Is CAT tougher than JEE?

By Amrit Sharma

There is no official measure of which exam is tougher, and no study we could find compares them. What the official numbers do show: JEE Main drew about 5 to 6 times as many candidates as CAT, JEE Advanced is a second filter that CAT does not have, and CAT is a shorter paper with no published syllabus. Which one is harder for you depends on your strengths more than on the exam.

How many people take CAT and JEE?

Exam	Registered	Appeared	Source
CAT 2025	2.95 lakh	2.58 lakh	CAT 2025 media releases
JEE Main 2025 (Paper 1, unique candidates, both sessions)	15,39,848	14,75,103	NTA, 18 Apr 2025
JEE Main 2026 (Paper 1, unique candidates, both sessions)	16,04,854	15,38,468	NTA, 20 Apr 2026
JEE Advanced 2025	1,87,223	1,80,422	IIT Kanpur, 2 Jun 2025
JEE Advanced 2026	1,87,389	1,79,694	IIT Roorkee, 1 Jun 2026

The CAT figures are rounded to the nearest thousand in the official releases; no exact count is published. CAT 2026 registrations had not been announced when we checked on 9 Nov 2026.

JEE Main is also the gate to JEE Advanced: only the top 2,50,000 in JEE Main can sit it. In JEE Advanced 2025, 54,378 of the 1,80,422 candidates who sat both papers qualified, about 30 percent. CAT has one stage of testing. After the score, each IIM runs its own shortlist and interviews. See the IIM cut-offs from their admission criteria.

How many seats are there?

The IITs had 18,160 seats in JoSAA 2025 across 23 IITs, including 3,632 female-only supernumerary seats, according to the JEE (Advanced) 2025 Joint Implementation Committee report.

We could not find an official total of IIM MBA seats. Neither the Ministry of Education, the CAT bulletins nor the IIMs publish one consolidated figure, and coaching estimates disagree with each other, so we do not quote one. As one example of size, IIM Ahmedabad says 414 students joined its 2026-28 PGP batch. CAT scores are also used by non-IIM schools: the CAT 2025 results release says 93 non-IIM institutions would use them.

Without an IIM seat total, a "selection rate" for CAT cannot be worked out honestly. Any figure you see for it is an estimate.

How do the papers compare?

	CAT	JEE Main (Paper 1)	JEE Advanced
Duration	120 minutes, 40 per section, no switching	3 hours	2 papers of 3 hours each, both compulsory
Questions	68 (VARC 24, DILR 22, QA 22) in 2025	75 (25 each in Maths, Physics, Chemistry)	Varies by year; total 360 marks in 2025 and 2026
Marking	+3, −1 for a wrong MCQ, no negative for typed answers	+4, −1 for a wrong answer	Set in the brochure each year
Syllabus	None published	Published by NTA	Published by the IITs
Sittings a year	1	2 (January and April), best score counts	1

The difference that matters most for preparation: JEE tests physics, chemistry and maths against a published syllabus. CAT tests reading, reasoning and maths under tight time, and its official FAQ says it has no defined syllabus. A JEE topper still has to build English reading speed for VARC. A humanities graduate who reads well may find VARC easy and QA hard. More on the CAT exam pattern and the topics that appear in CAT.

Who can take each exam, and how many times?

	CAT	JEE Main	JEE Advanced
Eligibility	Bachelor's degree with 50% (45% for SC, ST, PwBD); final-year students can apply	Class 12 passed in the last two years, or appearing this year	Top 2,50,000 in JEE Main, age and Class 12 year limits
Age limit	None	None	Born on or after 1 Oct 2001 for 2026 (relaxed for SC, ST, PwD)
Attempts	No cap stated in the bulletin or FAQ	No cap stated; limited by the Class 12 year rule	At most two, in two consecutive years

This is the gap people feel most. A JEE aspirant gets at most two tries at JEE Advanced, in the year they first sit Class 12 and the year after. A CAT aspirant can take the exam every year, often while studying or working.

How long does preparation take for each?

We found no official or peer-reviewed data on how long candidates prepare for either exam. The figures you see online come from coaching institutes and polls, not from any study, so we do not repeat them. Our CAT study plans are built by time available, from 1 month to 6 months, and the beginner plan assumes no prior preparation.

So which is harder?

On the numbers: JEE has more candidates and a two-stage filter, and CAT has a shorter paper, no syllabus and unlimited attempts. Neither makes one objectively tougher. The fastest way to find out how CAT suits you is to sit a full paper under real timing.

Common questions

Is CAT tougher than JEE?

There is no official measure. JEE Main had about 15 lakh candidates in 2025 against about 2.6 lakh who sat CAT, and JEE Advanced adds a second stage. CAT is shorter, has no published syllabus and no attempt limit. Which is harder depends on whether you are stronger at reading and reasoning or at physics, chemistry and maths.

How many students take CAT compared with JEE?

In 2025, 2.95 lakh registered for CAT and 2.58 lakh appeared. JEE Main 2025 Paper 1 had 15,39,848 unique registrations and 14,75,103 candidates who appeared, according to NTA.

How many seats are there in IITs and IIMs?

The IITs had 18,160 seats in JoSAA 2025, according to the JEE Advanced 2025 committee report. There is no official total for IIM MBA seats; IIM Ahmedabad alone says 414 students joined its 2026-28 PGP batch.

Can an engineer do well in CAT?

The CAT data does not split candidates by degree, so there is no official figure. Engineers usually find QA familiar, but VARC needs separate practice, since JEE does not test English.

How many attempts are allowed in CAT and JEE?

JEE Advanced allows at most two attempts in two consecutive years. The CAT bulletin and FAQ state no cap on attempts and no age limit.

Take free CAT mock 1 (full length)

Sources

Last checked 9 Nov 2026. Found an error? Tell us and it goes on the errata page.