XAT vs SNAP Registration Last Date: Registration, Fees, Difficulty Level, Paper Pattern

Last Updated: Oct 22, 2026, 17:14 IST

XAT and SNAP are two important and popular MBA entrance exams in India. Read the article below to get a detailed comparison between them including registration dates, fees, difficulty level and exam structure. 

XAT vs SNAP
XAT vs SNAP

XAT vs SNAP: For lakhs of MBA aspirants in India, XAT and SNAP are some of the popular national MBA entrance exams in the country. XAT and SNAP are the gateways to the top MBA colleges in India. Having said that, these exams differ in terms of exam pattern, difficulty level, admission process, etc.

Xavier Aptitude Test (XAT) is conducted by XLRI, Jamshedpur, for admission to over 250 MBA colleges in the country including XLRI, XIMB, IMT Ghaziabad, etc. On the other hand, Symbiosis National Aptitude Test (SNAP) is conducted by Symbiosis International (Deemed University) for admission to its 17 constituent colleges such as SIBM Pune, SCMHRD, SICSR, SIIMS, etc.

In the article below, Jagran Josh has compared the two popular MBA entrance exams in terms of difficulty level, registrations, fees, pattern, etc. Read below to know more.

XAT vs SNAP: Registration, Fees and Key Dates

Check the table below to know the comparative overview of the XAT vs SNAP:

Feature

XAT

SNAP

Conducting Body

Xavier School of Management, XLRI, Jameshedpur

Symbiosis International (Deemed University)

Registration last date

December 6, 2026

November 25, 2026

Registration fee

  • General/OBC- INR 2,300 

  • SC/ST/PwD- INR 2,200

  • INR 2550 (plus GST) per exam

  • INR 1000 per programme

Exam Date

January 3, 2026

  • SNAP 01: December 13, 2026 (Sunday)

  • SNAP 02: December 19, 2026 (Saturday)

  • SNAP 03: December 26, 2026 (Saturday)

Number of Attempts

One attempt

Three Attempts

Difficulty Level

High

Moderate

Also Read:

XAT syllabus 2027 SNAP Syllabus 2026
XAT registration process 2027 SNAP registration pocess 2026, direct link

XAT vs SNAP Exam Pattern and Difficulty Level: Which Exam is Easier?

XAT and SNAP are both popular MBA exams and lakhs of aspirants take the exam every year. To build a good preparation plan and understand the structure of the exam, it is important for the students to know the exam properly.

XAT tests the candidates’ analytical and intellectual abilities. It does not only analyse the aptitude of the candidate but also their decision making ability and ethical reasoning. On the other hand, SNAP tests the candidates’ speed, accuracy and quick thinking. Check the table below to know the comparison between the exam structures of SNAP and XAT:

Feature

XAT

SNAP

Mode of exam

Online

Online

Duration

180 minutes or 3 hours

60 minutes or 1 hour

Sections

Verbal Ability, Decision Making, Quantitative Aptitude and Data Interpretation, General Knowledge

General English, Analytical and Logical Reasoning, Quantitative, Data Interpretation & Data Sufficiency, Ethics, Morality and Values

Number of questions

95 questions

60 questions

Marking Scheme

+1 mark for a correct answer


- 0.25 marks for incorrect answer


- 0.10 marks for more than 8 un-attempted consecutive questions


No negative marking in the GK section

+1 mark for correct answer and -0.25 marks for each incorrect answer

Number of Answer Choices

5 per question

4 per question

Difficulty Level

Moderate to High

Easy to Moderate

The Decision Making section in XAT exam is built around ethical dilemmas, business case scenarios, and situational judgment. So, to score well in this section, learning formulas and theorems would not work. Students should know how to structure random thoughts or scenarios and solve the problem at hand will be able to score well. Since XAT is the only exam which has a dedicated section on Decision Making, XLRI weighs it heavily in the XAT shortlisting.

SNAP exam 2026 will not have any sectional time limit but students have to solve 60 questions within 60 minutes. In other words, the exam can be grueling as the candidates will only have one minute per question. SNAP is a better choice for candidates who are quick and can calmly answer the questions with accuracy.
And, if reasoning led case based questions are the strengths, then the candidates should opt for appearing for XAT 2027.

Also Read:

Colleges Accepting XAT 2027 Scores

Following list of colleges will be accepting XAT exam scores 2027:

College Name

Expected XAT Cutoff (Percentile)

Approximate Programme Fees (2 Years)

NIRF 2025 Rankings

XLRI Jamshedpur (Flagship BM / HRM)

96–97

₹27.40 Lakhs

10

MICA Ahmedabad (PGDM-C / PGDM)

85–90

₹23.00 Lakhs

33

XIM University (XIMB), Bhubaneswar

91–93

₹24.60 Lakhs

45

IMT Ghaziabad (Flagship PGDM)

90–93

₹23.00 Lakhs

30

IMI New Delhi

88–91

₹23.54 Lakhs

40

GIM Goa (Goa Institute of Management)

86–90

₹21.45 Lakhs

43

Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai

82–87

₹22.50 Lakhs

37

TAPMI Manipal (T. A. Pai Management Institute)

82–87

₹19.50 Lakhs

 -

FORE School of Management, New Delhi

85–88

₹23.40 Lakhs

59

BIMTECH Greater Noida (PGDM Core)

78–82

₹14.00 Lakhs

61

Top MBA Colleges Accepting SNAP 2026 Scores

Check the table below to know the top MBA colleges accepting SNAP exam scores:


Name of College

Programme Offered

Expected Cutoff 2026

Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, SBIM

  • MBA
  • MBA in Innovation and Entrepreneurship
  • MBA in Human Resource Management- Integrated AI Analytics
 

98.0 – 98.5+ Percentile

Symbiosis Institute of Computer Studies and Research, SICSR

  • MBA in IT
  • MBA in Digital Transformation
  • MBA in Technology Management
80.0 – 83.0 Percentile

Symbiosis Institute of International Business, SIIB

  • MBA in International Business
  • MBA in Agri Business
  • MBA in Sustainability Management
 92.0 – 94.5 Percentile

Symbiosis Institute of Digital and Telecom Management, SIDTM

MBA in Digital and Telecom Management

 81.0 – 84.0 Percentile

Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies, SIMS

MBA

 76.0 – 80.0 Percentile

Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, SIMC 

MBA in Communication Management

 72.0 – 75.0 Percentile

Symbiosis Institute of Operations Management

  • MBA in Operations and Supply Chain Management
  • MBA in Agri Operations Management
  • MBA in Operations Management (Dual Degree)
 85.0 – 88.0 Percentile

Symbiosis Centre for Information Technology, SCIT

  • MBA in Information Technology Business Management
  • MBA in Data Science and Data Analytics
  • MBA in Artificial Intelligence in Business
 75.0 – 78.0 Percentile

Symbiosis Institute of Health Sciences

MBA in Hospital and Healthcare Management

 56.0 – 60.0 Percentile

Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, SIBM, Bengaluru

  • MBA 
  • MBA in Business Management
 90.0 – 92.5 Percentile

Symbiosis School of Banking and Finance, SSBF

  • MBA in Banking and Finance
  • MBA in Banking and Finance (Dual Degree)
 62.0 – 66.0 Percentile

SIBM, Hyderabad

MBA

 60.0 – 65.0 Percentile

Symbiosis School of Sport Sciences

MBA in Sports Management

 52.0 – 55.0 Percentile

SIBM, Noida

MBA

 70.0 – 75.0 Percentile

SIBM, Nagpur

  • MBA
  • MBA in Food and Agri Business Management
 72.0 – 78.0 Percentile

Symbiosis School of Culinary Arts and Nutritional Sciences, SSCANS

MBA in Food Technology and Food Enterprise Management

 50.0 – 52.0 Percentile

Saumya Jain
Saumya Jain

Deputy Manager - Editorial

Saumya is an education journalist. With over 9 years of editorial experience. Saumya is the Chief Sub Editor at Jagran Josh. She has spent more than 6 years in creating research, student-friendly, and SEO-optimized educational content. She has the ability to transform complex information into easy-to-understand language. 

In her previous role at Shiksha, she created content for several management entrance exams, including CAT, XAT, and CUET. Besides this, she enjoys makeup artistry and cooking in her spare time.

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First Published: Oct 22, 2026, 17:14 IST

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