CAT 2023 was the toughest of the last three papers, CAT 2024 was more manageable, and CAT 2025 moved back to moderate-to-difficult, mainly because of DILR.
Difficulty is a judgement from exam analyses, not an official IIM score, and it can vary by slot.
Executive summary
Published CAT exam analyses generally describe CAT 2023 as the toughest of these three years, CAT 2024 as comparatively more manageable, and CAT 2025 as a move back toward moderate-to-difficult, particularly because DILR was challenging. Difficulty is qualitative and may vary by slot, so these labels should be treated as broad trends rather than an official score.
Section-wise difficulty chart
Year-wise comparison
| Year | Overall level | VARC | DILR | QA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Difficult / moderate–tough | Moderate–difficult | Difficult | Difficult |
| 2024 | Moderate; comparatively easier | Moderate | Easy–moderate to moderate | Moderate |
| 2025 | Moderate–difficult | Moderate to moderate–difficult | Difficult / most challenging | Moderate–difficult |
CAT 2023: Difficult paper
CAT 2023 is widely described in exam analyses as a tougher paper, with Quantitative Aptitude particularly demanding and DILR requiring careful set selection. The exam had 66 questions in the commonly reported pattern: 24 VARC, 20 DILR and 22 QA. Candidates needed to manage time carefully and avoid spending too long on a single difficult set.
CAT 2024: More manageable overall
CAT 2024 was generally assessed as moderate and easier than CAT 2023, especially in DILR and QA. The paper had 68 questions: 24 VARC, 22 DILR and 22 QA. However, difficulty was not identical across slots; VARC was more demanding in some slot analyses, so the overall label should not be taken to mean every section was easy.
CAT 2025: Difficulty increased again
CAT 2025 was commonly described as moderate-to-difficult overall. DILR stood out as the most challenging section in several post-exam analyses, while QA was reported as moderate to moderately difficult and potentially lengthy. The reported structure was 68 questions: 24 VARC, 22 DILR and 22 QA.
Main trends from 2023 to 2025
- Overall pattern: difficult in 2023 → more manageable in 2024 → moderate-to-difficult in 2025.
- VARC: remained reading-comprehension focused; passage complexity and close answer options can drive difficulty.
- DILR: showed the most visible year-to-year variation and was a major challenge in 2023 and 2025.
- QA: was particularly tough in 2023, eased in 2024, and moved toward moderate-to-difficult in 2025.
- Slot variation matters: difficulty labels differ among coaching and exam-analysis sources; CAT uses normalization to account for slot differences.
What this means for CAT 2026 preparation
- 1Practise all three sections; do not assume a favourite section will be easy on exam day.
- 2For VARC, build reading stamina and justify answers from the passage rather than intuition.
- 3For DILR, practise selecting feasible sets quickly and set a time limit before switching.
- 4For QA, strengthen arithmetic and algebra fundamentals while continuing geometry and other topics.
- 5Attempt timed mocks and analyse them deeply. Track accuracy, time lost, skipped questions and repeated errors.
- 6Treat historical difficulty as context, not as a prediction of CAT 2026 difficulty or percentile cut-offs.
Sources for further reading
- Careers360 — CAT past 5 years analysis and trends: careers360.com/mba/articles/cat-past-5-years-analysis-and-trends
- Cracku — CAT 2021–2025 difficulty comparison: cracku.in/toughest-cat-paper-2021-2025/
- Quantifiers — CAT exam analysis 2021–2025: quantifiers.in/cat-exam-analysis-2021-to-2025/
- Indian Express — CAT 2025 slot and section analysis: indianexpress.com/article/education/cat-2025-exam-analysis-slot-wise-difficulty-level-section-varc-dilr-answers-expert-students-review-iim-kozhikode-10394020/lite/
Source note: Difficulty ratings are based on published expert/coaching and media analyses, not an official IIM difficulty scale. Different sources may label a slot or section differently.
CAT 2026 Difficulty Level FAQs
Which CAT was the toughest from 2023 to 2025?+
CAT 2023 is widely described as the toughest of the three, with a demanding QA section and set-selection-heavy DILR.
Was CAT 2025 tougher than CAT 2024?+
Yes. CAT 2025 moved back to moderate-to-difficult overall, mainly because DILR was challenging, while CAT 2024 was more manageable.
Can past difficulty predict CAT 2026?+
No. Use it as context for practice. Prepare all three sections, because any of them can be tough on the day.
More on CAT 2026
Source & Disclaimer
Official source: iimcat.ac.in
Information on this page is compiled from the official CAT notification at iimcat.ac.in and trends from earlier cycles. Dates marked Expected are estimates, not official announcements. Please confirm all details on the official website.