Yaar, I get this question almost every week in my coaching sessions, and every time, the student wants a one-word answer. “Sir, bas batao — easier kaunsa hai?” I understand the urge. You have limited months, limited energy, and you want to put your eggs in the basket with the best odds.
But here’s the truth I’ve learned across twenty years of mentoring banking aspirants: asking “which is easier” is the wrong question. The right question is “which one should I calibrate my preparation against — and how do I make sure I’m eligible for both?” Because once you understand the real difference between these two exams, you’ll realize you don’t actually have to choose.
I’m Rajesh Kumar Singh, and I’ve watched thousands of fresh graduates walk into this exact confusion. Let me break it down properly — pattern, difficulty, vacancies, and the strategy that actually works.
Understanding the Battlefield: Two Exams, Same Family
Both exams recruit you for the same role — Probationary Officer — and on paper, the syllabus overlap is close to 90%. But the two organizations conducting them have built genuinely different filters.
| Feature | IBPS PO 2026 | SBI PO 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Conducting Body | IBPS, for 11 Public Sector Banks | State Bank of India |
| Vacancies (2026) | 5,500+ | 1,500 |
| Prelims | 100 Q, 100 marks, 60 min, sectional time-lock (20 min/section), sectional cut-off | 100 Q, 100 marks, 60 min, no sectional cut-off |
| Mains | 225 marks (200 objective + 25 descriptive) | 230 marks (200 objective + 30 descriptive, revised this year) |
| Negative Marking | 0.25 per wrong answer | 0.25 per wrong answer |
| Final Selection | Mains 80% + Interview 20% | Mains + Psychometric Test + Group Exercise + Interview |
| Salary (in-hand) | ₹57,000-60,000 approx | ₹74,000-82,000 approx |
Notice that IBPS PO Prelims has a sectional cut-off you must individually clear in each section, while SBI PO Prelims doesn’t enforce one. That single structural difference changes how you should attempt each paper — in IBPS, you can’t ignore your weak section even if you’re strong elsewhere; in SBI, an overall strong score can carry a slightly weaker section.
So — Which One Is Actually Easier?
Here’s where I’ll be blunt with you, the way I am with every student who sits in front of me. Based on what genuinely separates these papers, SBI PO is the harder exam, and the data backs this up consistently.
Here’s why, point by point:
1. Quant in SBI PO hits harder. SBI’s Data Interpretation sets typically carry a heavier calculation load and a less conventional framing than IBPS questions on the same topics. You’ll feel the time pressure more acutely even when the topic list looks identical on paper.
2. SBI’s cut-offs run higher. Over the last three years, SBI PO Prelims general cut-offs have climbed from around 60 to 67, while IBPS PO’s general cut-offs in the same window have typically sat 4 to 6 marks lower. Fewer seats, tougher questions, and a higher bar to clear — that combination is what “tougher” really means in practice.
3. The descriptive paper rewards stronger English. Both exams test essay and letter writing, but SBI’s prompts tend to demand sharper structure and nuance, and the recently revised pattern (descriptive now worth 30 marks) still carries real weight in your Mains score.
4. Fewer vacancies, fiercer competition. IBPS PO pools 5,500+ seats across 11 banks. SBI PO offers only 1,500 seats this cycle for one bank. When the absolute number of openings drops that much, the relative difficulty of getting selected rises even if the question paper stayed exactly the same.
I tell my students this every single year: it’s not that SBI questions are unsolvable. It’s that SBI rewards conceptual depth and adaptability, while IBPS rewards consistency and pattern-recognition. If you’re the kind of student who panics at an unfamiliar question format, SBI will test that nerve. If you thrive on stable, predictable patterns, IBPS will feel like home ground.
Where Most Aspirants Go Wrong
The single biggest mistake I see — and I mean this sincerely — is students picking one exam emotionally and ignoring the other. “SBI PO is my dream, I won’t even attempt IBPS” — and then they under-prepare for both because they spent six months chasing perfection on one paper instead of building a foundation strong enough for either.
The syllabus overlap between these two exams is roughly 90%. Reasoning topics — puzzles, seating arrangement, syllogism, blood relations, inequalities — are identical. Quant — number series, simplification, DI, quadratic equations — identical. English — reading comprehension, cloze test, error spotting, para jumbles — identical. The only real differences are calibration of difficulty and the depth of GA/banking awareness SBI expects.
The Smart Strategy: Prepare for the Harder One, IBPS Comes Free
This is the single most important piece of advice in this entire article, so read it twice: if you prepare at SBI PO’s difficulty level, you are automatically over-prepared for IBPS PO. The reverse is not true. Aspirants who train only at IBPS PO’s comfort level often get caught off guard by SBI’s tougher Quant DI and more abstract English passages.
So my advice to every fresh aspirant: set your target difficulty at SBI PO level from day one, take both exams when notifications open, and let the system work in your favor. You lose nothing by being over-prepared for IBPS.
The Weekly Schedule That Actually Works
| Day | Morning (2 hrs) | Evening (2 hrs) | Night (1 hr) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon-Fri | Quant (DI-heavy practice) | Reasoning (puzzles, seating) | English vocab + grammar revision |
| Saturday | Full-length mock (SBI-level difficulty) | Mock error analysis | Banking awareness reading |
| Sunday | Weak topic deep-dive | Descriptive writing practice (essay/letter) | Light revision |
Cut-Off Reality Check
Don’t let last year’s number become your ceiling. SBI PO general category Prelims cut-offs have moved from roughly 60 in 2023 to about 67 in 2025 — a clear upward trend driven by shrinking vacancies and rising competition. IBPS PO’s cut-offs have stayed comparatively gentler, generally 4-6 marks below SBI’s in the same period. Either way, the lesson is the same one I give every batch: don’t prepare to just touch the cut-off. Prepare to dominate it, because the aspirant sitting next to you in the exam hall is doing exactly that.
Mock Tests: The Two Pillars Everyone Underestimates
Reading concept books builds your base, but only timed practice under real exam pressure builds the temperament both these papers demand — especially SBI’s unpredictable question framing. For mock tests, I always recommend students use testcrate.com — the topic-wise tests there let you drill specific weak areas like DI or puzzles instead of wasting time on full mocks before you’re ready for them. Build toward at least 40-50 full-length mocks calibrated at SBI’s difficulty before your exam window opens.
The Mindset That Separates Toppers From Repeaters
I’ve sat across the table with dozens of selected POs over the years, and not one of them told me they found these exams “easy.” What they all said, almost word for word, was this: they stopped asking which exam was easier, and started asking which exam they were building themselves toward. That shift — from outcome-anxiety to process-discipline — is what separates a topper from someone repeating the cycle for the third year running.
Your 90-Day Launch Plan
Phase 1 (Days 1-30) — Foundation: Build Quant and Reasoning fundamentals at SBI-level difficulty. Start sectional mocks by Day 15. Begin daily current affairs habit — banking and economy news specifically.
Phase 2 (Days 31-70) — Practice & Calibration: Full-length mocks twice weekly, alternating IBPS-pattern and SBI-pattern papers. Begin descriptive writing practice — one essay, one letter, weekly.
Phase 3 (Days 71-90) — Speed & Revision: Daily mocks under strict sectional timing. Banking awareness final revision. Mock interview practice for both Group Exercise (SBI) and standard interview (IBPS) formats.
यह सवाल “easier kaunsa hai” नहीं है — सवाल यह है कि आप कितनी ईमानदारी से अपनी तैयारी को असली बार तक उठाते हैं। Set your bar at SBI PO’s level, walk into both exam halls with that same preparation, and let the results follow. I’ve watched this exact strategy turn confused fresher graduates into bank officers more times than I can count. Your turn starts now.
