Striver vs NeetCode 150 vs Blind 75: Which List Should You Use?

Coding interview preparation without a structured problem list is like studying for an exam without a syllabus. You end up solving random problems, missing critical topics, and wasting time on questions that rarely appear in real interviews. A curated problem list gives you a roadmap that covers the patterns interviewers actually test.

The three most popular problem lists in the coding interview community are Blind 75, NeetCode 150, and Striver's SDE Sheet. Each was created with a different philosophy, targets a different audience, and demands a different time commitment. Choosing the wrong list for your situation can cost you weeks of preparation time or leave gaps in your knowledge.

Your choice of problem list should depend on three factors: how much time you have before your interviews, your current comfort level with data structures and algorithms, and whether you learn better from video explanations or written editorial solutions. This guide breaks down each list so you can make an informed decision instead of following Reddit advice blindly.

Blind 75 is the list that started it all. Created in 2018 by a Facebook engineer who posted it on the anonymous workplace app Teamblind, it distills the most frequently asked coding interview questions into exactly 75 problems. The list was designed for working professionals who needed to prepare efficiently without solving hundreds of problems.

The strength of Blind 75 is its ruthless curation. Every problem on the list represents a core pattern or technique that appears repeatedly across FAANG interviews. You will not find filler problems or niche topics — each of the 75 questions teaches a transferable concept that applies to dozens of related problems.

The list covers 14 categories: arrays, binary, dynamic programming, graphs, intervals, linked lists, matrices, strings, trees, heaps, backtracking, greedy, math, and bit manipulation. The distribution leans heavily toward arrays, trees, and dynamic programming — which mirrors what companies actually ask in interviews.

The main limitation of Blind 75 is that it assumes you already understand the fundamentals. There are no warm-up problems or gradual difficulty progressions. If you cannot solve a medium LeetCode problem within 30 minutes, you may find Blind 75 frustrating without supplementary learning materials.

NeetCode 150 was created by a Google engineer who expanded Blind 75 to address its gaps. The list adds 75 additional problems that fill in missing patterns and provide stepping-stone problems that build up to harder questions. Every single problem comes with a free video explanation on YouTube, making it the most accessible list for visual learners.

The key innovation of NeetCode 150 is its pattern-based organization. Problems are grouped by technique — sliding window, two pointers, binary search, trees, graphs, dynamic programming, and more — with easier problems appearing first within each category. This structure lets you learn a pattern on a simpler problem before tackling the harder variant.

NeetCode also built a companion website (neetcode.io) with a progress tracker, difficulty ratings, and a visual roadmap showing which categories to study in order. The roadmap starts with arrays and hashing, progresses through stacks and binary search, and ends with advanced dynamic programming and graph problems.

The additional 75 problems compared to Blind 75 are not padding. They include critical topics that Blind 75 misses, such as tries, advanced graph algorithms like Dijkstra and Prim, monotonic stacks, and multi-dimensional dynamic programming problems. If you have the time, the extra coverage makes NeetCode 150 a more thorough preparation.

Striver's SDE Sheet was created by Raj Vikramaditya (known online as Striver), a former Samsung and Google engineer whose YouTube channel Take U Forward has become one of the largest DSA education resources globally. The sheet contains approximately 191 problems and is the most popular preparation resource for software engineering interviews in India.

The SDE Sheet takes a fundamentals-first approach. It starts with basic array operations and sorting before moving into advanced topics like segment trees, tries, and graph algorithms. This makes it significantly more beginner-friendly than Blind 75, which assumes you already know the basics. If you are learning data structures and algorithms from scratch, Striver's sheet provides a more complete educational journey.

Striver also created the A2Z DSA Sheet, an even larger resource with over 450 problems that covers every data structure and algorithm topic exhaustively. The original SDE Sheet (~191 problems) is the interview-focused subset, while A2Z is the full learning curriculum. Most candidates preparing for interviews should stick with the SDE Sheet unless they have several months to prepare.

Each problem on the sheet links to a detailed video explanation and written editorial on Take U Forward. The explanations are known for their thoroughness — Striver walks through the brute force, better, and optimal approaches for each problem, showing you how to improve a solution step by step rather than jumping straight to the optimal answer.

Comparing the three lists side by side reveals clear differences in scope, difficulty distribution, and time investment. Blind 75 is the most focused at 75 problems, NeetCode 150 doubles that to 150 problems, and Striver SDE Sheet is the most comprehensive at approximately 191 problems.

Difficulty distribution varies significantly. Blind 75 skews toward medium and hard problems with minimal easy warm-ups. NeetCode 150 includes more easy problems that serve as on-ramps to harder concepts. Striver SDE Sheet has the most balanced distribution with a generous number of easy and medium problems before introducing hard questions.

Time commitment is the most practical differentiator. At a pace of 2-3 problems per day, Blind 75 takes 3-6 weeks, NeetCode 150 takes 6-10 weeks, and Striver SDE Sheet takes 8-13 weeks. If your first interview is in three weeks, Blind 75 is your only realistic option. If you have two to three months, NeetCode 150 or Striver SDE Sheet give you more thorough preparation.

Topic overlap between the lists is substantial — roughly 60-70% of the core problems appear across all three. The differences lie in the edges: Blind 75 omits certain graph algorithms and trie problems, NeetCode 150 adds tries and advanced DP but skips some basics, and Striver SDE Sheet covers the widest range including topics like segment trees that rarely appear in US tech interviews.

Your optimal choice depends on three variables: your timeline, your current skill level, and your target companies. There is no universally best list — only the best list for your specific situation.

Choose Blind 75 if you have less than a month before interviews and you can already solve medium LeetCode problems independently. The list assumes baseline competence and focuses on the highest-frequency patterns. It is also the right choice if you are a senior engineer refreshing rusty skills rather than learning from scratch.

Choose NeetCode 150 if you have 6-10 weeks and want structured, pattern-based learning with video explanations for every problem. It is the best fit for candidates who learn visually and want a clear progression from easy to hard within each topic. NeetCode 150 is also the most popular choice for US-based FAANG interview preparation.

Choose Striver SDE Sheet if you have 2-3 months, want to build strong fundamentals from the ground up, or are targeting Indian tech companies. The comprehensive coverage and beginner-friendly ordering make it ideal for candidates who are earlier in their DSA learning journey. The detailed brute-to-optimal explanations teach problem-solving methodology, not just solutions.

If you have the luxury of time — three months or more — combining elements from multiple lists produces the most thorough preparation. The key is to combine strategically rather than solving every problem across all three lists, which would mean 300+ problems with significant overlap.

A practical combination strategy starts with NeetCode 150 as your base list, then supplements with 20-30 unique problems from Striver SDE Sheet that cover topics NeetCode misses. This gives you pattern-based learning with video support for the core curriculum, plus Striver's broader topic coverage for edge cases.

Another effective approach uses Blind 75 as a first pass to cover the highest-priority patterns quickly, then expands into NeetCode 150 to fill gaps and reinforce weak areas. This two-phase strategy works well for candidates who want to start interviewing while continuing to prepare — you are interview-ready after phase one and increasingly prepared during phase two.

Regardless of which list or combination you choose, supplement your problem-solving with spaced repetition review. Tools like YeetCode flashcards, Anki decks, or simply revisiting solved problems at increasing intervals help you retain patterns long-term. Solving a problem once teaches you the solution; reviewing it three times teaches you the pattern.

Track your progress across topics rather than just counting total problems solved. A candidate who has covered all 15 core algorithm patterns across 100 problems is better prepared than one who has solved 150 problems concentrated in arrays and strings. Use a spreadsheet or tracker to ensure balanced coverage across categories.