JoSAA 2026 is finished and its Round 5 closing ranks are published. Every IIT’s CSE, Electrical and Mechanical closing rank, category ranks read the right way, and how far down the list a seat was still open.
23 IITs
JEE Advanced
AIR 1-15K
Realistic Band
📅Published:|✍️Written by:Krishna Pandey, Founder & Lead Counsellor|✔️Reviewed for factual accuracy by:Tushar Singh, Head of Engineering Admissions · Article Reviewer
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By Krishna Pandey, Founder & Lead Counsellor (12+ yrs incl. B.Tech, MBA & MBBS) · Updated 11 September 2026
✅ Sourcing: figures follow official/institute disclosures (year-labeled) — verify current-year details on the official source before payment.
Quick Answer There is no single JEE Advanced cutoff — it changes with the institute, the branch, your category and the counselling round, so a range covering “the top IITs” will mislead you. On the published JoSAA 2026 Round 5 numbers, OPEN and Gender-Neutral, IIT CSE ran from 67 at Bombay to 8,886 at Bhilai, and the last IIT seat of any kind outside architecture closed at 18,977. JEE Advanced cutoff to attempt: top 2.5 lakh JEE Main rankers qualify for JEE Advanced.
JEE Advanced 2026 cutoff overview
JEE Advanced is the entrance exam for India's 23 IITs. JEE Main rankers in top 2.5 lakh qualify for JEE Advanced. JEE Advanced AIR (All India Rank) determines IIT seat allocation through JoSAA.
How many marks a rank is worth is not something anyone publishes. JAB releases category-wise minimum qualifying marks for inclusion in the rank list, and it releases the rank lists themselves — it has never released a table mapping AIR to a score, and the marks sitting behind any given rank move every year with how hard the paper was. So “how many marks for AIR 400” has no official answer, and any site printing one has reverse-engineered it from student reports. Fill your choices against the closing ranks below, which are published, rather than against a marks figure that is not.
Realistic IIT branches by AIR band:
AIR 1–151: CSE at Bombay (67), Delhi (128) and Madras (151).
AIR 152–509: CSE at Kanpur (283) and Kharagpur (509); Electrical at Bombay (411). None of these four IITs runs a B.Tech called ECE — if a page quotes you an “IIT Bombay ECE” rank, it is quoting a programme that does not exist.
AIR 510–1,500: CSE at Roorkee (587), Hyderabad (680) and Guwahati (822); Electrical at Delhi (612) and Madras (749); Guwahati’s Electronics and Communication (1,988) sits just past this band.
AIR 1,500–5,000: mid-IIT non-CSE, and CSE at several of the newer IITs.
AIR 5,000–9,000: CSE is still live here — six IITs closed CSE beyond 5,000 in 2026 (Bhilai 8,886, Dharwad 8,332, Palakkad 7,625, Jammu 7,218, Goa 7,024, Tirupati 6,030), alongside non-CSE at the mid IITs.
AIR 9,000–19,000: non-CSE at the newer IITs and the 5-year integrated programmes; the last IIT seat outside B.Arch closed at 18,977.
IIT closing ranks 2026 — JoSAA Round 5, the final round
In one line: JoSAA 2026 finished on 16 July 2026 and published its ranks, so there is nothing to estimate here. These are the actual closing ranks of the final round.
IIT
CSE opening
CSE closing
Electrical Engg closing
Mechanical Engg closing
IIT Bombay
1
67
411
1,900
IIT Delhi
35
128
612
2,205
IIT Madras
74
151
749
2,619
IIT Kanpur
32
283
1,171
3,178
IIT Kharagpur
217
509
2,190
4,588
IIT Roorkee
363
587
2,269
4,453
IIT Guwahati
588
822
not offered
5,642
IIT (BHU) Varanasi
853
1,439
3,879
8,010
All 4-year B.Tech, OPEN category, Gender-Neutral. IITs have no home-state quota — JoSAA prints quota AI on every IIT row; the home/other-state split exists only in the NIT+ system. Programme names differ by institute and a wrong name is how a reader ends up comparing two different degrees: IIT Guwahati has no B.Tech called Electrical Engineering (its nearest are Electronics and Electrical 2,247 and Electronics and Communication 1,988); IIT Delhi’s Electrical (Power and Automation) closes at 823, and its Abu Dhabi campus is a separate set of rows (CSE 1,788) that must not be merged into Delhi’s. Civil, same round: Bombay 4,417, Roorkee 7,765, BHU 12,331.
Official source: JoSAA 2026 Opening and Closing Ranks, Round 5 — the final round, 16 July 2026, OPEN category, Gender-Neutral, quota AI (josaa.admissions.nic.in → Opening/Closing Ranks, session 2026), captured 10 September 2026.
Reserved categories — and the mistake almost everyone makes reading them
IIT (CSE)
OPEN — CRL
OBC-NCL — category rank
SC — category rank
ST — category rank
IIT Bombay
67
62
39
16
IIT Delhi
128
108
62
28
IIT Madras
151
96
61
27
IIT Kanpur
283
158
88
43
IIT Kharagpur
509
258
146
73
IIT Roorkee
587
312
152
79
IIT Guwahati
822
392
201
98
IIT (BHU) Varanasi
1,439
601
373
170
These two kinds of number are not comparable. JoSAA says so on the tool itself: “Opening/Closing Ranks for Open Seats represent CRL. Opening/Closing Ranks for EWS, OBC-NCL, SC and ST Seats represent respective Category Ranks.” Reading a category rank as an All India Rank is the single most common way this table gets misread — and it is why any page telling a reserved-category candidate they need an AIR in the tens of thousands is misleading them. In 2026 the worst IIT category rank across every programme was OBC-NCL 9,002, SC 4,075 and ST 2,199.
Does waiting for a later round help? The data says no
IIT (CSE, OPEN, GN)
Round 1 closing
Round 5 closing (final)
IIT Bombay
65
67
IIT Delhi
123
128
IIT Madras
149
151
IIT Kanpur
276
283
IIT Kharagpur
509
509
IIT Roorkee
582
587
IIT Guwahati
810
822
IIT (BHU) Varanasi
1,436
1,439
An IIT CSE closing rank barely moves between the first round and the last — Kharagpur did not move at all, and Bombay shifted by two. “Hold out for a later round” is not a strategy at the top. Where later rounds do move is further down the list, and in the NIT+ system.
Which IIT can you actually get, at your rank
In one line: find your All India Rank in the closing-rank column — every IIT below your rank had CSE seats left in the final round of 2026, and every IIT above it did not.
IIT
CSE opening rank
CSE closing rank
IIT Bombay
1
67
IIT Delhi
35
128
IIT Madras
74
151
IIT Kanpur
32
283
IIT Kharagpur
217
509
IIT Roorkee
363
587
IIT Hyderabad
339
680
IIT Guwahati
588
822
IIT (BHU) Varanasi
853
1,439
IIT Indore
1,186
1,676
IIT Gandhinagar
1,248
2,315
IIT Ropar
1,768
3,214
IIT Patna
2,184
3,635
IIT Jodhpur
2,536
3,755
IIT Mandi
2,532
3,762
IIT (ISM) Dhanbad
2,309
4,167
IIT Bhubaneswar
3,022
4,899
IIT Tirupati
2,879
6,030
IIT Goa
4,323
7,024
IIT Jammu
4,505
7,218
IIT Palakkad
4,760
7,625
IIT Dharwad
5,380
8,332
IIT Bhilai
6,201
8,886
All 23 IITs run a 4-year B.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering, and this is every one of them — 4-year B.Tech only, OPEN category, Gender-Neutral, JoSAA 2026 Round 5. Three things to read carefully. Missing CSE at an IIT does not mean missing that IIT: at AIR 2,000 no CSE seat at Bombay, Delhi, Madras or Kanpur was open, but IIT Delhi Mechanical, which closed at 2,205 in the final Round 5, was. IIT Delhi Abu Dhabi is not IIT Delhi — JoSAA lists it as a separate branch line (Abu Dhabi Campus – CSE, closing 1,788) and merging the two is a common way to misread this table. And if you are OBC-NCL, SC or ST, this column is not your column: reserved seats close on category rank, and those numbers are in the table above.
Official source: JoSAA 2026 Opening and Closing Ranks, Round 5 (final round, 16 July 2026), institute type IIT, all institutes, Computer Science and Engineering (4 Years, Bachelor of Technology), seat type OPEN, Gender-Neutral, quota AI (josaa.admissions.nic.in/applicant/seatallotmentresult/currentorcr.aspx), captured 10 September 2026.
Where the IIT door actually closed in 2026
The worst closing rank across every IIT programme was 28,480 (IIT (BHU) Architecture, 5-year B.Arch — AAT-gated, so not open to every JEE Advanced qualifier), and 18,977 excluding B.Arch (IIT (ISM) Dhanbad, Chemical Science, 5-year integrated B.Sc.). CSE beyond AIR 5,000 is real at six IITs — Bhilai 8,886, Dharwad 8,332, Palakkad 7,625, Jammu 7,218, Goa 7,024 and Tirupati 6,030. Anyone telling you an IIT CSE seat is out of reach at AIR 5,000 has not read the 2026 sheet.
Official source: JoSAA 2026 Opening and Closing Ranks, Round 5 — the final round, 16 July 2026, OPEN category, Gender-Neutral, quota AI (josaa.admissions.nic.in → Opening/Closing Ranks, session 2026), captured 10 September 2026.
JoSAA covers IIT seats. Strategy at JEE Advanced AIR varying levels:
AIR 1-500: focus on top IIT CSE/CE Honors. List 30-50 choices across all top IITs.
AIR 500-2,000: top IIT non-CSE + mid-IIT CSE. List 50-80 choices.
AIR 2,000-8,000: mid/lower IIT spectrum. List 80-120 choices spanning branches and IITs.
AIR 8,000-15,000: lower-IIT non-CSE + new IIT branches. List 100-150 choices. Have BITS/NIT backup ready.
Reserved-category JoSAA: same float/slide/freeze logic with proportionally lower category-specific cutoffs.
Common JEE Advanced strategy pitfalls
Targeting only IIT CSE at all levels: at AIR 5,000+, CSE at any IIT is not realistic - flexibility helps.
Skipping safety NITs in JoSAA: at AIR 10,000+ JEE Advanced rank, JoSAA may not allot any IIT seat - safety NITs from JEE Main rank are critical.
Ignoring branch consideration: 'IIT Mechanical' from a top IIT often outranks 'IIT CSE' from a new IIT on career ROI - prioritise institute + branch combination.
Not considering home-state IIT: home-state quota applies at NITs but NOT at IITs - JEE Advanced AIR is the only factor.
Your next steps
JEE Main percentile-based options: JEE 95% (qualifies for JEE Advanced), JEE 90%.
Can I get IIT Bombay CSE with JEE Advanced AIR 200?
No, and neither is Delhi or Madras. In JoSAA 2026 Round 5, OPEN Gender-Neutral, IIT Bombay CSE closed at 67, Delhi at 128 and Madras at 151 - all ahead of AIR 200. The first IIT CSE open to you at AIR 200 is IIT Kanpur, which closed at 283, and Kharagpur at 509 and Roorkee at 587 follow. What AIR 200 does buy at Bombay, Delhi or Madras is a different branch - Electrical at Bombay closed at 411 and at Delhi 612, so a top-three IIT is well within reach even though CSE there is not. If you are OBC-NCL, SC or ST, your CRL is not the number to check: JoSAA closes reserved seats on CATEGORY rank, and Bombay CSE closed at OBC-NCL 62, SC 39 and ST 16 in the same round.
What is the lowest JEE Advanced rank for IIT in 2026?
AIR 18,977, on the 2026 numbers - that was the last OPEN Gender-Neutral seat outside architecture, IIT (ISM) Dhanbad's five-year integrated B.Sc. in Chemical Science, in JoSAA 2026 Round 5. Counting B.Arch the floor is 28,480 at IIT (BHU), but that seat needs the AAT, so it is not open to every JEE Advanced qualifier. For reserved categories the honest answer is a different number entirely, because JoSAA closes those seats on CATEGORY rank and not CRL: in 2026 the worst closing across every IIT programme was OBC-NCL 9,002, SC 4,075 and ST 2,199. Any page quoting reserved-category floors in the twenty and thirty thousands is reading category ranks as All India Ranks.
Should I take IIT non-CSE or BITS Pilani CSE?
Depends on career goals. IIT brand: stronger for higher studies (MBA, MS abroad), PSU/government, research careers. BITS CSE: stronger industry-focused curriculum, and on the one salary metric both sides report to NIRF - the median for the whole four-year cohort - BITS Pilani's Rs 18 lakh (2,458 of 2,759 graduates placed, batch of 2023-24) sits between IIT Roorkee's Rs 17 lakh and IIT Bombay's Rs 19.61 lakh. BITS publishes no average package for CSE; its own placement page carries no salary figure at all, so a CSE-specific BITS number quoted elsewhere is not from BITS. Source: NIRF India Rankings 2025 institute data, nirfindia.org (BITS IR-E-U-0391), captured 8 September 2026. For pure CSE/software career: similar outcomes. For diverse career options: IIT brand wins. Compare both before deciding.
How is JEE Advanced different from JEE Main?
JEE Main: NTA-conducted, percentile-based, top 2.5 lakh ranks qualify for JEE Advanced. JEE Main rank used for NIT/IIIT/GFTI admission via JoSAA. JEE Advanced: IIT-conducted, AIR-based, only top 2.5 lakh JEE Main rankers can take. JEE Advanced AIR used for IIT admission via JoSAA. JEE Main covers more topics in physics/chem/math; JEE Advanced is harder, more conceptual.
Is IIT placement guaranteed?
No. Each IIT reports its own placement numbers to NIRF, and none of them reports 100%. For the batch graduating 2023-24 (NIRF 2025), students placed out of students graduating in minimum stipulated time were: IIT Bombay 731 of 990, IIT Delhi 711 of 946, IIT Kanpur 754 of 1,133, IIT Kharagpur 517 of 679, IIT Madras 549 of 714, IIT Roorkee 769 of 1,102, IIT Guwahati 658 of 856, IIT (BHU) Varanasi 996 of 1,073, IIT Palakkad 105 of 156, IIT Bhilai 116 of 162. Read that denominator literally - it counts everyone who graduated on time, including those who left for higher studies and never sat for placement, so it runs lower than the 'percentage of registered students placed' an institute quotes in its own report. On salary, NIRF collects a single MEDIAN for the entire B.Tech cohort: Rs 19.61 lakh at IIT Bombay, Rs 19.08 lakh at IIT Delhi, Rs 19.40 lakh at IIT Kanpur, Rs 17.50 lakh at IIT Madras, Rs 20 lakh at IIT (BHU) Varanasi, and Rs 12 lakh at both IIT Palakkad and IIT Bhilai. No IIT publishes a branch-wise CSE median, so a CSE-only package figure quoted for an IIT is not from an official document. Source: NIRF India Rankings 2025, 'Data Submitted by Institution', institute PDFs on nirfindia.org, captured 8 September 2026.
Which IIT can I get at AIR 6,000 in JEE Advanced?
On the JoSAA 2026 Round 5 numbers, OPEN and Gender-Neutral, AIR 6,000 still had CSE open at five IITs: Goa (closed 7,024), Jammu (7,218), Palakkad (7,625), Dharwad (8,332) and Bhilai (8,886). Tirupati closed at 6,030, so it was decided by 30 ranks. Beyond CSE the choice is much wider - non-CSE branches at the mid IITs were open well past this rank, and IIT (BHU) Mechanical closed at 8,010. What AIR 6,000 does not reach is CSE at any of the older IITs; Bhubaneswar, the last of those, closed at 4,899.
What is the cutoff for OBC, SC and ST candidates at IITs?
Much lower than the OPEN numbers, and in a different unit. JoSAA states it on the rank tool itself: open seats are closed on Common Rank List position, while EWS, OBC-NCL, SC and ST seats are closed on your CATEGORY rank. So an OBC-NCL candidate compares against 62 for IIT Bombay CSE in 2026, not 67, and an ST candidate against 16. Across every IIT programme in 2026 the worst closing was OBC-NCL 9,002, SC 4,075 and ST 2,199. If a rank predictor asks only for your CRL and then quotes you a reserved-category cutoff, it is comparing two different numbers.
Do IITs have a home-state quota?
No. Every IIT row in JoSAA carries quota AI, meaning All India - there is no home-state or other-state split at any IIT, and living in the state an IIT sits in gives you nothing. The home-state quota is real, but it belongs to the NIT+ system: NITs, IIITs and the government-funded institutes, where roughly half the seats in each state's NIT go to that state's candidates. Mixing the two up is one of the most expensive mistakes in choice-filling, because it makes an IIT look reachable that is not, or an NIT look out of reach that is.
Disclaimer: JEE Main percentiles, cutoffs and fees are indicative, sourced from official JoSAA/NIT/state-counselling notifications and college disclosures. They change every cycle. We verify the exact current cut-off, quota and fee for any college in writing before you act. FindUrCollege is an independent counselling platform.
