficulty levels, topic-wise distribution of questions and estimated good attempts. The below given MAT 2025 analysis is an overall review of the exam as all the attempts are same in terms of pattern, test structure, sectional break-up and difficulty level.

MAT 2025 exam is being held multiple times in Paper Based Test (PBT), Computer Based Test (CBT) . MAT exam sessions of all the phase are moderate difficulty level so it is easy to crack as compared to other MBA entrance exams. The MAT February 2025 and May 2025 sessions of CBT and PBT were moderate. You can check overall MAT exam analysis 2025 here.

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