IIT Guwahati vs IIT Kanpur: Courses, Seats, Cutoffs, Fees, Placements and Research (2026)
IIT Kanpur received 99% more sponsored research funding (₹363.43 crore vs ₹182.62 crore, FY 2024-25). IIT Kanpur leads on industry consultancy by 96% (₹113.61 crore vs ₹57.83 crore, FY 2024-25). IIT Kanpur has a 28% larger faculty (636 vs 495, NIRF 2026).
Last updated: 14 Oct 2026.
Who should pick which (our analysis)
IIT Guwahati
Our analysis: IIT Guwahati suits you if you want an established IIT with strong research funding and are happy to study in the North-East. All its JoSAA seats are 4-year B.Tech, including Data Science and AI, Energy Engineering, and Biosciences and Bioengineering.At a glance
Swipe sideways. The first column stays put.
| Point | IIT Guwahati | IIT Kanpur | Source (year) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Established (year) | 1994 | 1959 | JoSAA 2026 institute profile |
| Location (city, state) | Guwahati, Assam | Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh | JoSAA 2026 institute profile josaa.admissions.nic.in |
| Campus area | 700 acres | 1,055 acres | JoSAA 2026 institute profile |
| Official website | iitg.ac.in | iitk.ac.in | iitg.ac.in |
| NIRF Overall rank | 11 | 5 | NIRF 2025 |
| NIRF Engineering rank | 8 | 4 | NIRF 2025 |
| B.Tech tuition per semester | ₹1,00,000 | ₹1,00,000 | 2026-27 |
| First-semester academic fees | ₹1,63,800 | ₹1,58,415 | 2026-27 |
| Fee waiver notes | SC, ST and PwD: no tuition. Parental income below ₹1 lakh: tuition fully waived; ₹1–5 lakh: pay one-third (total at admission ₹97,133). | 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 | Per semester: hostel rent ₹2,000 + maintenance ₹3,500 + electricity and water ₹3,500 + hostel fund ₹2,200; adjustable mess advance ₹22,000 | Mess establishment charges ₹13,360 (first semester); seat rent and hall charges are inside the ₹13,855 semester fee | 2026-27 |
| Total JoSAA seats | 962 | 1,240 | JoSAA 2026 |
| UG 4-year median salary | ₹17 lakh | ₹21.7 lakh | 2024-25 |
| UG 4-year placed / graduated | 663 placed of 902 graduates | 855 placed of 1,205 graduates | 2024-25 |
| PG 2-year median salary | ₹12 lakh | ₹15.7 lakh | 2024-25 |
| PG 2-year placed | 415 | 674 | 2024-25 |
| UG 4-year went for higher studies | 209 | 257 | 2024-25 |
| Total UG 4-year students | Not published | 4,932 | 2024-25 |
| Faculty count | 495 | 636 | NIRF 2026 |
| Full-time PhD students | 1,724 | 2,172 | 2024-25 |
| Full-time PhDs graduated | Not published | 294 | 2024-25 |
| Sponsored research received | ₹182.62 crore | ₹363.43 crore | FY 2024-25 |
| Consultancy received | ₹57.83 crore | ₹113.61 crore | FY 2024-25 |
How IIT Guwahati and IIT Kanpur differ
- IIT Kanpur received 99% more sponsored research funding (₹363.43 crore vs ₹182.62 crore, FY 2024-25).
- IIT Kanpur leads on industry consultancy by 96% (₹113.61 crore vs ₹57.83 crore, FY 2024-25).
- IIT Kanpur has a 28% larger faculty (636 vs 495, NIRF 2026).
- IIT Kanpur runs a 26% bigger PhD programme (2,172 vs 1,724, 2024-25).
- IIT Kanpur offers 29% more JoSAA seats (1,240 vs 962, JoSAA 2026).
- IIT Kanpur reported a ₹4.70 lakh higher 4-year UG median salary (₹21.7 lakh vs ₹17 lakh).
- Both charge the same B.Tech tuition: ₹1,00,000 per semester.
- IIT Kanpur ranks higher in NIRF 2025 Overall (5 vs 11).
- IIT Kanpur ranks higher in NIRF 2025 Engineering (4 vs 8).
- IIT Kanpur has more 4-year B.Tech CSE seats (129 vs 114).
- Only IIT Guwahati offers Chemical Science and Technology, Electronics and Communication Engineering, Electronics and Electrical Engineering, Engineering Physics among these two.
- Only IIT Kanpur offers Aerospace Engineering, Biological Sciences and Bioengineering, Electrical Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering among these two.
Worked out from the official numbers above.
Courses and seats
IIT Guwahati
- 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 Guwahati | IIT Kanpur |
|---|---|---|
| Chemical Engineering | 92 | 104 |
| Chemical Science and Technology | 60 | Not offered |
| Civil Engineering | 117 | 148 |
| Computer Science and Engineering | 114 | 129 |
| Electronics and Communication Engineering | 104 | Not offered |
| Electronics and Electrical Engineering | 62 | Not offered |
| Engineering Physics | 68 | Not offered |
| Mathematics and Computing | 72 | Not offered |
| Mechanical Engineering | 119 | 149 |
| Data Science and Artificial Intelligence | 60 | Not offered |
| Biosciences and Bioengineering | 74 | Not offered |
| Energy Engineering | 20 | Not offered |
| Aerospace Engineering | Not offered | 69 |
| Biological Sciences and Bioengineering | Not offered | 53 |
| Electrical Engineering | Not offered | 192 |
| Materials Science and Engineering | Not offered | 85 |
| 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
They have 4 branch names in common. Seat matrix, explained →
JoSAA cutoffs: opening and closing ranks
OPEN closing ranks, 2024–2026. Lower is harder.
| Branch | IIT Guwahati | IIT Kanpur | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | |
| Aerospace Engineering | – | – | – | 3638 | 3805 | 4015 |
| Biological Sciences and Bioengineering | – | – | – | 6952 | 7105 | 7837 |
| Biosciences and Bioengineering | 9178 | 10727 | 12170 | – | – | – |
| Chemical Engineering | 5363 | 6053 | 6915 | 4015 | 4280 | 4436 |
| Chemical Science and Technology | 6834 | 7958 | 9262 | – | – | – |
| Chemistry | – | – | – | 10498 | 10482 | 11668 |
| Civil Engineering | 7670 | 9021 | 9883 | 5948 | 6161 | 7177 |
| Computer Science and Engineering | 623 | 792 | 822 | 252 | 271 | 283 |
| Data Science and Artificial Intelligence | 995 | 1078 | 1286 | – | – | – |
| Earth Sciences | – | – | – | 10058 | 10108 | 10774 |
| Economics | – | – | – | 3106 | 3310 | 3650 |
| Electrical Engineering | – | – | – | 1290 | 1146 | 1171 |
| Electronics and Communication Engineering | 1658 | 1829 | 1988 | – | – | – |
| Electronics and Electrical Engineering | 2217 | 2195 | 2247 | – | – | – |
| Energy Engineering | 5920 | 6610 | 6728 | – | – | – |
| Engineering Physics | 5686 | 7117 | 6121 | – | – | – |
| Intelligent Systems | – | – | – | – | – | 1134 |
| Materials Science and Engineering | – | – | – | 6008 | 6337 | 6533 |
| Mathematics and Computing | 1021 | 1276 | 1366 | – | – | – |
| Mathematics and Scientific Computing | – | – | – | 990 | 1179 | 1270 |
| Mechanical Engineering | 4523 | 4892 | 5642 | 2776 | 2771 | 3178 |
| 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 Guwahati 822 (2026), IIT Kanpur 283 (2026). Cutoff trends, explained →
Fees
Fee waiver notes: IIT Guwahati: SC, ST and PwD: no tuition. Parental income below ₹1 lakh: tuition fully waived; ₹1–5 lakh: pay one-third (total at admission ₹97,133).. 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 Guwahati: Per semester: hostel rent ₹2,000 + maintenance ₹3,500 + electricity and water ₹3,500 + hostel fund ₹2,200; adjustable mess advance ₹22,000. IIT Kanpur: Mess establishment charges ₹13,360 (first semester); seat rent and hall charges are inside the ₹13,855 semester fee.
The first-semester bill is higher at IIT Guwahati than at IIT Kanpur by ₹5,385. Fees and waivers explained →
Research, labs and projects
Notable labs / facilities
IIT Guwahati
- Central Instruments Facility (CIF)
- IITG Research Park
- Technology Incubation Centre (TIC)
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. What sponsored research means →
IIT Guwahati: what these numbers mean
The first-semester fee is ₹1,63,800, plus medical charges at actual cost. Tuition (₹1,00,000) is waived for SC, ST and PwD students. It is also waived if your parents earn under ₹1 lakh a year. Between ₹1 lakh and ₹5 lakh, you pay one-third, and the admission total drops to ₹97,133. NIRF 2026 data shows 663 of 902 four-year graduates placed in 2024-25, at a median of ₹17 lakh. 209 more chose higher studies. That is one of the largest higher-studies groups in this batch, so many students here move on to research. Sponsored research brought in ₹182.62 crore in FY 2024-25, and consultancy ₹57.83 crore. The Central Instruments Facility, a Research Park and a Technology Incubation Centre support labs and start-ups. The NIRF list names 495 faculty and 1,724 full-time PhD scholars, so research projects are easy to find.How to choose
- Rank first, name second. CSE OPEN closing ranks: IIT Guwahati 822 (2026), IIT Kanpur 283 (2026).
- They have 4 branch names in common. Shortlist by branch before institute.
- The first-semester bill is higher at IIT Guwahati than at IIT Kanpur by ₹5,385. Fees and waivers explained →
- IIT Guwahati is in Guwahati, Assam; IIT Kanpur is in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Weigh travel and living costs.
FAQ
Which is better, IIT Guwahati or IIT Kanpur?
On NIRF 2025 Overall, IIT Guwahati is #11 and IIT Kanpur is #5. Your branch matters more than this gap.
Is the B.Tech fee the same at IIT Guwahati and IIT Kanpur?
Both charge ₹1,00,000 per semester.
Which has better placements, IIT Guwahati or IIT Kanpur?
IIT Kanpur has the higher UG median: ₹21.7 lakh vs ₹17 lakh (NIRF).
How many CSE seats do IIT Guwahati and IIT Kanpur have?
IIT Guwahati: 114. IIT Kanpur: 129.
Which does more research, IIT Guwahati or IIT Kanpur?
Sponsored research: IIT Guwahati ₹182.62 crore, IIT Kanpur ₹363.43 crore.
Sources
- josaa.admissions.nic.in › InstProfile
- iitg.ac.in
- nirfindia.org › OverallRanking
- nirfindia.org › EngineeringRanking
- iitg.ac.in › NIRF_Engineering_2026.pdf
- 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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