Google vs Palo Alto Networks Interview Questions
Google lists 2,305 LeetCode interview questions while Palo Alto Networks lists 46. They share 43 problems — 2% of Google's bank and 93% of Palo Alto Networks's. Focus on the overlap first, then drill into 2,262 Google-only and 3 Palo Alto Networks-only questions.
Overview
Preparation Strategy
Step 1 — Shared core: Solve the 43 overlapping problems first. These are the highest-yield questions for candidates interviewing at both Google and Palo Alto Networks.
Step 2 — Company-specific depth: Add Google-specific problems like Trapping Rain Water, Palindrome Number, Best Time to Buy and Sell Stock and Palo Alto Networks-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
43 Shared Questions
High-priority problems to practice for both Google and Palo Alto Networks.
| Problem | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Two Sum | Easy |
| Add Two Numbers | Medium |
| Median of Two Sorted Arrays | Hard |
| Longest Common Prefix | Easy |
| Merge Sorted Array | Easy |
| Longest Substring Without Repeating Characters | Medium |
| Longest Palindromic Substring | Medium |
| Valid Parentheses | Easy |
| Merge Intervals | Medium |
| Subarray Sum Equals K | Medium |
| Merge Two Sorted Lists | Easy |
| Decode String | Medium |
| Koko Eating Bananas | Medium |
| Search in Rotated Sorted Array | Medium |
| LRU Cache | Medium |
| Group Anagrams | Medium |
| Logger Rate Limiter | Easy |
| Sliding Window Maximum | Hard |
| Basic Calculator | Hard |
| Min Stack | Medium |
| Insert Delete GetRandom O(1) | Medium |
| Linked List Cycle | Easy |
| Word Break | Medium |
| Diameter of Binary Tree | Easy |
| String Compression | Medium |
| Integer to Roman | Medium |
| Binary Tree Level Order Traversal | Medium |
| Invert Binary Tree | Easy |
| Binary Tree Zigzag Level Order Traversal | Medium |
| Reverse Linked List II | Medium |
Showing top 30 of 43 shared problems.
Unique to Google (2,262)
Problems in Google's list that do not appear at Palo Alto Networks.
| Problem | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Trapping Rain Water | Hard |
| Palindrome Number | Easy |
| Best Time to Buy and Sell Stock | Easy |
| 3Sum | Medium |
| Create Hello World Function | Easy |
| Merge Strings Alternately | Easy |
| Longest Consecutive Sequence | Medium |
| Container With Most Water | Medium |
| Recyclable and Low Fat Products | Easy |
| Majority Element | Easy |
| Roman to Integer | Easy |
| Number of Islands | Medium |
Unique to Palo Alto Networks (3)
Problems in Palo Alto Networks's list that do not appear at Google.
| Problem | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Find the Longest Equal Subarray | Medium |
| Minimum Number of Food Buckets to Feed the Hamsters | Medium |
| Advantage Shuffle | Medium |
Frequently Asked Questions
How many LeetCode questions do Google and Palo Alto Networks share?
Google and Palo Alto Networks share 43 LeetCode interview questions. 2262 problems appear only in Google's list and 3 appear only in Palo Alto Networks's list.
What topics overlap most between Google and Palo Alto Networks?
The most common shared topics between Google and Palo Alto Networks are Array (12 shared questions), Hash Table (10 shared questions), String (10 shared questions), Linked List (5 shared questions), Math (4 shared questions). Mastering these areas prepares you for both companies.
Which company asks harder LeetCode questions: Google or Palo Alto Networks?
Google has 601 Easy, 1205 Medium, and 499 Hard questions. Palo Alto Networks has 12 Easy, 29 Medium, and 5 Hard questions. Google has a higher proportion of Hard problems in its interview set.
How should I prepare if interviewing at both Google and Palo Alto Networks?
Start with the 43 shared problems since they cover what both companies ask most often. Then add 20 Google-specific and 3 Palo Alto Networks-specific questions to round out your prep.