TL;DR
Short on time? Do Blind 75. It covers the core patterns in 75 problems and can be completed in 2-4 weeks. Got 6+ weeks? Do NeetCode 150. It shares 85% of its problems with Blind 75 but adds 86 more across 6 categories that Blind 75 skips entirely: Greedy, Backtracking, advanced Graphs, advanced DP, expanded Stack, and expanded Heap. Already finished Blind 75? You only have 86 problems left to complete NeetCode 150.
What Are These Lists?
Blind 75 is the original LeetCode study list. It was created by Yangshun Tay (ex-Meta engineer) in 2018 and posted on the anonymous tech forum Blind. The idea was simple: instead of grinding all 2,000+ LeetCode problems, here are the 75 that actually matter. It became the de facto study plan for tech interviews almost overnight.
NeetCode 150 was created by NeetCode (a Google engineer turned educator) as an expansion of Blind 75. He took the original 75, reorganized them into a structured roadmap, and added 75 more problems to cover categories that Blind 75 left out. Each problem comes with a video explanation on his YouTube channel, which is a big part of why the list took off.
Both lists are free. Both target the same goal: prepare you for FAANG-level coding interviews. The question is whether Blind 75 is enough, or if you need the full NeetCode 150. (Yangshun also created Grind 75, an improved version of Blind 75 with time estimates per problem, but that is a separate comparison.)
We decided to stop guessing and actually compare every single problem in both lists. Here is what we found.
The Overlap: 85.3%
We matched every problem in Blind 75 against the NeetCode 150 list by LeetCode slug. Out of 75 Blind 75 problems, 64 appear in NeetCode 150. That is an 85.3% overlap.
This means NeetCode 150 is not a completely different list. It is Blind 75 with 75 additional problems bolted on, plus a reorganization into cleaner categories. If you have already completed Blind 75, you are 43% done with NeetCode 150.
The 11 problems unique to Blind 75 that do not appear in NeetCode 150 are mostly Matrix manipulation and basic Bit Manipulation exercises:
11 Problems Only in Blind 75
This is not as alarming as it sounds. NeetCode 150 still covers Meeting Rooms (under Intervals), Matrix problems (under Math & Geometry), and Bit Manipulation (its own category). It just uses different problems in those slots. For example, NeetCode swaps Rotate Image for Detect Squares and adds Happy Number and Plus One in the Math section.
The overlap also runs the other direction: NeetCode 150 has 86 problems that Blind 75 does not. This is where the real difference lives.
Topic-by-Topic Comparison
NeetCode 150 organizes its problems into 16 categories. Blind 75 uses a looser grouping with about 10 categories. We mapped Blind 75 problems into NeetCode’s categorization to get an apples-to-apples count.
The left bar (dark) is Blind 75. The right bar (gold) is NeetCode 150.
Problem Count by Category
NeetCode 150 adds the most problems in Graphs (+12), DP (+10), Backtracking (+7), and Greedy (+8 from zero).
A few things jump out immediately:
Greedy is completely missing from Blind 75. NeetCode 150 adds 8 Greedy problems including Jump Game II, Gas Station, and Partition Labels. Greedy algorithms show up regularly in real interviews, especially at Amazon and Google.
Stack goes from 1 problem to 7. Blind 75 only has Valid Parentheses. NeetCode 150 adds monotonic stack patterns like Daily Temperatures, Car Fleet, and Largest Rectangle in Histogram. These are some of the most commonly asked Medium problems.
Graphs nearly triple. Blind 75 has 7 graph problems. NeetCode 150 has 19. The additions include Dijkstra (Network Delay Time), MST (Min Cost to Connect All Points), and advanced BFS (Word Ladder). If your target company is heavy on graph questions, Blind 75 leaves you underexposed.
Dynamic Programming jumps from 13 to 23. NeetCode 150 adds an entire 2D DP section with problems like Longest Common Subsequence, Edit Distance, and Burst Balloons. These show up frequently at Google and Meta.
Difficulty Breakdown
Both lists lean heavily Medium, but the distribution differs.
Difficulty Distribution
Easy
Medium
Hard
Blind 75: 17% Easy, 64% Medium, 19% Hard.
NeetCode 150: 16% Easy, 71% Medium, 13% Hard.
NeetCode 150 has nearly double the Easy problems (24 vs 13), making it more beginner-friendly at the start. It also has a higher concentration of Mediums (71% vs 64%), which matches real interview distributions. Most companies ask 1-2 Mediums per round.
Interestingly, NeetCode 150 has a lower Hard percentage (13% vs 19%) despite having more total Hards (19 vs 14). The extra problems are mostly Medium difficulty, which fills in the practical patterns you need rather than stacking on more brutal edge cases.
So how long does each list take? Blind 75 takes roughly 40-50 hours of focused practice. NeetCode 150 takes 85-100 hours. If you are wondering whether Blind 75 is enough for most interviews, the answer is: for core patterns, yes. But if your target company tests Greedy, Backtracking, or advanced Graphs, you will hit gaps.
The 6 Gaps NeetCode 150 Fills
The 86 extra problems in NeetCode 150 are not random additions. They target specific weaknesses in Blind 75. Here are the six biggest gaps:
1. Greedy Algorithms (0 to 8 problems)
Blind 75 has zero dedicated Greedy problems. NeetCode 150 adds eight, including Jump Game II, Gas Station, Hand of Straights, and Valid Parenthesis String. Greedy is one of the most common interview patterns because it tests whether you can identify the optimal local choice without brute-forcing. Skipping Greedy entirely is a real blind spot.
2. Backtracking (2 to 9 problems)
Blind 75 technically has Combination Sum and Word Search, but neither is categorized under Backtracking. NeetCode 150 dedicates a full section: Subsets, Permutations, Subsets II, Palindrome Partitioning, Letter Combinations of a Phone Number, and N-Queens. Backtracking problems follow a recognizable template once you learn it. Missing this category means you are solving each problem from scratch instead of applying a pattern.
3. Advanced Graphs (+12 problems)
Blind 75 covers basic BFS/DFS and topological sort. NeetCode 150 goes further with Dijkstra (Network Delay Time), Kruskal/Prim (Min Cost to Connect All Points), advanced BFS (Word Ladder), and union-find (Redundant Connection). Companies like Google and Amazon test advanced graph algorithms at a higher rate than the global average.
4. 2D Dynamic Programming (+10 problems)
Blind 75 covers 1D DP well: Climbing Stairs, House Robber, Coin Change, etc. NeetCode 150 adds a full 2D DP section: Longest Common Subsequence, Edit Distance, Interleaving String, Distinct Subsequences, and Burst Balloons. These are the problems that separate candidates who can apply DP from candidates who have memorized it.
5. Stack Patterns (1 to 7 problems)
Blind 75 has exactly one Stack problem: Valid Parentheses. That is the warm-up. NeetCode 150 adds six more, including the monotonic stack pattern (Daily Temperatures, Largest Rectangle in Histogram) and design problems (Min Stack). Monotonic stack is one of the highest-frequency Medium patterns in real interviews.
6. Heap / Priority Queue (1 to 7 problems)
Blind 75 has Find Median from Data Stream and nothing else. NeetCode 150 adds Kth Largest Element in a Stream, Last Stone Weight, K Closest Points to Origin, Task Scheduler, and Design Twitter. Heap problems test whether you can maintain sorted access efficiently, which is a core skill for system-design-adjacent coding rounds.
How to Choose
The right list depends on your timeline, experience level, and target company.
Blind 75
Covers core patterns in 75 problems. Finish in 2-3 weeks at 2 hours/day. Cramming 150 problems means skimming, not learning.
NeetCode 150
Full coverage of 16 categories including 6 that Blind 75 skips. Two hours/day for 6-8 weeks gives you ~95 hours of focused practice.
Finish NeetCode 150
You are 43% done. Focus on the 86 remaining problems, especially Greedy, Backtracking, advanced Graphs, and 2D DP.
Start with Blind 75
Less overwhelming. Build pattern recognition first. Once you solve Mediums without hints, expand to NeetCode 150.
NeetCode 150
These companies test advanced Graph and 2D DP at higher rates. Blind 75 leaves you short on Dijkstra, MST, and Backtracking.
Either way, studying blind is a waste. Our company interview database shows exactly what 458+ companies actually ask, broken down by topic and difficulty. Check your target company before deciding which list to prioritize.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is NeetCode 150 a superset of Blind 75?expand_more
Almost. 64 of the 75 Blind 75 problems (85.3%) appear in NeetCode 150. The 11 missing problems are mostly Matrix manipulation and Bit Manipulation exercises like Rotate Image, Spiral Matrix, and Number of 1 Bits. NeetCode 150 recategorizes some of these under Math & Geometry and Bit Manipulation with different problem selections.
Should I do Blind 75 or NeetCode 150?expand_more
If you have less than 4 weeks, do Blind 75. It covers the core patterns in 75 problems and can be completed in 2-3 weeks at 2 hours per day. If you have 6+ weeks, do NeetCode 150. It covers 6 additional categories (Greedy, Backtracking, advanced Graphs, advanced DP, expanded Stack, and expanded Heap) that frequently appear in interviews at top companies.
How long does NeetCode 150 take compared to Blind 75?expand_more
Blind 75 takes roughly 40-50 hours of focused practice (2-3 weeks at 2-3 hours/day). NeetCode 150 takes roughly 85-100 hours (6-8 weeks at the same pace). The extra time comes from 86 additional problems, many of which are in harder categories like advanced Graphs and 2D Dynamic Programming.
Can I do Blind 75 first and then the rest of NeetCode 150?expand_more
Yes, and this is a common approach. Since 85.3% of Blind 75 overlaps with NeetCode 150, you can complete Blind 75 first for a strong foundation, then work through the remaining 86 NeetCode problems. This lets you interview-ready faster while still building toward full coverage.
What does NeetCode 150 cover that Blind 75 does not?expand_more
NeetCode 150 adds 8 Greedy problems (entirely missing from Blind 75), 9 Backtracking problems, 12 additional Graph problems (including Dijkstra and MST algorithms), 10 additional Dynamic Programming problems (including 2D DP), 6 additional Stack problems (monotonic stack patterns), and 6 additional Heap problems. These fill critical gaps for interviews at companies that test advanced algorithms.
Whichever list you choose, the point is to study with intent, not volume. Use our interactive study planners for NeetCode 150 or Blind 75 to build a schedule that matches your timeline. And when you are ready to test yourself, try a free AI mock interview to see how you perform under pressure.