IIT Delhi vs IIT Kanpur: Courses, Seats, Cutoffs, Fees, Placements and Research (2026)
IIT Delhi received 13% more sponsored research funding (₹410.54 crore vs ₹363.43 crore, FY 2024-25). IIT Kanpur earned 2.3 times as much from consultancy (₹113.61 crore vs ₹49.60 crore, FY 2024-25). IIT Delhi has 6% more faculty (675 vs 636, NIRF 2026).
Last updated: 13 Oct 2026. Every number links to its official source with the data year.
We are still collecting official data for this pair, so some numbers are missing.
At a glance
| Point | IIT Delhi | IIT Kanpur | Source (year) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Established (year) | Not published | 1959 | josaa.admissions.nic.in (JoSAA 2026 institute profile) |
| Location (city, state) | New Delhi, Delhi | Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh | home.iitd.ac.in josaa.admissions.nic.in |
| Campus area | Not published | 1,055 acres | josaa.admissions.nic.in (JoSAA 2026 institute profile) |
| Official website | home.iitd.ac.in | iitk.ac.in | home.iitd.ac.in iitk.ac.in |
| NIRF Overall rank | 4 | 5 | nirfindia.org (NIRF 2025) |
| NIRF Engineering rank | 2 | 4 | nirfindia.org (NIRF 2025) |
| B.Tech tuition per semester | ₹1,00,000 | ₹1,00,000 | academics.iitd.ac.in (2025-26) iitk.ac.in (2026-27) |
| First-semester academic fees | ₹1,31,000 | ₹1,58,415 | academics.iitd.ac.in (2025-26) iitk.ac.in (2026-27) |
| Fee waiver notes | SC, ST and PwD: no tuition. Family income ₹1–5 lakh: one-third tuition (₹33,333); below ₹1 lakh: nil. ₹1,00,000 applies above ₹5 lakh. | SC, ST, PwD and family income below ₹1 lakh: no tuition. Family income ₹1–5 lakh: one-third tuition (₹33,333). | academics.iitd.ac.in (2025-26) iitk.ac.in (2026-27) |
| Hostel / mess fee | ₹8,600 institute residence fee (in first-semester fees); mess charges not published in the fee structure | Mess establishment charges ₹13,360 (first semester); seat rent and hall charges are inside the ₹13,855 semester fee | academics.iitd.ac.in (2025-26) iitk.ac.in (2026-27) |
| Total JoSAA seats | 1,249 | 1,240 | josaa.admissions.nic.in (JoSAA 2026) josaa.admissions.nic.in (JoSAA 2026) |
| UG 4-year median salary | ₹20 lakh | ₹21.7 lakh | home.iitd.ac.in (2024-25) iitk.ac.in (2024-25) |
| UG 4-year placed / graduated | 818 placed of 986 graduates | 855 placed of 1,205 graduates | home.iitd.ac.in (2024-25) iitk.ac.in (2024-25) |
| UG 5-year (dual) median salary | ₹30 lakh | Not published | home.iitd.ac.in (2024-25) |
| PG 2-year median salary | ₹19.25 lakh | ₹15.7 lakh | home.iitd.ac.in (2024-25) iitk.ac.in (2024-25) |
| PG 2-year placed | 641 | 674 | home.iitd.ac.in (2024-25) iitk.ac.in (2024-25) |
| UG 4-year went for higher studies | 73 | 257 | home.iitd.ac.in (2024-25) iitk.ac.in (2024-25) |
| Total UG 4-year students | 4,388 | 4,932 | home.iitd.ac.in (2024-25) iitk.ac.in (2024-25) |
| Faculty count | 675 | 636 | home.iitd.ac.in (NIRF 2026) iitk.ac.in (NIRF 2026) |
| Full-time PhD students | 2,954 | 2,172 | home.iitd.ac.in (2024-25) iitk.ac.in (2024-25) |
| Full-time PhDs graduated | 489 | 294 | home.iitd.ac.in (2024-25) iitk.ac.in (2024-25) |
| Sponsored research received | ₹410.54 crore | ₹363.43 crore | home.iitd.ac.in (FY 2024-25) iitk.ac.in (FY 2024-25) |
| Consultancy received | ₹49.60 crore | ₹113.61 crore | home.iitd.ac.in (FY 2024-25) iitk.ac.in (FY 2024-25) |
How IIT Delhi and IIT Kanpur differ
- IIT Delhi received 13% more sponsored research funding (₹410.54 crore vs ₹363.43 crore, FY 2024-25).
- IIT Kanpur earned 2.3 times as much from consultancy (₹113.61 crore vs ₹49.60 crore, FY 2024-25).
- IIT Delhi has 6% more faculty (675 vs 636, NIRF 2026).
- IIT Delhi has 36% more full-time PhD students (2,954 vs 2,172, 2024-25).
- IIT Delhi and IIT Kanpur are close on total josaa seats (1,249 vs 1,240).
- IIT Kanpur reported a ₹1.70 lakh higher 4-year UG median salary (₹21.7 lakh vs ₹20 lakh).
- Both charge the same B.Tech tuition: ₹1,00,000 per semester.
- IIT Delhi ranks higher in NIRF 2025 Overall (4 vs 5).
- IIT Delhi ranks higher in NIRF 2025 Engineering (2 vs 4).
- IIT Kanpur has more 4-year B.Tech CSE seats (129 vs 99).
- Only IIT Delhi offers Electrical Engineering (Power and Automation), Engineering Physics, Energy Engineering, Mathematics and Computing among these two.
- Only IIT Kanpur offers Aerospace Engineering, Biological Sciences and Bioengineering, Intelligent Systems among these two.
Worked out from the official numbers above.
Courses and seats
IIT Delhi
- B.Tech (4 years)
- Dual degree B.Tech + M.Tech (5 years)
- B.S. Chemistry
- B.Tech Design
- Abu Dhabi campus B.Tech (4 branches)
- M.Tech, M.Sc, MBA, M.Des and PhD
IIT Kanpur
- B.Tech (4 years)
- B.S. (4 years)
- BT-MT and BS-MS dual degrees
- B.Cyber
Seats per branch
| Branch | IIT Delhi | IIT Kanpur |
|---|---|---|
| Computer Science and Engineering | 99 | 129 |
| CSE, 5-year dual degree | 37 | Not offered |
| Electrical Engineering | 110 | 192 |
| Electrical Engineering (Power and Automation) | 54 | Not offered |
| Mechanical Engineering | 85 | 149 |
| Civil Engineering | 110 | 148 |
| Chemical Engineering | 75 | 104 |
| Chemical Engineering, dual degree | 46 | Not offered |
| Engineering Physics | 63 | Not offered |
| Materials Engineering | 40 | 85 |
| Energy Engineering | 40 | Not offered |
| Mathematics and Computing | 89 | Not offered |
| Mathematics and Computing, dual degree | 33 | Not offered |
| Industrial / Production Engineering | 83 | Not offered |
| Biotechnology and Biochemical Engineering | 60 | Not offered |
| Textile Technology | 85 | Not offered |
| Engineering and Computational Mechanics | 40 | Not offered |
| B.S. Chemistry | 40 | 49 |
| B.Tech Design | 20 | Not offered |
| Abu Dhabi campus (4 branches) | 40 | Not offered |
| Aerospace Engineering | Not offered | 69 |
| Biological Sciences and Bioengineering | Not offered | 53 |
| Intelligent Systems | Not offered | 30 |
| B.S. Economics | Not offered | 52 |
| B.S. Mathematics and Scientific Computing | Not offered | 64 |
| B.S. Physics | Not offered | 45 |
| B.S. Earth Sciences | Not offered | 43 |
| B.S. Statistics and Data Science | Not offered | 28 |
Source: josaa.admissions.nic.in (JoSAA 2026) · josaa.admissions.nic.in (JoSAA 2026)
What this means
Seats are the total for each branch across all categories, including female-supernumerary seats, from the JoSAA seat matrix. More seats in a branch usually means a wider range of closing ranks, so your chances can be better in a branch with more seats.
JoSAA cutoffs: opening and closing ranks
Closing ranks in the final JoSAA round, OPEN category, gender-neutral seats (JEE Advanced CRL). Lower means harder to get.
| Branch | IIT Delhi | IIT Kanpur | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | |
| Abu Dhabi Campus - Chemical Engineering | – | 5712 | 6145 | – | – | – |
| Abu Dhabi Campus - Computer Science and Engineering | – | 1761 | 1788 | – | – | – |
| Abu Dhabi Campus - Electrical Engineering | – | – | 3436 | – | – | – |
| Abu Dhabi Campus - Energy Engineering | – | 5590 | 4465 | – | – | – |
| Aerospace Engineering | – | – | – | 3638 | 3805 | 4015 |
| Biological Sciences and Bioengineering | – | – | – | 6952 | 7105 | 7837 |
| Biotechnology and Biochemical Engineering | 4849 | 4999 | 4990 | – | – | – |
| Chemical Engineering | 2221 | 2548 | 2724 | 4015 | 4280 | 4436 |
| Chemical Engineering (5-yr) | 3646 | 3454 | 3968 | – | – | – |
| Chemistry | – | 8528 | 8823 | 10498 | 10482 | 11668 |
| Civil Engineering | 4169 | 4302 | 4901 | 5948 | 6161 | 7177 |
| Computer Science and Engineering | 116 | 126 | 128 | 252 | 271 | 283 |
| Computer Science and Engineering (5-yr) | 204 | 186 | 212 | – | – | – |
| Design | – | 12217 | 12730 | – | – | – |
| Earth Sciences | – | – | – | 10058 | 10108 | 10774 |
| Economics | – | – | – | 3106 | 3310 | 3650 |
| Electrical Engineering | 625 | 605 | 612 | 1290 | 1146 | 1171 |
| Electrical Engineering (Power and Automation) | 810 | 823 | 823 | – | – | – |
| Energy Engineering | 2707 | 2668 | 2965 | – | – | – |
| Engineering and Computational Mechanics | 1194 | 1103 | 1107 | – | – | – |
| Engineering Physics | 2560 | 2565 | 2435 | – | – | – |
| Intelligent Systems | – | – | – | – | – | 1134 |
| Materials Science and Engineering | 3797 | 3736 | 3706 | 6008 | 6337 | 6533 |
| Mathematics and Computing | 332 | 323 | 338 | – | – | – |
| Mathematics and Computing (5-yr) | 417 | 355 | 403 | – | – | – |
| Mathematics and Scientific Computing | – | – | – | 990 | 1179 | 1270 |
| Mechanical Engineering | 1782 | 1862 | 2205 | 2776 | 2771 | 3178 |
| Physics | – | – | – | 5508 | 5691 | 5723 |
| Production and Industrial Engineering | 3089 | 3223 | 3402 | – | – | – |
| Statistics and Data Science | – | – | – | 1030 | 1270 | 1409 |
| Textile Technology | 6102 | 5733 | 6580 | – | – | – |
All categories and seat pools
| Institute | Branch | Category | Seats | Year | Round | Opening | Closing |
|---|
Source: JoSAA opening and closing ranks (josaa.nic.in), final round of each year.
M.Tech (GATE) cutoffs
We have not found official, department-wise GATE cutoffs for these institutes that we could verify for the last three years, so none are shown. Check each department's M.Tech admissions page and the COAP portal.
What this means
The opening rank is the best rank admitted in that category, and the closing rank is the last rank admitted in the final round. Your JEE (Advanced) category rank must be at or better than the closing rank to have had a seat that year. Cutoffs move every year, so look at the trend over three years, not one number. Female-only seats are supernumerary seats for female candidates; PwD ranks are separate lists.
What this means
M.Tech admissions at IITs use GATE scores through COAP and the institute's own process. Cutoffs are set by each department and are published only by some institutes in some years.
Fees
Fee waiver notes: IIT Delhi: SC, ST and PwD: no tuition. Family income ₹1–5 lakh: one-third tuition (₹33,333); below ₹1 lakh: nil. ₹1,00,000 applies above ₹5 lakh.. IIT Kanpur: SC, ST, PwD and family income below ₹1 lakh: no tuition. Family income ₹1–5 lakh: one-third tuition (₹33,333)..
Hostel / mess fee: IIT Delhi: ₹8,600 institute residence fee (in first-semester fees); mess charges not published in the fee structure. IIT Kanpur: Mess establishment charges ₹13,360 (first semester); seat rent and hall charges are inside the ₹13,855 semester fee.
What this means
Tuition is the main fee, but the first-semester bill also includes one-time and hostel charges. Fee waivers are set by the government: SC, ST and PwD students pay no tuition at IITs, and students from lower-income families pay reduced or no tuition. Check the latest fee notice for the exact income limits.
Placements
UG 4-year placed / graduated: IIT Delhi: 818 placed of 986 graduates. IIT Kanpur: 855 placed of 1,205 graduates.
What this means
The median salary is the middle value: half of the placed students earned more and half earned less. It is a fairer guide than the "highest package", which only one student gets. Compare it with the number placed out of those who graduated, and remember that many students choose higher studies instead.
Research, labs and projects
Notable labs / facilities
IIT Delhi
- Central Research Facility (CRF): open to users inside and outside IIT Delhi with online booking; FESEM, single-crystal XRD, micro-Raman, AFM
- New CRF building and workshop at the Sonipat campus
crf.iitd.ac.in (2026)
IIT Kanpur
- Airstrip on campus (used by the Aerospace Engineering department and the Gliding Club)
josaa.admissions.nic.in (JoSAA 2026 institute profile)
What this means
Sponsored research is money given by government and industry for research projects in that year. Consultancy is paid work done for industry. Higher figures mean more projects, labs and chances for students to work on real problems.
How to choose
- List the branches your JoSAA rank can realistically get at both, using the cutoff table above.
- Compare those branches, not only the institute name.
- Check which fee waivers you qualify for.
- Think about the city, the cost of living and the distance from home.
- Look at dual-degree and minor options in each curriculum.
FAQ
Which is better, IIT Delhi or IIT Kanpur?
In NIRF 2025 Overall, IIT Delhi is ranked 4 and IIT Kanpur is ranked 5. In Engineering, IIT Delhi is 2 and IIT Kanpur is 4. The official data is close at this level, so the right choice depends on your branch and personal fit.
Is the B.Tech fee the same at IIT Delhi and IIT Kanpur?
B.Tech tuition is ₹1,00,000 per semester at IIT Delhi and ₹1,00,000 at IIT Kanpur (2025-26). Fee waivers apply for eligible students; see the fees section.
Which has better placements, IIT Delhi or IIT Kanpur?
The 4-year UG median salary was ₹20 lakh at IIT Delhi (2024-25) and ₹21.7 lakh at IIT Kanpur (2024-25), from NIRF data.
How many CSE seats do IIT Delhi and IIT Kanpur have?
The JoSAA seat matrix lists 99 B.Tech CSE seats at IIT Delhi and 129 at IIT Kanpur (JoSAA 2026).
Which does more research, IIT Delhi or IIT Kanpur?
IIT Delhi received ₹410.54 crore in sponsored research (FY 2024-25) and IIT Kanpur received ₹363.43 crore (FY 2024-25).
What is a closing rank?
It is the last JEE (Advanced) category rank that got a seat in that branch in the final JoSAA round. If your rank is at or better than it, you would have got a seat that year. It changes every year.
Sources
- https://home.iitd.ac.in
- https://www.nirfindia.org/Rankings/2025/OverallRanking.html
- https://www.nirfindia.org/Rankings/2025/EngineeringRanking.html
- https://academics.iitd.ac.in/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Fee-Structure_2025-26_UG-Entry-Students-revised.pdf
- https://josaa.admissions.nic.in/applicant/seatmatrix/InstProfile.aspx?instcd=104
- https://home.iitd.ac.in/uploads/nirf/2026/NIRF_2026_Overall_Indian Institute of Technology Delhi20260402.pdf
- https://crf.iitd.ac.in/
- https://josaa.admissions.nic.in/applicant/seatmatrix/InstProfile.aspx?instcd=109
- https://www.iitk.ac.in
- https://www.iitk.ac.in/dosa/data/Fee-Structure-for-New-UG-for-2026-2027-1st-07-07-26.pdf
- https://www.iitk.ac.in/data/nirf/nirf-2026/Overall-2026.pdf
- https://josaa.admissions.nic.in/applicant/seatmatrix/openingclosingrankarchieve.aspx
- https://josaa.admissions.nic.in/applicant/SeatAllotmentResult/CurrentORCR.aspx
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