ISB vs IIMA

Detailed comparison of rankings, fees, ROI, placements and admissions.

ISB

Indian School of Business (ISB)

Hyderabad, Telangana

Global Premier

View profile Apply

IIMA

Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad, Gujarat

NIRF 2025 #1

View profile Apply

Swap sides

Bridge summary

IIMA leads on 6 of 6 measurable metrics. Fit still depends on your profile, city and specialization.

Flagship programme fees

₹41Lvs₹27.5L

IIMA is ahead

Average CTC

₹34 LPAvs₹35.5 LPA

IIMA is ahead

5-year ROI

4.1xvs6.5x

IIMA is ahead

NIRF Management rank

Not rankedvs#1 (2025)

No clear edge

Institute

Institute: Indian School of Business (ISB) vs Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad
Metric	ISB	IIMA
Location	Hyderabad, Telangana	Ahmedabad, Gujarat
Established	—	1961
Institute type	EQUIS \| AACSB \| AMBA	Institute of National Importance
Accreditation	EQUIS \| AACSB \| AMBA	Institute of National Importance

Rankings

Rankings: Indian School of Business (ISB) vs Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad
Metric	ISB	IIMA
NIRF Management rank	Not ranked	#1 (2025)
NIRF score	—	83.29
Outlook-ICARE	Not ranked	#1 (2026)
BT–MDRA	Not ranked	#1 (2025)
IIRF	Not ranked	#1 (2025 · Govt)

Fees & ROI

Fees & ROI: Indian School of Business (ISB) vs Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad
Metric	ISB	IIMA
Flagship programme feesLower is better	₹41L	₹27.5L (better)
Programmes offered	Flagship MBA / PGDM · 2 Years · ₹29.69L	PGP (MBA) · 2 Years · ₹27.5L PGPX · 1 Year · ₹35L ePGP · 2 Years · ₹20L
5-year ROI5 years of avg CTC ÷ fees	4.1x	6.5x (better)
Payback periodFees ÷ avg CTC	1.2 yrs	0.8 yrs (better)
5-year net earnings5 years of avg CTC minus fees	₹129L	₹150L (better)

Placements

Placements: Indian School of Business (ISB) vs Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad
Metric	ISB	IIMA
Average CTC	₹34 LPA	₹35.5 LPA (better)
Median CTC	₹34 LPA	₹34.59 LPA (better)
Highest package	₹34 LPA	₹1.10 Cr
Placement rate	—	100%
Top recruitersHighlighted = common to both	McKinsey (both) BCG (both) Deloitte Accenture Strategy and PwC were major recruiters Kearney Alvarez & Marsal Oliver Wyman	McKinsey (both) BCG (both) Bain Goldman Sachs Google Amazon

Admissions

Admissions: Indian School of Business (ISB) vs Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad
Metric	ISB	IIMA
Exams acceptedHighlighted = common to both	CAT (both) GMAT GRE	CAT (both)
Primary cutoffHigher means more selective	Not published (CAT)	95+ CAT
Category cutoffs	—	General: 99.5+ EWS / NC-OBC: 97.5+ SC: 85+ ST: 75+
Admission process	Entrance — CAT exam window Shortlist — GD / PI / WAT Offer — Final merit & joining	Nov 2025 — CAT examination Jan 2026 — Shortlist & AWT-PI calls Mar–Apr 2026 — Final offers & waitlist

Specializations

Specializations: Indian School of Business (ISB) vs Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad
Metric	ISB	IIMA
Streams offeredHighlighted = common to both	General Management (both) Strategy Finance (both) Consulting (both)	General Management (both) Finance (both) Consulting (both) Marketing

Data sources

ISB: Source: BSchool Bridge research notes · non-iims.
IIMA: Fees: IIMA PGP 2025–27 programme fee ₹27.5L (official). Placements: IPRS 2025 mean MEP ₹35.5L / median ₹34.59L (not CTC). PGPX SSH fee ₹35L (2026–27).

Popular comparisons

IIMA

FMS campus — Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), University of Delhi

FMS

TIER 1 • OLD IIM

IIM Ahmedabad

TIER 1 • BEST ROI

FMS Delhi

₹25.0 LakhsFees₹2.1 Lakhs

₹34.2 LPAAvg CTC₹34.1 LPA

ROI 1.4x1st-year CTC / feesROI 16.2x

Bridge Verdict

FMS delivers 11.9x higher capital ROI due to subsidized university fees; IIM-A maintains an unmatched edge in Global Front-End Consulting & PE recruits.

View full comparison

XLRI

MDI

PREMIER PRIVATE • JSR

XLRI Jamshedpur

CORPORATE HUB • NCR

MDI Gurgaon

₹27.4 LakhsFees₹24.2 Lakhs

₹32.7 LPAAvg CTC₹25.5 LPA

ROI 1.2x1st-year CTC / feesROI 1.1x

Bridge Verdict

XLRI dominates the subcontinent in HR & BFSI placements; MDI provides unmatched proximity to Fortune 500 headquarters in Delhi-NCR with lower living friction.

View full comparison