If you want to compare the difficulty level of the CAT and XAT exams, both are considered challenging in structure, question types, and test-taking strategies. CAT primarily focuses on Verbal Ability, Logical Reasoning, and Quantitative Aptitude, with a strong emphasis on time management and accuracy. On the other hand, XAT (Xavier Aptitude Test) includes additional Decision-Making and General Knowledge section, making it unique and requiring a broader skill set. While CAT is known for its tricky Quantitative Aptitude and time pressure, XAT is often seen as more unpredictable due to its Decision-Making section. The toughness of each exam depends on an aspirant's depth of knowledge and preparation strategy. In this article we will explain the difficult parts of these two exams.
The table below, summarizes the key differences between CAT (Common Admission Test) and XAT (Xavier Aptitude Test):
| Feature | CAT | XAT |
| Conducting Body | IIMs (Indian Institutes of Management) | XLRI (Xavier Labour Relations Institute), Jamshedpur |
| Purpose | Admission to IIMs and other top B-schools | Admission to XLRI and other XAT-affiliated institutes |
| Exam Duration | 2 hours (120 minutes) | 3 hours (180 minutes) |
| Number of Sections | 3 (VARC, DILR, QA) | 4 (VALR, DM, QA, GK) |
| Section Names | Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC) Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) Quantitative Aptitude (QA) | Verbal and Logical Ability (VALR) Decision Making (DM) Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation (QA & DI) General Knowledge (GK) |
| Sectional Time Limit | Yes (40 minutes per section) | Yes (varies per section) |
| Essay Writing | No | No |
| Marking Scheme | +3 for correct, -1 for incorrect | +1 for correct, -0.25 for incorrect (except GK) |
| Difficulty Level | Moderate to High | High (especially Decision Making and GK) |
CAT and XAT differ slightly in syllabus and exam structure. While both exams test candidates on Verbal Ability, Quantitative Ability, and Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning, XAT includes additional sections on Decision Making and GK, which is unique to it. Moreover, XAT often features a more challenging Verbal section and also includes a General Knowledge section, unlike CAT. These differences make XAT slightly broader in scope and test a wider range of skills compared to CAT.
Scetion-wise CAT 2025 syllabus is discussed below:
| Section | Topics |
| Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC) | Para jumbles, para summary, odd one out, sentence completion, and 4 RCs with 4 questions each. |
| Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) | Tables, bar graphs, pie charts, line arrangements, circular arrangement, and selection-based questions. |
| Quantitative Aptitude (QA) | Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, number system, and modern math-based questions. |
Compared to CAT exam, XAT syllabus is bit more extensive due to two additional sections such as DM and GK.
| XAT Syllabus | |
| Section | Topics |
| Verbal Ability (VA) | Questions based on poems, critical reasoning, RC, vocabulary, synonyms, antonyms, jumbled paragraphs, sentence completion, etc. |
| Decision Making (DM) | Based on assumptions, premises, ethics, HR, business issues, and analytical reasoning. |
| Quantitative Aptitude (QA) | Diagrams, charts, graphs, permutation & combination, probability, trigonometry, inequality, binomial, progression, Venn diagrams, logarithm, linear equations, mensuration, speed-time-distance, percentages, algebra, geometry, etc. |
| General Knowledge (GK) | Based on business, finance, economics, constitution laws, personalities, awards, current affairs of national and international importance. |
Comparatively XAT has a lengthy syllabus than CAT. Students preparing for XAT need to dedicate more time to prepare for XAT than CAT.
CAT vs XAT: Exam Pattern and Marking Scheme
The number of questions varies in both exams. CAT had 68 questions in 2024, while XAT has 95 questions to be attempted by the candidates. However, CAT and XAT differ significantly in their marking schemes as well. It should also be noted that XAT penalizes -0.1 marks for every 8 un-attempted questions. However, XAT GK paper doesn't have any negative marking.
Overall, both CAT and XAT exams are strict in penalizing the candidate for wrong answers, but given the weightage of marks, CAT seems to be tougher than the two.
| Details | CAT Marking Scheme / Time Duration | XAT Marking Scheme / Time Duration |
| Number of Questions | 68 | 95 |
| Total Marks | 198 | 95 |
| Negative Marking | 3 marks for correct answer. (-1) mark for incorrect answer. No negative marking for non-MCQs. | 1 mark for correct answer. (-0.25) mark for incorrect answer. (-0.5) marks for more than 8 un-attempted questions. No negative marking in GK section. |
| Number of choices in MCQs | 4 | 5 |
| Sectional Time Limit | 40 minutes per section (120 minutes in total) | 170 minutes for Part 1 (VA, QA, DM) 10 minutes for GK |
Candidates of entrance exams often struggle with the time management, and success comes to those who can manage the time efficiently. Before going for the examination hall candidates must know that CAT has section-wise time limits. CAT candidates cannot move to any sections without completing the previous one.
| CAT Exam Sections | Time Duration (in minutes) |
| VARC (Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension) | 40 |
| LRDI (Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation) | 40 |
| QUANTS (Quantitative Ability) | 40 |
Candidates aspiring for XAT does not have any sectional time limits. For the first part of the exam consisting of VALR, DM, and QA & DI candidates will get 170 minutes, while for the second part of the XAT question paper candidates will get 10 minutes for GK paper.
| XAT Exam Parts | Time Duration (in minutes) | |
| Part 1 | Verbal Ability & Logical Reasoning (VA & LR) Decision-Making (DM) Quantitative Aptitude & Data Interpretation (QA & DI) | 170 |
| Part 2 | General Knowledge (GK) | 10 |
If you compare the number of questions in CAT vs XAT, XAT exam will appear tougher as the number of questions are 95 in XAT while CAT questions paper consists of only 66 to 68 questions. Though candidates will get 1 hour more in XAT compared to CAT, it requires unwavering determination and resilience to successfully complete the XAT paper.
| CAT Exam: Number of Questions Asked | |
| Section | No. of Questions |
| VARC (Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension) | 24 |
| LRDI (Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation) | 22 |
| QUANTS (Quantitative Ability) | 22 |
| Total | 68 |
XAT question paper has 4 to 6 more questions in VA & LR and QA & DI section compared to CAT.
| XAT Exam: Number of Questions Asked | |
| Section | No. of Questions |
| Verbal Ability & Logical Reasoning (VA & LR) | 26 |
| Decision-Making (DM) | 21 |
| Quantitative Aptitude & Data Interpretation (QA & DI) | 28 |
| General Knowledge (GK) | 20 |
| Total | 95 |
In CAT 2024, there was a minor change to its exam format by increasing the total number of questions from 66 to 68. The Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) section proved to be the toughest, whereas the Quantitative Ability (QA) section was relatively easier and more manageable. The Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR) section offered a balanced mix of difficulty and scoring opportunities.
| Section | Total Questions | Difficulty Level | No. of MCQ Questions | No. of TITA Questions | Good Attempts |
| VARC | 24 | Moderate | 2 | 22 | 17-18 |
| DILR | 22 | Easy - Moderate | 10 | 12 | 12-13 |
| QA | 22 | Moderate | 8 | 14 | 13-14 |
| TOTAL | 68 | Moderate | 20 | 48 | 45-47 |
In the part 1 of XAT 2025 exam, candidates, who attempted about 13-14 out of 26 questions in the Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning Section in about 55-60 minutes, with 80% accuracy rate can expect good score.
| Area / Questions | No. of Qs. | Level of Difficulty |
| Grammatically correct sentence | 2 | Medium |
| Fill in the blanks (4 blanks) | 1 | Medium |
| Jumbled Paragraphs (5 statements) | 2 | Medium |
| Critical Reasoning | 3 | Medium |
| Main idea/message of the given image | 1 | Medium |
| RC Passages - 5 (300-450 words) | 15 | Difficult |
| Poem-based passage | 2 | Difficult |
Decision Making section of XAT 2025 consisted of 7 sets of 3 questions each. Candidates attempting 11-12 questions in about 55 minutes with 75-80% accuracy should expect good score.
In the QA and DI section of XAT 2025, which consist of 28 questions, an attempt of approximately 18-19 questions with around 80% accuracy within 55-60 minutes would be considered a strong performance.
| Topic | Easy | Medium | Difficult | Total |
| Arithmetic | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Geometry | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| Modern Math | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Algebra | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Numbers | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Total QA | 5 | 6 | 5 | 16 |
| Set Type | Easy | Medium | Difficult | Total |
| Scatter Plot / Line Graph (observation-based) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Arithmetic-based set | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Average-based set | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Number-matrix based set | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Total DI | 0 | 12 | 0 | 12 |
XAT cutoffs for XLRI are generally higher, with the Business Management (BM) program requiring a 95+ percentile and the Human Resource Management (HRM) program needing around 92+. This is higher than the CAT cutoffs for most IIMs. Other top B-schools, such as SPJIMR, XIMB, and IMT, have similar cutoffs for both CAT and XAT exams, typically ranging between 85-90 percentile. While both CAT and XAT have sectional cutoffs, IIMs tend to enforce stricter sectional time limits and marks weightage, making it essential for candidates to perform well across all sections. The following table shows the cutoffs of some of the top CAT and XAT affiliated management colleges.
| B-School | CAT Cutoff (Percentile) | XAT Cutoff (Percentile) |
| IIM Ahmedabad | 80 (Overall) | Not Applicable |
| IIM Bangalore | 85 (Overall) | Not Applicable |
| IIM Calcutta | 85 (Overall) | Not Applicable |
| XLRI Jamshedpur (BM) | Not Applicable | 95+ (Overall) |
| XLRI Jamshedpur (HRM) | Not Applicable | 92+ (Overall) |
| SPJIMR Mumbai | 85+ | 90+ |
| 90 | 90 | |
| IMT Ghaziabad | 90 | 90 |
| TAPMI Manipal | 85 | 85 |
| Great Lakes Chennai | 85 | 85 |
| GIM Goa | 85 | 85 |
| KJ Somaiya | 83 | 83 |
When comparing CAT and XAT in terms of time management and question marking weightage, CAT tends to be more challenging due to its strict time constraints. Each section in CAT has a fixed time limit, making it extremely important for candidates to manage their time efficiently under pressure. XAT, on the other hand, provides more flexibility in navigating through sections.
Despite both exams being competitive, CAT is more popular as it serves as the gateway to India's top business schools, including the IIMs and premier private institutes. XAT, on the other hand, is primarily for Xavier schools of management and a few other colleges. This broader acceptance makes CAT the preferred choice for a larger pool of MBA aspirants in India.
Ans: The Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation section of both XAT and CAT are highly scoring. However, XAT's Verbal Ability and Decision-Making questions and CAT's VARC and Logical Reasoning sections are quite challenging. Students targeting high scores in these sections of both exams need to prepare and practice more carefully.
Ans: No, preparing separately for XAT is necessary since its question paper, question types, and test structure differ significantly from CAT. Since CAT and XAT share common sections like Quantitative Ability (QA), Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR), and Verbal Ability (VARC), your CAT preparation will cover a significant portion of XAT. However, there are key differences:
Ans: The Decision-Making section of XAT consists of 21 questions, carrying a total of 21 marks. Candidates are required to answer a set of inference-based questions for each passage. These passages can be either mathematical or behavioral in nature. Mathematical questions typically involve Data Interpretation or Logical Reasoning sets. The behavioral questions are scenario-based, where candidates must select the most appropriate solution to a given situation.
Ans: In addition to XLRI Jamshedpur, over 800 MBA colleges in India accept XAT scores. Some of the well-known institutes include XIMB, XISS, LIBA, GIM Goa, GLIM, TAPMI, KIIT SOM, IMT Ghaziabad, and Birla Institute of Management Technology.
Ans: More than 1,300 management institutes in India, including private and government institutions (all the IIMs) as well as central and state universities, accept CAT scores for MBA admissions.
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