Which is cheaper, IIM Visakhapatnam or IIM Kozhikode?

Effectively tied on the sticker — and the closest pair in this series. Vizag prints Rs 23,58,590; Kozhikode's signed table prints Rs 11,75,000 a year, Rs 23,50,000 across two — Rs 8,590 apart, both re-read 24 October 2026. The extras differ: Vizag adds a Rs 40,000 caution deposit and a Rs 25,000-per-term mess/AC advance; Kozhikode adds Rs 25,000 caution and Rs 2,000 welfare at admission, with mess on a refundable Rs 40,000-per-term deposit outside the total. Neither headline is the full two-year cost.

What CAT percentile do IIM Visakhapatnam and IIM Kozhikode need?

Vizag prints the lower bar: General 82 overall with 70 in each section — a shortlist bar, not an admission bar. Kozhikode's Stage-1 gate asks General 85 overall with 75 sectionals — three overall points higher, five sectional points higher — and then adds what Vizag does not print: a 60/60/60 academic floor, meaning 60% each in Class X, Class XII and graduation. A 90-percentile candidate with a 58% Class XII record has a printed shot at Vizag and is ineligible at Kozhikode.

Is the admission process shared between IIM Visakhapatnam and IIM Kozhikode?

No — both run solo processes, and Kozhikode sits inside Vizag's process in one specific way: Vizag can import the average of your IIM Bangalore, Kozhikode, Lucknow or Indore PI scores as its own interview score. Kozhikode's own route is a three-stage machine — a pre-interview registration for candidates clearing Table 1, an Aggregate Index Score shortlist, then WAT-PI across six cities including Kozhikode. Registering for CAT alone opens neither door.

How is the final merit list computed at each?

Vizag hands the interview nearly half the final: PI 48, CAT 25, Class X 4, XII 4, Bachelor's 4, gender diversity 5, work experience 10. Kozhikode spreads its final across four instruments: CAT 35%, PI 35%, WAT 20% and a resume score 10% — the only final in this series with a written ability test and a resume inside it. Vizag's machine rewards the interviewee; Kozhikode's rewards the candidate who is strong everywhere at once.

Which should I prefer — IIM Visakhapatnam or IIM Kozhikode?

On documents: if your academics are uneven but your interview is your strength, Vizag's 82 bar and 48-weight PI are the door that can open. If your transcript is uniformly strong — 60s and above across X, XII and graduation — Kozhikode's 85/75 gate is reachable, its brand is the older one, and its final lets a strong WAT and resume carry weight beside the CAT. The bills are nearly identical, so the choice turns on your profile, not your budget.

IIM Visakhapatnam vs IIM Kozhikode: the 82 door against the 60/60/60 academic floor

IIM Visakhapatnam vs IIM Kozhikode: the 82-overall door against the 85/75 gate with the 60/60/60 floor — Rs 23,58,590 vs the signed Rs 23,50,000.

By Piyush Agarwal, 10 years in direct admissions counselling · Reviewed by Piyush Agarwal · Last verified 24 October 2026 · every claim linked to its source · Latest change: Initial publication; every figure from official documents re-read today. IIM Visakhapatnam's admission-criteria page re-read: Phase-1 CAT-2025 minimums General 70/70/70 with 82 overall (EWS/NC-OBC 63s/72, SC 40s/50, ST/PwD 30s/40), printed as shortlist bars not admission bars; Phase-2 scored /100 — CAT 50 (VARC 18, DILR 14, QA 18), Class X 10, XII 10, Bachelors 10, gender diversity 10, work experience 10 on the printed curve (zero under 12 months, 10 across 24-36, 2.5 beyond 48, measured to 31 December 2025); Phase-3 the Personal Interview with the IIM-Bangalore/Kozhikode/Lucknow/Indore PI-averaging import; final aggregate PI 48, CAT 25, X 4, XII 4, Bachelor's 4, gender diversity 5, work experience 10. Vizag's program-fee page re-read the same day: tuition Rs 3,79,765 x 6 + Student Welfare Rs 40,000 in terms 1 and 4 = Rs 11,79,295 a year, Grand Total Rs 23,58,590 — caution Rs 40,000 and the Rs 25,000-per-term mess/AC advance both outside. IIM Kozhikode's signed PGP fee PDF re-read today: Rs 11,75,000 a year x 2 = Rs 23,50,000 (tuition Rs 7,00,000/yr inside); Rs 25,000 caution deposit + Rs 2,000 Students' Welfare Fund applicable at admission; mess and students'-activities deposit Rs 40,000 per term, refundable, OUTSIDE the total; payment schedule Rs 4,75,000 + Rs 3,50,000 + Rs 3,50,000 per year. Kozhikode's PGP 2026-28 admissions policy PDF re-read the same day at its current URL: three stages — Stage-1 minimum eligibility General 85 overall with 75 sectionals AND 60% in Class X AND 60% in Class XII AND 60% in graduation (OBC-NCL/EWS 75/65/60/60, SC 65/55/55/55, ST/PwD 55/45/55/55; the CA/CMA/CS route at 50% aggregate); Stage-2 Aggregate Index Score = CAT 2025 Index 50% + Class X 15% + Class XII 20% + gender/academic diversity 10%/5% + work experience up to 5%; Stage-3 WAT-PI (Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Kozhikode, Mumbai, New Delhi); final score CAT 35% + PI 35% + WAT 20% + resume 10% (Oct 2026)

The short answer

As of 24 October 2026, IIM Visakhapatnam shortlists at 82 overall and weights the interview 48 of 100, while IIM Kozhikode gates at 85 with 75 sectionals plus a 60/60/60 academic floor. The printed bills sit Rs 8,590 apart: Rs 23,58,590 against Kozhikode's signed Rs 23,50,000. Both official documents were re-read today.

Two solo IIM doors at an almost identical price — and opposite ideas of who should walk through. IIM Visakhapatnam prints the lowest first bar in this series, 82 overall, and then weights the interview at 48 of 100. IIM Kozhikode gates at 85 with 75 sectionals and demands a 60/60/60 academic floor beneath it. Vizag prints Rs 23,58,590; Kozhikode’s signed table reads Rs 23,50,000 — Rs 8,590 apart. Both documents were re-read today, 24 October 2026. The bills will not decide this one; your transcript will.

The two bills, side by side

	IIM Visakhapatnam (PGP 2026-28)	IIM Kozhikode (PGP 2026-28, signed)
Printed total	Rs 23,58,590 grand total (Rs 11,79,295 x 2 years)	Rs 23,50,000 (Rs 11,75,000 x 2 years)
Structure	Rs 3,79,765 tuition x 6 + Student Welfare Rs 40,000 in terms 1 and 4	Tuition Rs 7,00,000 a year inside; schedule Rs 4,75,000 + Rs 3,50,000 + Rs 3,50,000 per year
Mess	A Rs 25,000-per-term advance (mess, AC, printing) OUTSIDE the headline	A refundable Rs 40,000-per-term mess and activities deposit OUTSIDE
At admission	—	Rs 25,000 caution deposit + Rs 2,000 Students’ Welfare Fund
Caution deposit	Rs 40,000, refundable, outside	Rs 25,000, at admission, outside the total
All-in shape	About Rs 25.5 lakh with deposit and six advances	Rs 23.5 lakh plus the per-term refundable mess deposits
Document	Official program-fee page	Signed fee PDF

The honest label: the nearest thing to a tie in this series — Rs 8,590 on the sticker. Vizag’s extras are spendable advances you consume; Kozhikode’s per-term mess deposit is refundable on adjustment. Plan from the official pages, not the headline gap.

Two gates: the low bar and the high floor

Vizag prints the lowest General first-shortlist bar in this comparison series — 82 overall with 70 sectionals (EWS/NC-OBC 72, SC 50, ST/PwD 40) — and cautions in print that these are shortlist bars, not admission bars. Kozhikode’s Stage-1 table reads higher and deeper: General 85 overall with 75 sectionals, AND 60% in Class X, AND 60% in Class XII, AND 60% in graduation (OBC-NCL/EWS 75/65/60/60; SC 65/55/55/55; ST/PwD 55/45/55/55), with a CA/CMA/CS route at 50% aggregate. The practical read: a candidate at 83 with a patchy transcript has a printed shot only at Vizag; a candidate at 86 with a 58% graduation record clears Kozhikode’s CAT bar and still fails its floor.

The formulas behind the lists

Vizag’s final aggregate, printed to the mark: PI 48, CAT 25, Class X 4, Class XII 4, Bachelor’s 4, gender diversity 5, work experience 10 — the heaviest interview block in the series, with the PI-averaging import from IIM Bangalore, Kozhikode, Lucknow and Indore for candidates those campuses already interviewed. Kozhikode’s final, printed in its policy: CAT 35%, PI 35%, WAT 20%, resume 10% — the only formula in this series carrying a written ability test and a resume score in the final list. Its Stage-2 shortlist runs on an Aggregate Index Score: CAT 2025 Index 50%, Class X 15%, Class XII 20%, gender/academic diversity 10%/5%, work experience up to 5%. Vizag’s machine concentrates risk in one room; Kozhikode’s spreads it across four instruments.

The Kozhikode interview, inside Vizag’s process

One mechanical detail links the two: a candidate interviewed by IIM Kozhikode (or Bangalore, Lucknow, Indore) can have the average of those PI scores imported as their Vizag PI score, rather than interviewing again at Visakhapatnam. Running Kozhikode’s WAT-PI well therefore feeds Vizag’s 48-weight block directly — the strongest reason to treat every older-IIM interview as double duty.

The quota question, answered from print

Neither institute prints any management, institutional or discretionary route — no IIM does. Both admit through CAT 2025 and their own published multi-stage processes under Government of India reservation law. An agent quoting a priced seat at either campus is selling fraud; both official documents are the verification.

Who should pick which

Pick Vizag if your percentile sits in the 82-84 band — Kozhikode’s General gate is closed to you in print — or if your academics are uneven: Vizag prints no 60/60/60 floor, and its 48-weight PI is the largest single lever in this series.
Pick Kozhikode if your transcript is uniformly strong and your writing is as good as your interview: the 85/75 gate plus the 60/60/60 floor filter hard, but the final pays CAT 35%, PI 35%, WAT 20% and resume 10% — and the brand is the older one.
Either way — the bills sit Rs 8,590 apart, so money does not arbitrate here. One CAT 2025 registration feeds both; if Kozhikode interviews you, that PI score can carry into Vizag’s machine through the averaging import.

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Straight answers

Which is cheaper, IIM Visakhapatnam or IIM Kozhikode?: Effectively tied on the sticker — and the closest pair in this series. Vizag prints Rs 23,58,590; Kozhikode's signed table prints Rs 11,75,000 a year, Rs 23,50,000 across two — Rs 8,590 apart, both re-read 24 October 2026. The extras differ: Vizag adds a Rs 40,000 caution deposit and a Rs 25,000-per-term mess/AC advance; Kozhikode adds Rs 25,000 caution and Rs 2,000 welfare at admission, with mess on a refundable Rs 40,000-per-term deposit outside the total. Neither headline is the full two-year cost.
What CAT percentile do IIM Visakhapatnam and IIM Kozhikode need?: Vizag prints the lower bar: General 82 overall with 70 in each section — a shortlist bar, not an admission bar. Kozhikode's Stage-1 gate asks General 85 overall with 75 sectionals — three overall points higher, five sectional points higher — and then adds what Vizag does not print: a 60/60/60 academic floor, meaning 60% each in Class X, Class XII and graduation. A 90-percentile candidate with a 58% Class XII record has a printed shot at Vizag and is ineligible at Kozhikode.
Is the admission process shared between IIM Visakhapatnam and IIM Kozhikode?: No — both run solo processes, and Kozhikode sits inside Vizag's process in one specific way: Vizag can import the average of your IIM Bangalore, Kozhikode, Lucknow or Indore PI scores as its own interview score. Kozhikode's own route is a three-stage machine — a pre-interview registration for candidates clearing Table 1, an Aggregate Index Score shortlist, then WAT-PI across six cities including Kozhikode. Registering for CAT alone opens neither door.
How is the final merit list computed at each?: Vizag hands the interview nearly half the final: PI 48, CAT 25, Class X 4, XII 4, Bachelor's 4, gender diversity 5, work experience 10. Kozhikode spreads its final across four instruments: CAT 35%, PI 35%, WAT 20% and a resume score 10% — the only final in this series with a written ability test and a resume inside it. Vizag's machine rewards the interviewee; Kozhikode's rewards the candidate who is strong everywhere at once.
Is there a management quota at IIM Visakhapatnam or IIM Kozhikode?: Neither prints one — an IIM seat is not purchasable. Both admit through CAT 2025 and their own published processes under Government of India reservation law. Anyone quoting a priced seat at either institute is describing fraud; verify on the official websites.
Which should I prefer — IIM Visakhapatnam or IIM Kozhikode?: On documents: if your academics are uneven but your interview is your strength, Vizag's 82 bar and 48-weight PI are the door that can open. If your transcript is uniformly strong — 60s and above across X, XII and graduation — Kozhikode's 85/75 gate is reachable, its brand is the older one, and its final lets a strong WAT and resume carry weight beside the CAT. The bills are nearly identical, so the choice turns on your profile, not your budget.

Sources

Page updated 24 October 2026. Rules, fees and dates change; confirm with the institution and the official authority before acting.

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