Quick Verdict
IIT Madras is the clearly more competitive (harder-to-get-into) institute across every shared branch: its JEE Advanced (the entrance exam that decides admission to India's Indian Institutes of Technology, or IITs) closing ranks are far lower than IIT BHU Varanasi's in Computer Science, Electrical, Mechanical, Civil, and Chemical Engineering alike, based on the JoSAA (Joint Seat Allocation Authority) 2024 Round 5 data (EngineeringHulk). A lower closing rank means fewer applicants were admitted with worse ranks, i.e. the branch is more oversubscribed and prestigious. IIT BHU Varanasi still fills every branch well within a comfortable JEE Advanced rank band, making it a realistic target for students whose rank doesn't clear IIT Madras's much tighter bar.
Snapshot
Branch-wise closing ranks, JoSAA 2024 Round 5 (final round), General/Open category, Gender-Neutral seats (EngineeringHulk):
| Branch | IIT Madras Closing Rank | IIT BHU Varanasi Closing Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Computer Science & Engineering (CSE) | 159 | 1,510 |
| Electrical Engineering | 838 | 3,608 |
| Mechanical Engineering | 2,310 | 7,497 |
| Civil Engineering | 5,688 | 10,583 |
| Chemical Engineering | 3,972 | 7,757 |
Detailed Analysis
The gap is starkest in Computer Science and Engineering: IIT Madras's 2024 CSE seat closed at rank 159, while IIT BHU Varanasi's closed at rank 1,510 — nearly a 10x difference (EngineeringHulk). More broadly, "CSE at the older IITs (Bombay, Delhi, Madras, Kanpur) closes within the top few hundred to ~2,500 ranks," while "newer IITs close every branch later than the established ones" (EngineeringHulk) — and while IIT BHU Varanasi isn't one of the newest IITs, its 2024 cutoffs sit well above (i.e., are less competitive than) those of the original five IITs across the board.
Looking at IIT BHU Varanasi's own 2025 JEE Advanced cutoff data in isolation, the trend across rounds shows ranks loosening slightly as seats fill: Computer Science and Engineering moved from a Round 1 closing rank of 1,350 out to 1,489 by Round 6, Electrical Engineering moved from 3,493 to 3,537, and Mechanical Engineering moved from 6,525 to 7,286 (Careers360, CollegeDekho cutoff data). Other IIT BHU branches close much later, reflecting lower demand: Mining Engineering closed around rank 12,572–14,243 across rounds, and Pharmaceutical Engineering & Technology around 12,976–14,447 (Careers360) — illustrating that within IIT BHU Varanasi itself, branch choice creates a very wide effective rank range, much as it does at any IIT.
On the postgraduate side, GATE (Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering, the qualifying exam for Master's/M.Tech admission) cutoffs are available for both institutes but from different years, so they aren't a clean apples-to-apples comparison: IIT Madras's 2022 GATE closing rank for M.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering was 175 (General category), while IIT BHU Varanasi's 2020 GATE closing rank for M.Tech in Electronics and Communication Engineering was 550 (PW.live). Where we have matching category breakdowns, both institutes show the expected pattern of progressively higher (more relaxed) closing ranks for OBC, SC, ST, and EWS categories relative to General (PW.live) — consistent with how "OBC-NCL, EWS, SC, and ST categories have significantly more relaxed cutoffs" system-wide (JEE Predictor).
Verdict
IIT Madras wins on branch cutoffs in the sense that matters most to applicants: it is significantly harder to get into across every shared engineering branch, reflecting stronger perceived prestige and demand. IIT BHU Varanasi is the practical runner-up — its cutoffs are meaningfully more accessible while still requiring a solid JEE Advanced rank, particularly for CSE and Electrical Engineering. The one condition under which a reader should pick IIT BHU Varanasi over IIT Madras on cutoffs alone: if their JEE Advanced rank falls between roughly 1,500 and 10,000 for their branch of interest — a zone where IIT Madras's seats in that branch are simply out of reach, but IIT BHU Varanasi's are not.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Which institute has a lower (more competitive) CSE cutoff?
IIT Madras, with a 2024 closing rank of 159 versus IIT BHU Varanasi's 1,510 (source).
Q: Is the gap the same size across all branches?
No — it's largest in CSE (roughly 10x) and proportionally smaller in Civil Engineering, where IIT Madras closed at 5,688 and IIT BHU Varanasi at 10,583 (source).
Q: What was IIT BHU Varanasi's easiest branch to get into in 2025?
Based on available data, Pharmaceutical Engineering & Technology and Mining Engineering had the highest (most accessible) closing ranks, both above 12,500 (source).
Q: Do cutoffs get easier in later JoSAA/counseling rounds?
Generally yes — IIT BHU Varanasi's own round-by-round 2025 data shows closing ranks loosening slightly from Round 1 to Round 6 for most branches (source).
Q: Can I compare IIT Madras's and IIT BHU Varanasi's GATE (M.Tech) cutoffs directly?
Not cleanly — the only sourced GATE cutoff data available is from different years (IIT Madras 2022 vs IIT BHU Varanasi 2020), so a direct comparison isn't reliable (source).
Q: Do reserved categories (OBC, SC, ST, EWS) have different cutoffs?
Yes, at both institutes and across the IIT system generally, reserved categories have significantly more relaxed closing ranks than the General category (source).
Q: What rank guarantees a seat at some IIT, in some branch?
Roughly 16,000 is cited as the closing line for the General category to enter any IIT in any branch, system-wide (source).
Q: Are AI & Data Science / Maths & Computing cutoffs catching up to CSE and Electrical?
Yes — across IITs generally, these newer specializations "now rival or exceed ECE/Electrical" in cutoff competitiveness (source), though branch-specific 2024/2025 numbers for these specializations at IIT Madras or IIT BHU Varanasi specifically weren't in our sourced data.
Related
For the complete picture beyond Branch Cutoffs — placements, academics, campus life, and more — see the full IIT Madras vs IIT BHU Varanasi comparison.