Cisco vs PayPal Interview Questions
Cisco lists 87 LeetCode interview questions while PayPal lists 105. They share 27 problems — 31% of Cisco's bank and 26% of PayPal's. Focus on the overlap first, then drill into 60 Cisco-only and 78 PayPal-only questions.
Overview
Preparation Strategy
Step 1 — Shared core: Solve the 27 overlapping problems first. These are the highest-yield questions for candidates interviewing at both Cisco and PayPal.
Step 2 — Company-specific depth: Add Cisco-specific problems like Predict the Winner, Lucky Numbers in a Matrix, Snakes and Ladders and PayPal-specific problems from the exclusive lists below.
Step 3 — Difficulty tuning: PayPal skews harder in our data. Budget extra time for Hard problems if you are targeting that company.
Difficulty Comparison
Top Shared Topics
27 Shared Questions
High-priority problems to practice for both Cisco and PayPal.
| Problem | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Longest Palindromic Substring | Medium |
| House Robber | Medium |
| Rotate Image | Medium |
| Spiral Matrix | Medium |
| Fizz Buzz | Easy |
| LRU Cache | Medium |
| Merge Intervals | Medium |
| Maximum Subarray | Medium |
| Happy Number | Easy |
| Two Sum | Easy |
| Valid Parentheses | Easy |
| Trapping Rain Water | Hard |
| Longest Substring Without Repeating Characters | Medium |
| Best Time to Buy and Sell Stock | Easy |
| Number of Islands | Medium |
| Move Zeroes | Easy |
| 3Sum | Medium |
| Longest Consecutive Sequence | Medium |
| Word Search | Medium |
| Group Anagrams | Medium |
| Top K Frequent Elements | Medium |
| Jump Game | Medium |
| Subarray Sum Equals K | Medium |
| Product of Array Except Self | Medium |
| Palindromic Substrings | Medium |
| Climbing Stairs | Easy |
| Zigzag Conversion | Medium |
Unique to Cisco (60)
Problems in Cisco's list that do not appear at PayPal.
Unique to PayPal (78)
Problems in PayPal's list that do not appear at Cisco.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many LeetCode questions do Cisco and PayPal share?
Cisco and PayPal share 27 LeetCode interview questions. 60 problems appear only in Cisco's list and 78 appear only in PayPal's list.
What topics overlap most between Cisco and PayPal?
The most common shared topics between Cisco and PayPal are Array (18 shared questions), String (8 shared questions), Dynamic Programming (8 shared questions), Hash Table (8 shared questions), Two Pointers (6 shared questions). Mastering these areas prepares you for both companies.
Which company asks harder LeetCode questions: Cisco or PayPal?
Cisco has 24 Easy, 50 Medium, and 13 Hard questions. PayPal has 19 Easy, 69 Medium, and 17 Hard questions. PayPal has a higher proportion of Hard problems in its interview set.
How should I prepare if interviewing at both Cisco and PayPal?
Start with the 27 shared problems since they cover what both companies ask most often. Then add 20 Cisco-specific and 20 PayPal-specific questions to round out your prep.