Technical Interview Prep Services

HackerRank vs. LeetCode vs. AlgoExpert

Photo by Caspar Camille Rubin on Unsplash

In a technical interview, you will almost always get a Data Structures and Algorithms question. Coming from a bootcamp, this concept isn’t really something that they teach given how little time you have. So I as I was applying to tech jobs, I quickly started to realize how important understanding this concept is. It is a key fundamental of computer science, and display competency is key even if Data Structures and Algorithms aren’t really something you’ll really be doing on a daily basis in the job. Understanding Data Structures and Algorithms means that you also have to do a lot of practice. There are a variety of platforms to consider when going through these practice problems. In this blog post, I’ll be comparing 3 of the more popular platforms: HackerRank, LeetCode, and AlgoExpert. Let’s dive into them!

HackerRank

HackerRank is one of the most popular technical interview platforms not only for practicing algorithm questions but it’s also a popular platform for interviewers. When I started doing take-home assessments this was one of the platforms I used and it would be a good idea to get familiar with how their platform works.

Pros

• There are different kits (1 week or 1 month) technical interview prep kits.
• If you cannot solve the problem they have “try these first” problems to help work your way up to solving the original problem.
• You can prepare by topic.
• There are mock tests that real companies use to test your knowledge after every preparation kit.
• A great way to understand the HackerRank environment because a lot of top companies utilize this platform to send take-home coding challenges to their candidates.
• It’s free!

Cons

• There’s a discussion board of solutions from other users as well as an editorial that appears to be only in one language depending on the user who writes it.
• No video tutorial or detailed explanation about solving the problem and why.
• Multiple solutions are available through a discussion board.

LeetCode

LeetCode is one of the most well-known, popular coding platforms that you can use to practice your coding skills through practice problems. A lot of companies, especially big tech companies, pull questions from LeetCode to use in their technical interviews.

Pros

• These are harder questions in my opinion (could be good or bad).
• There is a kit for top interview questions.

Cons

• You need premium to access interview preps for a certain company.
• When you cycle through the explore page and choose a difficulty, when you move on to the next questions, it won’t be the difficulty you chose so it is inconsistent.
• Premium subscription — $35/month or $159/year.
• Multiple solutions are available through a discussion board.

AlgoExpert

Their motto is “ace the technical interview.” They are the ultimate resource to prepare for a technical interview as this platform was designed by

Pros

• For each problem, you get a video explanation per question.
• There are multiple solutions provided for each question.
• There are different bundles you can purchase as well: AlgoExpert, SystemsExpert, and MLExpert.
• There is space-time complexity analysis, certification completion, mock coding interviews, and so much more!

Cons

• There is no free version, so you have to pay for this service.
• The yearly subscription is $100.
• However, with the system questions, the interview prep bundle included its $200/year.

Which One “Should” You Choose?

I have used all three of these platforms and I would say my favorite is AlgoExpert. Although you have to pay for the service through a yearly subscription, this one platform provides everything. My favorite part about this platform is that there is a video explanation for each problem and they give you multiple solutions to one problem. The problem I face with the other two platforms, HackerRank and LeetCode, is that not every problem comes with a provided solution and if it does, sometimes it’s not even in the language you know. There are different solutions provided through a discussion board, however, sometimes there isn’t really an explanation as to why one solution is preferred over the other.

In my opinion, it’s best to try out all of the platforms mentioned or ones that you’ve heard a lot about so you can make the decision that fits best for you! Typically I alter between the three platforms just to get some variety but AlgoExpert is definitely my top choice, especially for beginners. Good luck prepping for your technical interview and happy coding!