Best Free Alternatives to LeetCode Premium (2025): What Actually Works

Is LeetCode Premium worth it? For many, the $35/month price tag is a steep ask, especially when you're just starting out or applying for internships.

But the fear of missing out is real. "What if I miss a company-tagged question?" "What if the official solution explains it better?"

The good news: You don't need to pay to get a top-tier interview prep experience. Almost every feature LeetCode Premium offers—from debugging assistance to company problem lists—has a high-quality free alternative if you know where to look.

This guide covers the best free alternatives to LeetCode Premium, helping you reconstruct the "Premium experience" without spending a dime.

TL;DR

• Official Solutions: Use the "Solutions" tab (community guides are often better) or YouTube channels like NeetCode.
• Debugger: Use free browser extensions or simply print-debug locally (it's a better skill to have).
• Company Tags: Use community-curated lists on GitHub or platforms like "LeetCode Company Tag" aggregators.
• Mock Interviews: Pramp and Interviewing.io (free tier) offer peer-to-peer practice that beats AI simulations.
• AI Help: Tools like LeetCopilot give you context-aware hints and debugging for free.
• You'll learn: How to unbundle LeetCode Premium and replace each distinct feature with a possibly superior free tool.

1. Alternatives for "Official Editorial Solutions"

One of Premium's biggest draws is the official editorial solution. However, relying on them can paradoxically hurt your learning. They are often dry, overly mathematical, and lack the intuition-building steps beginners need.

The Superior Free Option: The Community Tab

The "Solutions" tab on every problem is a goldmine. Look for the "Most Voted" solutions. These are written by real engineers who know exactly which parts are confusing.

Why Community Solutions Are Better:

• Plain English: They often explain why an approach was chosen, not just the code.
• Multiple Languages: You'll find Python, Java, C++, and JavaScript solutions side-by-side.
• Discussion: The comments section is where specific edge cases and "gotchas" are debated—invaluable for deep understanding.

The "Video Explanation" Alternative: YouTube

If you're stuck, search "LeetCode [Problem Number] [Problem Name]" on YouTube. Channels like NeetCode have become the de facto standard for clear, visual explanations that often surpass official editorials.

Strategy:

1. Read the problem.
2. Try for 20 minutes.
3. If stuck, watch the first 5 minutes of a video to get the intuition.
4. Pause and try to code it yourself.

This active learning loop mirrors the smart way to use hints.

2. Alternatives for the "Integrated Debugger"

LeetCode Premium allows you to step through code in the browser. While convenient, relying on it is a crutch. In a real whiteboard interview—or even many online assessments—you won't have a step-through debugger.

The "Skill-Building" Alternative: Print Debugging & Dry Run

Learning to trace your code manually is a superpower.

How to Practice:
Instead of hitting "Debug," add print statements to trace state changes.

# Example: Tracing a loop
def twoSum(nums, target):
    seen = {}
    for i, num in enumerate(nums):
        diff = target - num
        print(f"Index: {i}, Num: {num}, Needed: {diff}, Seen Map: {seen}") # Your "Debugger"
        if diff in seen:
            return [seen[diff], i]
        seen[num] = i

If you absolutely need an in-browser helper, browser extensions like LeetCopilot can inspect your code and explain why a test case failed, acting as an intelligent debugging companion without the Premium cost.

3. Alternatives for "Company-Tagged Questions"

This is the #1 reason people buy Premium. Knowing what Facebook or Google asked last week feels like a cheat code. But that data isn't exclusive to LeetCode.

The "Crowdsourced" Alternative: GitHub Repos & Aggregators

The developer community is notoriously generous. Search GitHub for "LeetCode Company Questions [Current Year]".

Reliable Resources:

• Team Blind: Often has threads titled "Google tagged questions last 6 months."
• LeetCode Discuss Section: Users frequently post "Amazon OA Questions - [Month] [Year]" summaries after their interviews.
• LintCode: A completely free platform that offers a "company tag" system similar to LeetCode's. You can verify if a pattern matches what you're seeing in forums.

Warning: Don't memorize these. Companies rotate questions constantly. Use them to identify topics (e.g., "Google asks a lot of Graph problems") rather than betting on specific questions.

4. Alternatives for "Mock Interviews"

LeetCode Premium checks your speed, but it doesn't check your vibe. It can't tell you if you mumbled, forgot to clarify constraints, or seemed frustrated.

The "Real Human" Alternative: Pramp & InterviewBit

• Pramp: Matches you with a peer. You interview them, they interview you. It's free and simulates the pressure of a real person watching you type.
• Interviewing.io: Offers anonymous mock interviews with engineers from top companies (paid, but has free content/recordings to learn from).

The "AI Simulator" Alternative

If you want a low-stress environment to practice vocalizing your thoughts, AI tools are bridging the gap. LeetCopilot's Interview Mode simulates an interviewer persona that probes your reasoning, pushing you to explain why you chose a specific data structure—a crucial skill for the behavioral side of coding interviews.

5. Alternatives for "Frequency/Popularity Bars"

Premium shows you which questions are "trending." This is useful for prioritization but can lead to "overfitting" your study plan to current trends.

The "Core Patterns" Alternative: Blind 75 & NeetCode 150

Instead of chasing trends, master the timeless patterns.

• Blind 75: A curated list of 75 problems that cover almost every major interview pattern.
• NeetCode 150: A slightly expanded roadmap that offers a more gradual difficulty curve.

If you master these lists, "trending" questions won't matter because you'll have the fundamental skills to solve any variation.

Summary Comparison Table

FAQ

Is LeetCode Premium ever worth it?
Yes, if you have a specific interview coming up in 2 weeks (e.g., at Meta) and you want to "cram" their specific high-frequency questions to maximize your odds. For general learning, it's unnecessary.

Can I get banned for using extensions?
Generally, no. Client-side extensions that modify your local view or provide hints (like LeetCopilot) are widely used. Just avoid any tool that automatically submits code or scrapes data aggressively.

Do these free alternatives confuse beginners?
They can if you jump between too many. Stick to one primary list (like Blind 75) and one explanation source (like NeetCode) to keep your study plan structured.

What if specific "Premium-only" questions are locked?
There are over 2,500 questions on LeetCode. If a "Premium" question is locked, there is almost certainly a free equivalent that tests the exact same pattern. Don't sweat the locks.

Conclusion

The "Premium" advantage is largely about convenience, not content. The knowledge required to crack FAANG interviews is freely available if you're willing to piece it together.

By using community solutions, curated lists like Blind 75, and smart tools for debugging and hints, you can build a preparation environment that rivals or exceeds the paid experience. Remember: The tool doesn't pass the interview; you do. Focus on the patterns, practice your communication, and don't let a paywall become an excuse for not starting today.