Quick Verdict
On average package, IIT Delhi wins: sourced data puts its average at ₹25.82 LPA against IIT Kharagpur's ₹24.30 LPA, with IIT Delhi also reporting a higher median package (kollegeapply.com). On the highest single package, IIT Kharagpur pulls ahead in most cited figures. In short: IIT Delhi is the safer bet for a strong median outcome; IIT Kharagpur has reported bigger outlier offers.
Snapshot
| Metric | IIT Delhi | IIT Kharagpur |
|---|---|---|
| Average Package | ₹25.82 L | ₹24.30 L |
| Median Package | ₹20.00 L | Not specified in sourced data |
| Highest Package | ₹2.00 Cr | ₹2.14 Cr |
| Students Placed per Year | Not specified in sourced data | 1,500+ |
| Recruiting Companies | Not specified in sourced data | 250+ |
| NIRF Rank (Overall, 2026) | 4 | 6 |
| NIRF Rank (Engineering, 2026) | 2 | 5 |
Detailed Analysis
According to a direct side-by-side comparison, IIT Delhi reports both a higher average package (₹25.82L vs ₹24.30L) and a higher median package (₹20.00L, with no comparable median given for Kharagpur) — the source's own stated insight is that "IIT Delhi reports higher average and median packages" (kollegeapply.com). That same comparison, however, puts IIT Kharagpur's highest package slightly above IIT Delhi's: ₹2.14 Cr versus ₹2.00 Cr (kollegeapply.com).
Other sources give different absolute numbers for the highest package, which is worth flagging rather than smoothing over. Shiksha reports IIT Kharagpur's highest package at INR 2.40 crore (shiksha.com), while CollegeDekho — citing IIT Kharagpur's own Training & Placement Cell — puts the 2024–25 domestic highest at INR 2.68 crore, concentrated in Computer Science and Engineering (collegedekho.com). For IIT Delhi, CollegeDekho separately reports a domestic highest package of INR 1 crore, with more than 50 offers exceeding that mark during Phase 1 (collegedekho.com) — a different figure from the ₹2.00 Cr cited above. These discrepancies likely reflect different placement years, disclosure methods, or domestic-vs-total-offer definitions; readers should treat "highest package" claims for both institutes as a range (roughly ₹1–2 Cr for Delhi, ₹2.0–2.7 Cr for Kharagpur) rather than one fixed number.
On scale, IIT Kharagpur runs one of the largest placement operations among the IITs: its Career Development Centre reports over 1,500 students placed each year across 250+ recruiting companies, in a process split into internship recruitment, Phase 1 (December), and Phase 2 (February–May) (cracku.in). No equivalent total-students-placed or total-recruiters figure was found for IIT Delhi in this research pass.
Verdict
Winner: IIT Delhi, on the strength of a higher average and median package. Runner-up: IIT Kharagpur, which reports a higher top-end package in some sourced comparisons and places students at scale across 250+ companies. If your priority is the single best possible offer rather than the typical outcome, the sourced highest-package figures suggest Kharagpur is at least competitive with, and in some citations ahead of, Delhi — so a student chasing a top-end outlier package shouldn't rule out Kharagpur on placements alone.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Which IIT has the better average placement package?
IIT Delhi, at a reported ₹25.82 LPA versus IIT Kharagpur's ₹24.30 LPA (kollegeapply.com).
Q: Which IIT has the higher single highest package?
Sources disagree: one comparison gives IIT Kharagpur ₹2.14 Cr vs IIT Delhi ₹2.00 Cr (kollegeapply.com); other sources cite IIT Kharagpur figures between ₹2.40 Cr and ₹2.68 Cr against an IIT Delhi domestic high of ₹1 Cr (shiksha.com, collegedekho.com).
Q: How many students does IIT Kharagpur place each year?
Over 1,500 students per year, according to its Career Development Centre (cracku.in).
Q: How many companies recruit at IIT Kharagpur?
250+ companies, per the same source (cracku.in).
Q: When does IIT Kharagpur's placement season run?
It's split into internship recruitment, Phase 1 (starting December 1), and Phase 2 (January–May, depending on the cycle) (cracku.in, collegedekho.com).
Q: Are official 2025–26 placement numbers available yet for IIT Kharagpur?
As of the sourced research, official 2025–26 figures from IIT Kharagpur's Training & Placement Cell had not yet been released (collegedekho.com).
Q: Does branch matter for placement outcomes at IIT Kharagpur?
Yes — the highest reported domestic package for 2024–25 was specifically tied to the Computer Science and Engineering branch (collegedekho.com).
Q: Is there a clear placement winner between the two institutes?
Not decisively — IIT Delhi leads on average and median package, while highest-package figures vary by source and sometimes favor IIT Kharagpur.
Related
For the complete picture beyond Placements — placements, academics, campus life, and more — see the full IIT Delhi vs IIT Kharagpur comparison.