What are the main differences between JEE Main and NEET?

JEE Main is for engineering aspirants, focusing on Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics, while NEET is for medical aspirants, covering Physics, Chemistry, and Biology.

Which exam is tougher, JEE Main or NEET?

JEE Main is often seen as slightly easier than NEET due to NEET’s limited seats and the intense competition among medical aspirants.

How does the competition differ between JEE Main and NEET?

JEE Main has more seats across engineering colleges, while NEET has fewer seats in medical colleges, increasing competition for NEET aspirants.

Is NEET Biology easier than JEE Main Mathematics?

Many students find NEET Biology easier than JEE Main Mathematics because it involves memory based solution rather than problem-solving and calculations.

How should students decide between preparing for JEE Main or NEET?

Students should choose based on their career goals—engineering for JEE Main or medicine for NEET—and their aptitude for the required subjects.

Are JEE Main Physics and NEET Physics similar in difficulty?

Both include challenging Physics sections, but JEE Main focuses more on problem-solving, while NEET emphasizes conceptual understanding.

Why is seat availability a major factor in determining the toughness of NEET?

The limited seats in medical colleges make NEET more competitive, as thousands of aspirants vie for a small number of spots.

Can students prepare for both JEE Main and NEET simultaneously?

It’s possible but challenging, as the exams test different subjects—Mathematics for JEE Main and Biology for NEET—requiring separate strategies.

What strategies work best for cracking JEE Main and NEET?

For JEE Main, focus on speed and accuracy in problem-solving. For NEET, prioritize conceptual clarity and thorough Biology revision.

Does the frequency of these exams affect their difficulty?

Both JEE Main and NEET are held annually, making them highly competitive as aspirants get only one chance per year to succeed.

JEE Main vs NEET UG: Which Entrance Exam is Toughest?

The students can get to know the JEE Main vs NEET difference to choose the career paths after finishing their 12th grade in science group. The syllabus for each exam is also available for the students to anticipate the topics covered in each entrance exam.

Table of Contents

What is JEE Main?
What is NEET?
Key Differences Between JEE Main vs NEET
Which is Tough NEET or JEE Main?
JEE Main vs NEET: Which is Easier to Crack?
Are JEE Main Questions Repeated in NEET?
JEE Main 2025 Eligibility Criteria
Eligibility Criteria for NEET 2025

One common question that often comes to the minds of class 12 pass-out students is: "Which is better — JEE Main or NEET?" NEET is for students interested in pursuing a medical career, while JEE Main is for those aiming for engineering. Both are national-level entrance exams typically taken after Class 12 to enter science-related fields.

When it comes to difficulty, NEET is considered slightly tougher than JEE Main but easier than JEE Advanced. Because there are fewer seats in NEET, the competition is intense, making it harder to secure admission. A good score in NEET can help secure admission to top medical colleges, while performing well in JEE can lead to entry into prestigious engineering institutes.

Both exams are highly competitive, with thousands of students appearing each year. The challenge of choosing between them isn't just about the difficulty level but also about the different career paths they lead to. To help you make an informed decision, we will break down the differences between JEE Main vs NEET, discuss their difficulty levels, and explore the career opportunities they offer.

What is JEE Main?

Joint Entrance Examination Main, or JEE Main, is a national-level entrance exam conducted for admission to top-notch engineering institutions in India like IITs, NITs, IITs, etc. This computer-based test is administered by the National Testing Agency (NTA). This year, JEE Main will be conducted in two sessions. JEE Main syllabus 2025 includes topics from three major subject areas- Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics.

What is NEET?

National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) is a national-level entrance examination for students who intend to pursue undergraduate and postgraduate medical programs (MBBS, MD, MS) and dental courses (BDS, MDS) in government or private colleges in India. Conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA), it is the most sought-after medical entrance exams in India. NEET 2025 is scheduled to be conducted in May 2025. NEET exam evaluates candidates' knowledge in three subjects- Biology, Chemistry and Physics.

Key Differences Between JEE Main vs NEET

The primary difference between JEE Main vs NEET lies in their purpose. JEE Main is for students pursuing engineering, while NEET is for those aiming to build a career in medicine. Another key distinction is the exam pattern — JEE places a strong emphasis on Mathematics, whereas NEET focuses more on Biology.

Both exams are highly competitive national-level tests that are challenging to crack. What sets them apart is the career path they lead to: JEE opens the way to top engineering colleges, while NEET is the gateway to reputed medical institutions. The subject weightage is another significant difference. JEE gives priority to Math, while NEET focuses on Biology. There are also differences in subject distribution, exam frequency, and patterns.

For a detailed comparison, refer to the table below. It's important to note that JEE has two stages: JEE Main and JEE Advanced.

JEE Main vs NEET - Key Differece
Basis	JEE Main	NEET
Abbreviation for	Joint Entrance Examination	National Eligibility cum Entrance Test
Type	Computer-based test	Pen and paper-based
Subjects/ skills	Paper 1: Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics	Biology, Chemistry and Physics
Subjects/ skills	Paper 2: Mathematics, Aptitude, Drawing and Planning	Biology, Chemistry and Physics
Used for	Admission to undergraduate Engineering and architecture courses in 31 NITs, 23 IITs and other colleges. Also serves as a prelim selection for JEE Advanced.	Admission to undergraduate Medical courses in government and private colleges. Qualifying it is mandatory for pursuing the same abroad.
Score Range	-75 to 300	-180 to 720
Frequency	2 times in a year	Once a year
Restriction	Within 3 years of passing class 12th	Applicant must be at least 17 years old (if more than 25 years old, then subjected to the Supreme Courts’ orders)
Languages	Assamese, Bengali, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odiya, Punjabi, Tamil, Urdu and Telugu.	Assamese, Bengali, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Marathi, Oriya, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu
12th Class Cutoff for Eligibility	General - 75%	General - 50%
	Reserved - 65%	OBC - 45%
	Reserved - 65%	SC/ST/PWD - 40%

Also Read: How to Crack NEET Exam 2025?

Which is Tough NEET or JEE Main?

JEE Main and NEET both are tough exams to crack. As these exams are conducted annually and with the constraints of limited seats, cracking these exams becomes more challenging. Furthermore, the number of seats in medical institutes is much lesser than in engineering colleges. Hence, even if the questions' difficulty level is less in NEET than JEE Main, it makes the exam more competitive and adds another dimension to the difficulty for NEET.

However, if we look at the question which is tough JEE Main vs NEET from a general perspective, the answer to it will be much different. Below is the sequencing of papers from easiest to toughest:

Least Difficult - JEE Main
Difficult - NEET
Most Difficult - JEE Advanced

Although all this becomes irrelevant if you have a particular career path already set out for yourself already. In that case, you have to take on the relevant paper to that career irrespective of the difficulty level.

JEE Main vs NEET: Which is Easier to Crack?

Both JEE and NEET are challenging national-level entrance exams. While NEET questions might be slightly easier compared to JEE Main, the limited number of medical seats makes NEET more difficult overall. The difference in seat availability between medical and engineering colleges adds to this challenge.

When it comes to deciding which exam is easier, opinions vary. Generally:

Easiest: JEE Main
Moderately Difficult: NEET
Most Difficult: JEE Advanced

However, the difficulty of the JEE Main vs NEET exams depends largely on an individual's abilities and preparation strategies.

Since both exams are conducted only once a year and offer limited seats, they are highly competitive.

Also Read: How to Complete NEET 2025 Syllabus Before Time?

Are JEE Main Questions Repeated in NEET?

When a student is giving both papers, there is a common question that arises in one’s mind: Are JEE Main questions asked in NEET? As we know that both papers have chemistry and physics as their common subjects, so that question is only natural to come to one’s head. Well, although the subject and even the course that one has to study may align together, the difficulty level varies.

If one is preparing for JEE Main, it will support the preparation of NEET and visa versa, but going by the assumption that enough questions will be repeated to make a difference will have unfavourable effects. One will have to prepare for both the JEE Main vs NEET so that they both will help the other paper with supportive and complementary topics and help solve the papers speedily.

JEE Main 2025 Eligibility Criteria

The JEE Main eligibility criteria 2025 include age criteria, number of attempts, qualifying marks, and other aspects. To appear for B.E./B.Tech (Paper 1), it is compulsory for candidates to have studied Physics and Mathematics as well as one subject from Chemistry, Biology, and Biotechnology.

Moreover, B. Arch. (Paper 2) requires students to have studied and passed Physics, Chemistry, and Maths in class 12th. Further, students must have studied Mathematics at the 10+2 level if they are appearing for B. Planning (Paper 3). Take a look at the detailed eligibility criteria for JEE Main 2025 below:

JEE Main 2025 Eligibility Criteria
Criteria	Eligibility for General and OBC	Eligibility for Reserved Categories
Minimum Qualifying Marks	75% aggregate marks in 12th	65% aggregate marks in 12th
Age Limit	There is no age restriction for JEE Main 2025. It is recommended, however, that students ensure the age limit requirements of the institution, they are applying for.
Maximum Number of Attempts	Twice a year, for three consecutive years
Number of Subjects in Qualifying Exam	5 Subjects
Year of Passing Class 12	Passing after 2023 or 2024 or currently appearing in 2025

Read More: JEE Main Number of Attempts

Eligibility Criteria for NEET 2025

NEET eligibility criteria states all the requirements that medical aspirants must meet in order to appear for the exam.The criteria involves factors like age, academic qualifications, nationality, number of attempts, etc. The information brochure released by NTA states that the upper age limit for NEET UG has been removed for all categories. Here is the eligibility criteria for NEET 2025:

NEET 2025 Eligibility Criteria
Criteria	Eligibility
Domicile	Citizens of India can apply for NEET 2025
Domicile	If the candidate does not stay in India, he or she must be an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) to be eligible to apply for NEET 2025
Minimum Age Criteria	17 years
Maximum Age Limit	NMC has removed the upper age limit
Minimum Qualification	The candidate must have cleared class 12th with at least 50% aggregate marks, PWD-45%, and SC/ST-40%
Maximum Number of Attempts	There is no restriction on the number of attempts within the prescribed age limit.
Aadhar Card is Not Compulsory	According to the order of Supereme Court, a candidate is not required to have an Aadhar Card to apply for NEET 2025. Therefore, non-residents of India are also eligible to apply for the exam.