If you're deciding between IIT Kanpur and IIT Roorkee based on how hard each branch is to get into, here's the direct comparison.
Quick definitions: Kanpur is a city in Uttar Pradesh state hosting IIT Kanpur; Roorkee is a town in Uttarakhand state hosting IIT Roorkee; India is the country both institutes serve; Technology here means engineering and applied-science education; Delhi is India's capital and home to IIT Delhi; Indian Institute (as in "Indian Institute of Technology") is the formal name behind the IIT acronym; Madras (now Chennai) hosts IIT Madras; Kharagpur is a town in West Bengal hosting India's oldest IIT; Bombay (now Mumbai) hosts IIT Bombay; Advanced refers to JEE Advanced, the entrance exam that determines these branch-wise cutoff ranks.
Quick Verdict
IIT Kanpur is harder to get into across every branch for which we have data — its JEE Advanced closing ranks are consistently tighter (lower) than IIT Roorkee's equivalent branches (geeksforgeeks.org). If your rank sits between the two institutes' cutoffs for a given branch, Roorkee is the more realistic option.
Snapshot
| Branch | IIT Kanpur (JEE Advanced Rank) | IIT Roorkee (JEE Advanced Rank) |
|---|---|---|
| Computer Science | 100–200 | 250–350 |
| Electronics & Communication Engineering | 400–500 | 600–700 |
| Electrical Engineering | 500–600 | 700–800 |
| Mechanical Engineering | 900–1000 | 1200–1300 |
| Chemical Engineering | 1300–1400 | 1600–1700 |
| Civil Engineering | 1500–1600 | 1800–1900 |
Source: geeksforgeeks.org
Detailed Analysis
Across every branch listed above, IIT Kanpur's cutoff rank is tighter than IIT Roorkee's — meaning a student needs a better (lower numbered) JEE Advanced rank to secure a seat at Kanpur in the same branch. The gap is largest, in relative terms, for Computer Science: Kanpur closes around rank 100–200, while Roorkee closes around 250–350 (geeksforgeeks.org) — consistent with Computer Science being IIT Kanpur's flagship course (geeksforgeeks.org).
Civil Engineering shows the smallest relative gap (1500–1600 at Kanpur vs 1800–1900 at Roorkee), which tracks with Civil Engineering being IIT Roorkee's own flagship course and historical strength — Roorkee's civil engineering program draws comparatively higher demand relative to its other branches than Kanpur's does (geeksforgeeks.org).
These cutoff ranks aren't fixed year to year — they move with the number of candidates who sit the exam, the nature of that year's paper, and the number of seats available in each branch (geeksforgeeks.org). A separate, more recent data point reinforces the overall pattern at the institute-wide (not branch-wise) level: for JEE Advanced 2025, IIT Kanpur's General category range was reported as rank 270–19,247, versus IIT Roorkee's 91–19,396 (kollegeapply.com). That same source describes the two institutes' cutoff ranges as "similar, with variations by branch and category" — a more moderate framing than the branch-wise table above, which shows a fairly consistent gap favoring Kanpur across every branch. We're noting both framings rather than picking one, since they come from different sources measuring slightly different things (institute-wide opening-closing range vs specific branch cutoffs).
For category-specific cutoffs beyond General, our sources report: IIT Kanpur SC 70–3,628 and ST 42–2,025; IIT Roorkee SC 28–3,872 and ST 12–1,809 (2025 data) (kollegeapply.com). Note that General here refers to the unreserved admission category under India's caste- and category-based reservation system, while SC and ST are reserved categories with separate, typically less restrictive rank cutoffs.
Verdict
Winner (harder to get into): IIT Kanpur. Runner-up (comparatively easier): IIT Roorkee. Pick Roorkee if your JEE Advanced rank falls in the gap between the two institutes' cutoffs for your target branch — this is most likely to matter for Computer Science and Electronics, where the rank gap between the two institutes is largest.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Which is harder to get into for Computer Science, Kanpur or Roorkee?
IIT Kanpur — its CSE cutoff range (rank 100–200) is significantly tighter than IIT Roorkee's (250–350) (geeksforgeeks.org).
Q: Is Civil Engineering easier to get into at Roorkee than at Kanpur?
Roorkee's Civil Engineering cutoff (rank 1800–1900) is only slightly less strict than Kanpur's (1500–1600) — this is the smallest gap of any branch listed, likely because Civil Engineering is Roorkee's flagship program (geeksforgeeks.org).
Q: Do cutoffs change every year?
Yes — cutoffs vary based on the number of exam-takers, the difficulty of that year's JEE Advanced paper, and the number of available seats (geeksforgeeks.org).
Q: What was the 2025 General category cutoff range for each institute?
IIT Kanpur: rank 270–19,247. IIT Roorkee: rank 91–19,396 (kollegeapply.com).
Q: What are the SC and ST category cutoffs?
For 2025: IIT Kanpur SC 70–3,628, ST 42–2,025; IIT Roorkee SC 28–3,872, ST 12–1,809 (kollegeapply.com).
Q: Which branch has the biggest cutoff gap between the two institutes?
Computer Science shows the largest relative gap, with Kanpur (100–200) closing at a much tighter rank than Roorkee (250–350) (geeksforgeeks.org).
Q: Can I change branches after admission if I don't get my first choice?
At IIT Roorkee specifically, meritorious students can apply for a branch change at the end of their first semester; the criteria are strict and limited to top performers (en.wikipedia.org).
Related
For the complete picture beyond Branch Cutoffs — placements, academics, campus life, and more — see the full IIT Kanpur vs IIT Roorkee comparison.