Google vs Pinterest Interview Questions
Google lists 2,305 LeetCode interview questions while Pinterest lists 49. They share 46 problems — 2% of Google's bank and 94% of Pinterest's. Focus on the overlap first, then drill into 2,259 Google-only and 3 Pinterest-only questions.
Overview
Preparation Strategy
Step 1 — Shared core: Solve the 46 overlapping problems first. These are the highest-yield questions for candidates interviewing at both Google and Pinterest.
Step 2 — Company-specific depth: Add Google-specific problems like Two Sum, Add Two Numbers, Trapping Rain Water and Pinterest-specific problems from the exclusive lists below.
Step 3 — Difficulty tuning: Pinterest skews harder in our data. Budget extra time for Hard problems if you are targeting that company.
Difficulty Comparison
Top Shared Topics
46 Shared Questions
High-priority problems to practice for both Google and Pinterest.
| Problem | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Number of Islands | Medium |
| Meeting Rooms II | Medium |
| Letter Combinations of a Phone Number | Medium |
| Split Array Largest Sum | Hard |
| Top K Frequent Elements | Medium |
| Single Element in a Sorted Array | Medium |
| Find Median from Data Stream | Hard |
| Find First and Last Position of Element in Sorted Array | Medium |
| Coin Change | Medium |
| Sudoku Solver | Hard |
| Combination Sum | Medium |
| String Compression | Medium |
| Target Sum | Medium |
| Meeting Rooms III | Hard |
| Is Subsequence | Easy |
| Reorganize String | Medium |
| Shortest Path in a Grid with Obstacles Elimination | Hard |
| Expression Add Operators | Hard |
| Implement Trie (Prefix Tree) | Medium |
| Multiply Strings | Medium |
| Accounts Merge | Medium |
| Bus Routes | Hard |
| Count and Say | Medium |
| Reconstruct Itinerary | Hard |
| Unique Paths II | Medium |
| Snakes and Ladders | Medium |
| Is Graph Bipartite? | Medium |
| Optimal Account Balancing | Hard |
| Design Search Autocomplete System | Hard |
| Employee Free Time | Hard |
Showing top 30 of 46 shared problems.
Unique to Google (2,259)
Problems in Google's list that do not appear at Pinterest.
| 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 |
Unique to Pinterest (3)
Problems in Pinterest's list that do not appear at Google.
| Problem | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Find Median Given Frequency of Numbers | Hard |
| Jump Game III | Medium |
| Minimize Result by Adding Parentheses to Expression | Medium |
Frequently Asked Questions
How many LeetCode questions do Google and Pinterest share?
Google and Pinterest share 46 LeetCode interview questions. 2259 problems appear only in Google's list and 3 appear only in Pinterest's list.
What topics overlap most between Google and Pinterest?
The most common shared topics between Google and Pinterest are Array (19 shared questions), String (11 shared questions), Sorting (9 shared questions), Heap (Priority Queue) (8 shared questions), Hash Table (8 shared questions). Mastering these areas prepares you for both companies.
Which company asks harder LeetCode questions: Google or Pinterest?
Google has 601 Easy, 1205 Medium, and 499 Hard questions. Pinterest has 1 Easy, 29 Medium, and 19 Hard questions. Pinterest has a higher proportion of Hard problems in its interview set.
How should I prepare if interviewing at both Google and Pinterest?
Start with the 46 shared problems since they cover what both companies ask most often. Then add 20 Google-specific and 3 Pinterest-specific questions to round out your prep.