Both are great institutions in terms of academics and in terms of placements too, but there are some major factors that make IIIT Bangalore better than NIT Surathkal.

• Hygiene at campus and hostel: Both the hostel and campus of IIIT Bangalore are very clean. As cleanliness is very much important for all of us the hostel and campus of IIIT Bangalore are well maintained which is not the case at NIT Surathkal. This is very important for all of us and cannot be neglected.
• Study Curriculum: The study curriculum of IIIT Bangalore is very much up to date and it has all the important topics and syllabus which is important in today's world and will be helpful for the students in their future. 
• Admission based on merit: The admissions at IIIT Bangalore are completely based on the student's merit and there is no influence of other factors like caste, gender, management quota, etc. Students get admission based on his/her JEE score.
• Good research and industry opportunities: This college provides good research facilities to its students and the prime location of this college also helps to get more focus and attention which plays a major role to get further opportunities to its students.

But there are few demerits of the college too like - 

Life at this college can be difficult which is similar to many colleges in our country, as the environment there is not that fancy like it is shown in our movies but one can get used to it after spending a few months.

The college fest is not that great and interesting as compared to other colleges where the fests are organized in a grand way but this is slowly improving as both the students and the college are putting in efforts to make it better.