Is LeetCode Premium Worth It? A Data-Driven Analysis for 2025

It's the question every serious candidate asks eventually: "Should I pay for LeetCode Premium?"

When you're grinding for a $200k+job,$35 a month seems like a rounding error. If it helps you get the offer, the ROI is infinite. But if it's just a "peace of mind" purchase that doesn't actually improve your skills, it's money down the drain.

I've interviewed hundreds of candidates and used Premium myself for years. The answer isn't a simple "yes" or "no." It depends entirely on how you use it—and whether you're looking for solutions or skills.

TL;DR

• The Verdict: LeetCode Premium is worth it for Company Tags (targeting specific employers) and Editorials (official solutions), but overpriced for the Debugger and Mock Interviews
• Why It Matters: Efficient prep requires targeting the right problems; Premium's company-specific lists are the single highest-ROI feature for FAANG candidates
• The Hidden Cost: Premium gives you access to solutions but doesn't teach you how to derive them; relying on official editorials can lead to passive reading instead of active problem-solving
• Better Alternatives: For debugging and learning, AI-powered tools (like LeetCopilot) offer interactive guidance that builds intuition, whereas Premium just gives you the answer key
• What You'll Learn: A feature-by-feature breakdown of Premium's value, when to buy it (2 weeks before an onsite), and how to combine it with other tools for maximum effect

Feature 1: Company-Specific Question Lists (The Real Value)

Verdict: Worth Every Penny

This is the killer feature. If you have an interview coming up with Meta, buying Premium to unlock the "Meta Top 50 - Last 6 Months" list is a no-brainer.

Why: Big tech companies tend to recycle questions.

• Meta: Extremely high repetition rate. If you solve the top 50 Meta questions, you will likely see 1-2 of them in your interview.
• Google: Lower repetition (they ban leaked questions faster), but the style remains consistent.
• Amazon: High repetition on Leadership Principles (not code), but coding questions follow strict patterns.

ROI Calculation:
If spending $35 helps you pass a Meta interview that pays $250k/year, the ROI is ~700,000%. Even if it just gives you a confidence boost, it's worth it.

Strategy: Don't buy an annual subscription just for this. Buy one month of Premium right when you get the recruiter screen.

Feature 2: Official Editorials (The Double-Edged Sword)

Verdict: Useful, But Dangerous

Premium unlocks official solution articles written by LeetCode staff. These are generally high-quality, explaining time/space complexity and multiple approaches.

The Good:

• Standardized, correct code (unlike the "Discussion" tab which can be messy).
• Visualizations and step-by-step logic.

The Bad:

• They are spoilers. Reading an editorial is passive. You nod along, think "I get it," and then fail to reproduce it 3 days later.
• They don't teach intuition. They show you the final optimized path, not the messy thought process of how to get there.

Alternative:
Tools like LeetCopilot offer a better learning mechanism. Instead of dumping the full solution, the AI gives you incremental hints.

• "Have you considered using a hash map to store the complement?"
• "Your loop condition might cause an off-by-one error. Check the boundary."

This forces you to build the neural pathways yourself, leading to far better retention than reading a Premium editorial.

Feature 3: The Integrated Debugger

Verdict: Waste of Money

Premium lets you set breakpoints and step through code in the browser.

Why it's not worth it:

1. It's a crutch. You won't have a debugger in a whiteboard interview. You won't have one in a Google Doc interview. Relying on it hurts your ability to dry-run code mentally.
2. Local IDEs are free. If you really need to debug, copy the code to VS Code or PyCharm. It's free and more powerful.
3. Console logging is sufficient. print(variable) is all you usually need for algorithmic debugging.

Strategy: Practice debugging with your eyes and simple print statements. That's what you'll have on the big day.

Feature 4: Frequency Bars

Verdict: Helpful for Prioritization

Premium shows you how often a question has been asked in real interviews recently. This helps you filter out "dead" questions that haven't been asked since 2016.

Why: Time is your scarcest resource. If you only have 10 hours a week, you shouldn't waste 2 hours on a problem that nobody asks anymore.

Alternative: The Blind 75 and NeetCode 150 lists are essentially curated "high frequency" lists for free. You don't strictly need Premium for this if you stick to well-known lists.

The "Premium" Trap: Buying Success vs. Earning It

The biggest risk of LeetCode Premium isn't the $35. It's the psychological trap of thinking "I bought the tool, so I'm prepared."

I've seen candidates with annual Premium subscriptions fail simple arrays questions because they spent their time:

1. Clicking "Run Code" repeatedly with the debugger.
2. Reading editorials immediately when stuck.
3. Memorizing company-specific lists without understanding the underlying patterns.

Premium gives you access to data. It does not give you skills.

When Should You Buy It?

Buy LeetCode Premium if:

• You have a specific interview scheduled in < 3 weeks.
• You are targeting a specific company (especially Meta/Facebook).
• You have exhausted the free high-quality lists (Blind 75) and need fresh, relevant problems.
• The $35 cost is negligible to you.

Do NOT buy LeetCode Premium if:

• You are just starting (stick to free lists first).
• You think the debugger will make you a better coder (it won't).
• You want to learn how to think (use an AI tutor instead).

The Smarter Setup for 2025

If you want the ultimate prep stack, don't just rely on one tool. Combine them:

1. LeetCode Free: For the platform and compiler.
2. LeetCopilot (AI): For interactive hints and explanation when you get stuck. This replaces the passive "Editorial" reading with active learning.
3. LeetCode Premium (1 Month): Buy this only during your final sprint to access company-specific tags.

Example Workflow:

1. Pick a problem from the Blind 75 (Free).
2. Try to solve it for 15 minutes.
3. Stuck? Ask LeetCopilot for a conceptual hint (not the code).
4. Still stuck? Ask for the next step.
5. Solved? Use LeetCopilot to review your time complexity and suggest optimizations.
6. Interview coming up? Buy 1 month of Premium to see exactly what Google asked last week.

Conclusion

Is LeetCode Premium worth it? Yes, for the data. No, for the learning.

It's a database of questions, not a teacher. If you treat it as a targeted weapon to snipe specific company interviews, it's the best $35 you'll spend. If you treat it as a magic pill that will teach you algorithms through osmosis, you'll be disappointed.

Use it for what it is: a filter. But for the actual learning—the part where you rewire your brain to recognize patterns—look for tools that force you to think, not just read.

Ready to build actual intuition? Try LeetCopilot's study mode to turn your struggle into skill.