CAT

This is a long one to answer, but I will give it a try. MAT and CAT are really different to their core. The only similarity between these two is that on cracking any one of these, you will end up with an MBA or PGDM. Let me summarize the differences in the following points. Paper Pattern - The MAT paper has 200 questions divided in 5 sections with 40 questions each, whereas the CAT paper has 100 questions divided in 3 sections of 34,32 and 34 questions. MAT has a section called India and Global Environment which is based on GK. However CAT doesn't have a GK section unlike some other management exams. MAT has a negative marking of - 0.25 marks and CAT as a negative marking of - 0.33 marks per question. Test Taking Time - In CAT one gets an hour for each section and the whole exam is of 3 hours. In MAT one gets 150 minutes (2 hours 30 minds) for answering the 200 questions. Paper toughness - The MAT paper is really easy compared to CAT. The questions are easier and also it's easier to score high percentiles as the test taking lot is not as serious (By serious I mean some of them CAT takers give 200 or so mocks, which is unbelievable) as the ones taking CAT. Test Frequency MAT happens 4 times every year while CAT only happens once a year. So one has a high probability of cracking MAT than CAT going just by this.