IIT Kanpur vs IIT Mandi: Courses, Seats, Cutoffs, Fees, Placements and Research (2026)
IIT Kanpur received 12.2 times as much sponsored research funding (₹363.43 crore vs ₹29.71 crore, FY 2024-25). IIT Kanpur leads on industry consultancy by 3021% (₹113.61 crore vs ₹3.64 crore, FY 2024-25). IIT Kanpur has a 181% larger faculty (636 vs 226, NIRF 2026).
Last updated: 14 Oct 2026.
Who should pick which (our analysis)
IIT Mandi
Our analysis: IIT Mandi suits you if you want new-age branches and a hill campus. It offers Quantum Science and Engineering, Microelectronics & VLSI, Data Science and AI, Chemical and Agricultural Engineering with Data Analytics, General Engineering, and a B.S. in Chemical Sciences. Most of these have 30 seats each, so cutoffs can move a lot from year to year.At a glance
Swipe sideways. The first column stays put.
| Point | IIT Kanpur | IIT Mandi | Source (year) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Established (year) | 1959 | 2009 | JoSAA 2026 institute profile |
| Location (city, state) | Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh | Mandi (Kamand), Himachal Pradesh | josaa.admissions.nic.in JoSAA 2026 institute profile |
| Campus area | 1,055 acres | Not published | JoSAA 2026 institute profile |
| Official website | iitk.ac.in | iitmandi.ac.in | iitk.ac.in |
| NIRF Overall rank | 5 | 58 | NIRF 2025 |
| NIRF Engineering rank | 4 | 26 | NIRF 2025 |
| B.Tech tuition per semester | ₹1,00,000 | ₹1,00,000 | 2026-27 |
| First-semester academic fees | ₹1,58,415 | ₹1,55,434 | 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). | Students exempted from tuition (as per the institute rules linked on the fee page) pay ₹1,000 instead of ₹1,01,000 per semester; first-semester total ₹55,434 for them. | 2026-27 |
| Hostel / mess fee | Mess establishment charges ₹13,360 (first semester); seat rent and hall charges are inside the ₹13,855 semester fee | Per semester: hostel charges ₹14,800 (about 10% annual increase; AC extra) + mess advance ₹16,884 | 2026-27 |
| Total JoSAA seats | 1,240 | 640 | JoSAA 2026 |
| UG 4-year median salary | ₹21.7 lakh | ₹17 lakh | 2024-25 |
| UG 4-year placed / graduated | 855 placed of 1,205 graduates | 211 placed of 272 graduates | 2024-25 |
| PG 2-year median salary | ₹15.7 lakh | ₹7.05 lakh | 2024-25 |
| PG 2-year placed | 674 | 127 | 2024-25 |
| UG 4-year went for higher studies | 257 | 61 | 2024-25 |
| Total UG 4-year students | 4,932 | Not published | 2024-25 |
| Faculty count | 636 | 226 | NIRF 2026 |
| Full-time PhD students | 2,172 | 915 | 2024-25 |
| Full-time PhDs graduated | 294 | Not published | 2024-25 |
| Sponsored research received | ₹363.43 crore | ₹29.71 crore | FY 2024-25 |
| Consultancy received | ₹113.61 crore | ₹3.64 crore | FY 2024-25 |
How IIT Kanpur and IIT Mandi differ
- IIT Kanpur received 12.2 times as much sponsored research funding (₹363.43 crore vs ₹29.71 crore, FY 2024-25).
- IIT Kanpur leads on industry consultancy by 3021% (₹113.61 crore vs ₹3.64 crore, FY 2024-25).
- IIT Kanpur has a 181% larger faculty (636 vs 226, NIRF 2026).
- IIT Kanpur runs a 137% bigger PhD programme (2,172 vs 915, 2024-25).
- IIT Kanpur offers 94% more JoSAA seats (1,240 vs 640, 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 58).
- IIT Kanpur ranks higher in NIRF 2025 Engineering (4 vs 26).
- IIT Kanpur has more 4-year B.Tech CSE seats (129 vs 90).
- Only IIT Kanpur offers Aerospace Engineering, Biological Sciences and Bioengineering, Chemical Engineering, Intelligent Systems among these two.
- Only IIT Mandi offers General Engineering, Engineering Physics, Microelectronics & VLSI, Mathematics and Computing among these two.
Worked out from the official numbers above.
Courses and seats
IIT Kanpur
- B.Tech (4 years)
- B.S. (4 years)
- BT-MT and BS-MS dual degrees
- B.Cyber
IIT Mandi
- B.Tech (4 years)
- B.S. (4 years)
Seats per branch
| Branch | IIT Kanpur | IIT Mandi |
|---|---|---|
| Aerospace Engineering | 69 | Not offered |
| Biological Sciences and Bioengineering | 53 | Not offered |
| Chemical Engineering | 104 | Not offered |
| Civil Engineering | 148 | 50 |
| Computer Science and Engineering | 129 | 90 |
| Electrical Engineering | 192 | 70 |
| Materials Science and Engineering | 85 | 30 |
| Mechanical Engineering | 149 | 60 |
| Intelligent Systems | 30 | Not offered |
| B.S. Chemistry | 49 | Not offered |
| B.S. Economics | 52 | Not offered |
| B.S. Mathematics and Scientific Computing | 64 | Not offered |
| B.S. Physics | 45 | Not offered |
| B.S. Earth Sciences | 43 | Not offered |
| B.S. Statistics and Data Science | 28 | Not offered |
| General Engineering | Not offered | 30 |
| Engineering Physics | Not offered | 30 |
| Microelectronics & VLSI | Not offered | 30 |
| Mathematics and Computing | Not offered | 40 |
| Bio Engineering | Not offered | 30 |
| Quantum Science and Engineering | Not offered | 30 |
| Chemical Engineering with Data Analytics | Not offered | 30 |
| Agricultural Engineering with Data Analytics | Not offered | 30 |
| Data Science and Artificial Intelligence | Not offered | 60 |
| B.S. Chemical Sciences | Not offered | 30 |
Source: JoSAA 2026 · JoSAA 2026
They have 5 branch names in common. How seats are counted →
JoSAA cutoffs: opening and closing ranks
OPEN closing ranks, 2024–2026. Lower is harder.
| Branch | IIT Kanpur | IIT Mandi | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | |
| Aerospace Engineering | 3638 | 3805 | 4015 | – | – | – |
| Agricultural Engineering with Data Analytics | – | – | – | – | – | 16689 |
| B.Tech in General Engineering | – | – | – | 10842 | 11034 | 9733 |
| B.Tech in Mathematics and Computing | – | – | – | 4089 | 4285 | 5251 |
| B.Tech in Microelectronics & VLSI | – | – | – | 6643 | 6166 | 6316 |
| Bio Engineering | – | – | – | 14239 | 14879 | 16526 |
| Biological Sciences and Bioengineering | 6952 | 7105 | 7837 | – | – | – |
| BS in Chemical Sciences | – | – | – | 16430 | 17491 | 18835 |
| Chemical Engineering | 4015 | 4280 | 4436 | – | – | – |
| Chemical Engineering with Data Analytics | – | – | – | – | – | 12307 |
| Chemistry | 10498 | 10482 | 11668 | – | – | – |
| Civil Engineering | 5948 | 6161 | 7177 | 12562 | 14274 | 15702 |
| Computer Science and Engineering | 252 | 271 | 283 | 3118 | 3123 | 3762 |
| Data Science and Artificial Intelligence | – | – | – | – | 3928 | 4916 |
| Data Science and Engineering | – | – | – | 3918 | – | – |
| Earth Sciences | 10058 | 10108 | 10774 | – | – | – |
| Economics | 3106 | 3310 | 3650 | – | – | – |
| Electrical Engineering | 1290 | 1146 | 1171 | 6909 | 7590 | 7947 |
| Engineering Physics | – | – | – | 10475 | 12110 | 11744 |
| Intelligent Systems | – | – | 1134 | – | – | – |
| B.Tech in Materials Science and Engineering | 6008 | 6337 | 6533 | 14440 | 14368 | 13925 |
| Mathematics and Scientific Computing | 990 | 1179 | 1270 | – | – | – |
| Mechanical Engineering | 2776 | 2771 | 3178 | 9734 | 10267 | 11085 |
| Physics | 5508 | 5691 | 5723 | – | – | – |
| Quantum Science and Engineering | – | – | – | – | – | 7351 |
| 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 Kanpur 283 (2026), IIT Mandi 3,762 (2026). Opening and closing ranks explained →
Fees
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 Mandi: Students exempted from tuition (as per the institute rules linked on the fee page) pay ₹1,000 instead of ₹1,01,000 per semester; first-semester total ₹55,434 for them..
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 Mandi: Per semester: hostel charges ₹14,800 (about 10% annual increase; AC extra) + mess advance ₹16,884.
The first-semester bill is higher at IIT Kanpur than at IIT Mandi by ₹2,981. Who pays less tuition →
Research, labs and projects
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 Mandi
- Advanced Materials Research Centre (AMRC)
- PARAM Himalaya supercomputing facility
- NVIDIA DGX H200 GPU facility (8× H200 GPUs)
- Quantum technologies centre (CQST)
josaa.admissions.nic.in (JoSAA 2026 institute profile)
For industry consultancy, IIT Kanpur earns the most of the two. Research money, explained →
IIT Mandi: what these numbers mean
Each semester costs ₹1,01,000. Students exempt from tuition pay ₹1,000 instead. The first-semester total is ₹1,55,434 including hostel (₹14,800) and mess advance (₹16,884). Hostel charges rise about 10% a year, and air conditioning is extra. NIRF 2026 data shows 211 of 272 four-year graduates placed in 2024-25, at a median of ₹17 lakh. 61 went for higher studies. Sponsored research was ₹29.71 crore in FY 2024-25. Computing is a highlight: the PARAM Himalaya supercomputer, an HPC cluster and an NVIDIA DGX H200 system with eight H200 GPUs. There is also the Advanced Materials Research Centre and a quantum technologies centre (CQST). The NIRF list names 226 faculty and 915 full-time PhD scholars.How to choose
- Rank first, name second. CSE OPEN closing ranks: IIT Kanpur 283 (2026), IIT Mandi 3,762 (2026).
- They have 5 branch names in common. Shortlist by branch before institute.
- The first-semester bill is higher at IIT Kanpur than at IIT Mandi by ₹2,981. Who pays less tuition →
- IIT Kanpur is in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh; IIT Mandi is in Mandi (Kamand), Himachal Pradesh. Weigh travel and living costs.
FAQ
Which is better, IIT Kanpur or IIT Mandi?
On NIRF 2025 Overall, IIT Kanpur is #5 and IIT Mandi is #58. Your branch matters more than this gap.
Is the B.Tech fee the same at IIT Kanpur and IIT Mandi?
Both charge ₹1,00,000 per semester.
Which has better placements, IIT Kanpur or IIT Mandi?
IIT Kanpur has the higher UG median: ₹21.7 lakh vs ₹17 lakh (NIRF).
How many CSE seats do IIT Kanpur and IIT Mandi have?
IIT Kanpur: 129. IIT Mandi: 90.
Which does more research, IIT Kanpur or IIT Mandi?
Sponsored research: IIT Kanpur ₹363.43 crore, IIT Mandi ₹29.71 crore.
Sources
- josaa.admissions.nic.in › InstProfile
- iitk.ac.in
- nirfindia.org › OverallRanking
- nirfindia.org › EngineeringRanking
- iitk.ac.in › Fee-Structure-for-New-UG-for-2026-2027-1st…
- iitk.ac.in › Overall-2026.pdf
- josaa.admissions.nic.in › InstProfile
- iitmandi.ac.in
- academics.iitmandi.ac.in › fees
- iitmandi.ac.in › Indian_Institute_of_Technology_Mandi20…
- josaa.admissions.nic.in › openingclosingrankarchieve
- josaa.admissions.nic.in › CurrentORCR
Spotted a wrong number? Report it →