So you’ve decided it’s finally time to get serious about interview prep. No more winging it, no more hoping the recruiter skips system design questions, no more “I’ll just figure it out during the interview” (spoiler: you won’t).
You start Googling resources and bam, you stumble on Hello Interview, a relatively new platform promising to help you crush technical interviews with curated guides, mock interviews, and system design practice.
But here’s the real question: Is Hello Interview worth it? Or is it just another subscription you’ll add to the pile, right next to your half-finished Udemy courses and that Pluralsight trial you forgot to cancel?
I’ve been around the block, coding interviews, design interviews, and the endless grind of trying to find resources that actually stick. So let’s break this down, dev-to-dev.
What Hello Interview Offers
Hello Interview is laser-focused on one thing: interview preparation for software engineers.
Some of the key features:
- System Design Guides: Walkthroughs of common system design problems, like designing Twitter, Uber, or a scalable chat app.
- Mock Interviews: Opportunities to practice with peers or mentors, simulating the actual interview environment.
- Coding & Behavioral Prep: Not as deep as platforms like LeetCode for coding, but still covers common interview questions and frameworks.
- Curated Resources: It tries to filter the noise and give you exactly what you need for FAANG-style interviews.
In other words, it’s not trying to teach you to code from scratch. It assumes you’re already a developer and want to level up for interviews.
The Pros of Hello Interview
Alright, let’s give credit where it’s due.
1. Interview-Focused Content
Unlike generic learning platforms, Hello Interview is built specifically for interviews. That means everything is geared toward your end goal: not just “understanding system design,” but “being able to talk about system design in a 45-minute interview.”
2. Mock Interviews
This is one of its best features. You can practice with peers or mentors in real interview-style sessions. And trust me, nothing exposes your blind spots faster than stumbling through a mock when the clock is ticking.
3. Curated Guides
If you’re overwhelmed by the thousands of blogs, YouTube videos, and random GitHub repos out there, Hello Interview gives you a more structured way to prepare.
The Cons of Hello Interview
But is Hello Interview perfect? Nope. Let’s be honest.
1. Price Tag
The subscription isn’t cheap. If you’re already juggling LeetCode Premium, maybe a Coursera subscription, and that unused Gym membership, the cost adds up.
2. Passive Learning Trap
Much of the content is still video or text-heavy. You’re reading explanations and watching walkthroughs more than you’re actually coding. And as every developer knows, watching ≠ learning.
3. Narrow Scope
It’s excellent for interview prep, but if you want to actually grow as a developer beyond interviews, like building projects, mastering frameworks, or leveling up in your day job, it’s not really designed for that.
My Honest Answer: Is Hello Interview Worth It?
If your primary goal is to pass technical interviews, especially system design and FAANG-style interviews, then yes, Hello Interview can be worth it.
It gives you structure, curated guides, and the chance to practice realistically. If you’ve got interviews coming up soon, it’s a focused way to prep without drowning in random resources.
But here’s the catch: if you want to actually build long-term coding skills and not just rehearse interview answers, Hello Interview isn’t enough on its own. It’s a good supplement, but not the whole meal.
The Bigger Problem: Passive vs Active Learning
Most developers don’t realize this until it’s too late: technical interviews test application as well as knowledge.
You can read a hundred guides about designing YouTube, but when you’re in the hot seat, you need to actually apply the principles. You need to think aloud, structure tradeoffs, and sometimes even sketch pseudocode.
That’s the problem with purely passive platforms like Hello Interview (and honestly, most video-based learning tools). They prepare you to know, but not always to do.
Enter Educative.io: The Hands-On Alternative
That’s why I always recommend pairing interview-focused platforms with something that forces you to actually practice, like Educative.io.
Here’s why Educative stands out compared to Hello Interview (and even compared to classics like Coursera or Udemy):
- Interactive Coding: Lessons come with in-browser coding environments. You’re not just reading about algorithms, but implementing them right there.
- System Design Coverage: Their Grokking the System Design Interview course is famous for a reason. It covers the same patterns recruiters expect you to know, but in a structured, interactive way.
- Beyond Interviews: Unlike Hello Interview, Educative has paths for web development, machine learning, cloud, and more. You’re building career skills.
- No Setup Hassles: No wasted hours setting up your environment. You just open the course and code.
It’s basically the difference between watching a YouTube video about push-ups vs actually doing push-ups. Only one of those builds muscle.
So… Is Hello Interview Worth It?
Yes, if… you want a targeted interview prep platform with guides, mock interviews, and curated content.
No, if… you expect it to make you a better developer outside of interviews—it won’t.
The best strategy? Use Hello Interview as a supplement for interview prep and combine it with something interactive like Educative.io to actually sharpen your coding and system design skills. That way, you’re building the confidence to reason through them.
TL;DR: Is Hello Interview Worth It?
- Hello Interview → Great for interview-focused guides and mock interviews. Best if you have FAANG-style interviews coming up. Weakness: passive learning, narrow scope.
- Educative.io → Great for interactive, hands-on coding and structured interview prep. Stronger for long-term skill-building and real coding practice.
Final Thoughts
So, is Hello Interview worth it? If you’re staring down the barrel of upcoming interviews, absolutely. It’s structured, practical, and helps cut through the noise. But if you want to actually grow as a developer, not just pass the next round, it’s not enough.
That’s where Educative.io shines. It’s hands-on, it’s interactive, and it forces you to code, debug, and learn by doing. Pairing the two can give you the best of both worlds: the pattern recognition from Hello Interview and the actual coding practice from Educative.
At the end of the day, you’ll land jobs not because you memorized patterns, but because you practiced enough to explain, adapt, and implement them under pressure.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got another mock interview scheduled, and about five half-finished prep courses side-eyeing me from my dashboard.
— Stack Overflowed
