JEE Main Session 1 Exams 2026: What the last 5 years' analysis reveals about paper difficulty level

The National Testing Agency (NTA) will conduct Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Main 2026 session 1 exams from January 21 to 29 for BTech, BArch and BPlanning admissions. As per the previous year’s JEE Main paper analysis, the overall difficulty level for the session 1 exam was comparatively easy compared to the session 2 exams. JEE Main 2026 live updates

NTA will conduct JEE Main 2026 shift 1 exam from 9 am to 12 pm, while the second shift will take place from 3 pm to 6 pm. The testing agency has already issued the hall tickets for exams from January 21 to 24, while the January 28 and 29 admit cards are yet to be issued.

Candidates can download the JEE Main 2026 admit card on the official website, jeemain.nta.nic.in, using their application number and password.

Once the exam is over, a detailed JEE Main 2026 exam analysis will be accessible based on students' reactions and memory-based questions.

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JEE Main 2026: Last year’s session 1 and 2 analysis

Last year’s JEE Main session 1 overall paper analysis by Careers360 subject experts reveals that maths was relatively difficult in comparison to physics and chemistry. Most of the questions were asked from the Class 12 rather than the Class 11 syllabus. Several theory-based questions were asked in all three subjects.

JEE Main session 2 exams were moderately challenging with variations across shifts. According to the students' reactions, maths was time-consuming, with physics relatively easier across all shifts. Chemistry questions were manageable for most students.

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JEE Main 2026: Past 5 years’ difficulty level

The session-wise difficulty level, as per the past 5 years' data analysis, is given below.

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JEE Main 2026 expected difficulty level as per experts

According to Careers360 experts, the overall difficulty level in session 1 exams is expected to be moderate to slightly difficult. The maths sections can be lengthy, requiring time management skills, while chemsitry section may include NCERT-based questions with easy and direct answers, making it the most scoring section.

Whereas, the physics section can be moderately challenging, including high-weightage topics from Modern Physics, electromagnetism, etc. However, the multiple and conceptual problems may require a deep and fundamental understanding of the topics.