| Who administers the test? | It is administered by GMAC which is a non-profit body. | The IIMs administer CAT. |
| How many times can I take the test? | GMAT is offered all the year round. You can take the test five times in a year. | CAT is held only once a year. So you’ll have to wait a whole year to retake the test. |
| What is the test fee? | The test fee is $250 which is approximately Rs.17000/- | CAT fee is Rs.1600/- It is way cheaper than the GMAT. |
| Who accepts the test scores? | Around 1700 universities around the world accept the GMAT scores for admission to various management courses. | CAT scores are accepted by more than 150 Indian institutes including 19 IIMs. |
| How long are the scores valid? | The scores are valid for maximum of five years, but many business schools do not accept scores that are older than three years. | The CAT score is valid for one year. |
| What are the different sections of the test? | GMAT comprises of four sections:
Analytical Writing Assessment
Integrated Reasoning
Quantitative Reasoning
Verbal Ability
| CAT has three sections:
Quantitative Aptitude
Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning
Verbal Ability
|
| What is the test duration? | The test takes place for 3 hours and 30 minutes. | It takes place for 3 hours (180 minutes). |
| What is the scoring pattern? | GMAT is scored from a total of 800. Most students score between 200 and 600. | The scores are published after a normalization process. The students receive their scores in the form of percentile. |
| Can you navigate between sections? | You aren’t allowed to navigate between sections. Once you have completed one section of the test you cannot go back to it. | Yes the sections are navigable. You can go back to previous sections and change your answers if needed. |
| How many students apply for the test? | Around 60,000 students take the test every year. | More than 170,000 students take the CAT every year. |
| When do you get the scores? | GMAT scores are displayed when you finish the test. | The scores are declared in the month of January of every year. |
| What is the difficulty level of the test? | GMAT adjusts the difficulty level of the test according to the answers that you give during the test. | The quant section is comparatively more difficult than the quant section of the GMAT. |
