IAS is tougher than KAS being a national level examination. The educational qualifications for both exams are the same. The candidate needs to have a graduation degree from a recognized university. The IAS question paper has topics that focus on the entire country. The KAS topics are focused on the state. The language paper is just for qualifying in the civil exam, but it is compulsory in the KAS examination. The difficulty factor increases in the IAS exam. You are tested on your knowledge as well as on your personality, and the difficulty level is not that high in the KAS examination.

The preliminary exam is an objective examination of 400 marks. It has two papers, and the candidate has to score the cut-off to be eligible to appear for the mains. The main examination has 9 papers, and two are qualifying, including the Indian language and the English language. Rest all are merit papers. The KAS exam has a preliminary exam which is an objective-type question paper. The candidate has to attempt two papers. If the candidate meets the cut-off marks, they sit for stage 2, which is the mains, and have to attempt 7 papers, all of which are merit papers.