IIT Kharagpur vs IIT Madras: Courses, Seats, Cutoffs, Fees, Placements and Research (2026)
IIT Madras is No. 1 in NIRF 2025 Overall and Engineering, and IIT Kharagpur is 6th and 5th. Both charge ₹1,00,000 tuition per semester. IIT Kharagpur is far larger, with 1,949 JoSAA seats against 1,118, and older (1951 vs 1959). IIT Madras received ₹1,128.82 crore in sponsored research in FY 2024-25. IIT Kharagpur's latest published figure is ₹162.10 crore, for FY 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 151 at IIT Madras and 509 at IIT Kharagpur.
- IIT Madras suits students who want the top-ranked IIT and a research-heavy environment.
- IIT Kharagpur suits students who want more seats and branches that few IITs offer, such as Mining, Agricultural and Food Engineering, and B.Arch.
At a glance
| Point | IIT Kharagpur | IIT Madras | Source (year) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Established (year) | 1951 | 1959 | josaa.admissions.nic.in (JoSAA 2026 institute profile) josaa.admissions.nic.in (JoSAA 2026 institute profile) |
| Location (city, state) | Kharagpur, West Bengal | Chennai, Tamil Nadu | josaa.admissions.nic.in josaa.admissions.nic.in |
| Campus area | Not published | 650 acres | josaa.admissions.nic.in (JoSAA 2026 institute profile) |
| Official website | iitkgp.ac.in | iitm.ac.in | iitkgp.ac.in iitm.ac.in |
| NIRF Overall rank | 6 | 1 | nirfindia.org (NIRF 2025) |
| NIRF Engineering rank | 5 | 1 | nirfindia.org (NIRF 2025) |
| B.Tech tuition per semester | ₹1,00,000 | ₹1,00,000 | josaa.admissions.nic.in (2026-27 (tentative)) josaa.admissions.nic.in (2026-27) |
| First-semester academic fees | Not published | ₹1,41,402 | josaa.admissions.nic.in (2026-27) |
| Fee waiver notes | SC, ST and PwD: no tuition. Family income below ₹1 lakh: no tuition; ₹1–5 lakh: ₹33,333. | SC, ST and PwD: no tuition. Family income below ₹1 lakh: full tuition remission; ₹1–5 lakh: two-thirds remission (first-semester total ₹74,735). | josaa.admissions.nic.in (2026-27 (tentative)) josaa.admissions.nic.in (2026-27) |
| Hostel / mess fee | Per semester: hall establishment ₹24,354 + mess ₹14,500 + hostel overhead ₹1,177 | Seat rent ₹7,500 per semester; hostel fee circular at fees.iitm.ac.in; advance mess charges depend on the mess tender | josaa.admissions.nic.in (2026-27 (tentative)) josaa.admissions.nic.in (2026-27) |
| Total JoSAA seats | 1,949 | 1,118 | josaa.admissions.nic.in (JoSAA 2026) josaa.admissions.nic.in (JoSAA 2026) |
| UG 4-year median salary | ₹19.76 lakh | ₹17.78 lakh | nirfindia.org (2023-24) iitm.ac.in (2024-25) |
| UG 4-year placed / graduated | 517 placed of 668 graduates | 631 placed of 781 graduates | nirfindia.org (2023-24) iitm.ac.in (2024-25) |
| UG 5-year (dual) median salary | ₹20 lakh | ₹22 lakh | nirfindia.org (2023-24) iitm.ac.in (2024-25) |
| PG 2-year median salary | ₹14 lakh | ₹15 lakh | nirfindia.org (2023-24) iitm.ac.in (2024-25) |
| PG 2-year placed | 679 | 644 | nirfindia.org (2023-24) iitm.ac.in (2024-25) |
| UG 4-year went for higher studies | 83 | 147 | nirfindia.org (2023-24) iitm.ac.in (2024-25) |
| Total UG 4-year students | 4,096 | 3,733 | nirfindia.org (2023-24) iitm.ac.in (2024-25) |
| Faculty count | 895 | 720 | nirfindia.org (NIRF 2025) iitm.ac.in (NIRF 2026) |
| Full-time PhD students | 3,635 | 2,399 | nirfindia.org (2023-24) iitm.ac.in (2024-25) |
| Full-time PhDs graduated | 519 | 485 | nirfindia.org (2023-24) iitm.ac.in (2024-25) |
| Sponsored research received | ₹162.10 crore | ₹1,128.82 crore | nirfindia.org (FY 2023-24) iitm.ac.in (FY 2024-25) |
| Consultancy received | ₹46.15 crore | ₹460.28 crore | nirfindia.org (FY 2023-24) iitm.ac.in (FY 2024-25) |
How IIT Kharagpur and IIT Madras differ
- IIT Madras received 7.0 times as much sponsored research funding (₹1,128.82 crore, FY 2024-25 vs ₹162.10 crore, FY 2023-24; different data years).
- IIT Madras earned 10.0 times as much from consultancy (₹460.28 crore, FY 2024-25 vs ₹46.15 crore, FY 2023-24; different data years).
- IIT Kharagpur has 24% more faculty (895, NIRF 2025 vs 720, NIRF 2026; different data years).
- IIT Kharagpur has 52% more full-time PhD students (3,635, 2023-24 vs 2,399, 2024-25; different data years).
- IIT Kharagpur offers 74% more JoSAA seats (1,949 vs 1,118, JoSAA 2026).
- The latest published 4-year UG median salary is ₹19.76 lakh at IIT Kharagpur (2023-24) and ₹17.78 lakh at IIT Madras (2024-25). The years differ, so compare with care.
- Both charge the same B.Tech tuition: ₹1,00,000 per semester.
- IIT Madras ranks higher in NIRF 2025 Overall (1 vs 6).
- IIT Madras ranks higher in NIRF 2025 Engineering (1 vs 5).
- IIT Kharagpur has more 4-year B.Tech CSE seats (140 vs 87).
- Only IIT Kharagpur offers Agricultural and Food Engineering, Biotechnology and Biochemical Engineering, Electronics and Electrical Communication Engineering, Instrumentation Engineering among these two.
- Only IIT Madras offers Engineering Physics, Biological Engineering, Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics, Computational Engineering and Mechanics among these two.
Worked out from the official numbers above.
Courses and seats
IIT Kharagpur has 140 CSE seats and 150 in Electronics and Electrical Communication. IIT Madras has 87 in CSE and 50 in AI and Data Analytics.
IIT Kharagpur
- B.Tech (4 years)
- B.S. (4 years)
- B.Arch (5 years)
IIT Madras
- B.Tech, B.S. and 5-year dual degree
- B.S. Medical Sciences and Engineering, B.S. Chemistry
- M.Sc, M.Tech, MBA, EMBA, M.A.
- MS (Research) and PhD
- Online B.S. in Data Science and Applications, B.S. in Electronic Systems
Seats per branch
| Branch | IIT Kharagpur | IIT Madras |
|---|---|---|
| Aerospace Engineering | 70 | 54 |
| Agricultural and Food Engineering | 93 | Not offered |
| Biotechnology and Biochemical Engineering | 70 | Not offered |
| Chemical Engineering | 115 | 104 |
| Civil Engineering | 119 | 111 |
| Computer Science and Engineering | 140 | 87 |
| Electrical Engineering | 113 | 154 |
| Electronics and Electrical Communication Engineering | 150 | Not offered |
| Instrumentation Engineering | 44 | Not offered |
| Manufacturing Science and Engineering | 66 | Not offered |
| Mechanical Engineering | 172 | 144 |
| Metallurgical and Materials Engineering | 93 | 54 |
| Mining Engineering | 113 | Not offered |
| Ocean Engineering and Naval Architecture | 80 | Not offered |
| Industrial and Systems Engineering | 72 | Not offered |
| Artificial Intelligence | 50 | Not offered |
| Biomedical Engineering | 30 | Not offered |
| B.S. Chemistry | 45 | Not offered |
| B.S. Economics | 59 | Not offered |
| B.S. Physics | 49 | 12 |
| B.S. Mathematics and Computing | 69 | Not offered |
| B.S. Applied Geology | 52 | Not offered |
| B.S. Exploration Geophysics | 45 | Not offered |
| B.Arch (5 years) | 40 | Not offered |
| Engineering Physics | Not offered | 42 |
| Biological Engineering | Not offered | 30 |
| Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics | Not offered | 50 |
| Computational Engineering and Mechanics | Not offered | 40 |
| Instrumentation and Biomedical Engineering | Not offered | 40 |
| Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering | Not offered | 73 |
| B.S. Mathematics | Not offered | 20 |
| B.S. Biological Science | Not offered | 30 |
| Aerospace Engineering, 5-year dual degree | Not offered | 9 |
| Engineering Design, 5-year dual degree | Not offered | 64 |
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 Kharagpur | IIT Madras | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | |
| Aerospace Engineering | 4745 | 4872 | 5297 | 2815 | 3211 | 3278 |
| Aerospace Engineering (5-yr) | – | – | – | 2984 | 2808 | 3389 |
| Agricultural and Food Engineering | 10770 | 11111 | 12603 | – | – | – |
| Applied Geology | 12893 | 13685 | 15872 | – | – | – |
| Architecture (5-yr) | 20427 | 19141 | 24582 | – | – | – |
| Artificial Intelligence | 898 | 953 | 1043 | – | – | – |
| Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics | – | – | – | 419 | 306 | 226 |
| Biological Engineering | – | – | – | 5755 | 5261 | 6440 |
| Biological Science | – | – | – | 10682 | 10290 | 12204 |
| Biomedical Engineering | – | – | 10089 | – | – | – |
| Biotechnology and Biochemical Engineering | 7972 | 9224 | 10683 | – | – | – |
| BS in Mathematics | – | – | – | – | – | 1804 |
| Chemical Engineering | 4848 | 5222 | 5803 | 3972 | 4116 | 4162 |
| Chemistry | 12488 | 12321 | 14760 | – | – | – |
| Civil Engineering | 6992 | 7774 | 8816 | 5688 | 6112 | 6225 |
| Computational Engineering and Mechanics | – | – | – | – | 1309 | 1314 |
| Computer Science and Engineering | 415 | 466 | 509 | 159 | 171 | 151 |
| Economics | 5263 | 6063 | 6450 | – | – | – |
| Electrical Engineering | 2016 | 1985 | 2190 | 838 | 849 | 749 |
| Electronics and Electrical Communication Engineering | 1448 | 1485 | 1660 | – | – | – |
| Engineering Design (5-yr) | – | – | – | 3656 | 3380 | 3093 |
| Engineering Physics | – | – | – | 1858 | 1441 | 1316 |
| Exploration Geophysics | 12413 | 12443 | 14923 | – | – | – |
| Industrial and Systems Engineering | 4364 | 4329 | 4699 | – | – | – |
| Instrumentation and Biomedical Engineering | – | – | – | – | 4366 | 4011 |
| Instrumentation Engineering | 2481 | 2741 | 2600 | – | – | – |
| Manufacturing Science and Engineering | 6067 | 6547 | 6984 | – | – | – |
| Metallurgical and Materials Engineering | 7104 | 7708 | 8502 | 4748 | 5499 | 5398 |
| Mathematics and Computing | 1329 | 1336 | 1428 | – | – | – |
| Mechanical Engineering | 3613 | 4016 | 4588 | 2310 | 2468 | 2619 |
| Mining Engineering | 10218 | 10765 | 11962 | – | – | – |
| Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering | – | – | – | 7404 | 7433 | 8354 |
| Ocean Engineering and Naval Architecture | 9098 | 10074 | 11219 | – | – | – |
| Physics | 9672 | 10939 | 9572 | – | 3804 | 3918 |
| Physics (5-yr) | – | – | – | 2742 | – | – |
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 Kharagpur: SC, ST and PwD: no tuition. Family income below ₹1 lakh: no tuition; ₹1–5 lakh: ₹33,333.. IIT Madras: SC, ST and PwD: no tuition. Family income below ₹1 lakh: full tuition remission; ₹1–5 lakh: two-thirds remission (first-semester total ₹74,735)..
Hostel / mess fee: IIT Kharagpur: Per semester: hall establishment ₹24,354 + mess ₹14,500 + hostel overhead ₹1,177. IIT Madras: Seat rent ₹7,500 per semester; hostel fee circular at fees.iitm.ac.in; advance mess charges depend on the mess tender.
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
These figures come from different years: IIT Madras reports 2024-25 (4-year UG median ₹17.78 lakh) and IIT Kharagpur 2023-24 (₹19.76 lakh). Compare them with that in mind.
UG 4-year placed / graduated: IIT Kharagpur: 517 placed of 668 graduates. IIT Madras: 631 placed of 781 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 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)
IIT Madras
- Sophisticated Analytical Instruments Facility (SAIF)
- Material Science Research Centre (MSRC)
- Central Electronics Centre (CEC)
- AQUA high-performance computing cluster (11,680 cores, 30 GPUs)
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 Kharagpur or IIT Madras?
In NIRF 2025 Overall, IIT Kharagpur is ranked 6 and IIT Madras is ranked 1. In Engineering, IIT Kharagpur is 5 and IIT Madras is 1. 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 Kharagpur and IIT Madras?
B.Tech tuition is ₹1,00,000 per semester at IIT Kharagpur and ₹1,00,000 at IIT Madras (2026-27 (tentative)). Fee waivers apply for eligible students; see the fees section.
Which has better placements, IIT Kharagpur or IIT Madras?
The 4-year UG median salary was ₹19.76 lakh at IIT Kharagpur (2023-24) and ₹17.78 lakh at IIT Madras (2024-25), from NIRF data.
How many CSE seats do IIT Kharagpur and IIT Madras have?
The JoSAA seat matrix lists 140 B.Tech CSE seats at IIT Kharagpur and 87 at IIT Madras (JoSAA 2026).
Which does more research, IIT Kharagpur or IIT Madras?
IIT Kharagpur received ₹162.10 crore in sponsored research (FY 2023-24) and IIT Madras received ₹1,128.82 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://josaa.admissions.nic.in/applicant/seatmatrix/InstProfile.aspx?instcd=106
- https://www.iitkgp.ac.in
- https://www.nirfindia.org/Rankings/2025/OverallRanking.html
- https://www.nirfindia.org/Rankings/2025/EngineeringRanking.html
- https://www.nirfindia.org/nirfpdfcdn/2025/pdf/Overall/IR-O-U-0573.pdf
- https://josaa.admissions.nic.in/applicant/seatmatrix/InstProfile.aspx?instcd=110
- https://www.iitm.ac.in
- https://www.iitm.ac.in/sites/default/files/NIRF/NIRF_Overall_2026.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.