PayPal vs Waymo Interview Questions
PayPal lists 105 LeetCode interview questions while Waymo lists 25. They share 4 problems — 4% of PayPal's bank and 16% of Waymo's. Focus on the overlap first, then drill into 101 PayPal-only and 21 Waymo-only questions.
Overview
Preparation Strategy
Step 1 — Shared core: Solve the 4 overlapping problems first. These are the highest-yield questions for candidates interviewing at both PayPal and Waymo.
Step 2 — Company-specific depth: Add PayPal-specific problems like Zigzag Conversion, Minimum Absolute Difference, Longest Increasing Subsequence and Waymo-specific problems from the exclusive lists below.
Step 3 — Difficulty tuning: Waymo skews harder in our data. Budget extra time for Hard problems if you are targeting that company.
Difficulty Comparison
Top Shared Topics
4 Shared Questions
High-priority problems to practice for both PayPal and Waymo.
| Problem | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Number of Islands | Medium |
| Random Pick with Weight | Medium |
| Find Peak Element | Medium |
| Text Justification | Hard |
Unique to PayPal (101)
Problems in PayPal's list that do not appear at Waymo.
Unique to Waymo (21)
Problems in Waymo's list that do not appear at PayPal.
| Problem | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Max Points on a Line | Hard |
| Logger Rate Limiter | Easy |
| Number of Visible People in a Queue | Hard |
| Meeting Rooms II | Medium |
| Minimum Number of Refueling Stops | Hard |
| Minimum Knight Moves | Medium |
| Minimum Area Rectangle | Medium |
| Design Excel Sum Formula | Hard |
| Design Tic-Tac-Toe | Medium |
| Shortest Distance from All Buildings | Hard |
| Maximum Gap | Medium |
| Divide Array in Sets of K Consecutive Numbers | Medium |
Frequently Asked Questions
How many LeetCode questions do PayPal and Waymo share?
PayPal and Waymo share 4 LeetCode interview questions. 101 problems appear only in PayPal's list and 21 appear only in Waymo's list.
What topics overlap most between PayPal and Waymo?
The most common shared topics between PayPal and Waymo are Array (4 shared questions), Binary Search (2 shared questions), Depth-First Search (1 shared questions), Breadth-First Search (1 shared questions), Union-Find (1 shared questions). Mastering these areas prepares you for both companies.
Which company asks harder LeetCode questions: PayPal or Waymo?
PayPal has 19 Easy, 69 Medium, and 17 Hard questions. Waymo has 1 Easy, 13 Medium, and 11 Hard questions. Waymo has a higher proportion of Hard problems in its interview set.
How should I prepare if interviewing at both PayPal and Waymo?
Start with the 4 shared problems since they cover what both companies ask most often. Then add 20 PayPal-specific and 20 Waymo-specific questions to round out your prep.