Quick terms: IIT Bombay and IIT Delhi are two of India's Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), both government-run engineering universities in Maharashtra (Bombay/Mumbai) and Delhi respectively. Admission to either happens through JEE Advanced — India's national entrance exam for the IITs — using an "opening rank" (the best rank that got a seat) and "closing rank" (the worst rank that still got a seat) for each branch, category, and gender pool in each round of the Joint Seat Allocation Authority (JoSAA) counselling process.
Quick Verdict
On branch cutoffs, IIT Bombay is consistently the tougher institute to get into, branch for branch. Its Computer Science & Engineering (CSE) closing rank, its tightest branch cutoffs overall, and its higher share of top-100 JEE Advanced rankers all point the same way: more high-rankers choose IIT Bombay first, pushing its cutoffs lower (i.e., more competitive) than IIT Delhi's in almost every comparable branch.
Snapshot
| Metric (2025 JoSAA data, General/Open category unless noted) | IIT Bombay | IIT Delhi |
|---|---|---|
| CSE Opening Rank | 1 | 24 |
| CSE Closing Rank | 66 | 126 |
| Electrical Engineering Opening–Closing Rank | 106–433 | 365–605 |
| Engineering Physics Opening–Closing Rank | 122–1,539 | 1,393–2,565 |
| Chemical Engineering Opening–Closing Rank | 601–2,464 | 1,904–2,548 |
| Civil Engineering Opening–Closing Rank | 2,666–4,250 | 3,244–4,302 |
| Total Seats (approx.) | 880 | 850 |
| NIRF Engineering Rank (2024) | 3 | 2 |
| QS World University Ranking (2026) | 129 | 123 |
(press-wire.org, admissionbridges.com, jeecounselling.in)
Detailed Analysis
CSE is where the gap is clearest and best corroborated. Multiple independent sources agree that IIT Bombay's 2025 CSE cutoff opened at rank 1 and closed at rank 66, while IIT Delhi's opened at rank 24 and closed at around 126 (press-wire.org; the same 66-vs-126 closing ranks are separately confirmed by jagranjosh.com and collegedekho.com). That level of agreement across three separate sources makes this one of the more reliable data points in this comparison. CollegeDekho adds useful color: in 2025, 73 of the top 100 JEE Advanced rankers chose IIT Bombay as their next stage, with CSE the most-picked branch there (collegedekho.com), and IIT Bombay CSE is described as the program of choice for rankers between roughly 1 and 100 (collegedekho.com).
The pattern holds outside CSE, too. For Electrical Engineering, IIT Bombay's 2025 opening-to-closing range (106–433) is noticeably tighter and lower than IIT Delhi's (365–605), which one source explicitly calls out as "underscoring its higher demand" (press-wire.org). The same source's table shows IIT Bombay closing earlier than IIT Delhi in Engineering Physics, Chemical Engineering, and Civil Engineering as well — meaning that, branch for branch, a student typically needs a better JEE Advanced rank to get into IIT Bombay than the equivalent branch at IIT Delhi.
On seat count and broader rankings, the two are close: IIT Bombay has roughly 880 total seats against IIT Delhi's roughly 850, and per one source IIT Delhi carries the higher QS Asia and NIRF Engineering rank (NIRF #2 vs IIT Bombay's #3), while IIT Bombay trails narrowly on QS World University Ranking 2026 (129 vs IIT Delhi's 123) (admissionbridges.com, press-wire.org). Worth flagging: one source's own comparison table lists IIT Delhi's "Highest Package" as ₹2.0 Cr against IIT Bombay's ₹1.0 Cr, yet the same page's "Key Insights" text claims "IIT Bombay offers the highest placement package of ₹1.0 Cr" (jeecounselling.in) — an internal contradiction in that source, so this post does not rely on it to declare a placement-package winner.
As general JEE Advanced context: a rank of roughly 100 is the informal benchmark for CSE at either institute, and a closing rank around 16,000 (General category) is roughly the cutoff to get into any branch at any IIT at all (jeepredictor.in).
Verdict
IIT Bombay wins on branch cutoffs — its CSE, Electrical, and other engineering branches all close at lower (more competitive) ranks than IIT Delhi's equivalent branches in the most recent JoSAA data, and it draws a larger share of India's very top rankers. IIT Delhi is a strong runner-up and actually leads on NIRF Engineering rank and QS World Ranking. A reader should pick IIT Delhi instead if their JEE Advanced rank comfortably clears IIT Delhi's cutoff for a specific branch but falls short of IIT Bombay's tighter cutoff for that same branch — in that case, IIT Delhi is simply the realistic, attainable option.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Which IIT has the lower (harder to get) CSE cutoff, Bombay or Delhi?
A: IIT Bombay — its 2025 CSE closing rank was 66, versus IIT Delhi's roughly 126.
Q: What was IIT Bombay's CSE opening rank in 2025?
A: Rank 1, according to JoSAA-based data.
Q: Is IIT Bombay tougher to get into across all branches, or just CSE?
A: Across all branches, sourced data: Electrical, Engineering Physics, Chemical, and Civil Engineering at IIT Bombay all closed at lower ranks than the same branches at IIT Delhi in 2025.
Q: How many top-100 JEE Advanced rankers chose IIT Bombay in 2025?
A: 73 out of the top 100, per CollegeDekho's reporting.
Q: Which institute has more total seats?
A: IIT Bombay has roughly 880 seats against IIT Delhi's roughly 850, per one comparison source.
Q: Which institute ranks higher on NIRF Engineering (2024)?
A: IIT Delhi, at rank 2, versus IIT Bombay's rank 3.
Q: Is there a reliable single source for which institute pays the highest placement package?
A: No — one source's own table and its own summary text contradict each other on this point, so this post doesn't state a winner on that specific metric.
Q: What JEE Advanced rank is roughly needed to guarantee any IIT seat at all?
A: Around rank 16,000 in the General category, per JEE Predictor's cutoff overview.
Related
For the complete picture beyond Branch Cutoffs -- placements, academics, campus life, and more -- see the full IIT Bombay vs IIT Delhi comparison.