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By rohit.pandey1
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Updated on 19 May 2026, 12:33 IST
JEE Advanced 2026 is over. Paper 1 and Paper 2 are done. Now every student who appeared on May 17, 2026 has one question on their mind —"Is my score enough to get into an IIT?"
This page answers that question directly. No guesswork. No vague ranges. Just clear, data-backed safe score targets for every category, every IIT tier, and every popular branch — based on 2026 paper difficulty, past year trends, and official JoSAA closing rank data.
Once the score is calculated, use Infinity Learn's free JEE Advanced 2026 Rank Predictor to get the estimated All India Rank instantly.
Before looking at safe scores, understanding this year's paper difficulty is important. The cutoff and rank depend directly on how tough the paper was.
| Parameter | 2026 Verdict |
| Overall Difficulty | Moderate to Difficult |
| Paper 1 | Moderate — Mathematics was lengthy and calculative |
| Paper 2 | Moderate to Difficult — Physics was toughest, Mathematics lengthy |
| Chemistry | Easy to Moderate in both papers — most scoring section |
| Time Pressure | High — especially in Mathematics across both papers |
| Compared to 2025 | Tougher than 2025 |
What this means for safe scores: Because the paper was conceptually demanding but not extreme, cutoffs in 2026 are expected to be slightly lower than 2024 but in a similar range to 2025. A tough paper means more students score in the middle bands — so the rank gap per mark is smaller at higher scores and wider in the 100–180 mark range.
Also Check: List of All 23 IITs in India
A good score depends on three things — category, target IIT, and target branch. There is no single number that works for everyone.
Here is a quick benchmark:
| Score (out of 360) | What It Means |
| Below 93 (General) | May not qualify the cutoff |
| 93 – 120 | Qualifying range — limited IIT options |
| 120 – 150 | Newer IITs — some branches possible |
| 150 – 200 | Mid and newer IITs — decent branch selection |
| 200 – 250 | Old IITs — most branches available |
| 250 – 280 | Old IITs — strong branch selection including CSE |
| 280 – 320+ | Top 5 IITs — all branches including CSE and EE |
| 320+ | Top 100 rank — any branch any IIT |
The simple answer: A good score in JEE Advanced 2026 for General category starts at 150+ marks for realistic IIT admission chances. Anything above 220 marks opens strong options at old IITs.
This is the minimum score needed just to appear on the rank list. Clearing this does not guarantee an IIT seat — it only qualifies for JoSAA counselling.
JEE
NEET
Foundation JEE
Foundation NEET
CBSE
| Category | Min. Marks per Subject (%) | Min. Total Marks (%) | Approx. Marks (out of 360) |
| General / CRL | ~8.7% | ~28–30% | ~100–109 marks |
| OBC-NCL | ~7.8% | ~27.3% | ~98 marks |
| GEN-EWS | ~7.8% | ~27.3% | ~98 marks |
| SC / ST | ~4.3% | ~15.2% | ~55 marks |
| PwD (all categories) | ~4.3% | ~15.2% | ~55 marks |
| Preparatory Course | ~2.2% | ~7.6% | ~27 marks |
Both subject-wise minimum AND overall minimum must be cleared simultaneously. Clearing only the total is not enough.
This table shows the safe score for actual IIT seat allotment — not just qualifying.
| Target | General (CRL) | OBC-NCL / EWS | SC / ST |
| Any IIT seat (newer IITs) | 120 – 150+ | 100 – 130 | 60 – 80 |
| Mid and newer IITs (core branches) | 150 – 200 | 130 – 170 | 80 – 110 |
| Old IITs (most branches) | 200 – 250 | 170 – 220 | 110 – 140 |
| Top IITs — Bombay, Delhi, Madras (popular branches) | 250 – 280+ | 220 – 250 | 140+ |
| Top IIT CSE / EE / Maths & Computing | 280 – 320+ | 240+ | 160+ |
| Marks (out of 360) | Expected CRL Rank | IIT Chances |
| 335 | 1 | Any branch any IIT |
| 320 – 334 | 1 – 10 | Top 5 IITs — all branches |
| 300 – 320 | 10 – 40 | Top 5 IITs — all branches |
| 275 – 300 | 40 – 100 | Top 5 IITs — most branches |
| 260 – 275 | 100 – 200 | Top 5 IITs — selective branches |
| 250 – 260 | 200 – 300 | Old IITs — CSE, EE, MnC |
| 240 – 250 | 300 – 400 | Old IITs — most branches |
| 232 – 240 | 400 – 500 | Old IITs — core branches |
| 225 – 232 | 500 – 600 | Old IITs — selective branches |
| 220 – 225 | 600 – 700 | Old IITs — core engineering |
| 215 – 220 | 700 – 800 | Old IITs — selective branches |
| 210 – 215 | 800 – 900 | Old IITs — limited branches |
| 205 – 210 | 900 – 1,000 | Old + mid IITs |
| 190 – 205 | 1,000 – 1,500 | Mid IITs — good branch selection |
| 178 – 190 | 1,500 – 2,000 | Mid IITs — most branches |
| 170 – 178 | 2,000 – 2,500 | Mid IITs — selective branches |
| 162 – 170 | 2,500 – 3,000 | Mid and newer IITs |
| 150 – 162 | 3,000 – 4,000 | Newer IITs — CSE possible |
| 142 – 150 | 4,000 – 5,000 | Newer IITs — most branches |
| 135 – 142 | 5,000 – 6,000 | Newer IITs — selective branches |
| 130 – 135 | 6,000 – 7,000 | Newer IITs — limited branches |
| 120 – 130 | 7,000 – 9,000 | Newer IITs — limited options |
| 113 – 120 | 9,000 – 11,000 | Very limited IIT options |
| 101 – 113 | 11,000 – 15,000 | Borderline — spot rounds possible |
| 93 – 101 | 15,000 – 20,000 | Near qualifying cutoff |
| Below 93 | May not qualify (General) | Explore category rank |
| Branch | Safe Score (General) | Closing Rank 2025 |
| Computer Science & Engineering | 300+ | ~67 |
| Electrical Engineering | 270+ | ~250 |
| Mechanical Engineering | 240+ | ~500 |
| Chemical Engineering | 230+ | ~650 |
| Branch | Safe Score (General) | Closing Rank 2025 |
| Computer Science & Engineering | 295+ | ~98 |
| Maths & Computing | 285+ | ~150 |
| Electrical Engineering | 260+ | ~375 |
| Mechanical Engineering | 235+ | ~700 |
| Branch | Safe Score (General) | Closing Rank 2025 |
| Computer Science & Engineering | 285+ | ~119 |
| Electrical Engineering | 255+ | ~400 |
| Mechanical Engineering | 230+ | ~750 |
| Branch | Safe Score (General) | Closing Rank 2025 |
| Computer Science & Engineering | 270+ | ~155 |
| Electrical Engineering | 245+ | ~480 |
| Mechanical Engineering | 215+ | ~1,100 |
| Branch | Safe Score (General) | Closing Rank 2025 |
| Computer Science & Engineering | 255+ | ~282 |
| Electronics & Communication | 230+ | ~800 |
| Mechanical Engineering | 205+ | ~1,500 |
| IIT | Branch | Safe Score (General) | Closing Rank 2025 |
| IIT Guwahati | CSE | 210+ | ~1,100 |
| IIT BHU Varanasi | CSE | 205+ | ~1,400 |
| IIT Hyderabad | CSE | 215+ | ~480 |
| Branch | Safe Score (General) | Approximate Rank Needed |
| CSE | 145 – 175 | 4,000 – 8,000 |
| ECE | 135 – 165 | 5,000 – 10,000 |
| Mechanical | 125 – 155 | 7,000 – 12,000 |
| Civil / Others | 120 – 145 | 9,000 – 15,000 |
Scored 100 – 120 marks (General): Near or at qualifying cutoff. Very limited IIT options. Check category rank. Explore spot rounds during JoSAA.
Scored 120 – 150 marks (General): Newer IITs are realistic. Core branches like Mechanical and Civil have better chances than CSE at this range. Category candidates have significantly better options.
Scored 150 – 180 marks (General): Solid range. Multiple newer IITs with branch choice. Mid-tier IITs possible in later JoSAA rounds. OBC-NCL candidates at this score can target old IITs.
Scored 180 – 220 marks (General): Good score. Old IITs become accessible — selective branches at IIT BHU, Guwahati, Hyderabad. Strong options at newer IITs for any branch.
Scored 220 – 260 marks (General): Very good score. Old IITs — IIT Roorkee, Kanpur, Kharagpur — most branches open. CSE at newer IITs very comfortable. IIT Bombay, Delhi, Madras — selective branches.
Scored 260 – 300 marks (General): Excellent score. Top 5 IITs — most branches available. CSE at IIT Kanpur, Kharagpur, Roorkee is within reach. IIT Bombay and Delhi — selective branches.
Scored 300+ marks (General): Top 200 rank expected. Any branch at any IIT. IIT Bombay CSE, IIT Delhi CSE very much in range.
Given the 2026 paper difficulty, here is the attempt-to-score relationship:
| Attempts (out of 48 per paper) | Expected Score Range | Expected Rank (General) |
| 40 – 45 accurate | 220 – 270 | 500 – 3,000 |
| 35 – 40 accurate | 178 – 220 | 1,500 – 5,000 |
| 30 – 35 accurate | 150 – 178 | 3,000 – 8,000 |
| 25 – 30 accurate | 120 – 150 | 8,000 – 15,000 |
| Below 25 accurate | Below 120 | 15,000+ or below cutoff |
Accuracy matters more than attempts. In a paper with negative marking, wrong answers cost marks. A student who attempts 30 questions with 90% accuracy scores better than one who attempts 40 with 70% accuracy.
OBC-NCL / GEN-EWS candidates: Subtract approximately 30–50 marks from the General category safe score benchmarks above. A score of 180 marks for OBC-NCL opens old IIT options that need 220+ for General.
SC / ST candidates: The reserved category cutoff is significantly lower. A score of 80–140 marks can fetch very strong branches at mid and newer IITs. At 140+ marks, old IIT branches become accessible.
PwD candidates: Cutoff is the same as SC/ST at ~15.2% total. Check PwD-specific seat matrix during JoSAA for branch-wise options.
Female candidates: JEE Advanced has a supernumerary Female-only Pool (FP) quota. Female candidates get both CRL/category rank and a female pool rank — increasing branch access at most IITs.
| Year | General Cutoff % | Approx. Marks | Paper Difficulty |
| 2021 | 17.50% | ~63 | Moderate |
| 2022 | 15.30% | ~55 | Tough |
| 2023 | 23.90% | ~86 | Moderate |
| 2024 | 30.30% | ~109 | Easy to Moderate |
| 2025 | 20.56% | ~74 | Tough |
| 2026 (Expected) | ~28–30% | ~100–109 | Moderate to Difficult |
The pattern is clear — tougher papers lower the cutoff. Since 2026 was harder than 2025, the cutoff may settle closer to the lower end of the expected range.
Step 1 — Calculate exact score Download the official response sheet from jeeadv.ac.in on May 21. Cross-check with the provisional answer key releasing on May 25. Apply the marking scheme carefully — especially for multi-correct questions.
Step 2 — Predict rank Use Infinity Learn's JEE Advanced 2026 Rank Predictor — enter subject-wise marks, select category and state, get estimated AIR and category rank in seconds.
Step 3 — Shortlist IITs and branches Use the branch-wise safe score tables above. Build a realistic preference list — include stretch targets, realistic options, and safe backups.
Step 4 — Understand JoSAA counselling JoSAA 2026 registration begins around June 3–5. There are multiple rounds of seat allotment. Having a clear preference list ready before registration opens saves time and reduces stress.
Step 5 — Wait for official results Official JEE Advanced 2026 results release on June 1, 2026 at 10 AM on jeeadv.ac.in. Official rank confirms what the predictor estimates.
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A good score starts at 150+ marks (General category) for realistic IIT admission chances. Above 220 marks opens strong options at old IITs. Above 280 marks puts top IIT branches like CSE within range.
A score of 150 marks (General) corresponds to an expected CRL rank of approximately 3,000–4,000. This opens multiple newer IITs and selective branches at mid-tier IITs.
A score of 200 marks (General) gives an expected rank of approximately 1,000–1,500. This is comfortable for mid-tier IITs and selective branches at old IITs.
Based on JoSAA 2025 data, CSE at IIT Bombay (General AI quota) closed at rank ~67. A score of 300+ marks is needed to be safe for this branch.
The expected qualifying cutoff for General category is approximately 100–109 marks out of 360. Both subject-wise minimum and overall minimum must be cleared together.
120 marks (General) corresponds to a rank of approximately 8,000–9,000. This gives limited options at newer IITs. Reserved category candidates at 120 marks have significantly better options.
Since the 2026 paper was harder than 2025, the cutoff is expected to be similar to or slightly higher than 2025. Based on the 5-year trend, the expected General category cutoff is 100–109 marks.
During JoSAA counselling, seats reserved for specific categories are allotted based on category rank — not CRL rank. A lower absolute score in a reserved category can still fetch a strong branch at a good IIT.
For SC/ST candidates, a score of 80–110 marks opens mid and newer IIT options. Above 140 marks, old IIT branches become accessible.
Based on marks vs rank analysis, approximately 195+ marks (General category) is needed for a rank under 1,000.