IIT Gandhinagar vs IIT Kanpur: Courses, Seats, Cutoffs, Fees, Placements and Research (2026)
IIT Kanpur attracts 3.2 times as much research funding (₹363.43 crore vs ₹114.87 crore, FY 2024-25). IIT Kanpur does 4.0 times as much consultancy business (₹113.61 crore vs ₹28.43 crore, FY 2024-25). IIT Kanpur employs 3.2 times as much faculty (636 vs 198, NIRF 2026).
Last updated: 14 Oct 2026.
Who should pick which (our analysis)
IIT Gandhinagar
Our analysis: IIT Gandhinagar suits you if you value a flexible curriculum over a big intake. It allows branch change after the first semester (with a CPI of 9.5 or above, without restriction). It also offers dual majors, minors in 25 areas, and a semester of external exposure. Its eight B.Tech branches include Integrated Circuit Design & Technology and Artificial Intelligence.At a glance
Swipe sideways. The first column stays put.
| Point | IIT Gandhinagar | IIT Kanpur | Source (year) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Established (year) | 2008 | 1959 | official website JoSAA 2026 institute profile |
| Location (city, state) | Palaj, Gandhinagar, Gujarat | Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh | JoSAA 2026 institute profile josaa.admissions.nic.in |
| Campus area | Not published | 1,055 acres | JoSAA 2026 institute profile |
| Official website | iitgn.ac.in | iitk.ac.in | iitgn.ac.in |
| NIRF Overall rank | 39 | 5 | NIRF 2025 |
| NIRF Engineering rank | 25 | 4 | NIRF 2025 |
| B.Tech tuition per semester | Not published | ₹1,00,000 | 2026-27 |
| First-semester academic fees | Not published | ₹1,58,415 | 2026-27 |
| Fee waiver notes | SC, ST and PwD (40%+): tuition waiver. Parental income up to ₹2.5 lakh: full tuition waiver; ₹2.5–5 lakh: pay one-third of tuition. Income below ₹9 lakh: interest-free Vidyalaxmi loan for the tuition payable. | SC, ST, PwD and family income below ₹1 lakh: no tuition. Family income ₹1–5 lakh: one-third tuition (₹33,333). | 2026-27 |
| Hostel / mess fee | First semester: mess and laundry advance ₹24,960 + hostel seat rent and utilities ₹20,384 | Mess establishment charges ₹13,360 (first semester); seat rent and hall charges are inside the ₹13,855 semester fee | 2026-27 |
| Total JoSAA seats | 360 | 1,240 | JoSAA 2026 |
| UG 4-year median salary | ₹14 lakh | ₹21.7 lakh | 2024-25 |
| UG 4-year placed / graduated | 166 placed of 213 graduates | 855 placed of 1,205 graduates | 2024-25 |
| PG 2-year median salary | ₹8 lakh | ₹15.7 lakh | 2024-25 |
| PG 2-year placed | 111 | 674 | 2024-25 |
| UG 4-year went for higher studies | 44 | 257 | 2024-25 |
| Total UG 4-year students | Not published | 4,932 | 2024-25 |
| Faculty count | 198 | 636 | NIRF 2026 |
| Full-time PhD students | 736 | 2,172 | 2024-25 |
| Full-time PhDs graduated | Not published | 294 | 2024-25 |
| Sponsored research received | ₹114.87 crore | ₹363.43 crore | FY 2024-25 |
| Consultancy received | ₹28.43 crore | ₹113.61 crore | FY 2024-25 |
How IIT Gandhinagar and IIT Kanpur differ
- IIT Kanpur attracts 3.2 times as much research funding (₹363.43 crore vs ₹114.87 crore, FY 2024-25).
- IIT Kanpur does 4.0 times as much consultancy business (₹113.61 crore vs ₹28.43 crore, FY 2024-25).
- IIT Kanpur employs 3.2 times as much faculty (636 vs 198, NIRF 2026).
- IIT Kanpur has 3.0 times as much full-time PhD students (2,172 vs 736, 2024-25).
- IIT Kanpur has a 244% bigger JoSAA intake (1,240 vs 360, JoSAA 2026).
- IIT Kanpur reported a ₹7.70 lakh higher 4-year UG median salary (₹21.7 lakh vs ₹14 lakh).
- IIT Kanpur ranks higher in NIRF 2025 Overall (5 vs 39).
- IIT Kanpur ranks higher in NIRF 2025 Engineering (4 vs 25).
- IIT Kanpur has more 4-year B.Tech CSE seats (129 vs 60).
- Only IIT Gandhinagar offers Integrated Circuit Design & Technology, Artificial Intelligence 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 Gandhinagar
- B.Tech (4 years)
IIT Kanpur
- B.Tech (4 years)
- B.S. (4 years)
- BT-MT and BS-MS dual degrees
- B.Cyber
Seats per branch
| Branch | IIT Gandhinagar | IIT Kanpur |
|---|---|---|
| Chemical Engineering | 50 | 104 |
| Civil Engineering | 40 | 148 |
| Computer Science and Engineering | 60 | 129 |
| Electrical Engineering | 50 | 192 |
| Mechanical Engineering | 50 | 149 |
| Integrated Circuit Design & Technology | 30 | Not offered |
| Artificial Intelligence | 40 | Not offered |
| Materials Engineering | 40 | 85 |
| Aerospace Engineering | Not offered | 69 |
| Biological Sciences and Bioengineering | Not offered | 53 |
| Intelligent Systems | Not offered | 30 |
| B.S. Chemistry | Not offered | 49 |
| 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 2026 · JoSAA 2026
IIT Gandhinagar and IIT Kanpur share 6 branch names; the rest are offered by only one of them. About JoSAA seat numbers →
JoSAA cutoffs: opening and closing ranks
OPEN closing ranks, 2024–2026. Lower is harder.
| Branch | IIT Gandhinagar | IIT Kanpur | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | |
| Aerospace Engineering | – | – | – | 3638 | 3805 | 4015 |
| Artificial Intelligence | 2309 | 2236 | 2745 | – | – | – |
| Biological Sciences and Bioengineering | – | – | – | 6952 | 7105 | 7837 |
| Chemical Engineering | 8269 | 9276 | 9842 | 4015 | 4280 | 4436 |
| Chemistry | – | – | – | 10498 | 10482 | 11668 |
| Civil Engineering | 10234 | 10796 | 12508 | 5948 | 6161 | 7177 |
| Computer Science and Engineering | 1708 | 2020 | 2315 | 252 | 271 | 283 |
| Computer Science and Engineering (5-yr) | 2234 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Earth Sciences | – | – | – | 10058 | 10108 | 10774 |
| Economics | – | – | – | 3106 | 3310 | 3650 |
| Electrical Engineering | 4055 | 3931 | 4007 | 1290 | 1146 | 1171 |
| Electrical Engineering (5-yr) | 4588 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Integrated Circuit Design & Technology | 4349 | 4652 | 4460 | – | – | – |
| Intelligent Systems | – | – | – | – | – | 1134 |
| Materials Science and Engineering | 11298 | 11066 | 12873 | 6008 | 6337 | 6533 |
| Mathematics and Scientific Computing | – | – | – | 990 | 1179 | 1270 |
| Mechanical Engineering | 6344 | 6904 | 7236 | 2776 | 2771 | 3178 |
| Mechanical Engineering (5-yr) | 7422 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Physics | – | – | – | 5508 | 5691 | 5723 |
| Statistics and Data Science | – | – | – | 1030 | 1270 | 1409 |
All categories and seat pools
| Institute | Branch | Category | Seats | Year | Round | Opening | Closing |
|---|
Source: josaa.nic.in, final rounds.
M.Tech (GATE) cutoffs
No verified GATE cutoffs yet. How M.Tech admission works →
CSE OPEN closing ranks: IIT Gandhinagar 2,315 (2026), IIT Kanpur 283 (2026). How to read cutoffs →
Fees
Fee waiver notes: IIT Gandhinagar: SC, ST and PwD (40%+): tuition waiver. Parental income up to ₹2.5 lakh: full tuition waiver; ₹2.5–5 lakh: pay one-third of tuition. Income below ₹9 lakh: interest-free Vidyalaxmi loan for the tuition payable.. 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 Gandhinagar: First semester: mess and laundry advance ₹24,960 + hostel seat rent and utilities ₹20,384. IIT Kanpur: Mess establishment charges ₹13,360 (first semester); seat rent and hall charges are inside the ₹13,855 semester fee.
Research, labs and projects
Notable labs / facilities
IIT Gandhinagar
- PARAM Ananta supercomputer
- High-performance computing (HPC) platform for research and teaching
josaa.admissions.nic.in (JoSAA 2026 institute profile)
IIT Kanpur
- Airstrip on campus (used by the Aerospace Engineering department and the Gliding Club)
josaa.admissions.nic.in (JoSAA 2026 institute profile)
For industry consultancy, IIT Kanpur earns the most of the two. Sponsored vs consultancy →
IIT Gandhinagar: what these numbers mean
Its fee aid is among the most generous we found. Families earning up to ₹2.5 lakh get full tuition waiver, and those earning ₹2.5–5 lakh pay only one-third. SC, ST and PwD students get a waiver too. Interest-free loans are available below ₹9 lakh. We have not listed a tuition figure, because the JoSAA 2026 fee table's parts do not add up to its total. Please check the fee on iitgn.ac.in before you pay. NIRF 2026 data shows 166 of 213 four-year graduates placed in 2024-25, at a median of ₹14 lakh. 44 went for higher studies. Sponsored research was ₹114.87 crore in FY 2024-25, high for its size. The PARAM Ananta supercomputer is on campus. Hostels are air-conditioned at night, and laundry is part of the mess charge.How to choose
- Start with the cutoffs: can your rank reach the branch you want? CSE OPEN closing ranks: IIT Gandhinagar 2,315 (2026), IIT Kanpur 283 (2026).
- IIT Gandhinagar and IIT Kanpur share 6 branch names; the rest are offered by only one of them. Look for your branch in both lists.
- IIT Gandhinagar is in Palaj, Gandhinagar, Gujarat; IIT Kanpur is in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. City and cost of living count too.
FAQ
Which is better, IIT Gandhinagar or IIT Kanpur?
IIT Kanpur is ahead in NIRF 2025 Overall (5 vs 39). At this level the gap is small, so pick on branch and fit.
Which has better placements, IIT Gandhinagar or IIT Kanpur?
By median pay, IIT Kanpur leads (₹21.7 lakh against ₹14 lakh).
How many CSE seats do IIT Gandhinagar and IIT Kanpur have?
IIT Gandhinagar: 60. IIT Kanpur: 129.
Which does more research, IIT Gandhinagar or IIT Kanpur?
IIT Kanpur, by sponsored research money: ₹363.43 crore vs ₹114.87 crore.
Sources
- iitgn.ac.in › about
- josaa.admissions.nic.in › InstProfile
- iitgn.ac.in
- nirfindia.org › OverallRanking
- nirfindia.org › EngineeringRanking
- iitgn.ac.in › IIT Gandhinagar NIRF 2026 updated overll …
- josaa.admissions.nic.in › InstProfile
- iitk.ac.in
- iitk.ac.in › Fee-Structure-for-New-UG-for-2026-2027-1st…
- iitk.ac.in › Overall-2026.pdf
- josaa.admissions.nic.in › openingclosingrankarchieve
- josaa.admissions.nic.in › CurrentORCR
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