Show HN: I couldn't afford interview prep, so I built a free alternative

2026-09-10 | original

read original get Cracking the Coding Interview by Gayle Laakmann McDowell → more articles

Why This Matters

A developer priced out of paid interview-prep platforms built a free, no-signup coding practice tool and shared it on Hacker News. It highlights how much of the tech hiring pipeline sits behind subscription paywalls, and how quickly solo builders can now ship credible alternatives.

Key Takeaways

Interview prep tools are increasingly commoditized, putting pressure on paid incumbents' subscription models.
Removing signup friction — practice immediately in the browser — is a strong differentiator for developer tools.
Cost barriers in hiring prep are a real equity issue, and free alternatives widen access to tech jobs.

Worth a Look

Cracking the Coding Interview by Gayle Laakmann McDowell — If you're grinding Two Sum and other classic Google-style questions, this book is the canonical companion — hundreds of programming problems with detailed walkthroughs of the thinking behind each solution. It pairs perfectly with a free practice site: solve interactively, then study the patterns in print.

See Cracking the Coding Interview by Gayle Laakmann McDowell on Amazon → Affiliate link — we may earn a commission on purchases, at no extra cost to you. Product picked by AI based on this article; it is not a tested recommendation.

Try it now - no signup Two Sum · easy

Solve a real Google interview question, right here

Given an array of integers `nums` and an integer `target`, return the indices of the two numbers that add up to `target`. Each input has exactly one solution. You may not use the same element twice.

Time: O(n) Space: O(n)

Explore topics: show hn interview prep two sum google interview coding interview