Microsoft vs Yandex Interview Questions
Microsoft lists 192 LeetCode interview questions while Yandex lists 128. They share 67 problems — 35% of Microsoft's bank and 52% of Yandex's. Focus on the overlap first, then drill into 125 Microsoft-only and 61 Yandex-only questions.
Overview
Preparation Strategy
Step 1 — Shared core: Solve the 67 overlapping problems first. These are the highest-yield questions for candidates interviewing at both Microsoft and Yandex.
Step 2 — Company-specific depth: Add Microsoft-specific problems like Single Element in a Sorted Array, 3Sum, Reverse Nodes in k-Group and Yandex-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
67 Shared Questions
High-priority problems to practice for both Microsoft and Yandex.
| 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 |
| Maximum Subarray | Medium |
| Group Anagrams | Medium |
| Search in Rotated Sorted Array | Medium |
| Merge Two Sorted Lists | Easy |
| Spiral Matrix | Medium |
| Container With Most Water | Medium |
| Palindrome Number | Easy |
| Merge k Sorted Lists | Hard |
| Remove Duplicates from Sorted Array | Easy |
| Create Hello World Function | Easy |
| Reverse Integer | Medium |
| Letter Combinations of a Phone Number | Medium |
| Number of Islands | Medium |
| Generate Parentheses | Medium |
| Best Time to Buy and Sell Stock | Easy |
| Move Zeroes | Easy |
| Max Consecutive Ones | Easy |
| Minimum Size Subarray Sum | Medium |
| Remove Element | Easy |
| Binary Tree Zigzag Level Order Traversal | Medium |
| Validate Binary Search Tree | Medium |
Showing top 30 of 67 shared problems.
Unique to Microsoft (125)
Problems in Microsoft's list that do not appear at Yandex.
| Problem | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Single Element in a Sorted Array | Medium |
| 3Sum | Medium |
| Reverse Nodes in k-Group | Hard |
| Roman to Integer | Easy |
| Climbing Stairs | Easy |
| Rotate Image | Medium |
| Sort Colors | Medium |
| Longest Common Prefix | Easy |
| Set Matrix Zeroes | Medium |
| Word Search | Medium |
| Minimum Edge Reversals So Every Node Is Reachable | Hard |
| Find Peak Element | Medium |
Unique to Yandex (61)
Problems in Yandex's list that do not appear at Microsoft.
| Problem | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Longest Subarray of 1's After Deleting One Element | Medium |
| Summary Ranges | Easy |
| Maximize Distance to Closest Person | Medium |
| Find K Closest Elements | Medium |
| String Compression | Medium |
| Valid Palindrome II | Easy |
| One Edit Distance | Medium |
| Permutation in String | Medium |
| Line Reflection | Medium |
| Longest Strictly Increasing or Strictly Decreasing Subarray | Easy |
| Valid Palindrome | Easy |
| Find All Anagrams in a String | Medium |
Frequently Asked Questions
How many LeetCode questions do Microsoft and Yandex share?
Microsoft and Yandex share 67 LeetCode interview questions. 125 problems appear only in Microsoft's list and 61 appear only in Yandex's list.
What topics overlap most between Microsoft and Yandex?
The most common shared topics between Microsoft and Yandex are Array (17 shared questions), Two Pointers (7 shared questions), String (6 shared questions), Dynamic Programming (5 shared questions), Hash Table (4 shared questions). Mastering these areas prepares you for both companies.
Which company asks harder LeetCode questions: Microsoft or Yandex?
Microsoft has 55 Easy, 109 Medium, and 28 Hard questions. Yandex has 51 Easy, 67 Medium, and 10 Hard questions. Microsoft has a higher proportion of Hard problems in its interview set.
How should I prepare if interviewing at both Microsoft and Yandex?
Start with the 67 shared problems since they cover what both companies ask most often. Then add 20 Microsoft-specific and 20 Yandex-specific questions to round out your prep.