Comparison and Similarities

  • Knowing what do these exams stand for
  • Enlisting the participating law schools for the two exams
  • Highlighting the test patterns of the two exams
  • Understanding the difference in LLM paper pattern of the exams
  • Assessing the eligibility criterias of both the exams
  • Judging the difficulty level of the exams

What is AILET?

The All India Law Entrance Test (AILET) is conducted by the National Law University Delhi to select students for its law programs. It is held in December every year and tests three sections.

What is CLAT?

CLAT is a national-level entrance test for admissions to candidates in undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) law courses offered at 26 NLUs and several other colleges/universities. CLAT is conducted by the Consortium of National Law Universities, headed by NLSIU Bengaluru.

AILET vs CLAT Participating institutes

NLU Delhi is the only participating institute under AILET. On the other hand, the CLAT score is taken into consideration by 26 NLUs spread across the country. The CLAT score is also considered by several other law institutes in India for admission to their law programs. These include, among others:

  • Alliance School of Law, Bengaluru
  • Asian Law College, Noida
  • Amity University, Noida
  • Azim Premji University, Bengaluru
  • Delhi Institute of Rural Development (D.I.R.D.), Holambi, Delhi
  • Disha Law College, Raipur
  • Galgotias University, Greater Noida
  • Geeta Institute of Law, Panipat

AILET vs CLAT Test Pattern

The table below lists the differences and similarities between AILET and CLAT patterns.

Subject

Features of CLAT

Features of AILET

Exam mode

CLAT is conducted in a paper-based test mode.

AILET is also conducted in a paper-based test mode.

Test duration

120 minutes 

90 minutes

Type of questions 

Objective-type questions based on Reading Comprehension passages of about 300-450 words.

The questions are completely multiple-choice based in all sections.

Total questions 

120 - UG 

120 - PG

There are 150 MCQs in total. 

Negative Marking

+1 for a correct answer

-0.25 for an incorrect answer

+1 for a correct answer

-0.25 for an incorrect answer

Exam timings

3:00-5:00 PM. 

10:00-11:30 AM. 

AILET vs. CLAT LLM

While the UG paper has generic subjects being covered, the LLM patterns for both tests are different. Find a detailed analysis of the same below.

Features

AILET

CLAT

Exam mode

Pen-paper mode

Pen-paper mode

Exam duration

1 hour 30 minutes

2 hours

Subjects

Criminal Law, Constitutional Law, Law of Contract, Jurisprudence, Law of Tort and International Law

Constitutional Law, Jurisprudence, other law subjects including contemporary issues

Type of questions

Multiple-choice questions

Objective as well as subjective questions

Total questions

102 questions

100 multiple-choice questions + 2 Descriptive questions (there will be 8-10 descriptive questions, out of which the candidate has to attempt only two questions)

120 multiple-choice questions

Total marks

150 marks

120 marks

Marking scheme 

Multiple-choice questions:

  • +1 for a correct answer
  • -0.25 for an incorrect answer

Descriptive questions:

  • Each question carry 25 marks 
  • +1 for a correct answer
  • -0.25 for an incorrect answer

AILET vs CLAT Eligibility

Qualifying test

A candidate must qualify for the Class 12th (or equivalent) exam from a recognized board or university to be able to appear for AILET 2025.

Qualifying test percentage 

A candidate must score 50% marks in case of candidates belonging to unreserved/OBC/specially-abled person (SAP) and other categories; and 45% marks in case of candidates belonging to SC or ST categories.

Appearing candidates

AILET UG candidates appearing for their Class 12th examination in 2025 are also eligible for AILET 2025

AILET Age Limit

There is no upper age limit to apply for AILET 2025.

Qualifying test

A candidate should qualify for the Class 12th (or equivalent) exam from a recognized board or university.

Qualifying test percentage

A candidate must score 45% marks in case of candidates belonging to unreserved/OBC/specially-abled person (SAP) and other categories; and 40% marks in case of candidates belonging to SC or ST categories.

Appearing candidates

CLAT UG Candidates appearing for their Class 12th examination in 2025 are also eligible for CLAT 2025.

CLAT Age Limit: 

There will be no upper age limit for CLAT 2025.

AILET 2024 vs CLAT 2024:Level of Difficulty

There are various factors that can affect the difficulty levels of the two papers, some of them are listed here:

  • Number of applicants

    • Approximately 20,000 candidates appear for 173 seats eats at NLU, Delhi
    • Approximately 45,000 candidates appear for 2175 seats of 26 NLUs

    The number of applicants per seat for AILET is comparatively higher than that for CLAT. Hence, AILET is a tougher test, from this perspective than CLAT.

    Note: The majority of applicants apply for both tests.

    • Number of sections

    CLAT has two more sections as compared to AILET. However, AILET covers all the topics covered in CLAT within the three sections. 

    • Duration

    Although both the exams have the same duration, the number of questions to time ratio is higher in CLAT. 

    CLAT has 120 questions that need to be solved within 120 minutes, whereas AILET has 150 questions that need to be solved within 150 minutes.
    So for every question in CLAT, a candidate can dedicate 1 minute, however in the case of AILET, a candidate can only devote 0.8 minute for each question. 

    • Question Format

    CLAT has passage-based questions that require an additional skill of speed reading and in-depth knowledge of the topic being covered.