Ultimate Guide to Free CAT 2026 Study Material: Best Resources for VARC, DILR & QA

Free, high-quality material for every part of CAT: Quant, DILR, VARC, mocks, formula sheets and past papers.

You can prepare for CAT 2026 on free material alone if you know where to look. The trouble is never scarcity. It's that free resources are scattered, so people collect PDFs instead of studying.

This is a section-by-section list of the best free material for Quant, DILR, VARC, mocks, formula sheets and past papers, plus a simple rule for using it without drowning in tabs.

At a Glance

Section	Best free material
Quant	Rodha and 2IIM concept videos, Percentyl and Cracku practice, a formula sheet
DILR	Rodha LRDI videos, Percentyl sets, past-paper sets, Cracku
VARC	Percentyl daily RC, Bodhee Prep, Wordpandit, daily editorials
Mocks	Percentyl sectionals, Cracku's 3 free mocks, past papers as mocks
Formula sheets	Cracku formula PDF, or a sheet you build yourself
Past papers	2IIM, all CAT papers from 2017 to 2025 with solutions

Start with a plan, not a pile of PDFs

The reason free preppers stall is rarely a lack of material. It's the opposite: endless free content with no order, no difficulty tags and no way to track progress.

So use one platform as your structured home base, then pull in a few specific free resources for each section. Percentyl works well as that base, since it keeps practice tagged by difficulty and tracks what you've covered. Everything below slots around it.

Free Quant material

Quant rewards concept clarity, then heavy practice. Learn the idea from a video, then drill it until the method is automatic.

Resource	Use it for
Rodha (YouTube)	Free concept videos across every Quant topic
2IIM	A large free question bank with video and text solutions
Percentyl	Difficulty-tagged Quant practice with worked solutions and progress tracking
Cracku	Daily Quant targets and topic tests

Keep a one-page formula sheet next to you and revise it daily. The formulas stick through use, not memorising.

Free DILR material

DILR is won by set selection, not speed. Your free practice should train you to judge a set in the first minute, then commit or skip.

Resource	Use it for
Rodha (YouTube)	LRDI concept and approach videos
Percentyl	DILR sets across tables, arrangements, games and caselets
Past papers	The best DILR sets ever written, from real CAT papers
Cracku	Daily DILR sets and sectionals

Practise choosing sets, not just solving them. After every set, ask whether it was worth starting.

Free VARC material

VARC rests on reading. Reading comprehension is the largest chunk, so daily passages plus daily reading do most of the work.

Resource	Use it for
Percentyl	A fresh daily RC set, so the habit builds plus 700+ RCs for practice
Bodhee Prep	500+ RC questions with option-by-option video solutions
Wordpandit	Passages graded by difficulty on a CAT-style screen
Editorials and essays	20 minutes of daily long-form reading for stamina

For verbal ability topics like para-jumbles and summary questions, past papers are the truest guide to the current style.

Free mock tests

You don't need a paid mock series to start. Cracku offers three full mocks free with video solutions. Percentyl's sectional practice keeps your accuracy sharp between them.

The most underused free mocks are past papers. Sit them timed and they behave like the real exam. On how many to take, aim for about 25 to 35 full mocks across your prep, each one analysed properly.

Free formula sheets and notes

Cracku offers a free Quant formula PDF, which is a fine starting point. The better move is to build your own sheet as you study, since writing a formula down in your own words is what makes it stick.

Keep it to a page or two per section. A formula sheet you revise every week beats a fat PDF you never open.

Free previous year papers

Past papers are the single best free resource you have. Nothing else matches the real exam for difficulty, style and phrasing.

2IIM has compiled every CAT paper from 2017 to 2025 with video and text solutions. Solve them slowly for learning early on, then sit them timed as mocks closer to the exam. The official CAT website also releases a sample mock each year, so take that to get used to the real interface.

How to use it all without drowning

The trap is collecting resources instead of using them. One home base plus three supplements is all you need.

Pick one home base for structured, tracked practice. Percentyl is built for this.
Add one concept-video source, usually Rodha.
Add past papers from 2IIM for exam-real practice.
Add one mock source, such as Cracku, for full-length tests.

That's it. Close the other tabs. A smaller set of resources used daily beats a giant list you dip into once and forget.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is free material enough to crack CAT 2026?

Yes. Between free concept videos, a difficulty-tagged question bank, past papers and a few mocks, you have everything a paid course offers. What you must supply is structure and consistency.

What is the best free CAT study material?

Past papers, without much competition. They are the real exam. Pair them with free concept videos for weak topics and a structured practice platform like Percentyl to track your progress.

Where can I get free CAT previous year papers?

2IIM has every CAT paper from 2017 to 2025 with video and text solutions, mostly with no sign-up. The official CAT website also puts out a sample mock each year.

Do I need paid coaching material?

Not to cover the syllabus. Paid material mainly buys you structure, doubt-solving and a large mock series. If you can get structure elsewhere, free material is enough for a strong score.

Are formula sheets enough for Quant?

No. A formula sheet is a revision aid, not a substitute for practice. Learn the concept, drill questions, then use the sheet to keep formulas fresh.