What is a Good Score in JEE Main 2026? Students who want to be top engineers take (take with a grain of salt idiom synonym) the JEE Main to get into the country’s top engineering colleges. Every JEE aspirant wants to score high enough to be admitted to IITs. However, not everyone who appears for the JEE Mains is eligible for the JEE Advanced. To get into the IITs, you must pass the JEE Advanced exam with an amazing score, but first, you must pass the JEE Main exam to be qualified to sit for the JEE Advanced.
Not qualifying for the Advanced does not limit your possibilities; you can still enroll in one of the country’s renowned NITs, IIITs, CFTIs, and other engineering institutes.
Now we know that your mind must be bubbling with lots of questions, the most common being what marks are enough or what is a good score in JEE Main 2026 to be able to qualify for the best engineering colleges.
A good score in JEE Main 2026 is determined by several parameters, including rank, category, percentile, and the number of students who appeared for the exam. A high ranking in the Joint Entrance Exam leads to admission to IIITs, NITs, and GFTIs in India. Not only that, but it will also help you be eligible for the JEE Advanced exam. In this article, we have provided extensive details on good and safe scores in JEE Main for top NITs, average scores, marks vs. percentiles, how to utilise the JEE Main rank predictor to know your prospects for top institutions, projected cutoffs, and suggestions to obtain a good score in JEE 2026. For more information, see below.
What is the significance of a good score in the JEE Mains 2026?
As mentioned before, the degree to which a score is considered good or not highly depends on the college you wish to get admitted to. If you are satisfied with getting admission to a decent private engineering college, then a score of 180 or more is considered good in such a case. But if you are among those who wish to sit in the JEE Advanced exam, then scoring high is important. Only the top JEE Mains qualifiers, around 2,50,000 in total, are eligible to take the JEE Advanced exam. A score of 250 or higher is considered an excellent score; a percentile of 85 to 95 is sufficient to gain admission to the NITs or IITs through this exam.
However, to be able to secure a place in the NITs or IITs, you need to be in the top 15,000 to 20,000 ranks.
| Category | Ranks |
| Excellent | 1-15,000 |
| Good | 15,000-30,000 |
| Average | 30,000-50,000 |
| Low | Above 50,000 |
Read More:
- JEE Main Rank Predictor 2026: Predict Your JEE Rank by Marks
- JEE Advanced Rank Predictor 2026: Predict your JEE Advanced Rank
- App for JEE/NEET Exam Preparation
- JEE Main 2026 Marks vs Rank vs Percentile
JEE Main Marks vs Rank vs Percentile
Expected JEE Main marks vs Rank vs percentile
| Score out of 300 | Overall Rank | Percentile |
| 290- 280 | 15 – 36 | 99.99908943 – 99.99745041 |
| 280 – 250 | 36 – 428 | 99.99745041 – 99.96976913 |
| 250 – 240 | 428 – 755 | 99.96976913 – 99.94664069 |
| 240 – 230 | 755 – 1189 | 99.94664069 – 99.91595453 |
| 230 – 220 | 1189 – 1893 | 99.91595453 – 99.86623749 |
| 220 – 210 | 1893 – 2720 | 99.86623749 – 99.80777899 |
| 210 – 200 | 2720 – 3803 | 99.80777899 – 99.73129123 |
| 200 – 190 | 3803 – 5320 | 99.73129123 – 99.62402626 |
| 190 – 180 | 5320 – 7354 | 99.62402626 – 99.48033855 |
| 180 – 170 | 7354 – 9968 | 99.48033855 – 99.2955842 |
| 170 – 160 | 9968 – 13163 | 99.2955842 – 99.06985426 |
| 160 – 150 | 13163 – 17290 | 99.06985426 – 98.77819917 |
| 150 – 140 | 17290 – 22533 | 98.77819917 – 98.40768884 |
| 140 – 130 | 22533 – 29145 | 98.40768884 – 97.94047614 |
| 130 – 120 | 29145 – 37440 | 97.94047614 – 97.35425213 |
| 120 – 110 | 37440 – 47979 | 97.35425213 – 96.60949814 |
| 110 – 100 | 47979 – 61651 | 96.60949814 – 95.64338495 |
| 100 – 90 | 61651 – 79298 | 95.64338495 – 94.39636137 |
| 90 – 80 | 79298 – 102421 | 94.39636137 – 92.76234617 |
| 80 – 70 | 102421 – 135695 | 92.76234617 – 90.4109851 |
| 70 – 60 | 135695 – 183105 | 90.4109851 – 87.06073037 |
| 60 – 50 | 183105 – 260722 | 87.06073037 – 81.57582987 |
| 50 – 40 | 260722 – 380928 | 81.57582987 – 73.08140938 |
| 40 – 30 | 380928 – 568308 | 73.08140938 – 59.84001311 |
| 30 – 20 | 568308 – 844157 | 59.84001311 – 40.3469266 |
| 20 – 10 | 844157 – 1118638 | 40.3469266 – 20.95045141 |
| 10 – 0 | 1118638 – 1321716 | 20.95045141 – 6.599800585 |
JEE Main Expected Ranks vs Percentiles 2026
| JEE Main Rank 2026 | JEE Main Percentile 2026 |
| 1 – 20 | 100 – 99.99989145 |
| 80 – 24 | 99.994681 – 99.997394 |
| 83 – 55 | 99.990990 – 99.994029 |
| 210 – 85 | 99.977205 – 99.988819 |
| 367 – 215 | 99.960163 – 99.975034 |
| 599 – 375 | 99.934980 – 99.956364 |
| 911 – 610 | 99.901113 – 99.928901 |
| 1367 – 920 | 99.851616 – 99.893732 |
| 1888 – 1375 | 99.795063 – 99.845212 |
| 2664 – 1900 | 99.710831 – 99.782472 |
| 3710 – 2700 | 99.597399 – 99.688579 |
| 5003- 3800 | 99.456939 – 99.573193 |
| 6706 – 5100 | 99.272084 – 99.431214 |
| 8949 – 6800 | 99.028614 – 99.239737 |
| 11678 – 9000 | 98.732389 – 98.990296 |
| 15501 – 11800 | 98.317414 – 98.666935 |
| 20164 – 15700 | 97.811260 – 98.254132 |
| 26321 – 20500 | 97.142937 – 97.685672 |
| 34966 – 26500 | 96.204550 – 96.978272 |
| 46076 – 35000 | 94.998594 – 96.064850 |
| 60147 – 46500 | 93.471231 – 94.749479 |
JEE Main Expected Marks vs Ranks 2026
| JEE Main Marks 2026 | JEE Main Rank 2026 |
| 288 – 294 | 20 – 11 |
| 280 – 284 | 44 – 22 |
| 270 – 279 | 107 – 63 |
| 252 – 268 | 522 – 106 |
| 231 – 249 | 1385 – 546 |
| 215 – 230 | 2798 – 1421 |
| 202 – 214 | 4666 – 2862 |
| 190 – 200 | 6664 – 4830 |
| 175 – 189 | 10746 -7151 |
| 161 – 174 | 16163 – 11018 |
| 149-159 | 21145 – 16495 |
| 132 – 148 | 32826 – 22238 |
| 120 – 131 | 43174 – 33636 |
| 110 – 119 | 54293 – 44115 |
| 102 – 109 | 65758 – 55269 |
| 95 – 101 | 76260 – 66999 |
| 89 – 94 | 87219 – 78111 |
| 79 – 88 | 109329 – 90144 |
| 64 – 87 | 169542 – 92303 |
| 44 – 62 | 326517 – 173239 |
| 1 – 42 | 1025009 – 334080 |
Good JEE Main 2026 Score to qualify for JEE Advanced 2026
It is a known fact that only the top 2,50,000 qualified JEE Main 2026 students are eligible for JEE Advanced 2026. This means that applicants who want to qualify for JEE Advanced 2026 must have a good score. high in JEE Main. In line with trends from the previous year, general applicants generally need a percentage score above 85 to qualify for JEE Advanced. Candidates can refer to the following table to understand the main JEE cutting trends from the previous year.
Read Also:
JEE Main Previous Year Cutoff Trend Analysis
JEE Main Cutoff 2025
| Category | JEE Main Cutoff 2025 |
| General | 93.1023262 |
| Gen-PwD | 0.0079349 |
| EWS | 80.3830119 |
| OBC-NCL | 79.4313582 |
| SC | 61.1526933 |
| ST | 47.9026465 |
JEE Main Cutoff 2024
| Category | JEE Main Cutoff 2024 |
| General | 93.2362181 |
| Gen-PwD | 0.00187 |
| EWS | 81.3266412 |
| OBC-NCL | 79.6757881 |
| SC | 60.0923182 |
| ST | 46.697584 |
JEE Main Cutoff 2023
| Category | JEE Main Cutoff 2023 |
| General | 90.7788642 |
| EWS | 75.6229025 |
| OBC | 73.6114227 |
| SC | 51.9776027 |
| ST | 37.2348772 |
| PwD | 0.0013527 |
| Year | General | OBC-NCL | SC | ST | Gen-EWS | PwD |
| 2025 | 93.102 | 79.431 | 61.152 | 47.902 | 80.383 | 0.0079 |
| 2024 | 93.236 | 79.675 | 60.092 | 46.697 | 81.326 | 0.0018 |
| 2023 | 90.778 | 73.611 | 51.977 | 37.234 | 75.622 | 0.0013 |
| 2022 | 88.4121383 | 67.0090297 | 43.0820954 | 26.7771328 | 63.1114141 | 0.0031029 |
| 2021 | 87.8992241 | 68.0234447 | 46.8825338 | 34.6728999 | 66.2214845 | 0.0096375 |
| 2020 | 90.3765335 | 72.8887969 | 50.1760245 | 39.0696101 | 70.2435518 | 0.0618524 |
| 2019 | 89.7548849 | 74.3166557 | 54.0128155 | 44.3345172 | 78.2174869 | 0.11371730 |
| 2018 | 74 | 45 | 29 | 24 | – | -35 |
| 2017 | 81 | 49 | 32 | 27 | – | – |
| 2016 | 100 | 70 | 52 | 48 | – | – |
| 2015 | 105 | 70 | 50 | 44 | – | – |
| 2014 | 115 | 74 | 53 | 47 | – | – |
| 2013 | 113 | 70 | 50 | 45 | – | – |
JEE Main Expected Cutoff
Candidates can refer to the expected JEE Main cutoff provided by Motion Education to get an idea of the cutoff.
| Category | Expected Cutoff Score by Motion |
| Common Rank List (CRL) | 89.7548849 |
| GEN-EWS | 78.2174869 |
| Other Backward Classes (OBC-NCL) | 74.3166557 |
| Scheduled Caste (SC) | 54.0128155 |
| Scheduled Tribe (ST) | 44.3345172 |
| PwD | 0.11371730 |
JEE Mains Percentile through normalization method
The NTA will announce the JEE Mains 2026 marks in percentile format through the normalisation method. It is done after aggregating the candidate’s raw grades in each subject. Therefore, the normalization method is used to determine the percentile rank in Physics, Chemistry, and Maths. This percentile is used to present the JEE Main merit list. This is done because the JEE Main exam is conducted in 2 sessions, which may cause an imbalance in the level of difficulty of the exam. Not just (just in case definition) this, this method has been adopted to avoid the occurrence of ties between two students scoring the same marks.
Therefore, to avoid ties, the percentile score is calculated to the 7th decimal place. It is done only after the completion of the normalisation method for each session on a scale of 100 to 0.
You can get an idea of which college you will be getting admission to before NTA releases the merit list by using the normalisation method. You can use your raw score and convert it into percentile with the help of the formula mentioned below:
100 x ( total candidates whose raw score of the session is equal to or less than the candidates’ total score) / the total number of candidates who appeared for that session.
This percentile formula is used for calculating the same for each section.
The breakup of the total marks of the JEE Main exams is given below
| Paper Type (JEE Main 2026) | Subject Name | No. of Questions (To be Attempted) | Marks Distribution |
| B.E / B.Tech Paper | Physics | 25 | 100 |
| Chemistry | 25 | 100 | |
| Mathematics | 25 | 100 | |
| Total (B.Tech) | 75 Questions | 300 Marks | |
| B.Arch Paper | Mathematics | 25 | 100 |
| Aptitude Test | 50 | 200 | |
| Drawing Test | 2 | 100 | |
| Total (B.Arch) | 77 Questions | 400 Marks | |
| B.Planning Paper | Mathematics | 25 | 100 |
| Aptitude Test | 50 | 200 | |
| Planning-Based Questions | 25 | 100 | |
| Total (B.Planning) | 100 Questions | 400 Marks |
What guidelines are followed in the JEE Mains marks vs percentile tie breakers?
The tie-breaking procedure involves certain guidelines that the students must be aware of.
So, the guidelines are considered when more than one student has the same percentile.
- Mathematics plays a deciding factor in the calculation of the marks. A candidate who scores more marks in Maths is given preference.
- If there is a tie for first place in Mathematics as well, then the Marks secured in Physics will be considered.
- If the above two solutions do not suffice, then the one candidate who scored higher in chemistry will be given a rise.
- In case of a tie, the older candidate will be given a preference.
- The marks obtained in both sessions will be considered for the final score of the JEE Mains. The same will be used to determine the final score and rank.
Marking Schemes And Scoring Good Marks in JEE Mains
If the layout of JEE Main is followed, this paper may have a most feasible rating of three hundred marks. With a 3-hour time (race against time phrase meaning) limit, there can be seventy-five questions to reply to from a total of 90 (Physics, Chemistry, and Maths). Each difficulty might have 20 MCQs, every with one accurate answer, and a complete five questions out of 10 to be tried. All questions might be evaluated as follows: +four for proper answers, -1 for wrong answers, and zero for now no longer tried questions.
Although 65-eighty is taken into consideration accurately within the JEE Mains examination for all 3 number one papers, i.e. PCM. However, it`s continually higher to aim for more. Here are a few instruction techniques that may assist college students to ace the examination fearlessly.
Good Score in JEE Main for admission in NITs
Looking at past trends, a student must have a percentage score between 80 and 90 to be admitted to NIT. If we talk about rank, students must have a JEE Main rank between 15,000 and 20,000 to get admission.
Good Score in JEE Main for admission in IIITs
As a trend, applicants must have a percentage score between 70 and 80 for admission to the IIIT. The primary rating of JEE candidates should usually be below 25,000.
Conclusion
Therefore, with the above given write-up, it is quite clear that the good marks for the JEE Mains exams depend on the candidate and the college they want to pursue engineering from. If you want to get admission to the IITs, then you must clear the Advanced exam with an excellent score, but before that, work towards the JEE Mains exam because it is only by passing this exam that you will be eligible to appear for the JEE Advanced.
It may appear challenging at first, but it will become much easier after you begin your preparation with the appropriate level of dedication and hard work.
Written by: Himanshu Goyal
Reviewed by: Motion Senior JEE Faculty
Published by: Motion Academic Team
Last Updated: March 2026
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) – What is a good NTA score in JEE Main 2026?
Q1. How many hours should one study to clear the JEE exam?
Ans. If you wish to clear the JEE exam with flying colors, then you must give 12-15 hours a day to its preparation.
Q2. How is the JEE Main percentile calculated?
Ans. The formula to calculate the JEE Main percentile is mentioned below:
A candidate’s total percentile score is equivalent to 100
(the total number of candidates whose raw score is either less than or equal to the candidate’s total score) / (total number of candidates who appeared in the session).
Q3. How to prepare for the JEE exam the right way?
Ans. The given tips will help you clear the JEE exam with an excellent score:
- Get familiar with the syllabus
- Follow a well-laid timetable with an achievable set of goals
- Begin with the NCERTs first
- Do not jump into too many reference books
- Prepare notes
- Practice regularly
- Take mock test series
- Stay regular on revision
- Take a nutritious diet and ample sleep
- Stick to your hobbies
- Exercise regularly
Q4. Are the marking scheme and cut-off of JEE Mains the same as the previous year? Or have they changed?
Ans. For each correct answer on the main JEE test, you will be awarded four points, while incorrect answers will be deducted points. The weighting and scoring system for each question remains the same over time. On the other hand, the admission threshold is determined by factors such as the difficulty of the main JEE exam, the number of vacancies, the number of candidates appearing in the exam, and finally, the performance of each candidate.
Q5. Is it okay to check the solution without attempting the question?
Ans. When students find a question difficult, they prefer to move on to the solution. It’s never a good idea to act like this. If they continue down this path, they will become more and more dependent on Solutions. Instead, students should practice math problems for at least 15 minutes before looking at the solutions.
Q6. How can knowing the exam format help me get better marks in Physics in JEE Mains?
Ans. When preparing for the exam, students should familiarize themselves with the JEE core test pattern and focus on the most weighty physics sections of the exam. This will give students a better idea of what questions they can expect in the exam.
Q7. In JEE Main, are individual category ranks distinct from the All-India Rank (AIR)?
Ans. Yes, the JEE Main AIR leaderboard and the category leaderboard are separate in the ranking. An applicant’s All India Ranking represents their position among all students in the country. In contrast, grading by category represents students in a particular group, such as SC, ST, OBC, or EWS.
Q8. What is the NTA Score in JEE Mains?
Ans. The NTA score is a positional rank/ percentile score that a candidate has secured in the JEE Main exam.
Q9. What resources should I follow during my JEE preparations?
Ans. Books and study materials that help shape your conceptual knowledge should be used while preparing for JEE (main). The official JEE Mains website (idioms website) provides sample documents that you can easily download. For further preparation, one can turn to reputable sources that provide some mock exams to familiarize oneself with the actual JEE core model. In addition, you should practice and familiarize yourself with computer testing as much as possible.
Q10. What are the things that I should keep in mind during my preparation to score better in the JEE Mains exam?
Ans. Keep the following key preparation tips from Papers JEE and build your strategy accordingly to do well in the JEE exams.
Make sure you master the important and essential chapters of JEE, Chemistry and Mathematics. Solve last year’s JEE key questions and do as many mock tests as you can. Reduce your time when it comes to goal-based questions. In addition to mastering JEE’s core program material, you need to focus on strategy and time management. Stay calm and confident while maintaining good health.
