If you have done preparation for 1 year or so, IES is tougher. IF you have prepared for around 2 years or more, GATE is tougher.

Many people might argue, telling that IES is way tougher. To be honest, I also believed the same. But when you see how different the exams are, you can understand what exactly happens in each of the exams.

In IES, you will have a lot many questions. Along with that, you will have conventional type questions as well. It’s a total package.

In GATE, you will have just 65 questions out of which 20 questions are Mathematics, verbal and aptitude. So, these 45 technical questions decide your rank.

Because of this very reason, for GATE, a lot depends on luck. You may get question from any topic from the vast syllabus. But for IES, all the topics are covered. If you have studied hard, you are sure to solve the questions which may not be the case with GATE. Also, in IES, at least 15% of the questions are repeated from previous years. If you have practised well enough, you are sure to answer these. Also, conventional type questions take out the probability of you guessing any answer.

One main reason why people think IESis tough is because they are not able to fully dedicate 2 years for preparation of IES. Most of the time, they will be confused between GATE and IES and end up failing both.