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In today’s post, we’re showing you 11 of the best coding interview prep resources to get you ready for your big day.
Did you know a typical coding interview lasts about 45 minutes? And that can seem like a lifetime if you aren’t prepared.
But if you study, know your data structures and algorithms, and know how to talk to employers, that time can fly by. ✈️
And the result?
It could be the software engineering job you’ve been hoping and waiting for.
In this collection of coding interview prep resources, you’ll discover their features, core content, layout, and more.
This post contains affiliate links. We may receive compensation if you buy something. Read our disclosure for more details.
TLDR: Best Coding Interview Prep Resources
🔥 Best Course 🔥
Grokking the Coding Interview by Educative.io
💥 Best Book 💥
Cracking the Coding Interview by Gayle Laakmann McDowell
Coding Interview Prep: COURSES
1. Grokking the Coding Interview – Educative.io
💰 Price: $79 per year for the course / $59 per month or $199 per year ($16.66/mo) for all courses
⏲️ Duration: 50 hours
📉 Level: Intermediate
🖥️ Format: Interactive learning
🎖️ Certificate: Yes
Grokking the Coding Interview by Educative.io is arguably one of the best overall coding interview prep resources.
That’s because the creators of this course had one goal in mind for programmers: “the ability to map a new problem to an already known problem.”
So instead of 25, 50 or even 100 coding problems, you’ll find 16 patterns for solving coding questions.
The idea is that once you’re familiar with a pattern, you’ll be able to solve multiple problems with it.
❤️ This course is arguably Educative.io’s best release. Find out more in our comprehensive Grokking the Coding Interview review.
Course Layout
Educative.io has an interactive layout. So instead of setting up your own environment, you’ll do all work inside the same browser using over 1000 (yes, one thousand!) coding playgrounds.
💡 In this course’s interactive coding playground, you can solve problems in Java, Python 3, JavaScript or C++.
Each of the 16 patterns in Grokking the Coding Interview is given its own module. Some of the patterns include:
- Sliding Window
- Two Pointers
- Merge Intervals
- Cyclic Sort
And beyond.
Support
There’s an area at the end of each section where you can connect with other students and mentors.
🔥 Stack ’em
If you want to really drive the software engineering concepts into your brain, consider combining Grokking the Coding Interview with the book Cracking the Coding Interview by Gayle Laakmann McDowell (#7 on our list).
2. Master the Coding Interview: Data Structures and Algorithms – Zero to Mastery
💰 Price: $39 per month / $279 per year ($23/mo) for full platform access
⏲️ Duration: 19.5 hours
📉 Level: Beginner
🖥️ Format: Video
🎖️ Certificate: Yes
Clocking in at just under 20 hours, Master the Coding Interview: Data Structures and Algorithms is another one of the best coding interview prep resources on our list.
Arguably less intense than Grokking the Coding Interview, Master the Coding Interview was created by well-known instructor Andrei Neagoie.
Aside from creating well-loved software engineer courses on the Zero to Mastery (ZtM) platform, he also worked as a senior software developer in Silicon Valley and Toronto.
In Master the Coding Interview, you’ll learn how to ace coding interviews given by FAANG companies.
Unsurprisingly, you’ll do this by learning and implementing different data structures and algorithms.
Unlike Educative.io’s interactive learning, all courses on the Zero to Mastery platform are video-based.
❤️ Zero to Mastery is another one of our all-time favorite platforms. Read our comprehensive Zero to Mastery review to find out why.
Course Layout
You’ll watch a series of videos that teach you how to use different data structures and algorithms.
For example, you’ll learn:
- hash tables
- stacked and queues
- linked lists
And much more.
You’ll also get insight on how to get more FAANG interviews.
Support
Zero to Mastery has a thriving community on Discord with well over 100,000 members as well as a LinkedIn profile.
Use ZTM promo code FRIENDS10 at checkout and save 10%.
3. AlgoExpert
💰 Price: $99 per year / $139 per year for AlgoExpert & SystemsExpert
⏲️ Duration: 100+ hours
📉 Level: Beginner+
🖥️ Format: Video and interactive learning
🎖️ Certificate: Yes
AlgoExpert is a platform unlike any other. Think of it as a combination of Educative.io (interactive learning) and Zero to Mastery (video explanations)…on steroids.
This beginner+ platform has helped countless developers get hired at FAANG companies. And it was created by a former Facebook and Google employee Clément Mihailescu.
AlgoExpert isn’t actually a course. Instead, it has 150+ hand-picked algorithms questions that range from easy to very hard.
💾 Read our full AlgoExpert.io review to find out why we still love this platform.
Layout
AlgoExpert has a unique blend of video and interactive learning. You’ll do all work in the same browser within a kickass 4-pane integrated workspace where you’ll find:
- prompt
- scratchpad
- solutions
- video explanation
In addition to choosing the syntax, light/dark mode and font, you can solve your problems in 9 programming languages:
| JavaScript | TypeScript | Python |
| Swift | Kotlin | C++ |
| Java | C# | Go |
Perhaps most importantly, the problems you’ll find in AlgoExpert are commonly asked in real-life FAANG interviews.
Support
AlgoExpert doesn’t have an official community.
Use code realtoughcandy
and SAVE 10%
4. AlgoMonster
💰 Price: $99+ for lifetime access
⏲️ Duration: 50+ hours
📉 Level: Intermediate+
🖥 Format: Interactive
🎖️ Certificate: No
Has “algo” in title? ✅
Specifically designed for FAANG interview prep? ✅
Combines the in-depth challenges of AlgoExpert with Grokking the Coding Interview’s emphasis on patterns? ✅
Yep, this data structures & algorithms platform checks out.
A newer addition to the coding interview prep lineup, AlgoMonster was created by a group of Google engineers who thought LeetCode just wasn’t all that.
It features some of the most commonly found patterns at interviews from the biggest FAANG companies – think Meta (aka Facebook), Twitter, Google and Amazon.
And as an interactive platform with plentiful code playgrounds, you won’t be bogged down with video explanations.
Languages supported include:
- Python
- Java
- JavaScript
- C++
- Racket
- Go
- Haskell
👾 Honestly, there are a lot of other features we like that are too expansive to list here. Read our complete review of AlgoMonster for the full scoop.
There’s also a pretty cool skills analysis section that shows you where you stand with specific data structures & algorithms.
And as you can see from our own analysis page, we have a lot of work to do:
AlgoMonster Includes Job Offer Guarantee
AlgoMonster guarantees you’ll receive an offer from at least one tech company after completing their course. That’s a pretty hardcore coding interview prep promise.
Well played, Algomonster, well played.
5. Technical Interview Practice with Python – Codecademy
💰 Price: $39.99 per month / $239.88 per year ($19.99/mo) for full platform access
⏲️ Duration: 5 hours
📉 Level: Intermediate
🖥️ Format: Video and interactive learning
🎖️ Certificate: Yes
Technical Interview Practice with Python is one of the best coding interview prep resources for Python programmers.
You’ll also practice whiteboarding in this relatively short course.
Course Layout
Codecademy has an interactive learning environment sprinkled with videos.
You’ll also flex your skills with two mini-projects: Capturing Rain Water and Longest Common Subsequence.
Codecademy Pro is a software developer favorite. Read our full review Is Codecademy Worth It? to find out why.
Support
Codecademy Pro has a busy community where you can get help, share projects and chat with other students.
6. Technical Interviewing – Treehouse
💰 Price: $25 per month for all courses
⏲️ Duration: 50 minutes
📉 Level: Beginner
🖥️ Format: Video
🎖️ Certificate: No
🚨 ALERT 🚨
As of September 2021, Treehouse has laid off 90% of its staff. The future of Treehouse is unknown.
Technical Interviewing is one of the best coding interview prep resources for whiteboarding and pair programming.
💡 Pair programming is when two people work on the same programming problem together.
In this hour-ish long video course, you’ll learn what technical interviews are. Then you’ll discover tools and techniques for a stellar technical interviewing experience.
This is one of the best coding interview prep courses for students with a short attention span.
Course Layout
Treehouse has a video learning environment where you’ll do all work on your local machine.
In Technical Interviewing, you’ll learn:
- how to prepare for questions
- whiteboarding
- alternatives to whiteboarding
- tools
And more.
Support
Treehouse has a community forum where you can get help from other students.
Coding Interview Prep: BOOKS
7. Cracking the Coding Interview
🚨 Ideal for: primarily Java programmers
💥 Major topics: big O notation, algorithms
Cracking the Coding Interview by Gayle Laakmann McDowell is hands down one of the best coding interview prep books.
💡 Fun FAANG-ish fact: Gayle Laakmann McDowell also wrote a children’s book with her sister: The Bedtime Bunny.
There are 189 programming problems. But you’ll also get solution walkthroughs and hints you’d typically find at coding interviews.
The majority of solutions are written in Java. So if you don’t know Java, Cracking the Coding Interview probably isn’t the book for you.
❤️ Cracking the Coding Interview is one of our favorite coding interview prep books. Read our full review of Cracking the Coding Interview to find out why.
Instead, you could try Elements of Programming Interviews in Python (#9 on our list).
8. Programming Interviews Exposed
🚨 Ideal for: primarily Java programmers
💥 Major topics: linked lists, trees and graphs, recursion
Programming Interviews Exposed by John Mongan, Noah Kindler and Eric Giguere is another one of our favorite coding interview prep books.
It contains over 50 questions you can expect to find at coding interviews.
You’ll find coding interview prep questions on core programming concepts such as:
- linked lists
- trees and graphs
- arrays and strings
- recursion
And more.
❤️ We like this book! Read our complete review of Programming Interviews Exposed to find out why.
Similar to Cracking the Coding Interview, the majority of problems are in Java.
But you’ll also find smidgens of C, C++, C# and JavaScript.
9. Elements of Programming Interviews in Python
🚨 Ideal for: Python programmers
💥 Major topics: data structures, algorithm design principles, concurrency
In our opinion, Elements of Programming Interviews is one of the best Python coding interview prep books.
For starters, there are over 250 problems asked at actual coding interviews.
Coding problems are based on:
- data structures
- algorithm design principles
- concurrency
And more.
Python not your preferred programming language? Check out Elements of Programming Interviews in Java or Elements of Programming Interviews in C++.
10. The Algorithm Design Manual
🚨 Ideal for: C, C++ and Java programmers
💥 Major topics: randomized algorithms, quantum computing
The Algorithm Design Manual by Steven Skiena is regarded by many as one of the best coding interview prep books.
You’ll learn about methods for designing and analyzing computer algorithms.
You’ll also tackle:
- randomized algorithms
- hashing
- divide and conquer
- quantum computing
And more.
💡 Fun fact: Quantum computing is cold! In fact, the cores of D-Wave computers are -460 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s almost absolute zero. 🥶
Many of the algorithms are written in C. Implementations are presented in C, C++ and Java.
The is the most approachable book on algorithms I have.
– Megan Squire, Elon University
11. The Complete Coding Interview Guide in Java
🚨 Ideal for: Java programmers
💥 Major topics: time complexity, object-oriented programming, recursion
The Complete Coding Interview Guide in Java by Anghel Leonard contains over 200 coding interview problems and solutions. Each of them is written and solved in Java.
Topics covered include:
- time complexity
- object-oriented programming
- recursion
And more.
Coding Interview Prep: Recap
Today we looked at the best coding interview prep resources. Our top pics:
🔥 Best Course 🔥
Grokking the Coding Interview by Educative.io
💥 Best Book 💥
Cracking the Coding Interview by Gayle Laakmann McDowell
So whether you’re a software engineer who prefers reading or taking courses, we think there’s a coding interview prep resource for just about everyone.
Software engineers interested in coding interview prep are also reading:
- 9 FAANG Interview Courses You Can’t Afford to Miss Out On
- Is LeetCode Worth It? [AlgoExpert vs LeetCode vs HackerRank]
- AlgoMonster Review [Is AlgoMonster Worth It?]
- 14 Best FAANG Interview Books of All Time
- 19 Best Software Engineering Books [Become a Software Engineer]
What are the best coding interview resources?
We think books and courses are the best coding interview resources. If you’re looking for a course, we think Grokking the Coding Interview on Educative.io is the way to go. And if you’re looking for a book, we think Cracking the Coding Interview by Gayle Laakmann McDowell is the best. Read today’s post for the full scoop.
Is the book The Complete Coding Interview Guide in Java worth it?
We think The Complete Coding Interview Guide in Java by Anghel Leonard is worth it. It contains over 200 coding interview problems and solutions. Each of them is written and solved in the Java programming language. Topics covered include time complexity, object-oriented programming, recursion and more. Check out today’s post for more info.
Will Master the Coding Interview on Zero to Mastery help me get a job?
In Master the Coding Interview, you’ll learn how to ace coding interviews given by some of the top tech companies. You’ll do this by learning and implementing different data structures and algorithms. In addition, you’ll learn how to become more confident, handle offers, negotiate raises, and master computer science fundamentals. Learn more in today’s post.