Microsoft vs Pinterest Interview Questions
Microsoft lists 192 LeetCode interview questions while Pinterest lists 49. They share 13 problems — 7% of Microsoft's bank and 27% of Pinterest's. Focus on the overlap first, then drill into 179 Microsoft-only and 36 Pinterest-only questions.
Overview
Preparation Strategy
Step 1 — Shared core: Solve the 13 overlapping problems first. These are the highest-yield questions for candidates interviewing at both Microsoft and Pinterest.
Step 2 — Company-specific depth: Add Microsoft-specific problems like Two Sum, Merge Sorted Array, Longest Substring Without Repeating Characters 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
13 Shared Questions
High-priority problems to practice for both Microsoft and Pinterest.
| Problem | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Single Element in a Sorted Array | Medium |
| Letter Combinations of a Phone Number | Medium |
| Number of Islands | Medium |
| Find First and Last Position of Element in Sorted Array | Medium |
| Combination Sum | Medium |
| Split Array Largest Sum | Hard |
| Sudoku Solver | Hard |
| Meeting Rooms II | Medium |
| Multiply Strings | Medium |
| Find Median from Data Stream | Hard |
| Is Subsequence | Easy |
| Count and Say | Medium |
| Unique Paths II | Medium |
Unique to Microsoft (179)
Problems in Microsoft's list that do not appear at Pinterest.
| Problem | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Two Sum | Easy |
| Merge Sorted Array | Easy |
| Longest Substring Without Repeating Characters | Medium |
| Add Two Numbers | Medium |
| Longest Palindromic Substring | Medium |
| Trapping Rain Water | Hard |
| Merge Intervals | Medium |
| Median of Two Sorted Arrays | Hard |
| Valid Parentheses | Easy |
| 3Sum | Medium |
| Maximum Subarray | Medium |
| Group Anagrams | Medium |
Unique to Pinterest (36)
Problems in Pinterest's list that do not appear at Microsoft.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many LeetCode questions do Microsoft and Pinterest share?
Microsoft and Pinterest share 13 LeetCode interview questions. 179 problems appear only in Microsoft's list and 36 appear only in Pinterest's list.
What topics overlap most between Microsoft and Pinterest?
The most common shared topics between Microsoft and Pinterest are Array (8 shared questions), String (4 shared questions), Binary Search (3 shared questions), Backtracking (3 shared questions), Matrix (3 shared questions). Mastering these areas prepares you for both companies.
Which company asks harder LeetCode questions: Microsoft or Pinterest?
Microsoft has 55 Easy, 109 Medium, and 28 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 Microsoft and Pinterest?
Start with the 13 shared problems since they cover what both companies ask most often. Then add 20 Microsoft-specific and 20 Pinterest-specific questions to round out your prep.