IBM vs Microsoft Interview Questions
IBM lists 115 LeetCode interview questions while Microsoft lists 192. They share 45 problems — 39% of IBM's bank and 23% of Microsoft's. Focus on the overlap first, then drill into 70 IBM-only and 147 Microsoft-only questions.
Overview
Preparation Strategy
Step 1 — Shared core: Solve the 45 overlapping problems first. These are the highest-yield questions for candidates interviewing at both IBM and Microsoft.
Step 2 — Company-specific depth: Add IBM-specific problems like Find the Smallest Divisor Given a Threshold, Gray Code, Exclusive Time of Functions and Microsoft-specific problems from the exclusive lists below.
Step 3 — Difficulty tuning: Microsoft skews harder in our data. Budget extra time for Hard problems if you are targeting that company.
Difficulty Comparison
Top Shared Topics
45 Shared Questions
High-priority problems to practice for both IBM and Microsoft.
| Problem | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| 3Sum | Medium |
| Integer to Roman | Medium |
| Roman to Integer | Easy |
| Best Time to Buy and Sell Stock | Easy |
| Two Sum | Easy |
| Meeting Rooms II | Medium |
| Rotate Image | Medium |
| Merge Intervals | Medium |
| Longest Substring Without Repeating Characters | Medium |
| Longest Common Prefix | Easy |
| Valid Parentheses | Easy |
| Merge Strings Alternately | Easy |
| Letter Combinations of a Phone Number | Medium |
| Longest Consecutive Sequence | Medium |
| Longest Palindromic Substring | Medium |
| Merge Sorted Array | Easy |
| Maximum Subarray | Medium |
| Spiral Matrix | Medium |
| Group Anagrams | Medium |
| Validate Binary Search Tree | Medium |
| Climbing Stairs | Easy |
| Trapping Rain Water | Hard |
| Product of Array Except Self | Medium |
| Next Permutation | Medium |
| Find the Index of the First Occurrence in a String | Easy |
| Subarray Sum Equals K | Medium |
| Intersection of Two Arrays | Easy |
| Rotate Array | Medium |
| Single-Threaded CPU | Medium |
| Median of Two Sorted Arrays | Hard |
Showing top 30 of 45 shared problems.
Unique to IBM (70)
Problems in IBM's list that do not appear at Microsoft.
Unique to Microsoft (147)
Problems in Microsoft's list that do not appear at IBM.
| Problem | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Add Two Numbers | Medium |
| Single Element in a Sorted Array | Medium |
| Search in Rotated Sorted Array | Medium |
| Reverse Nodes in k-Group | Hard |
| Merge Two Sorted Lists | Easy |
| Container With Most Water | Medium |
| Merge k Sorted Lists | Hard |
| Sort Colors | Medium |
| Create Hello World Function | Easy |
| Set Matrix Zeroes | Medium |
| Number of Islands | Medium |
| Word Search | Medium |
Frequently Asked Questions
How many LeetCode questions do IBM and Microsoft share?
IBM and Microsoft share 45 LeetCode interview questions. 70 problems appear only in IBM's list and 147 appear only in Microsoft's list.
What topics overlap most between IBM and Microsoft?
The most common shared topics between IBM and Microsoft are Array (19 shared questions), Two Pointers (10 shared questions), String (10 shared questions), Hash Table (9 shared questions), Sorting (7 shared questions). Mastering these areas prepares you for both companies.
Which company asks harder LeetCode questions: IBM or Microsoft?
IBM has 33 Easy, 73 Medium, and 9 Hard questions. Microsoft has 55 Easy, 109 Medium, and 28 Hard questions. Microsoft has a higher proportion of Hard problems in its interview set.
How should I prepare if interviewing at both IBM and Microsoft?
Start with the 45 shared problems since they cover what both companies ask most often. Then add 20 IBM-specific and 20 Microsoft-specific questions to round out your prep.