What is a good score in JEE Mains 2026? Marks vs percentile explained

Over 13 lakh candidates are waiting for the Joint Entrance Examination – Main 2026 session 1 results. As per subject experts, having a JEE Main 2026 score of 250 or higher is generally considered a good score. The National Testing Agency (NTA) will announce the JEE Mains 2026 result on the official website, jeemain.nta.nic.in. JEE Main 2026 live updates

NTA has published the JEE Mains 2026 final answer key today. A total of 9 questions have been dropped in the JEE Mains 2026 final answer key, of which 2 have been dropped in Maths and 7 in the Physics section across the JEE Mains shifts.

A good score in JEE Mains 2026 depends on the number of students who appeared in the exam, the difficulty level, the cut-off marks, and other details.

Aspirants who are aiming for engineering admissions appear for the JEE Mains exam every year. Students are offered admission to NITs, IIITs, and GFTIs based on the JEE Mains 2026 exam.

Only the top 2.5 lakh JEE Main qualifiers will be eligible for the JEE Advanced 2026 exam.

Also read JEE Main 2026: Wider gap in NIT cut-offs for home and other-state quotas; outsiders need better rank

JEE Mains Percentile Explained

As per NTA, the percentile score represents the percentage of candidates in that shift who scored equal to or less than (the same or lower raw scores than) a particular candidate. Therefore, the highest scorer (topper) in each shift will receive a percentile of 100, which is appropriate.

The marks secured between the highest and lowest scores are also converted to appropriate percentiles.

JEE Main 2026 percentile score will be the “Normalised Score” for the exam (instead of the raw marks of the candidate) and shall be used for the preparation of the JEE Main 2026 merit lists.

Note: The exam results for each JEE Mains 2026 shift will be prepared in the form of raw scores and percentile scores of total raw scores of the candidates.

JEE Mains percentile calculation

Image: NTA JEE Main official brochure

For example, if a candidate has a percentile of 95 in JEE Mains, it means that the candidate has scored better than 95% of all the candidates who appeared for the exam. A higher percentile indicates better performance, while a lower percentile shows a relatively lower ranking as compared to other examinees.

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JEE Mains marks vs percentile 2026 as per trends

The JEE Main 2026 expected marks vs percentile, as per the previous years' trend is as follows.

NTA JEE Mains 2026 session 2 registration has already begun. Candidates can apply for the JEE Main 2026 April exams by February 25 on the official website. JEE Mains 2026 session 2 exams will be conducted from April 1 to 9 in two shifts.