5 critical things to know before buying AlgoExpert

In 2017, Clément Mihailescu found himself in an exciting position when he scheduled his onsite coding interviews for a full-time software engineering position at Google. In preparation for the notoriously difficult interviews, he spent hours skimming through textbooks, studying articles on Wikipedia, and watching videos on YouTube. However, he found himself feeling constantly frustrated and discouraged as he studied. Trying to comprehend complex algorithms through a textbook proved to be a difficult feat, especially when the books were written in C++ and Java (and he had a background in Javascript). He remembers thinking to himself, "There's got to be a better way.

AlgoExpert was born as a result of these frustrations.

Launched in September 2017, the platform has now helped tens of thousands of software developers prepare for technical interviews at tech companies like Microsoft, Facebook and Amazon.

What is AlgoExpert?

AlgoExpert is a paid platform that helps prospective software engineers with coding interview preparation, especially for developers wanting to work at top tech companies.

1. How much does it cost?

AlgoExpert offers three different plan options that each last for one year. Users can purchase AlgoExpert for $99 or SystemsExpert, a course to prepare for system design interviews, for $60. You can also purchase both AlgoExpert and SystemsExpert together for a bundle rate of $129. 

This puts AlgoExpert somewhat in the middle in terms of pricing when compared to competitors like LeetCode Premium ($159 per year) and the Grokking the Coding Interview course ($79 per year).

Unlike some of its competitors, AlgoExpert does not offer a free trial of its service. However, four practice questions of various difficulty levels are made available so users can try out the platform before purchasing a subscription.

2. What content does it offer?

AlgoExpert currently offers 100 coding interview questions, organized into five difficulty levels ranging from "Easy" to "Extremely Hard." The coding problems cover a wide variety of topics that may appear in technical interviews including arrays, binary search trees, dynamic programming, linked lists, recursion, searching, sorting and strings.

When a user clicks on a question, they are directed to an interactive code editor where they can enter their solutions, receive hints and get feedback on whether their code runs correctly. The platform also offers lengthy video explanations that provide detailed walkthroughs of every problem, which can be extremely helpful if you learn better with video and audio components. 

The platform is also compatible with nine different programming languages including JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, Swift, Kotlin, C++, Java, C# and Go.

3. Who founded the platform?

Unlike some other platforms like LeetCode that partly relies on the community when providing coding solutions, all of the solutions on AlgoExpert were provided by Clément Mihailescu and his team. 

By signing up for AlgoExpert and going through the practice solutions and video explanations, you know exactly who's providing you with the content. As a former Facebook and Google software engineer, Mihailescu can speak with authority about specific programming questions and how to approach them. In his website bio, Mihailescu even mentions that he used AlgoExpert himself when preparing for his Facebook interviews. 

4. Who is it designed for?

If you're a newbie when it comes to software development, AlgoExpert likely isn't for you. AlgoExpert isn't in the business of trying to make coding more approachable for beginners or teaching customers the basics of computer science. Rather, it advertises itself as the "ultimate resource to prepare for coding interviews." AlgoExpert is targeting software developers who have a strong background in the field and are likely vying for highly competitive jobs at companies like Google, Facebook and Amazon.

At its core, it's a great resource for people who have been programming for a while but who need additional practice questions and support to nail their programming interviews and land their dream jobs. The platform features some well-known software engineering technical interview questions that are not designed for beginners who want to learn programming.

One Reddit user said they wouldn't recommend purchasing AlgoExpert as a beginner but did find it to be a helpful resource in order to "level up fast." 

"After using algoexpert for almost a year now , I would recommend it as it’s cheaper than leetcode. If you are a beginner I wouldn’t recommend purchasing as there are free content out there such as Freecodecamp.org. But if you are looking to level up fast, it’s worth it," they said.

5. How does it stack up alongside competitors?

When preparing for coding interviews, prospective software developers have many tools and resources to choose from. AlgoExpert's website features dozens of testimonials from engineers who compliment the platform's high quality selection of algorithms, well-produced videos and in-depth coding explanations.

However, many people have criticized AlgoExpert arguing that it is not worth the price because they only offer 100 questions - many of which are considered standard and well-known by the software engineering community. Some people have pointed out that many of AlgoExpert's materials can be learned for free through the Internet or LeetCode's non-premium resources.

When one user on Blind asked if AlgoExpert is as effective as some people say, one respondent recommended they turn to LeetCode or the Cracking the Coding Interview textbook instead.

"I would say, NO. They only have the famous questions. The community discussions on LC makes it a lot better than Algoexpert IMHO. For a person starting interview prep, CTCI is a better way to get up to speed," they said.

However, one Reddit user claims the service was helpful in learning problem solving skills. Although they admitted most of the material could be found for free elsewhere, they enjoyed the organization and structure of AlgoExpert compared to LeetCode.

"I tried the service and it was definitely helpful. I think the best value in it comes from the selection of the problems and how it’s focused on teaching problem solving skills that can be reused with several different problems. You can definitely get all this material for free on other sites but I do like that it’s more filtered out so you can focus on learning the skills and not just randomly choosing leetcode problems," they said.

Is AlgoExpert for me? 

It appears there are mixed reviews about whether or not AlgoExpert is worth its price tag. While some argue it doesn't offer enough materials to warrant its costly fee, others are quick to praise its user-friendly interface and in-depth videos. If you're someone who is a more visual learner and could appreciate the structure and support AlgoExpert provides, the platform could be a worthwhile investment. However, if pricing is a concern of yours or if you're new to programming, you're likely best served looking elsewhere.