Intel vs PayPal Interview Questions
Intel lists 25 LeetCode interview questions while PayPal lists 105. They share 12 problems — 48% of Intel's bank and 11% of PayPal's. Focus on the overlap first, then drill into 13 Intel-only and 93 PayPal-only questions.
Overview
Preparation Strategy
Step 1 — Shared core: Solve the 12 overlapping problems first. These are the highest-yield questions for candidates interviewing at both Intel and PayPal.
Step 2 — Company-specific depth: Add Intel-specific problems like Find Consecutive Integers from a Data Stream, Maximum Nesting Depth of the Parentheses, Copy List with Random Pointer and PayPal-specific problems from the exclusive lists below.
Step 3 — Difficulty tuning: PayPal skews harder in our data. Budget extra time for Hard problems if you are targeting that company.
Difficulty Comparison
Top Shared Topics
12 Shared Questions
High-priority problems to practice for both Intel and PayPal.
| Problem | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Trapping Rain Water | Hard |
| Valid Parentheses | Easy |
| Number of Islands | Medium |
| Two Sum | Easy |
| Longest Substring Without Repeating Characters | Medium |
| LRU Cache | Medium |
| Maximum Subarray | Medium |
| Climbing Stairs | Easy |
| Best Time to Buy and Sell Stock | Easy |
| Container With Most Water | Medium |
| Rotate Image | Medium |
| Top K Frequent Words | Medium |
Unique to Intel (13)
Problems in Intel's list that do not appear at PayPal.
| Problem | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Find Consecutive Integers from a Data Stream | Medium |
| Maximum Nesting Depth of the Parentheses | Easy |
| Copy List with Random Pointer | Medium |
| Count Primes | Medium |
| Best Time to Buy and Sell Stock II | Medium |
| Reverse Integer | Medium |
| Merge Two Sorted Lists | Easy |
| Reverse Words in a String | Medium |
| Add Two Numbers | Medium |
| Palindrome Number | Easy |
| Merge Sorted Array | Easy |
| Linked List Cycle | Easy |
Unique to PayPal (93)
Problems in PayPal's list that do not appear at Intel.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many LeetCode questions do Intel and PayPal share?
Intel and PayPal share 12 LeetCode interview questions. 13 problems appear only in Intel's list and 93 appear only in PayPal's list.
What topics overlap most between Intel and PayPal?
The most common shared topics between Intel and PayPal are Array (8 shared questions), Dynamic Programming (4 shared questions), Hash Table (4 shared questions), String (3 shared questions), Two Pointers (2 shared questions). Mastering these areas prepares you for both companies.
Which company asks harder LeetCode questions: Intel or PayPal?
Intel has 10 Easy, 14 Medium, and 1 Hard questions. PayPal has 19 Easy, 69 Medium, and 17 Hard questions. PayPal has a higher proportion of Hard problems in its interview set.
How should I prepare if interviewing at both Intel and PayPal?
Start with the 12 shared problems since they cover what both companies ask most often. Then add 13 Intel-specific and 20 PayPal-specific questions to round out your prep.