IIT Kanpur vs IIT Kharagpur: Courses, Seats, Cutoffs, Fees, Placements and Research (2026)
IIT Kanpur is 5th and IIT Kharagpur 6th in NIRF 2025 Overall (4th and 5th in Engineering). Both charge ₹1,00,000 tuition per semester. IIT Kharagpur, the oldest IIT (1951), is much larger, with 1,949 JoSAA seats against 1,240, and 140 CSE seats against 129. IIT Kanpur's 4-year UG median was ₹21.70 lakh in 2024-25. IIT Kharagpur's latest published figure is ₹19.76 lakh, for 2023-24.
Last updated: 13 Oct 2026. Every number links to its official source with the data year.
Who should pick which (our analysis)
- Choose on branch first. In JoSAA 2026, 4-year CSE closed at OPEN rank 283 at IIT Kanpur and 509 at IIT Kharagpur.
- IIT Kanpur suits students aiming for a top-5 IIT with a science-based curriculum, many B.S. options (Mathematics and Scientific Computing, Statistics and Data Science, Earth Sciences) and the higher reported UG median.
- IIT Kharagpur suits students who want the widest choice of branches. It has 24 programmes, including Mining, Agricultural and Food Engineering, Ocean Engineering and Naval Architecture, and B.Arch, and its seat count gives more chances across the rank range.
At a glance
| Point | IIT Kanpur | IIT Kharagpur | Source (year) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Established (year) | 1959 | 1951 | josaa.admissions.nic.in (JoSAA 2026 institute profile) josaa.admissions.nic.in (JoSAA 2026 institute profile) |
| Location (city, state) | Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh | Kharagpur, West Bengal | josaa.admissions.nic.in josaa.admissions.nic.in |
| Campus area | 1,055 acres | Not published | josaa.admissions.nic.in (JoSAA 2026 institute profile) |
| Official website | iitk.ac.in | iitkgp.ac.in | iitk.ac.in iitkgp.ac.in |
| NIRF Overall rank | 5 | 6 | nirfindia.org (NIRF 2025) |
| NIRF Engineering rank | 4 | 5 | nirfindia.org (NIRF 2025) |
| B.Tech tuition per semester | ₹1,00,000 | ₹1,00,000 | iitk.ac.in (2026-27) josaa.admissions.nic.in (2026-27 (tentative)) |
| First-semester academic fees | ₹1,58,415 | Not published | iitk.ac.in (2026-27) |
| Fee waiver notes | SC, ST, PwD and family income below ₹1 lakh: no tuition. Family income ₹1–5 lakh: one-third tuition (₹33,333). | SC, ST and PwD: no tuition. Family income below ₹1 lakh: no tuition; ₹1–5 lakh: ₹33,333. | iitk.ac.in (2026-27) josaa.admissions.nic.in (2026-27 (tentative)) |
| Hostel / mess fee | Mess establishment charges ₹13,360 (first semester); seat rent and hall charges are inside the ₹13,855 semester fee | Per semester: hall establishment ₹24,354 + mess ₹14,500 + hostel overhead ₹1,177 | iitk.ac.in (2026-27) josaa.admissions.nic.in (2026-27 (tentative)) |
| Total JoSAA seats | 1,240 | 1,949 | josaa.admissions.nic.in (JoSAA 2026) josaa.admissions.nic.in (JoSAA 2026) |
| UG 4-year median salary | ₹21.7 lakh | ₹19.76 lakh | iitk.ac.in (2024-25) nirfindia.org (2023-24) |
| UG 4-year placed / graduated | 855 placed of 1,205 graduates | 517 placed of 668 graduates | iitk.ac.in (2024-25) nirfindia.org (2023-24) |
| UG 5-year (dual) median salary | Not published | ₹20 lakh | nirfindia.org (2023-24) |
| PG 2-year median salary | ₹15.7 lakh | ₹14 lakh | iitk.ac.in (2024-25) nirfindia.org (2023-24) |
| PG 2-year placed | 674 | 679 | iitk.ac.in (2024-25) nirfindia.org (2023-24) |
| UG 4-year went for higher studies | 257 | 83 | iitk.ac.in (2024-25) nirfindia.org (2023-24) |
| Total UG 4-year students | 4,932 | 4,096 | iitk.ac.in (2024-25) nirfindia.org (2023-24) |
| Faculty count | 636 | 895 | iitk.ac.in (NIRF 2026) nirfindia.org (NIRF 2025) |
| Full-time PhD students | 2,172 | 3,635 | iitk.ac.in (2024-25) nirfindia.org (2023-24) |
| Full-time PhDs graduated | 294 | 519 | iitk.ac.in (2024-25) nirfindia.org (2023-24) |
| Sponsored research received | ₹363.43 crore | ₹162.10 crore | iitk.ac.in (FY 2024-25) nirfindia.org (FY 2023-24) |
| Consultancy received | ₹113.61 crore | ₹46.15 crore | iitk.ac.in (FY 2024-25) nirfindia.org (FY 2023-24) |
How IIT Kanpur and IIT Kharagpur differ
- IIT Kanpur received 2.2 times as much sponsored research funding (₹363.43 crore, FY 2024-25 vs ₹162.10 crore, FY 2023-24; different data years).
- IIT Kanpur earned 2.5 times as much from consultancy (₹113.61 crore, FY 2024-25 vs ₹46.15 crore, FY 2023-24; different data years).
- IIT Kharagpur has 41% more faculty (895, NIRF 2025 vs 636, NIRF 2026; different data years).
- IIT Kharagpur has 67% more full-time PhD students (3,635, 2023-24 vs 2,172, 2024-25; different data years).
- IIT Kharagpur offers 57% more JoSAA seats (1,949 vs 1,240, JoSAA 2026).
- The latest published 4-year UG median salary is ₹21.7 lakh at IIT Kanpur (2024-25) and ₹19.76 lakh at IIT Kharagpur (2023-24). The years differ, so compare with care.
- Both charge the same B.Tech tuition: ₹1,00,000 per semester.
- IIT Kanpur ranks higher in NIRF 2025 Overall (5 vs 6).
- IIT Kanpur ranks higher in NIRF 2025 Engineering (4 vs 5).
- IIT Kharagpur has more 4-year B.Tech CSE seats (140 vs 129).
- Only IIT Kanpur offers Biological Sciences and Bioengineering, Intelligent Systems among these two.
- Only IIT Kharagpur offers Agricultural and Food Engineering, Biotechnology and Biochemical Engineering, Electronics and Electrical Communication Engineering, Instrumentation Engineering among these two.
Worked out from the official numbers above.
Courses and seats
IIT Kharagpur offers 24 JoSAA programmes, against 15 at IIT Kanpur. With more seats in most branches, its closing ranks spread wider.
IIT Kanpur
- B.Tech (4 years)
- B.S. (4 years)
- BT-MT and BS-MS dual degrees
- B.Cyber
IIT Kharagpur
- B.Tech (4 years)
- B.S. (4 years)
- B.Arch (5 years)
Seats per branch
| Branch | IIT Kanpur | IIT Kharagpur |
|---|---|---|
| Aerospace Engineering | 69 | 70 |
| Biological Sciences and Bioengineering | 53 | Not offered |
| Chemical Engineering | 104 | 115 |
| Civil Engineering | 148 | 119 |
| Computer Science and Engineering | 129 | 140 |
| Electrical Engineering | 192 | 113 |
| Materials Science and Engineering | 85 | 93 |
| Mechanical Engineering | 149 | 172 |
| Intelligent Systems | 30 | Not offered |
| B.S. Chemistry | 49 | 45 |
| B.S. Economics | 52 | 59 |
| B.S. Mathematics and Scientific Computing | 64 | Not offered |
| B.S. Physics | 45 | 49 |
| B.S. Earth Sciences | 43 | Not offered |
| B.S. Statistics and Data Science | 28 | Not offered |
| Agricultural and Food Engineering | Not offered | 93 |
| Biotechnology and Biochemical Engineering | Not offered | 70 |
| Electronics and Electrical Communication Engineering | Not offered | 150 |
| Instrumentation Engineering | Not offered | 44 |
| Manufacturing Science and Engineering | Not offered | 66 |
| Mining Engineering | Not offered | 113 |
| Ocean Engineering and Naval Architecture | Not offered | 80 |
| Industrial and Systems Engineering | Not offered | 72 |
| Artificial Intelligence | Not offered | 50 |
| Biomedical Engineering | Not offered | 30 |
| B.S. Mathematics and Computing | Not offered | 69 |
| B.S. Applied Geology | Not offered | 52 |
| B.S. Exploration Geophysics | Not offered | 45 |
| B.Arch (5 years) | Not offered | 40 |
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 Kanpur | IIT Kharagpur | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | |
| Aerospace Engineering | 3638 | 3805 | 4015 | 4745 | 4872 | 5297 |
| Agricultural and Food Engineering | – | – | – | 10770 | 11111 | 12603 |
| Applied Geology | – | – | – | 12893 | 13685 | 15872 |
| Architecture (5-yr) | – | – | – | 20427 | 19141 | 24582 |
| Artificial Intelligence | – | – | – | 898 | 953 | 1043 |
| Biological Sciences and Bioengineering | 6952 | 7105 | 7837 | – | – | – |
| Biomedical Engineering | – | – | – | – | – | 10089 |
| Biotechnology and Biochemical Engineering | – | – | – | 7972 | 9224 | 10683 |
| Chemical Engineering | 4015 | 4280 | 4436 | 4848 | 5222 | 5803 |
| Chemistry | 10498 | 10482 | 11668 | 12488 | 12321 | 14760 |
| Civil Engineering | 5948 | 6161 | 7177 | 6992 | 7774 | 8816 |
| Computer Science and Engineering | 252 | 271 | 283 | 415 | 466 | 509 |
| Earth Sciences | 10058 | 10108 | 10774 | – | – | – |
| Economics | 3106 | 3310 | 3650 | 5263 | 6063 | 6450 |
| Electrical Engineering | 1290 | 1146 | 1171 | 2016 | 1985 | 2190 |
| Electronics and Electrical Communication Engineering | – | – | – | 1448 | 1485 | 1660 |
| Exploration Geophysics | – | – | – | 12413 | 12443 | 14923 |
| Industrial and Systems Engineering | – | – | – | 4364 | 4329 | 4699 |
| Instrumentation Engineering | – | – | – | 2481 | 2741 | 2600 |
| Intelligent Systems | – | – | 1134 | – | – | – |
| Manufacturing Science and Engineering | – | – | – | 6067 | 6547 | 6984 |
| Metallurgical and Materials Engineering | 6008 | 6337 | 6533 | 7104 | 7708 | 8502 |
| Mathematics and Computing | – | – | – | 1329 | 1336 | 1428 |
| Mathematics and Scientific Computing | 990 | 1179 | 1270 | – | – | – |
| Mechanical Engineering | 2776 | 2771 | 3178 | 3613 | 4016 | 4588 |
| Mining Engineering | – | – | – | 10218 | 10765 | 11962 |
| Ocean Engineering and Naval Architecture | – | – | – | 9098 | 10074 | 11219 |
| Physics | 5508 | 5691 | 5723 | 9672 | 10939 | 9572 |
| Statistics and Data Science | 1030 | 1270 | 1409 | – | – | – |
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
Both charge ₹1,00,000 tuition per semester. Below ₹1 lakh family income it is nil, and between ₹1 and 5 lakh it is ₹33,333. IIT Kanpur's first-semester total for 2026-27 is ₹1,58,415. IIT Kharagpur lists per-semester hall charges of ₹24,354, plus ₹14,500 for mess and ₹1,177 hostel overhead. Its fee table is marked tentative.
Fee waiver notes: IIT Kanpur: SC, ST, PwD and family income below ₹1 lakh: no tuition. Family income ₹1–5 lakh: one-third tuition (₹33,333).. IIT Kharagpur: SC, ST and PwD: no tuition. Family income below ₹1 lakh: no tuition; ₹1–5 lakh: ₹33,333..
Hostel / mess fee: IIT Kanpur: Mess establishment charges ₹13,360 (first semester); seat rent and hall charges are inside the ₹13,855 semester fee. IIT Kharagpur: Per semester: hall establishment ₹24,354 + mess ₹14,500 + hostel overhead ₹1,177.
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
The years differ: IIT Kanpur's figures are for 2024-25 (NIRF 2026 data), while IIT Kharagpur's 2026 data was not available on its site when we checked, so its figures are for 2023-24 (NIRF 2025 data). We will update this page when it is.
UG 4-year placed / graduated: IIT Kanpur: 855 placed of 1,205 graduates. IIT Kharagpur: 517 placed of 668 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
IIT Kanpur reported ₹363.43 crore of sponsored research in FY 2024-25. IIT Kharagpur reported ₹162.10 crore in FY 2023-24, from a different year.
Notable labs / facilities
IIT Kanpur
- Airstrip on campus (used by the Aerospace Engineering department and the Gliding Club)
josaa.admissions.nic.in (JoSAA 2026 institute profile)
IIT Kharagpur
- Central Research Facility (CRF), open to outside organisations
- Central Library, one of the largest technical libraries in Asia
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 Kanpur or IIT Kharagpur?
In NIRF 2025 Overall, IIT Kanpur is ranked 5 and IIT Kharagpur is ranked 6. In Engineering, IIT Kanpur is 4 and IIT Kharagpur is 5. 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 Kanpur and IIT Kharagpur?
B.Tech tuition is ₹1,00,000 per semester at IIT Kanpur and ₹1,00,000 at IIT Kharagpur (2026-27). Fee waivers apply for eligible students; see the fees section.
Which has better placements, IIT Kanpur or IIT Kharagpur?
The 4-year UG median salary was ₹21.7 lakh at IIT Kanpur (2024-25) and ₹19.76 lakh at IIT Kharagpur (2023-24), from NIRF data.
How many CSE seats do IIT Kanpur and IIT Kharagpur have?
The JoSAA seat matrix lists 129 B.Tech CSE seats at IIT Kanpur and 140 at IIT Kharagpur (JoSAA 2026).
Which does more research, IIT Kanpur or IIT Kharagpur?
IIT Kanpur received ₹363.43 crore in sponsored research (FY 2024-25) and IIT Kharagpur received ₹162.10 crore (FY 2023-24).
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://josaa.admissions.nic.in/applicant/seatmatrix/InstProfile.aspx?instcd=109
- https://www.iitk.ac.in
- https://www.nirfindia.org/Rankings/2025/OverallRanking.html
- https://www.nirfindia.org/Rankings/2025/EngineeringRanking.html
- 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/InstProfile.aspx?instcd=106
- https://www.iitkgp.ac.in
- https://www.nirfindia.org/nirfpdfcdn/2025/pdf/Overall/IR-O-U-0573.pdf
- https://josaa.admissions.nic.in/applicant/seatmatrix/openingclosingrankarchieve.aspx
- https://josaa.admissions.nic.in/applicant/SeatAllotmentResult/CurrentORCR.aspx
Found an error? Tell us through the contact page and we will check it against the official source.