JEE Main 2026 Result:Candidates who took the JEE Main 2026 between April 2 and 8 can expect a minor increase in the JEE Main cut-off this year. This year, the papers were moderately difficult compared to last year. The official JEE Main cut-off will be announced by the National Testing Agency (NTA) with the final results of JEE Main.
Citing the moderate overall difficulty of the physics and chemistry sections, Dr Saurabh Kumar, founder and CEO of Shiksha Nation, said the JEE Main 2026 cut-off is expected to remain broadly in line with recent trends.
“These estimates are based on the narrow movement seen in the last two admission cycles. The trend suggests stability rather than any dramatic jump. For aspirants, the takeaway is simple: the cut-off is only the gateway. Students targeting strong branches in top NITs, IIITs, and CFTIs should aim significantly above these benchmarks,” he added.
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The BTech/BE Paper 1 examination conducted between April 2 and April 8 placed a greater emphasis on consistency in preparation, clarity of fundamental concepts, and the ability to manage time effectively during the test, rather than on the overall toughness of the paper. Students who had built a strong grounding in NCERT concepts, maintained regular practice, and ensured a balanced level of preparation across physics, chemistry, and mathematics were in a better position to perform well in the examination.
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Sharing his perspective, Shyam Mohan Gupta, IIT Delhi Alumnus, co-founder Vidyamandir Classes, noted that the cut-off for JEE Main 2026, which determines eligibility for JEE Advanced 2026, will ultimately depend on multiple factors such as the difficulty level of the exam, the total number of candidates appearing, and the overall performance trends observed this year. Based on patterns seen in previous years, the cut-off for candidates in the General category is expected to fall in the range of the 93.5 to 95th percentile. In terms of marks, this is roughly estimated to correspond to scores exceeding 140 out of 300.
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For candidates belonging to the OBC-NCL and EWS categories, the expected cut-off is likely to be comparatively lower, possibly ranging between 79.5 and 81.5th percentile, which may translate to scores of over 90 marks. Meanwhile, for SC category candidates, the qualifying percentile is anticipated to be around 61 to 63, while for ST candidates, it may lie between 48 and 51 percentiles. In terms of marks, this suggests that candidates from these categories may need to secure scores in the range of approximately 45 to 60 marks to qualify.
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He further indicated that EWS candidates could see their cut-off percentile settling slightly higher within the broader expected range, possibly around 81 to 83 percentile, depending on how the overall results shape up.
JEE Main 2026 Cut-Off as predicted by Vidyamandir Classes
| Category | Expected 2026 Percentile for Cut-off | Safe Score (out of 300) |
| General | 93.5 – 95.0 | 140+ |
| OBC-NCL | 79.5 – 81.5 | 90+ |
| EWS | 81.0 – 83.0 | 100+ |
| SC | 61.0 – 63.0 | 60+ |
| ST | 48.0 – 51.0 | 45+ |
In addition to meeting the JEE Main cut-off, candidates aspiring to appear for JEE Advanced must also satisfy the eligibility criteria in their Class 12 board examinations. Typically, this requires candidates from the General and OBC categories to secure a minimum aggregate of 75 per cent, while those belonging to SC, ST, and PwD categories are required to obtain at least 65 per cent.
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According to estimates shared by PhysicsWallah, the qualifying percentile for JEE Advanced 2026 is expected to vary across categories. For candidates in the General category, the required percentile is likely to be in the range of 93.2 to 94.1. Those in the Gen-EWS category may need to secure around 81 to 82 percentile, while OBC-NCL candidates are expected to fall within the 79 to 80 percentile bracket. For SC and ST candidates, the projected qualifying percentiles are comparatively lower, estimated at around 60 to 62 and 47 to 49, respectively. Meanwhile, candidates under the PwD category are likely to have a significantly lower qualifying threshold, which could range from as little as 0.001 to 1 percentile.
JEE Main 2026 Cut-Off as predicted by PhysicsWallah
| Expected cutoff of JEE Mains 2026 | |
| Category | Expected Qualifying Percentile (2026) |
| General | 93.2 – 94.1 |
| Gen-EWS | 81 – 82 |
| OBC-NCL | 79 – 80 |
| SC | 60 – 62 |
| ST | 47 – 49 |
| PwD | 0.001 – 1 |
The JEE Main cut-off also depends on multiple factors, including the number of total candidates taking the exam and the difficulty level of each of the sessions.
JEE Main cut-off from the past 5 years
| Category | JEE Main 2025 Cut-Off | JEE Main 2024 Cut-Off | JEE Main 2023 Cut-Off | JEE Main 2022 Cut-Off | JEE Main 2021 Cut-Off |
| General | 100 – 93.1023262 | 93.2362181 | 90.7788642 | 88.4121383 | 87.8992241 |
| OBC-NCL | 93.0950208 – 79.4313582 | 79.6757881 | 73.6114227 | 67.0090297 | 68.0234447 |
| SC | 93.0950208 – 61.1526933 | 60.0923182 | 51.9776027 | 43.0820954 | 46.8825338 |
| ST | 93.0950208 – 47.9026465 | 46.697584 | 37.2348772 | 26.7771328 | 34.6728999 |
| GEN-EWS | 93.0950208 – 80.3830119 | 81.3266412 | 75.6229025 | 63.1114141 | 66.2214845 |
| Gen-PwD | 93.0950208 – 0.0079349 | 0.00187 | 0.0013527 | 0.0031029 | 0.0096375 |
In the JEE Main 2025 Paper 1 for BE, BTech as many as 15,39,848 unique candidates registered for either the January or April session, while 14,75,103 unique candidates actually appeared in the exam across both rounds. Out of these, 8,33,536 candidates registered for both sessions, and 7,75,383 of them appeared in both attempts.
NTA will release the JEE Main question papers for the session 2 exams on April 9. This will be followed by the provisional answer key and the opening of the JEE Main April 2026 answer key challenge window on April 11 and the result on April 20. JEE Main 2026 April session exam was held for around 11.23 lakh candidates at approximately 566 centres located in 304 cities across India and 14 cities abroad.
