Apple vs Microsoft Interview Questions
Apple lists 300 LeetCode interview questions while Microsoft lists 192. They share 119 problems — 40% of Apple's bank and 62% of Microsoft's. Focus on the overlap first, then drill into 181 Apple-only and 73 Microsoft-only questions.
Overview
Preparation Strategy
Step 1 — Shared core: Solve the 119 overlapping problems first. These are the highest-yield questions for candidates interviewing at both Apple and Microsoft.
Step 2 — Company-specific depth: Add Apple-specific problems like Design Hit Counter, Top K Frequent Elements, Valid Palindrome and Microsoft-specific problems from the exclusive lists below.
Step 3 — Difficulty tuning: Apple skews harder in our data. Budget extra time for Hard problems if you are targeting that company.
Difficulty Comparison
Top Shared Topics
119 Shared Questions
High-priority problems to practice for both Apple and Microsoft.
| Problem | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| LRU Cache | Medium |
| Two Sum | Easy |
| Number of Islands | Medium |
| Merge Intervals | Medium |
| Best Time to Buy and Sell Stock | Easy |
| Longest Common Prefix | Easy |
| Rotate Array | Medium |
| Reverse Linked List | Easy |
| Valid Sudoku | Medium |
| Group Anagrams | Medium |
| Course Schedule II | Medium |
| Course Schedule | Medium |
| Valid Parentheses | Easy |
| Longest Substring Without Repeating Characters | Medium |
| Product of Array Except Self | Medium |
| Rotate Image | Medium |
| Reverse Words in a String | Medium |
| Kth Largest Element in an Array | Medium |
| Spiral Matrix | Medium |
| Best Time to Buy and Sell Stock II | Medium |
| Maximum Subarray | Medium |
| Reverse Integer | Medium |
| Merge k Sorted Lists | Hard |
| Meeting Rooms II | Medium |
| Trapping Rain Water | Hard |
| Lowest Common Ancestor of a Binary Tree | Medium |
| Subarray Sum Equals K | Medium |
| Median of Two Sorted Arrays | Hard |
| Find First and Last Position of Element in Sorted Array | Medium |
| Merge Two Sorted Lists | Easy |
Showing top 30 of 119 shared problems.
Unique to Apple (181)
Problems in Apple's list that do not appear at Microsoft.
| Problem | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Design Hit Counter | Medium |
| Top K Frequent Elements | Medium |
| Valid Palindrome | Easy |
| Time Based Key-Value Store | Medium |
| Subarray Product Less Than K | Medium |
| Reverse Bits | Easy |
| Snapshot Array | Medium |
| Design Circular Queue | Medium |
| Number of 1 Bits | Easy |
| Insert Delete GetRandom O(1) | Medium |
| Basic Calculator II | Medium |
| Compare Version Numbers | Medium |
Unique to Microsoft (73)
Problems in Microsoft's list that do not appear at Apple.
| Problem | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Single Element in a Sorted Array | Medium |
| Palindrome Number | Easy |
| Create Hello World Function | Easy |
| Minimum Edge Reversals So Every Node Is Reachable | Hard |
| K-th Smallest in Lexicographical Order | Hard |
| Next Permutation | Medium |
| Recyclable and Low Fat Products | Easy |
| Minimum Path Sum | Medium |
| Unique Paths | Medium |
| Swap Nodes in Pairs | Medium |
| Search Insert Position | Easy |
| Pow(x, n) | Medium |
Frequently Asked Questions
How many LeetCode questions do Apple and Microsoft share?
Apple and Microsoft share 119 LeetCode interview questions. 181 problems appear only in Apple's list and 73 appear only in Microsoft's list.
What topics overlap most between Apple and Microsoft?
The most common shared topics between Apple and Microsoft are Array (19 shared questions), Hash Table (6 shared questions), String (5 shared questions), Linked List (4 shared questions), Depth-First Search (4 shared questions). Mastering these areas prepares you for both companies.
Which company asks harder LeetCode questions: Apple or Microsoft?
Apple has 76 Easy, 178 Medium, and 46 Hard questions. Microsoft has 55 Easy, 109 Medium, and 28 Hard questions. Apple has a higher proportion of Hard problems in its interview set.
How should I prepare if interviewing at both Apple and Microsoft?
Start with the 119 shared problems since they cover what both companies ask most often. Then add 20 Apple-specific and 20 Microsoft-specific questions to round out your prep.