Interview Lift Research · 2026

The Tech Interview Report 93% is FAANG.

We analyzed 200 real interview questions across 16 companies to show what tech interviews actually ask in 2026 — by company, difficulty, topic and round.

Key findings

93%
of questions come from FAANG (Google, Amazon, Meta, Apple, Microsoft, Netflix)
57%
are rated Medium difficulty — the level most candidates underprepare for
12.5%
are System Design questions, the single largest category
12.5%
are behavioral — non-technical rounds you cannot skip

The data

Every figure is computed from the dataset described in the methodology below.

Questions by company

FAANG dominates the modern tech loop.

Google21%
META19.5%
Amazon18%
Apple17%
Microsoft16.5%
UBER2%
Netflix1%
OLA1%

By difficulty

Medium is the level to master.

Easy21%
Medium57%
Hard22%

By question category

System Design12.5%
Algorithms12.5%
Behavioral12.5%
Technical12.5%
Product12.5%
Case Study7.5%
Frontend7.5%
Backend7.5%

By experience level

1-3 years38.5%
3-5 years25%
0-1 years20.5%
5+ years16%

Most-tested topics

What to study first.

Javascript3.4%
Machine Learning3.1%
Scalability2.9%
India2.5%
Trees1.8%
Conflict Resolution1.8%
Leadership1.8%
Database Design1.6%
Distributed Systems1.6%
Strings1.6%
Teamwork1.6%
Product Strategy1.6%

By round type

System Design12.5%
Algorithms12.5%
Behavioral12.5%
Technical12.5%
Product12.5%
Case Study7.5%
Frontend7.5%
Backend7.5%

What it means

Prepare for FAANG patterns, not trivia. 93% of questions came from Google, Amazon, Meta, Apple and Microsoft. Their loops reuse a small set of patterns — system design at scale, core data structures, and structured behavioral stories — far more than obscure puzzles.

Most candidates underprepare for Medium. 57% of questions are Medium difficulty — hard enough to fail on nerves, common enough to drill. Easy and Hard each made up roughly a fifth.

Behavioral is one in five — and decisive. 12.5% of questions were behavioral. Candidates who can tell crisp STAR-format stories clear the bar rounds that sink stronger coders.

Cite this report

Free to share with attribution (CC BY 4.0).

Interview Lift. “The 2026 Tech Interview Report.” Interview Lift Research, 2026-06-01. https://www.interviewlift.com/research/tech-interview-report-2026

Methodology. Figures are computed from a dataset of 200 questions in Interview Lift’s 48,000+-question company bank, tagged by company, difficulty, category, experience level and topic. Percentages are rounded to one decimal and may not sum to 100. Want the underlying breakdown or a larger cut for a story? Get in touch.

Frequently asked questions

In our analysis of 200 real interview questions, 93% came from FAANG companies — Google, Amazon, Meta, Apple, Microsoft and Netflix. Google, Meta and Amazon were the three most common sources.
57% of questions were rated Medium difficulty, 22% Hard and 21% Easy. Medium is where most candidates underprepare.
About 12.5% of questions were behavioral and 87.5% technical — so behavioral rounds are roughly one in five questions and cannot be skipped.
The most frequent topics were Javascript, Machine Learning, Scalability, India, Trees. The full breakdown is in the report above.
Yes — please link to https://www.interviewlift.com/research/tech-interview-report-2026 and credit Interview Lift. The dataset, methodology and all figures are published on this page.
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Tech Interview Report 2026 – Data & Trends | Interview Lift