Google vs Microsoft Interview Questions
Google lists 2,305 LeetCode interview questions while Microsoft lists 192. They share 190 problems — 8% of Google's bank and 99% of Microsoft's. Focus on the overlap first, then drill into 2,115 Google-only and 2 Microsoft-only questions.
Overview
Preparation Strategy
Step 1 — Shared core: Solve the 190 overlapping problems first. These are the highest-yield questions for candidates interviewing at both Google and Microsoft.
Step 2 — Company-specific depth: Add Google-specific problems like Decode String, Pascal's Triangle, Minimum Number of Increments on Subarrays to Form a Target Array and Microsoft-specific problems from the exclusive lists below.
Step 3 — Difficulty tuning: Google skews harder in our data. Budget extra time for Hard problems if you are targeting that company.
Difficulty Comparison
Top Shared Topics
190 Shared Questions
High-priority problems to practice for both Google and Microsoft.
| Problem | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Two Sum | Easy |
| Add Two Numbers | Medium |
| Trapping Rain Water | Hard |
| Median of Two Sorted Arrays | Hard |
| Longest Common Prefix | Easy |
| Palindrome Number | Easy |
| Merge Sorted Array | Easy |
| Longest Substring Without Repeating Characters | Medium |
| Best Time to Buy and Sell Stock | Easy |
| 3Sum | Medium |
| Create Hello World Function | Easy |
| Merge Strings Alternately | Easy |
| Longest Palindromic Substring | Medium |
| Longest Consecutive Sequence | Medium |
| Container With Most Water | Medium |
| Recyclable and Low Fat Products | Easy |
| Valid Parentheses | Easy |
| Majority Element | Easy |
| Roman to Integer | Easy |
| Merge Intervals | Medium |
| Number of Islands | Medium |
| Maximum Subarray | Medium |
| Reverse Integer | Medium |
| Remove Duplicates from Sorted Array | Easy |
| Subarray Sum Equals K | Medium |
| Climbing Stairs | Easy |
| Merge Two Sorted Lists | Easy |
| Next Permutation | Medium |
| Generate Parentheses | Medium |
| Spiral Matrix | Medium |
Showing top 30 of 190 shared problems.
Unique to Google (2,115)
Problems in Google's list that do not appear at Microsoft.
Unique to Microsoft (2)
Problems in Microsoft's list that do not appear at Google.
| Problem | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Transform Array to All Equal Elements | Medium |
| Memoize | Medium |
Frequently Asked Questions
How many LeetCode questions do Google and Microsoft share?
Google and Microsoft share 190 LeetCode interview questions. 2115 problems appear only in Google's list and 2 appear only in Microsoft's list.
What topics overlap most between Google and Microsoft?
The most common shared topics between Google and Microsoft are Array (17 shared questions), Two Pointers (8 shared questions), String (7 shared questions), Hash Table (6 shared questions), Dynamic Programming (6 shared questions). Mastering these areas prepares you for both companies.
Which company asks harder LeetCode questions: Google or Microsoft?
Google has 601 Easy, 1205 Medium, and 499 Hard questions. Microsoft has 55 Easy, 109 Medium, and 28 Hard questions. Google has a higher proportion of Hard problems in its interview set.
How should I prepare if interviewing at both Google and Microsoft?
Start with the 190 shared problems since they cover what both companies ask most often. Then add 20 Google-specific and 2 Microsoft-specific questions to round out your prep.