Top MBA entrance exams across India are CAT, MAT, XAT, CMAT, NMAT, and SNAP. To pursue an MBA program, you must appear for an entrance exam. For some top business schools, you must meet the specific cutoff criteria in the above-mentioned exams.
Most of the B-schools in India such as IIMs prefer the candidates who opt for popular MBA entrance exams. Many tier II and II institutes also offers their own monument Entrance Exams. There many colleges that accepts the MBA admission without an entrance exam, such as Sikkim Manipal University, Delhi; GD Goenka University, Andhra Loyola College, etc.
You can appear for all those top MBA entrance test if you have a graduation degree with a minimum of 50% marks. If you are an aspirant aiming for the IIMs, then should appear for the CAT exam. However, you are an aspirant aiming for the Tier-2 private MBA colleges, then they should appear for the CMAT or MAT exam.
Every year, more than 300,000 learners graduate with a Master of Business Administration in India. According to the report of Graduate Management Administrations Council of 2021, India is the second only to Chian which manages the GMAT exam. Check the exam dates and other details of all the top entrance exams for MBA in India in this article.
There are top 15 management entrance exams conducted for admission to MBA programs across the country. There are also, state-wise, college-wise, university-wise specific MBA entrance tests. Check out the table below for the top MBA entrance exams in 2025:
Entrance Exam | Exam Duration | No. of Questions | Exam Timeline (Tentative) | Official Website |
CAT 2025 | 120 minutes | 68 | Last week of November 2025 | Iimcat.ac.in |
XAT 2026 | 180 minutes | 95 | First week of January 2026 | xatonline.in |
NMAT 2025 | 120 minutes | 108 | Phase 1: November 2025 to December 2025 Phase 2: January 2026 | mba.com/nmat |
SNAP 2025 | 60 minutes | 60 | December 2025 | snaptest.org |
MICAT 2026 | 165 minutes | 234 | Phase 1: December 2025 Phase 2: January 2026 | mica.ac.in/pgdm |
MAH MBA CET 2025 | 150 minutes | 200 | April 1 to 3, 2025 | cetcell.mahacet.org |
CMAT 2026 | 180 minutes | 100 | January 2026 | cmat.nta.nic.in |
IBSAT 2025 | 120 minutes | 140 | December 2025 | admissions.ibsindia.org/ibsat |
MAT 2025 | 120 minutes | 150 | December 2025 | mat.aima.in |
TANCET 2025 | 120 minutes | 100 | March 22, 2025 | tancet.annauniv.edu/tancet |
CUET PG 2025 | 150 minutes | 75 | March 13, 2025 March 31, 2025 | nta.ac.in |
CAT is a national MBA entrance exam, conducted by IIMs on a rotational basis. IIM will conduct the CAT 2025 exam on November 30, 2025. CAT admit card 2025 will be available to download on the official website at iimcat.ac.in.
As per the latest CAT exam pattern, the total exam duration is two hours, and you have to answer 68 questions. The questions will be asked from VARC, DILR, and QA. This exam has a sectional time limit for every section.
Particulars | Details |
Exam Duration | 120 minutes |
No. of Questions | 68 |
Exam Timeline (Tentative) | Last week of November 2025 |
Official Website | iimcat.ac.in |
Particulars | Details |
MBA Entrance Exam 2025 Registration Starts | August 2025 |
MBA Entrance Exam 2025 Registration Ends | September 2025 |
MBA Entrance Exam Fees | INR 2500/- |
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CMAT is a national-level entrance exam, conducted for admission to the MBA programs. For the admission to 2026 batch, the exam will be conducted by NTA in online mode. As per the latest exam pattern, the question paper has four sections, which you have to answer within three sections.
Particulars | Details |
Exam Duration | 180 minutes |
No. of Questions | 100 |
Exam Timeline (Tentative) | January 2026 |
Official Website | cmat.nta.nic.in |
Particulars | Details |
MBA Entrance Exam 2025 Registration Starts | November 14, 2024 |
MBA Entrance Exam 2025 Registration Ends | December 25, 2024 |
MBA Entrance Exam Fees | INR 2000/- |
Institute Name | |
K J Somaiya | Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University |
GIM | Jaipuria Noida |
BIMTECH | MNIT Jaipur |
Great Lakes | Chandragupt Institute of Management |
VIT | Tezpur University |
Amity University, Noida | Christ University |
LPU - Lovely Professional University |
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Xavier Aptitude Test simply known as XAT is conducted by Xavier School of Management. This exam is conducted every year for admission to the MBA and PGDM programs. This exam will be held in a computer-based test.
As per the latest XAT exam pattern, the question paper will have a total of four sections, which you can answer within three hours. XAT 2026 exam is scheduled for January 3, 2026.
Particulars | Details |
Exam Duration | 180 minutes |
No. of Questions | 95 |
Exam Timeline (Tentative) | First week of January 2026 |
Official Website | xatonline.in |
Particulars | Details |
MBA Entrance Exam 2025 Registration Starts | July 2025 |
MBA Entrance Exam 2025 Registration Ends | December 2025 |
MBA Entrance Exam Fees | INR 1750/- |
XAT | |
XAT Details | XAT Eligibility |
XAT Syllabus | XAT Dates |
XAT Registration | XAT Admit Card |
XAT Exam Pattern | XAT Answer Key |
XAT Cutoff | XAT Result |
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SNAP is a national-level MBA entrance exam, conducted by Symbiosis International University. After qualifying exam, you will be able to take admission to 16 Symbiosis institutes. Before you proceed with the registration, make sure to check the SNAP Eligibility Criteria. The exam is scheduled for December 2025.
Particulars | Details |
Exam Duration | 60 minutes |
No. of Questions | 60 |
Exam Timeline (Tentative) | December 2025 |
Official Website | snaptest.org |
Particulars | Details |
MBA Entrance Exam 2025 Registration Starts | August 2025 |
MBA Entrance Exam 2025 Registration Ends | November 2025 |
MBA Entrance Exam Fees | INR 1950/- |
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NMAT 2025 exam is a national-level MBA entrance exam, conducted by the GMAC. This is the only exam that allows you to attempt the exam three times.
According to the last year?s NMAT exam pattern, the total number of questions asked was 108. Apart from 29 institutes in India, 7 in South Africa and 5 in the Philippines accept the exam score of NMAT. The NMAT exam is held between November 5 to December 20, 2025.
Particulars | Details |
Exam Duration | 120 minutes |
No. of Questions | 108 |
Exam Timeline (Tentative) | Phase 1: November 2025 to December 2025 Phase 2: January 2026 |
Official Website | mba.com/nmat |
Particulars | Details |
MBA Entrance Exam 2025 Registration Starts | August 1, 2025 |
MBA Entrance Exam 2025 Registration Ends | October 10, 2025 |
MBA Entrance Exam Fees | INR 2800/- |
Institute Name | |
NMIMS Mumbai | K J Somaiya |
SPJIMR | XIM |
SDA Bocconi Asia Center | ICFAI business school |
IBS Aptitude Test is a national-level MBA entrance exam, conducted by IBS Hyderabad. After qualifying for the exam, you will be able to be admission to any of the nine IBS campuses. A total of 140 questions will be asked in the computer-based test as per the latest IBSAT exam pattern.
Particulars | Details |
Exam Duration | 120 minutes |
No. of Questions | 140 |
Exam Timeline (Tentative) | December 2025 |
Official Website | admissions.ibsindia.org/ibsat |
Particulars | Details |
MBA Entrance Exam 2025 Registration Starts | July 1, 2025 |
MBA Entrance Exam 2025 Registration Ends | December 2025 |
MBA Entrance Exam Fees | INR 1800/- |
Institute Name | |
IBS Hyderabad | and all the other 8 campuses of ICFAI |
MGU on behalf of the Telangana State Council for Higher Education has published TS ICET 2025 notification. This exam is also referred to as TS ICET. It is scheduled for June 8 and 9, 2025.
Particulars | Details |
Exam Duration | 150 minutes |
No. of Questions | 200 |
Exam Timeline (Tentative) | First Week of June, 2025 |
Official Website | icet.tsche.ac.in |
Particulars | Details |
MBA Entrance Exam 2025 Registration Starts | March 10, 2025 |
MBA Entrance Exam 2025 Registration Ends | May 3, 2025 |
MBA Entrance Exam Fees | INR 650 + Charges |
Institute Name | |
Malla Reddy Engineering College | Kakatiya Institute of Technology & Science |
Vivekvardhini College School of Business Management | Guru Nanak Institute of Technology |
St Xaviers PG College |
Sri Krishnadevaraya University conducts the AP ICET 2025 on behalf of the Andhra Pradesh State Council of Higher Education. AP ICET 2025 is scheduled for May 7, 2025. After clearing this examination, you will get the chance to be admission to the colleges in Andhra Pradesh.
Particulars | Details |
Exam Duration | 150 minutes |
No. of Questions | 200 |
Exam Timeline (Tentative) | May 7, 2025 |
Official Website | cets.apsche.ap.gov.in/ICET/ |
Particulars | Details |
MBA Entrance Exam 2025 Registration Starts | March 2025 |
MBA Entrance Exam 2025 Registration Ends | April 2025 |
MBA Entrance Exam Fees | INR 650+INR 29.50/- |
Institute Name | |
Sri Balaji PG College | Abhinav Institute of Management & Technology |
Kakatiya Institute of Technology & Science | Guru Nanak Institute of Technology |
St Xaviers PG College |
MAH MBA CET 2025 is state state-level entrance exam, conducted to provide admission to colleges in Maharashtra state. MAH CET 2025 is scheduled for April 1, 2, and 3, 2025.
Particulars | Details |
Exam Duration | 150 minutes |
No. of Questions | 200 |
Exam Timeline (Tentative) | April 1 to 3, 2025 |
Official Website | cetcell.mahacet.org |
Particulars | Details |
MBA Entrance Exam 2025 Registration Starts | December 25, 2024 |
MBA Entrance Exam 2025 Registration Ends | February 10, 2025 |
MBA Entrance Exam Fees | INR 1000/- |
Institute Name | |
KJ Somaiya | Welingkar Institute of Management Development and Research, |
FLAME University | ITM Business School Navi Mumbai |
Balaji Institute of International Business | Tathawad |
B-MAT 2025 is a university-level entrance exam conducted by Bhartiya Vidyapeeth Deemed University. This exam is conducted for admission to MBA and MBA (HR) across throughout all campuses.
Particulars | Details |
Exam Duration | 135 minutes |
No. of Questions | 64 |
Exam Timeline (Tentative) | April 2025 |
Official Website | bvuniversity.edu.in |
Particulars | Details |
MBA Entrance Exam 2025 Registration Starts | December 2024 |
MBA Entrance Exam 2025 Registration Ends | April 2025 |
MBA Entrance Exam Fees | INR 2000/- |
Institute Name |
Bharati Vidyapeeth Deemed University, Pune |
NIPER Hyderabad conducts the NIPER JEE MBA is a university-level entrance exam. The total duration of the NIPER JEE MBA is 120 minutes. If you qualify for the exam, then you will be offered admission to the MBA in Pharmaceutical Management.
Particulars | Details |
Exam Duration | 180 minutes |
No. of Questions | 95 |
Exam Timeline (Tentative) | First week of January 2026 |
Official Website | NIPER JEE MBA online.in |
Particulars | Details |
MBA Entrance Exam 2025 Registration Starts | July 2025 |
MBA Entrance Exam 2025 Registration Ends | December 2025 |
MBA Entrance Exam Fees | INR 1750/- |
Check out the table below for the for the difficulty level of the MBA entrance exams:
Difficulty Level | MBA Entrance Exams |
Highly Difficult | CAT, XAT |
Moderate to High | SNAP, NMAT, CUET PG MBA, ATMA |
Easy | MAT, CMAT, IBSAT |
Ans: If it comes to the MBA entrance exam, the CAT exam is the foremost choice for most of the candidates. Apart from that, XAT, CMAT, and SNAP are also some of the best MBA entrance exams that a candidate looks to crack.
Ans: These are some common eligibility criteria to appear for most of the MBA entrance exams:
Ans: Common Admission Test (CAT) is one of the best and the toughest MBA entrance exams with over two lakh registration every year. By qualifying for the CAT, you will get the opportunity to join prestigious institutions like SPJIMR , FMS Delhi, IIMs, etc. Apart from the CAT, these are some alternate entrance exams, such as XAT, CMAT, IBSAT, SNAP, MAT, etc. for admission to the prestigious MBA colleges.
Ans: No, there are no MBA entrance exams without Mathematics. However, there are a few MBA exams that have low weightage for the mathematics section, such as CMAT, SNAP, and NMAT.
Ans: You can take the NMAT 2025 exam up to three times within the testing window. The best score out of the three attempts will be considered for admission.
Ans: XAT 2025 exam includes the Verbal & Logical Ability, Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation, Decision Making, and General Knowledge.
Ans: Firstly, you have to understand the exam pattern and exam syllabus. Practice previous year’s questions, take mock tests as many as possible, and join coaching classes if required.
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