IIT Madras (Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai) and IIT Kharagpur (Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, West Bengal) are frequently compared on placements — the process by which final-year B.Tech (Bachelor of Technology, the standard undergraduate engineering degree) students are matched with recruiting companies through each institute's placement cell. Here's what the sourced placement data actually shows for this specific pair.
Quick Verdict
IIT Madras comes out ahead on placements overall: it posted a record ₹4.3 crore (crore = 10 million, a standard Indian numbering unit) highest package in the 2024-25 season, from a global Hong Kong-based company, to a Computer Science (the study of computer systems and software) student (Aakash; CollegeDekho), and reports the higher average B.Tech package for 2025-26 (₹22–25 LPA, lakhs per annum, vs. Kharagpur's ₹19–21 LPA) (CollegeSimplified). IIT Kharagpur is a genuinely strong runner-up, though — it secured 750 offers in the same 2024 season (Aakash) and pulled in marquee recruiters including Apple and Google on its own high-value offers (CollegeDekho).
Snapshot
| Metric | IIT Madras | IIT Kharagpur |
|---|---|---|
| Average B.Tech Package (2025-26) | ₹22–25 LPA (CollegeSimplified) | ₹19–21 LPA (CollegeSimplified) |
| Highest Package (2024-25 season) | ₹4.3 crore, offered by a global (Hong Kong-based) company to a Computer Science student (Aakash; CollegeDekho) | ₹2.14 crore, with strong interest from big-league companies like Apple and Google (the technology company known for search and cloud services) (CollegeDekho) |
| Highest Domestic CTC (2025-26 season) | ₹1.31 Crore (CollegeSimplified) | ₹2.14 Crore (CollegeSimplified) |
| Offers secured (2024 season, early days) | Not specified in sourced data | 750 offers (Aakash) |
| Notable Recruiters | Global (Hong Kong-based) trading/finance firm behind the record offer (CollegeDekho) | Apple, Google (CollegeDekho); separately, Microsoft, Google, EXL Services appear in a placements table likely (but not certainly) attributed to Kharagpur (PW.live) |
| NIRF B.Tech Placement-relevant Rank | #1 (score 89.41) (Entri) | #3 (score 83.91) (Entri) |
Detailed Analysis
The headline figure for IIT Madras is its ₹4.3 crore record offer in the 2024-25 placement season, given by a global company based in Hong Kong to a Computer Science student — described as the highest package the institute has recorded to date at the time of reporting (Aakash; CollegeDekho). One source frames this as proof that "IIT Madras appeals to the best recruiters all over the world" (Aakash). For the 2025-26 cycle specifically, Madras also reports the stronger average package at ₹22–25 LPA (CollegeSimplified).
IIT Kharagpur, while not topping the headline number, put in a strong showing of its own: in the same 2024 season it secured 750 offers early on, described as "extraordinary placement performance, attracting marquee recruiters on rich valuations" (Aakash), and its highest package that season — ₹2.14 crore — came with real weight behind it, given "a lot of action from the big league companies like Apple and Google" (CollegeDekho).
Worth flagging a genuine inconsistency in the data: for the 2025-26 season, one source reports IIT Madras's highest domestic CTC dropping sharply to ₹1.31 crore — well below both its own 2024-25 record (₹4.3 crore) and below Kharagpur's reported 2025-26 highest of ₹2.14 crore, which is identical to Kharagpur's 2024-25 figure (CollegeSimplified). This could reflect real year-over-year volatility (highest-package offers are often one-off outliers rather than stable trends), or it could reflect the two sources measuring "highest package" differently (e.g., international vs. domestic offers) — the ₹4.3 crore figure isn't explicitly labeled domestic or international in its original sources, while the ₹1.31 crore figure is specifically labeled "domestic CTC." Readers should treat single-year "highest package" figures as noisy rather than a reliable trend indicator.
On broader placement-relevant rankings, one NIRF-based B.Tech ranking table places IIT Madras #1 nationally (score 89.41) and IIT Kharagpur #3 (score 83.91), ahead of IIT Delhi and IIT Kanpur (Entri) — with a note that Madras "has led the engineering category for over a decade" and its "B.Tech placements have continued to remain among the strongest in the country" (Entri).
Verdict
IIT Madras is the winner on placements in this comparison, backed by a higher 2025-26 average package and a standout historical record offer of ₹4.3 crore. IIT Kharagpur is a close and credible runner-up, with genuinely strong recruiter interest from names like Apple and Google and a large volume of early offers (750 in the period reported). A reader should lean toward Kharagpur if what matters most is a track record of a very high highest-package figure holding steady across two consecutive reported seasons (₹2.14 crore both times) rather than Madras's more volatile headline numbers, or if they specifically want higher exposure to Apple/Google recruiting on campus.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Which IIT has the better average placement package?
A: IIT Madras, at ₹22–25 LPA for 2025-26, versus IIT Kharagpur's ₹19–21 LPA (CollegeSimplified).
Q: What was the highest package ever recorded at IIT Madras?
A: ₹4.3 crore, offered in the 2024-25 season by a global Hong Kong-based company to a Computer Science student — the highest reported by the institute at that time (Aakash).
Q: What was IIT Kharagpur's highest package?
A: ₹2.14 crore, reported in both the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons, with heavy recruiter interest from Apple and Google (CollegeDekho; CollegeSimplified).
Q: Do Apple and Google recruit at both institutes?
A: Sourced data confirms Apple and Google activity at IIT Kharagpur specifically; a separate, less clearly attributed table also lists Microsoft, Google, and EXL Services in what is likely (not certainly) a Kharagpur-specific placements section (CollegeDekho; PW.live).
Q: How many offers did IIT Kharagpur secure in the 2024 season?
A: 750 offers, per one source's early-season report (Aakash).
Q: Is IIT Madras really the top B.Tech placement institute in India?
A: One NIRF-based B.Tech ranking scores it #1 nationally (89.41), ahead of IIT Bombay (#2) and IIT Kharagpur (#3, 83.91) (Entri).
Q: Why do the "highest package" figures for IIT Madras look inconsistent across sources?
A: Different sources report ₹4.3 crore for the 2024-25 season versus ₹1.31 crore "domestic CTC" for 2025-26 — this may reflect real year-to-year volatility in one-off top offers, or a difference between international and domestic offer figures; the sourced material doesn't fully resolve the discrepancy (Aakash; CollegeSimplified).
Q: Is there internship-specific placement data for this pair?
A: A total of 45 internship offers appears in one source's table, though the institute attribution for that figure is not fully unambiguous in the scraped data (PW.live).
Related
For the complete picture beyond Placements — placements, academics, campus life, and more — see the full IIT Madras vs IIT Kharagpur comparison.