CAT 2026 Score Calculator: work out your CAT score from the response sheet
Free CAT response sheet tool with VARC, DILR and QA marks, MCQ vs TITA accuracy and a shareable report
The CAT Score Calculator 2026 by IPM Careers is a free CAT response sheet calculator: it reads your official CAT response sheet and calculates your exact raw score in seconds, with no manual marks counting. It checks all 68 questions, applies the CAT marking scheme separately to MCQ and TITA questions, and shows your VARC, DILR and QA scores, total out of 204, correct, wrong and unattempted counts and accuracy for each section. Think of it as a CAT marks calculator that already knows the answer key.
CAT 2026 exam pattern
CAT 2026 is being conducted by IIM Indore on Sunday, 29 November 2026 as a 120-minute computer-based test in three slots. Each section is timed separately at 40 minutes and has both MCQ and TITA questions.
| Section | Questions | Time | Max marks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC) | 24 | 40 min | 72 |
| Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) | 22 | 40 min | 66 |
| Quantitative Aptitude (QA) | 22 | 40 min | 66 |
| Total | 68 | 120 min | 204 |
CAT 2026 marking scheme: MCQ vs TITA
| Question type | Correct | Wrong | Not attempted |
|---|---|---|---|
| MCQ (multiple choice) | +3 | -1 | 0 |
| TITA (type in the answer) | +3 | 0 | 0 |
How to calculate your CAT score
CAT score = 3 × (total correct) − 1 × (wrong MCQs). Wrong TITA answers do not reduce your score. For example, if you got 40 questions right, 12 MCQs wrong and 5 TITAs wrong, your score is 3 × 40 − 12 = 108. The calculator does this question by question from your response sheet, so the MCQ/TITA split is always right.
What the calculator shows you
- Section-wise score for VARC (out of 72), DILR (out of 66) and QA (out of 66), plus total out of 204
- Correct, wrong and unattempted questions, and accuracy for each section
- MCQ and TITA results separately, so you can see where negative marking hurt
- Your rank among students who checked their score on this tool, and a report link you can share
CAT score calculator from response sheet: step by step
Your CAT response sheet is a page on the TCS iON server (cdn.digialm.com) that lists every question, the option you chose or the answer you typed for TITA, and the correct answer. Paste that link above and the calculator scores all 68 questions for you. If the link has expired, save the page as HTML and upload it instead: the result is the same.
- Laptop: log in at iimcat.ac.in, open the response sheet, copy the link from the address bar. If you only see the portal address, press Ctrl + U, search for digialm and copy the link ending in .html.
- Mobile: open the response sheet, tap the address bar and copy the link. Or use the browser menu (⋮) → Download / Save page and upload the file with the Upload file tab. Screenshots and PDFs will not work.
- Paste the link, add your details and tap Calculate My CAT Score.
CAT response sheet 2026: release date and answer key
The IIMs have not announced the CAT 2026 response sheet date yet. Going by last year, expect it in the first week of December 2026, a few days after the exam on 29 November. The provisional answer key is released with it, followed by a short window to challenge answers.
| Step | CAT 2025 (actual) | CAT 2026 (expected) |
|---|---|---|
| Exam | 30 November 2025 | 29 November 2026 |
| Response sheet + provisional answer key | 4 December 2025 | First week of December 2026 |
| Answer key objection window | 8 to 10 December 2025 | A few days after the key |
| Objection fee | Rs 1,500 per question (refunded if accepted) | To be announced |
| Final answer key and result | With the result | Late December 2026 or early January 2027 |
Checked your score before the CAT 2026 answer key is out? Your report link updates automatically once the official key is loaded, so you never need to re-enter anything.
CAT score vs percentile 2026 (based on CAT 2025)
CAT percentile depends on how everyone else did, so no tool can give the official figure before the result. The table below shows roughly how many raw marks out of 204 were needed for each percentile in CAT 2025. These are approximate ranges from published post-result analyses by coaching institutes, not official IIM data, and they vary by slot.
| Percentile | Approx. overall raw marks (CAT 2025) |
|---|---|
| 99.5 | about 96 |
| 99 | 85 to 93 |
| 95 | 62 to 68 |
| 90 | 51 to 53 |
| 80 | about 41 |
CAT marks vs percentile: section wise and over the years
For a 99 percentile in each section in CAT 2025, estimates put VARC at about 39 to 44, DILR at about 30 to 32 and QA at about 27 to 31 raw marks. The overall mark for 99 percentile moves a lot with difficulty: roughly 98 in 2021, 84 in 2022, 76 in 2023, 96 in 2024 and 85 to 93 in 2025. So compare your score with the same year's paper, not an old table.
CAT raw score vs scaled score (normalisation)
This calculator gives your raw score: 3 marks per correct answer minus 1 per wrong MCQ. Because CAT runs in three slots with different papers, the IIMs first convert raw scores into scaled scores so that the slots are comparable, and then compute percentiles from the scaled scores. That is why two students with the same raw score in different slots can get different percentiles.
After the CAT 2026 response sheet: result and scorecard
The CAT 2026 result and scorecard will be published on iimcat.ac.in, expected in late December 2026 or early January 2027. Your scorecard shows scaled scores and percentiles for each section and overall, which institutes then use for shortlisting along with their own sectional cut-offs.
More free tools from IPM Careers
Preparing a younger sibling for IIM's five-year programme? Try the IPMAT Score Analyzer, the JIPMAT Score Calculator and the IIM Bangalore UG Score Calculator.
Frequently asked questions: CAT 2026 Score Calculator
What is the CAT 2026 Score Calculator?
It is a free tool by IPM Careers. Paste your CAT 2026 response sheet link (or upload the saved page) and it works out your VARC, DILR, QA and total score out of 204 using the official marking scheme, with correct, wrong and unattempted counts for MCQ and TITA questions.
What is the CAT 2026 exam pattern?
CAT 2026 has 68 questions in 120 minutes for 204 marks: VARC 24 questions (40 minutes, 72 marks), DILR 22 questions (40 minutes, 66 marks) and QA 22 questions (40 minutes, 66 marks). Each section has both MCQ and TITA (type in the answer) questions.
What is the CAT marking scheme?
Every correct answer gets +3. A wrong MCQ answer gets -1. A wrong TITA answer gets 0, because there is no negative marking for TITA questions. Unattempted questions get 0.
How do I calculate my CAT score from the response sheet?
Score = 3 × (correct answers) − 1 × (wrong MCQs). For example, 40 correct, 12 wrong MCQs and 5 wrong TITAs gives 3 × 40 − 12 = 108. The calculator does this for every question in your response sheet automatically.
Where do I find my CAT 2026 response sheet link?
Log in at iimcat.ac.in when the response sheet is released and open the response sheet. The page opens from the TCS iON server, so the link starts with https://cdn.digialm.com/ and ends with .html. Copy that link and paste it here. If the page opens inside the CAT portal and you cannot see the link, save the page (Ctrl+S) and upload the file instead.
What if the answer key is not out yet?
The calculator still reads your responses and saves them. Questions without a key are shown as 'waiting for key'. When the official answer key is released, your saved report link updates automatically with the final score.
Is my calculated score the same as my CAT percentile?
No. This tool gives your raw score. The IIMs normalise scores across the three slots and then compute percentiles, so your official scaled score and percentile can differ from the raw total.
When will the CAT 2026 response sheet be released?
The IIMs have not announced the date yet. For CAT 2025, held on 30 November 2025, the response sheet and provisional answer key were released on 4 December 2025, so expect the CAT 2026 response sheet in the first week of December 2026.
How do I download the CAT response sheet on my phone?
Log in at iimcat.ac.in, open the response sheet and copy the link from the address bar. If you cannot copy it, open the browser menu, choose Download or Save page, and upload that file in the Upload file tab. Screenshots and PDFs do not work.
How many marks are needed for 99 percentile in CAT?
In CAT 2025, published estimates put 99 percentile at roughly 85 to 93 raw marks out of 204, depending on the slot. The figure changes every year with difficulty: about 98 in 2021, 84 in 2022, 76 in 2023 and 96 in 2024. These are coaching-institute estimates, not official IIM data.
What is the difference between raw score and scaled score in CAT?
Your raw score is 3 marks per correct answer minus 1 per wrong MCQ. Because the three slots have different papers, the IIMs convert raw scores into scaled scores to make slots comparable, and percentiles are calculated from the scaled scores.
How much does it cost to challenge the CAT answer key?
In CAT 2025 the objection fee was Rs 1,500 per question, refunded only if the objection was accepted, and the window ran from 8 to 10 December 2025. The CAT 2026 fee and dates will be announced with the provisional answer key.
Does this calculator predict my CAT percentile?
Not yet. It gives your exact raw score, section-wise marks and your rank among students who used the tool. Use the CAT score vs percentile table on this page for a rough idea; official percentiles come only with the result.
Is the CAT score calculator free and safe?
Yes. It is completely free, needs no login, and your phone number and email are never shown publicly. The leaderboard shows only first name, last initial and city.