IBM vs X Interview Questions
IBM lists 115 LeetCode interview questions while X lists 51. They share 6 problems — 5% of IBM's bank and 12% of X's. Focus on the overlap first, then drill into 109 IBM-only and 45 X-only questions.
Overview
Preparation Strategy
Step 1 — Shared core: Solve the 6 overlapping problems first. These are the highest-yield questions for candidates interviewing at both IBM and X.
Step 2 — Company-specific depth: Add IBM-specific problems like Find the Smallest Divisor Given a Threshold, Gray Code, 3Sum and X-specific problems from the exclusive lists below.
Step 3 — Difficulty tuning: X skews harder in our data. Budget extra time for Hard problems if you are targeting that company.
Difficulty Comparison
Top Shared Topics
6 Shared Questions
High-priority problems to practice for both IBM and X.
| Problem | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Integer to Roman | Medium |
| Merge Intervals | Medium |
| Valid Parentheses | Easy |
| Trapping Rain Water | Hard |
| Happy Number | Easy |
| LRU Cache | Medium |
Unique to IBM (109)
Problems in IBM's list that do not appear at X.
| Problem | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Find the Smallest Divisor Given a Threshold | Medium |
| Gray Code | Medium |
| 3Sum | Medium |
| Exclusive Time of Functions | Medium |
| Minimum Operations to Make Columns Strictly Increasing | Easy |
| Fizz Buzz | Easy |
| Roman to Integer | Easy |
| Best Time to Buy and Sell Stock | Easy |
| Count Ways to Group Overlapping Ranges | Medium |
| Two Sum | Easy |
| Meeting Rooms II | Medium |
| Rotate Image | Medium |
Unique to X (45)
Problems in X's list that do not appear at IBM.
| Problem | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Tweet Counts Per Frequency | Medium |
| Flatten Nested List Iterator | Medium |
| Implement Trie (Prefix Tree) | Medium |
| Insert Delete GetRandom O(1) | Medium |
| Design Twitter | Medium |
| Binary Gap | Easy |
| Regular Expression Matching | Hard |
| Word Break II | Hard |
| Alien Dictionary | Hard |
| Time Needed to Buy Tickets | Easy |
| Max Points on a Line | Hard |
| Merge k Sorted Lists | Hard |
Frequently Asked Questions
How many LeetCode questions do IBM and X share?
IBM and X share 6 LeetCode interview questions. 109 problems appear only in IBM's list and 45 appear only in X's list.
What topics overlap most between IBM and X?
The most common shared topics between IBM and X are Hash Table (3 shared questions), Math (2 shared questions), String (2 shared questions), Array (2 shared questions), Stack (2 shared questions). Mastering these areas prepares you for both companies.
Which company asks harder LeetCode questions: IBM or X?
IBM has 33 Easy, 73 Medium, and 9 Hard questions. X has 8 Easy, 31 Medium, and 12 Hard questions. X has a higher proportion of Hard problems in its interview set.
How should I prepare if interviewing at both IBM and X?
Start with the 6 shared problems since they cover what both companies ask most often. Then add 20 IBM-specific and 20 X-specific questions to round out your prep.